So last time we talked about how I can even think about charging for things (especially “when information should really be free”).
And I promised that I’d also get around to answering the people who want to know why my stuff costs what it does.
One more thing: I know you guys are super smart, so I probably don’t need to point this out, but …
These two posts aren’t (just) for the hurt-and-upset people who don’t understand why I charge “so much”.
They’re also a resource to help you feel safe standing behind your own prices, if/when these issues come up.
“Your stuff is probably good, but why do you charge so damn much?”
I really want to acknowledge how completely frustrating (and frightening) it is when you’re in a tough situation financially, you want something that can help, and you can’t make it happen.
If you hang out on the blog a lot and know a little of my history, you know I’ve been through some terrifyingly hard times of really having nothing. Times of not able to imagine being able to ever afford anything beyond (tfu tfu tfu) basic survival needs.
So I get how awful it it can feel to interact with someone’s prices, especially when your own situation feels completely desperate, and you really need to know that help and support is accessible for you.
It’s so hard.
And I don’t know if a post will help you or not. But here are some thoughts, in no particular order — you can use them or not use them as works for you.
Answer #1: sustainability
I’m not interested in running an “exchanging time for money” business.
If I did, I’d work a gazillion hours a week and then have to go have an emotional breakdown. It wouldn’t just be the occasional emergency vacation. I’d be a big freaking mess. All the time.
My duck would hate it. My gentleman friend would hate it. I would hate it.
That wouldn’t serve anyone. Not me. Not my Right People.
And my intention is to help as many of my Right People as possible — while still taking care of myself.
Answer #2: charging what I charge lets me help more of my Right People
Remember when I talked last time about how I give away nine hours of my time every single week here on the blog?
The stuff that is for sale here (which I totally don’t shove in anyone’s face — there’s a “here’s where you can get stuff” page and that’s about it) supports the entire business.
It allows me to write these posts. It allows me to give away tons of information and Useful Concepts.
It allows me to give stuff away — and give it gladly — in situations where my heart is really pulled to make an exception for someone who needs it.
Answer #3: I actually should be charging more
If I charged based on results, I would charge more. A lot more.
But again, it’s about serving my Right People, so I don’t actually charge what I could.
My superpower is zapping stucknesses. My clients regularly have breakthroughs that might otherwise have taken twenty years of therapy.
They say things like “ohmygod I feel fifty pounds lighter”, and that’s after the first twenty minutes of working on the stuckness.
So if I charged based on what people actually receive from my work, no one would be able to afford me until … after they’d done the work.
Which wouldn’t be very effective.
Answer #4: the hidden benefits of higher prices.
This kind of deserves its own piece. For now I’ll just point out that Mikelann Valterra of the Women’s Earning Institute argues that at least half the people who are interested in your services shouldn’t be able to afford you.
My friend Mark says that every time we have to stretch to commit to a transformative process, the act of stretching is useful.
And Naomi says you should double your prices every three to six months (or, alternately, every time someone writes to you complaining that you charge too much).
Because higher prices:
- function as a sexy red velvet rope to keep people out
- keep you from being overwhelmed in your business
- can help people make a stronger commitment to doing the work
And yeah, when the people who need your work have to make a big decision about whether or not they’re going to work with you — and maybe even save up for it over a period of time — they treat it seriously.
They’ll actually use the stuff you teach. Because they had to work to make it happen.
Answer #5: to encourage people not to hire you.
True, if you’re in the frustrating position of desperately hoping for clients, this seems like a pretty insanely weird thing to want.
But at a certain point in your business, you’ll want and need more time for your own healing/recharging process, and to figure out what needs to happen so that you can share your legacy with as many of your Right People as possible. You’ll need to biggify in a more mindful way.
And when that happens, you need to encourage your people to try other stuff first (like books and ebooks and programs and courses) instead of just hiring you just because … well, because they can.
And if your coaching and consulting rates aren’t prohibitive, people will keep hiring you. Which is not really what you want in the long term.
For me, it’s very useful that my rates are high enough that people think “you know, I’ll just take a class with her and Selma instead and maybe save up for a consultation later”.
It gives me time and space to grow my own practice in a healthy, sustainable way.
Answer #6: to find out who your Right People are
It’s not that all your Right People can necessarily afford you right now.
But if they’re your Right People, they feel the resonance.
They might not be able to hire you right now, but they want to be someone who can hire you eventually.
Your Right People believe in your work and what it can do for them.
Your Right People are more or less where you are on the sleaze-non-sleaze-kosher-marketing continuum.
