From the course: Running a Design Business: Writing and Pricing Winning Proposals

Pricing isn't as important as you think

From the course: Running a Design Business: Writing and Pricing Winning Proposals

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Pricing isn't as important as you think

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- When creatives lose a potential project or relationship, they make the often incorrect assumption that they lost because of price. I'm here to help you stop worrying so much. Creatives spend a lot of time worrying about what the elusive price is that will guarantee a win. They spend countless sleepless hours trying to calculate the perfect price, yet there is no magic number. First and foremost, potential clients choose design partners based primarily on trust and likeability. Designers spend more time worrying about price and what work they should show than they do trying to make sure the client loves and trusts them. Building a relationship with a potential prospect is crucial to increasing your odds of winning. If you are referred by a trusted or colleague or have an internal advocate within the client's company, you have a higher chance of winning that engagement. If the prospect has heard you speak or read an article or post you wrote, you've positioned yourself as an expert. In this way they will trust and want to work with you. If you work with high-profile clients that are nationally recognized, they will trust you. Big names matter. If you made the effort to meet them in person and have built a solid relationship, it increases the odds of them choosing you. Ultimately, if your price is too high, and they love you, and you have built an internal connection, somebody that's your advocate, they will figure out a way to work with you, I promise. Alternatively, if you have not built a relationship and your price is too high or too low, they won't bother to tell you or give you the opportunity to negotiate. Sound familiar? Prospects who value price over anything else are not worth working for. These prospects do not and will not value your services and are less educated about the process of design. Spend more of your time focused on building a relationship with your prospects and qualifying them, and far less time worrying about the price. It simply doesn't matter as much as you think, trust me.

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