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Charging Your Worth with Terri Trespicio

There's terry terry hello you everybody who are you good. Thank you so much for joining us today, terry. Course it's a pleasure. So tell us first who you are and what you do. My name is harry, just issue and I am a soul oprah nure also a writer and editor, a content director manager also immediate coach, I basically do all things that have to do with branding and messaging and content for a range of people and businesses and lisa's, help me try toe nail that down in a clear way because look, when your solo preneurs, you wear a lot of hats and so, yeah, I do excellent. All right? And the reason I wanted you to talk with us today is because we were talking about this question of what are you worth? And terry and I did an interview she interviewed me for her web show solo pra nure at whatever it takes, whatever it work that's right where the cakes network and this issue came up because she said, how do I know how to charge what I'm worth? And I glommed onto that word it's not about what y...

ou're worth and then she ended up writing a whole article about it for daily worth, so talk to us about this question of what are you worth? Oh boy and this was this was probably the most important takeaway I got among many gems of yours, but it was so profound for me because as someone who came up through publishing where let's face it, pay is nil in that world that's the price you pay it's an investment in your career and I struggled for years realizing I wasn't making us much as some other people, including my sisters who were in the pharma rep business where they get just bundles of cash and I thought, wow, I work so hard and I do, I think of good job and I can't get them to pay me is muchas forty thousand year at the time, it was a while ago, and I thought when I asked for it, they weren't sure if they could do that, I thought, and I didn't realize I was thinking this but I was interpreting is that we don't know if you were worth that they didn't say that I put that worth and value on the table and I believe for anyone but women in particular there's a dangerous connotation when you conflict a tte money with worth and what I realized, I you know, I obviously progressed through my career I made a little bit more little bit more, but I always said I was mad about it because I thought it wasn't paid, but it was worth and then when I went on my own and I could charge whatever I wanted, I realize that some days I felt like I was worth nothing another day's I felt so great that no one could afford may well, neither of those extremes make for a profitable business in any sense, and you at least relieve me of that burden that I had been foisting on it and said it's about the market, what will the market bear? And that was a huge relief, because I had put so much of my personal meaning that if someone didn't pay me what I thought they should, they didn't like me, they didn't accept me, or I wasn't worth that. So so taking your ego out of it, which trust me, is not hard for me to dio what freddie one who cares about what they d'oh, and so that was really valuable for me. Beautiful. And so how have you taken that lesson and applied it now in your negotiations with clients? How is it working on you? Because I know it takes time to implement and kind of get this other mindset. Well, there's always this thing where you are, you're afraid, especially when you're on your own, in your new to negotiating with clients that oh well this is what I would charge but I could do cheaper of this like there was always an urging me to discount discount and make it okay and that's the reverse right that's me staying if I loved you I wouldn't charge you that's the inverse of what I was saying if you love me and pay me more and if I love you I should charge you anything but in fact people can love you more they want to pay for what they value and you value what you're paying what you pay for the bag I bought it target gets thrown on the ground but the more expensive bag he does not touch the ground at any manhattan restaurant so I wanted to be the thing that was valued and I had to uncouple this idea that people wouldn't like me if I charge too much and so what I what this help me do was stop feeling I needed to give a rate and the discounted to make them like the idea now look everyone loves a good deal and they want to know they're getting value but I have started to charge and not worry about like my mother always taught me stop selling at a grown pocket stop worrying that wolf I couldn't afford it someone else couldn't give very quick when I was trying to make ends meet as an editor I was selling jewelry for these home party plant things and that julie was not that expensive it was moderately press it was one hundred dollars the pious price thing was two hundred dollars in the cow and the idea that you could spend two hundred on a bracelet was like crazy and yet I felt so I feel bad sometimes when women would buy it I think oh god that's so expensive but you better believe you don't sell very many things if you believe that people shouldn't pay for it and so my mother said stop sound out here in pocket you may not buy a two hundred dollar necklace, but that lady will and don't worry about what she can afford I once I did that I sold oodles of stuff I want a free trip to st maarten I mean, did the whole thing letting go of that need to feel that? Oh don't worry I'll be chief because as a solo preneurs, I'm sure you've said this is sune is you're competing on price alone you're competing for the bottom of the barrel so it's not worth that when I buy stuff on amazon and I go oh came to buy a used, uh cd player or something you better believe I never buy the cheapest was on offer I go in the middle, I want to know I don't wantto cheap out, so don't be the thing that people