So by definition, someone who is your Right Person will never challenge your prices.
Example: someone recently said that my blog would be good if it weren’t for the fact that I’m “constantly promoting my over-priced products”.
I’m going to go out on a limb and guess … not one of my Right People.
(Of course if I’m still worried, I can do the math. If I’ve written 338 posts and four of them were about upcoming classes or programs … hmm, we probably have different definitions of “constantly”.)
Your Right People are going to be kind and supportive.
Knowing that someone isn’t one of them gives you the freedom to not have to take their commentary seriously.
Answer #7: my Right People are willing to invest in themselves
You know what? Michael Port charges $1000 for forty-five minutes on the phone, and $5000 for a whole day with him. That’s a lot of money.
But it’s totally worth it. I know it is. Because I understand how the concept of investing-in-myself works.
And because when I paid close to a thousand dollars to take a seminar with him in Vancouver, I came home with a thirty thousand dollar idea and the confidence that I could implement it.
I also used his advice to hire Marissa to be my First Mate on the pirate ship, completely transforming my business. This also allowed me to go on email sabbatical, which is pretty much the best thing that has ever happened to me.
So I know that whatever I invest in studying with him will give back exponentially, both in terms of money and my emotional well-being. Yay emotional well-being!
I still haven’t put aside my five thousand dollars to spend a day with him, but it’s something I’m saving up for. It’s not because “he charges too much”. It’s because I’m still learning to invest in myself.
Answer #8: resonance.
I’ve written before about the art and science of resonant pricing.
If you read that article, you know two things:
- if you’re resonant with your prices, your Right People will be too.
- I get all of my prices from a meditation that I do, and I have other people do the pricing resonance exercise with me.
Which means? That I feel steady and comfortable in the price that shows up. And that if someone challenges my prices, that’s a clear sign that they’re not feeling the resonance. Which means definitely not one of my Right People.
So … why are my prices so high?
They’re not.
They do exactly what I want them to do.
Comment Zen for today.
What I’m not looking for:
- To be judged, psychoanalyzed or have shoes thrown at me.
- Criticism on the topic. It’s totally fine if you believe that it’s not worth engaging in discussion with people who ask why your prices are what they are. And at the same time, if I’m willing to have the conversation with people who sincerely want to know, I want to be allowed to have it.
What is welcome:
- Thoughts about my bigger theme of creating a safe space for your Right People, while keeping healthy boundaries so you don’t have to take on other people’s stuff.
My commitment.
I commit to giving time and thought to the things that people say, and I will interact with their ideas and with my own stuff as compassionately and honestly as possible.
Follow
I am in the situation where it is not financially possible to do any of the big things at the moment, but I also have faith that when the time is right the money will be there. I get so much from your blog (and you do not constantly sell stuff at *all*) and I have gotten (and continue to get) so much from the calls I have had the $ for.
I know you are a Right Person because I had a big blow up with my daughter last night at knitting group. I am running two programs, the happy part who is intentional and all that, and the part that doesn’t want to give up the mad. I was talking to Marty about it because that part of me has always been there, and I was able to describe it, a little terrier who grabs onto something and won’t let go. And I was able to realize that I could give her a bone and comfort her. And I felt so much lighter. And I wouldn’t have had that if I hadn’t found you. Thank you!
.-= Andi´s last post … Just Playing Around =-.
Beautiful, beautiful ideas in this post. So very helpful for me.
My thing, my birthing work, is partly my thing because it takes patterns in my relationships that can be a damaging over-use of my personal qualities and TRANSFORMS it into really being able to selflessly help and support others in a boundaried way. Many people who start out in my field work for free for a while, and I’m actually really struggling with getting started specifically because of my internal struggle of whether or not to charge, and how much.
I am going to explore the idea of resonant pricing as I get started to help me out with this. Thank you so much for this post.
P.S. I definitely have a feeling, every SINGLE time that I’ve gotten excited about one of your products or classes, that the price seemed so right. Have I actually spent money yet? No – and that’s partially about my financial system, but mostly about my struggle with investing in myself. Just wanted to point out that the resonant pricing thing rings true for me even as a not-yet-customer of your business.
I love the way you articulate this.
I’ve never been comfortable with the simplistic “charge as much as you can manipulate folk into giving you, because money is a direct reflection of your self-worth” approach – and it is so prevalent in advice given to female entrepreneurs.
