1. rule: Whoever says the first price wins.
2. rule: Give a range, start with the high number first
3. rule: if you see resistance, ask why
4. rule: if it doesn’t fit: help your customer to find someone else who is cheaper

A conversation (Customer C and Service provider SP)

SP: I understand that you want to have XYZ. Based on similar projects this will be around 150k to 30k. Does this budget range work for you?

C: No! Usually, we pay 20k.

SP rejects: Ok, then I’m going to help you find possibilities to do this without me being involved.

SP wants it anyway: It might be that I have some perceptions that include more than you might need. If I give another offer in the range of 50k to 30k would that work for you?*
* notice that the secondly offered range is still above the customer’s number.

People can react to change in the following ways:

• pretend they work in the new style, but hide that they work like before
• a long list of why the new way doesn’t work
• they say ‘yes, it’s the right step’, but procrastinate.
• they hide from you, hoping the change won’t find them.
• implementing the change exactly as said without taking responsibility. In case it fails (and they somehow make sure that it does), they can blame you for making them do it as you said.
• take the change and run with it too fast, which means not correctly
• some will always say a strong NO to change

Our unhealthy responses or reactions could be

• blame the others for not wanting to change
• trying to convince the MORE, which adds more resistance
• spend more time pulling them in. Instead keep them out of the way.

The real problem is what we don’t see: The behavior of a person is a symptom.
So better do the following:

• ask for their experience caused by such a change
• don’t pretend you have the exactly fitting perfect solution
• include them in sketching a possible first step toward the final solution.

Usually, people already see something that is in it for them, so they start to be inspired, curious, and interested. Make them aware that this is noticeable and the final step:
Ask them to help bring this into practice.

Change requires allies. Go find them.

I’m thinking about how to get away from selling my time to customers. Instead, I recently came across the idea of pricing depending on the (economical) impact or value my services create on the customer’s side.
This means I need to calculate what my financial impact is on the customer’s problem. In best case, this would increase my salary.

In the last years, it more and more didn’t work out for me to work on a time basis. My service has become very valuable to my clients, but on the other hand headhunters don’t understand what I do and my salary on paper went up too high for them to be comfortable with.

Headhunter search for interchangeable work monkeys, that’s why I don’t fit into their model. I used to be one of them … luckily, these days are over. For years I get my jobs by recommendations. Actually better for my clients and me as no one needs to pay commissions to the headhunter company.