cheap out on beautiful, and I haven't said what you thought I already said and it's oh, I'm glad you said it also talked about the floor. Yes, it definitely talked about the floor and the ceiling and also I love your mother's advice because in session one I was talking about how you probably shouldn't be following your mother's advice at this point. But this I know, but this mother said something of value that I think you could. So so we take our mother's advice on a case by case basis that's a rule in my life, I on and, um I also love because we just finish talking about three tiered pricing and you just demonstrated, right? I'm not going to necessarily buy the most expensive I'm not I'm definitely not buying the bottom of the barrel. I'm going in the middle. So do you use this three tiered pricing? Yes, and I have a fun analogy for how I do it when someone says, well, how can we work together? Is this something you khun d'oh? I go full out and create a proposal that I call the chocolate fountain a proposal and I pretend like, okay, if I'm a wedding planner and I want to sell a bridegroom on bride on the biggest, most fancy saying I loaded up the chocolate found the ice sculpture you know, the music, everything I say this is what I could do because I want them to see the vast span I don't want to go a little and then when they go what's that could go oh well that's ten thousand dollars that's a little over budget on that don't worry I can totally scale this back I take away the chocolate fountain I take away the ice sculpture you're gonna have casserole at your wedding that's okay if that's what you can afford going with casserole and I will deliver with a smile but I will not charge you as much and I will not spend as much time on it. I don't say that, of course, but I think that you want to ring all the bells I don't know at least you agree with that, but I like to show everything I could do and then let them scale, so let us get down so they know in their mind they're getting a deal on something. They're getting something that wasn't even a cz much as they could get and sometimes they'll push and you know what? The tiered pricing, as we all know is kind of fiction I can I can make any price, any deal I want if they say we'll have a feed you this and I okay, how about I throw in that the freedom is in realizing it's negotiable teo ad in things that don't cost anything but our value to them so bring out all the skills and everything you khun d'oh for the and what I do at least is always like what is the itch that they're trying to scratch so rather than saying well I only do copyright because that's crazy that's not all I do I can do that but if there is just copyright I can scratch that itch but if they're itches way bigger when they say what do you do? I say what do you need and when I present all the things I need all I need that I need that oh you like that chocolate fountain don't oh my god terry I love your analogies all right let's see if there are any questions in the room or comments and then also in the online chat room before we wrap up this wonderful skype chat with terry crispies you do want questions? I would love a question. Yeah let's see if terry has questions you want to know what manhattan real estate is? You're looking at it right now and then it's the picture is about the size of it reviewer in some very fancy boutique hotel that you're kidding you serious right now this is a tiny studio on the upper west side of manhattan and it is where I do all my work and because of that mirror, my grandmother's mere people think I'm in a fancy place, but I can't tell you it's anything fancy people are loving your energy in the chat rooms terry and people have really immediately attached to what you've been saying susie's cases I love teri source I used to do what you used to duel the time and so she's had this well ah ha moment to take the inspiration that you've been sharing here it's such a relief? I mean, look, our egos, our biggest problem, a lot of the time I know minus especially when you're not around an apartment by yourself all day I'd like to throw it out the window, but uh, but when you can relieve of that and say, look, I'm not going to get my worth my full worth out of this one clients, one project you think if it is, I'm just gonna cli a little what I can do to benefit someone else and reach their goals, but my own worth has to come from somewhere else. It certainly can't be just paid for if you look at your bank account waiting for to give you worth talk to someone who's really loaded and rich and miserable and the money doesn't scratch that itch so beautiful, beautiful, thank you so much I could not have said it better oh, I appreciate your time and uh tell the people where they can find you and where they can watch a web show find me at terry to specioza say that ten times fast it's easy to just find me on twitter at terry t t e r r I t and I'm yeah tune into the soul of inertia lisa gonna happen back it's that wit as in humor and wit it's called wit nation dot com slash eleanor and there are a bunch of episodes up there I'll keep you busy over the weekend if you got no plant on also on terry's website she has this amazing section with videos and some of them have her in her bed waking up as a solo preneurs I love that one and walking down the street talking on the video I mean she's just awesome so I'm so thrilled that you were able to join us I'm honored to be here and love to meet the creative live audience thank you guys for having me thank you so much today once again say uh the extra goodies bundle which you confined at thiss bit lee link has links to on my pinterest board I have ah my pinterest page I have a board with pricing resource is for creative professionals and so the link to that is also in the extra goodies bundle and you can get that at bit ly slash command fees case sensitive