I create objects rather than services, but by trial and error and following my instincts, I’ve come around to essentially the same approach you describe (but it would have been lovely to have the external encouragement and permission three years ago!) I’ve found a pricing zone that communicates the value and accessibility of my work in a way that is congruent with both my creative joy and the subconscious expectations of my Right People. I learned early on (with prices far too low) that price is a significant element in communicating my creative investment and intent, and there is a sweet spot where it makes perfect sense to both parties in the transaction. Combined with that, as you say, is the need to balance supply and demand in a way that creates a physically feasible workload.
.-= Ruth´s last post … Rise and Shine =-.
I learned so much from you and your blog for months for free before I ever spent any money on your stuff. I actually reached a point where I felt like I was getting *too* much for free which fortunately coincided with a class offering I couldn’t pass up.
I think that safe container for your people creates a sense of trust and resonance so that when they do spend money, any doubts about whether it’s worth it and any lingering spending hesitation is dissolved and they can focus all of their energy on the value they’re receiving.
I love the point about your Right People wanting to be people who can afford your help and are ready to make that investment in themselves.
.-= Briana´s last post … A little manifesto type thing-ey =-.
I think this post is great. First of all, I was blown away when I first saw your prices. It had nothing to do with “you’re not worth this” but more like “the most I’ve ever invested in myself is a 24.95 book on Amazon” and “There’s no way I can afford that”. But I still read your blog religiously and even all the product pages when you link to them, knowing that it -would- be nice to take them but that I’m not ready yet (same reasons).
In terms of making a safe space (and right price) for my stuff, that is definitely something I struggle with. I would love to hear some of your own ideas for how you come up with ideas for new products. I realize that I need to “solve a problem” they have, but I feel a lot of stuckness after that. How big or how little a problem do I tackle? What format do I use? How much do I promote it? (What is no one wants it? I do check-in with this blogging therapy post often)
Thanks so much!
Amber
.-= Amber´s last post … No Certified Developers Allowed =-.
Havi, the way I create safe space for my Right People is, in fact, by establishing healthy boundaries. Boundaries offer enclosure, containment, holding–and therefore, safety. Without them, there’s just unbounded space, which is scary and doesn’t feel safe for most people.
You’re right–you can’t place a value on your work by considering its effects. If I did that, maybe three people in the world would be able to afford my services. Finding resonance and harmony between my desire to help my Right People in a way that’s accessible for them, while creating a livelihood that supports my right life, is an art that ultimately lets me follow my heart’s guidance to be generous.
Thank you for articulating so clearly the relationship between resonant pricing, right livelihood, and sustainable business. You model the balance beautifully.
Love, Hiro
.-= Hiro Boga´s last post … The Things That Scare You =-.
Related somewhat to #1, I would add that higher prices allow you to commit more time and more wholly to the clients you DO have. It takes you away from the numbers game to make a living, and lets you focus more on individual clients. With #2, you say “charging what I charge lets me help *more* of my Right People”, but I would say this tangential answer says “charging what I charge lets me help my Right People *more*”.
Thank you for writing this post (and the previous one on this topic). I’m one of those people who actually wonders why you charge so little for many of your courses and products. But I love this post as insight into the whole pricing issue, which is problematic for me, as I’m sure it is for lots of other people.
I think the most important thing I’ve learned from you and Naomi is that I am not desperate for clients and that I DO want to turn people away. Luckily, I’m not in a financial situation where I’m going to starve if I turn away not-right people and there aren’t enough right people yet.
But the idea that there are lots of people that I don’t want to work with helps with pricing, with copywriting, and with how I respond to e-mail queries.
I’m still getting used to it but fundamentally, I think that point is the most important. I want this to be a nourishing business for me. I do this because the work nourishes me as well as helping other people. And so I need to focus on the kind of work that really does that for me, not get sidetracked by people who actually suck energy and cost me in other ways.
.-= JoVE´s last post … Why write your SSHRC proposal before Labour Day? =-.
Oh, and I want to second Allie’s comments about how much your ideas have helped me in my relationship to my daughter. The whole idea of giving her permission to feel how she feels and then strategies for getting unstuck is SOOOO helpful in parenting. She’s 12. And being 12 can be tough sometimes. And helping her work through things is a great way for me to really figure out what you are talking about.
.-= JoVE´s last post … Why write your SSHRC proposal before Labour Day? =-.
Loved the post, Havi, as always. Just wanted to say that when I read this:
“Example: someone recently said that my blog would be good if it weren’t for the fact that I’m “constantly promoting my over-priced products”.”
I really really wanted to reach through my computer monitor & smack this “someone”. Brought out all kinds of protective mama bear instincts.
