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| The Client Letter |
| You Don’t Deserve the Money |
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October 11, 2011 Sedona, Arizona Ever said something like this to yourself? Either out loud or deep in your subconscious? “I don’t deserve the money…” I have… sometimes still do… kind of. Not out loud of course. But somewhere very deep in my gut. When I first got started in the tech consulting business, I remember that my initial rate was somewhere around $45 per hour. I guess I picked it cause it felt “comfortable.” Not sure what other reason would have caused me to zero in on that number. Eventually, my rate moved to $85 per hour. Then I started copywriting. I charged about $3,000 for my first real project. It wasn’t just writing though… it also included web design, and if memory serves me correctly, some tech work. What people saying about The Silk Report Advisory:
“I downloaded a copy of the Silk Report as offered and from what I read thus far, the Silk Report is simply brilliant! I immediately went for SECTION 8 – “Fee Propulsion: How To Structure Your Consulting Fees So You Get Paid What You’re Really Worth” and was able to extract a detrimental pitfall that most likely has impacted my bottom line for some time now… The… framework not [only] affords me to charge based on my worth, but from a perceptional perspective, I think it is also a quality positional technique as a trusted authority offering a “quality” product or service. In short, I just wanted to thank you for this content rich document….I look forward to reading and re-reading this report many times over. Be well.” Bryan If you want a consistent stream of “here’s how you do it” information to build your business, subscribe to the Silk Report TODAY. Eventually, my fees started climbing. $4,000… then $7,000… $9000 eventually $10,000 and beyond. But there was a problem. Looking back, it’s clear to me now that I had a big issue that was getting in my way. The issue was this: I didn’t feel like I deserved the money. Period. It’s almost like I felt that earning a lot of money meant I had to invest a lot of effort and struggle. Or that I had to feel different about charging $10,000 instead of $45. If a client paid me a lot, somehow I needed to become their slave or something… After all, if you’re not working hard, why should you be paid high fees? Heck, the amount didn’t even matter, I just had issues about feeling like I deserved to get paid. The larger amounts just tended to highlight that issue more. None of those stories really fit the feeling I had. But it’s the best I can do to communicate it. I’m sure you get it, because you’ve probably had the same feeling yourself. The feeling was really just that no matter what I did, I just didn’t deserve it. It sounds terrible when you actually write it down. It sounds terrible because it is terrible. And it’s very damaging to you as a person and to your business. Ouch. How screwed up is that folks? Listen up… If you’re using the talents you’ve been given, it’s not supposed to feel like work. In fact, that might be a clue you’re doing what you’re on this earth to do. So basing your fees on how much effort it feels like you’re putting in is actually a little bit nuts. Because what you’re actually doing is penalizing yourself for what comes naturally. That’s bad for your self-image… But it’s even worse for your bank account and all of the people that depend on you to provide for them. So what should you try instead? Stop thinking about you and start thinking about your client. They’re not hiring you to save their life. They’re not hiring you to “work hard.” They’re hiring you because they believe that you can help them achieve something. If their goal is to have a business doing $10 million a year, how much do you think you should be paid to move them closer to that goal? The point is this… Your fees have nothing to do with you. They have everything to do with your client and what they want to accomplish. Think about that… because my hunch is that you might just deserve a raise. See you tomorrow,
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