Thanks to all your free stuff (plus I’m just starting with Dance of Shiva, the first of your non-free stuff I’ve invested in) I’m working on accepting my feelings, because they’re not “right” or “wrong”, they simply are. Anger is really hard for me to let myself feel (never allowed to before) but thanks to you I’m feeling less guilt about it, and I’m hoping to be able to tap into its energy soon.
Thanks Havi for all you do.
.-= Holly´s last post … HollyMarieHill: Awww! Sappy. Man finds his wedding ring on the ocean floor, more then a year after losing it http://tinyurl.com/mnux9v =-.
Wow wow wow wow wow.
#6!
YES!
Everything, but especially #6!
On one hand you’ve got the value-pricing people telling you to stop trading time for money, but on the other hand how do you even calculate the value without, as Hiro says, making it completely inaccessible to everyone?
I love this third way of pricing, of figuring out, as Ruth so beautifully articulates, where the value and accessibility of the work intersects with your creative joy and the expectations of your Right People.
Oh, wow. That is so profound.
This is exactly what I’ve needed to read.
Thanks, Havi, for this amazing post! And to everyone who has commented so far. So helpful to read everyone’s reactions.
Example: someone recently said that my blog would be good if it weren’t for the fact that I’m “constantly promoting my over-priced products”.
I’m going to go out on a limb and guess … not one of my Right People.
::hahahahahahaha::
All that wisdom and some comical dry wit as well, for free – thank you 🙂
.-= Jennifer´s last post … Link roundup =-.
As always, your sharing of why IS helpful and important to those of us still trading dollars for hours.
It’s funny, because after a 20-year career in marketing (where we’re supposed to KNOW about things like PRICING for goodness sakes), it took me awhile to be okay with that kind of thinking.
I may have missed it, but do you outline how you moved from your pricing from start-up mode (absolute-nothingness) to expert mode (total-abundance)?
.-= Tea Silvestre´s last post … The Leonardo da Vinci Guide to Business (Part 1: Be Curious!) =-.
Having received some pushback on both my art prices and my private tutoring rates, this is very timely. I needed this reminder. My prices are where they are for very good reasons, and not everyone can (or should!) be able to afford them. Thank you!
.-= Barbara J Carter´s last post … Dogs and Art Galleries =-.
Great posts, thoughtfully written. Thanks.
Just as an aside, a friend of mine is a choral conductor and voice teacher in the San Francisco area. When she upped her price/hour for voice lessons a couple of years ago, she lost some students, but then quickly gained new ones, who turned out to be much more serious about their work. They actually practice between lessons!
Thanks for your insight; it’s good to hear more about this perspective from people directly.
How does privilege come into it? Many people could use the services people like you offer, don’t even have a local equivalent, but due to global financial standards (which place massive privilege on a small subset of people) can’t even begin to dream about this. And yet the people with privilege don’t even realise they have it; it’s shaped in their upbringing, their society, their intuition. What seems resonant may just be the reinforcement of the status quo, the idea of a Right Person that fits certain privileged definitions.
Here’s an example: TED. It claims to be a conference for some of the brightest minds around the world. Yet its price – around $6k? – and the fact that you need to get tickets way in advance online effectively prices itself out of the people who absolutely need the exposure and network of TED the most: people in developing or underdeveloped countries looking to make international links to improve their communities. So what you get is a bunch of privileged talking heads going on about “changing the world” while not realising that a large chunk of the world they’re trying to change can’t even afford to be there. The only ones who can have the privilege of money and time, yet the ones who would most benefit are the ones without privilege.
This is something I’ve been mulling about since last year, so I was glad you brought up this post. On the one hand, I’m all for people charging what they’re worth, even if it means losing some customers. I’m trying to figure this out now with my creative work. On the other hand, when the issue of access is one that is complex and arbitrary, how do we not confuse privilege for resonance? Just because you can afford it doesn’t make you the Right Person by any means.
.-= Tiara´s last post … Exchange for Change – Birthday Book Bazaar =-.
Havi, thank you so much for putting so much thought into this subject. It’s an issue that I struggle with on a regular basis.
I’ve noticed something I especially struggle with is that other women kind of expect that because I’m a woman, I’ll cut them a break when it comes to money. That some women have this expectation that they can whine and cry poor and that I somehow owe them something because of that.
I have to say I really find this kind of annoying. There have been times in my life when I struggled financially, but I never expected anyone to say that their time was not valuable enough for me to pay them.
I do have an expectation that my time and knowledge are valuable assets that I have worked very hard for. I think that you have every right to that expectation, too.
Thank you so much for sharing your expertise and knowledge here. You constantly help me confront my own “stuff,” and I am able to do that because you have created such safe ways to do that.
This may be my favorite post of yours ever. EVER.
Because price is such a sticking point for so many of us, how can you get unstuck without dealing with it first?
Thank you for your clear-headed, sublimely-articulated take on the subject.
Bookmarked-for-life.
.-= Colleen Wainwright´s last post … Gaping maws =-.
I’ve gotten both some stony silence and enthusiasm about this lately, so it’s nice to get some positive reinforcement.
Thanks for helping me feel good about what I do, instead of joining the race-to-the-bottom pricing game! Yuck. I’d be no help to anyone if I did that.
.-= Shannon Bowman´s last post … Hey Baby, What’s Your Sign? =-.
One thing I’ll sort of point people to if they haven’t noticed is that you have stuff at lots of different price points. Including plenty of terrific material for free, and also some great introductory products at very comfortable prices. So people can choose where on the pricing continuum they feel good, and if that shifts over time, so be it.
There are many things I like about downloadable classes, but one is that it takes things out of that mental math of “it costs X an hour and she works 40 hours a week, geez, who does she think she is, Rockefeller?” Because as we know, if we tried to do what we do 40 hours a week, we’d have a nervous breakdown.
For now, my high consulting rates mostly serve to keep my bandwidth free to do product creation and develop both free & paid content, which works for me. One of these days I’ll actually put more into making that side of my business work, because I do get energized (within limits) by talking with other folks about their businesses.
.-= Sonia Simone´s last post … Are You Sure Your Content MarketingStrategy Is a Good Fit? =-.
@Amber I can’t answer your question, but you’re talking about software development, right? I like to read Paul Graham, 57 Signals and “Micro ISV” (see e.g. http://www.microisv.com/archives/2007/08/16/one-simple-thing/
) for startup ideas …
.-= Luke´s last post … Ighalsk – release 0.1.6 =-.
I love your posts! Yes, it is true– If everyone can afford you, you are NOT charging enough money! (Now, if no one can afford you, you’re charging too much.) “Price Resistance” is simply the concept that there should be a certain amount of “resistance” to our prices– Harry Beckwith’s Selling the Invisible, is a great book that really delves into this concept. He says that new business owners should shoot for at least 20% price reistance (20% of people who are a good fit for us, should not be able to afford us.)
I’ve also noticed that people who are very price sensitive are also very difficult to please…
Bottom line– you’ll make more money charging higher fees to fewer people– your Right People– you’ll do better work, have less resentment and enjoy your life more!
Thanks for your blog!
.-= Mikelann´s last post … You Are NOT on Sale =-.
So far, I’ve only bought one thing from you, but I have others in my sights. At this point, I have no idea when I’ll be able to afford any of it, but I have never felt your prices were “too high”, just that I wished I had enough money to participate in those particular things right now, instead of having to wait!
These posts are most helpful to me, too, in pondering my own financial stuff and worthiness stuff.
.-= Anna-Liza´s last post … Mr. Pollyanna Is Playing with Fire. Again. Come Watch! =-.
I just wanted to say that you’re right. It is terrifying and saddening and terribly frustrating – all your stuff looks so useful and helpful and lovely and I can’t do it now. But there was one thing you sort of mentioned that I wanted to bring up, to see what you think about it. Because I look at your description of Right People, and I think I am totally one of your right people! Everything resonates so much! And then I look at this, and I think that I would like to invest in myself, theoretically, but right now I have both stucknesses and financial conditions that mean I’m not willing to do it. I’m trying to work towards it, but still. And then I think, maybe I’m a Wrong Person instead, maybe this lack of money and resistance to spending on myself puts me Outside, and maybe I should hang my head and leave.
I don’t thing this has anything to do with your prices, of course – I think you’re totally right about all of that. And I know that it’s my own issues that cause this interpretation, but you are, after all, talking to lots of people with such feelings. I just wonder if there’s a way to talk about Right People here that doesn’t imply that those who simultaneously have little money, difficulty thinking about spending money, and personal fears that make spending money on oneself very scary, seem like Wrong People instead of Right People who have some stucknesses to work out.
@Sarah thank you for posting that. DH has been officially out of work for three years as of yesterday, and I’ve been dancing as fast as I can to keep $ coming in (he has too, just not with a full time job job). It doesn’t mean I am a Wrong Person either, or that the $ won’t come in, but I know what you mean, having gone through the same thought processes myself. (hugs)
.-= Andi´s last post … Wishcasting Wednesday =-.