There are two analogies here that were shared on social media. Perfectly sums up Perceived Value.
“Experience and skill has a respectable price as well”. It always amazes me when people feel you’re overpriced. I think this response is brilliant.
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A CONVERSATION ABOUT PERCEIVED VALUE:
A customer asked a contractor friend of mine how much it would cost to do this project.
My friend gave him a proposal: $4500
The customer responded: That’s seems really high.
My friend asked: What do you think is a reasonable price for this job?
The customer answered: $2500 maximum
My friend responded: Ok, then I invite you to do it yourself.
The customer answered: I don’t know how to.
My friend responded: Alright, then how about for $2500 I’ll teach you how to. So besides saving you $2000, you’ll learn valuable skills that will benefit you in the future.
The customer answered: Sounds good! Let’s do it!
My friend responded: Great! To get started, you are going to need some tools. You will need a chop saw, table saw, cordless drill, bit set, router, skill saw, jig saw, tool belt, hammer, etc..
The customer answered: But I don’t have any of those tools and I can’t justify buying all of these for one job.
My friend responded: Ok. Well then for an additional $300 I can rent my tools to you to use for this project.
The customer answered: Okay. That’s fair.
My friend responded: Great! We will start the project on Monday.
The customer answered: I work Monday through Friday. I’m only available on the weekends.
My friend responded: If you want to learn from me then you will need to work when I work. This project will take 3 days so you will need to take 3 days off work.
The customer answered: That means I’m going to have to sacrifice my pay for 3 days or use my vacation time!
My friend responded: That’s true. Remember, when you do a job yourself you need to account for unproductive factors.
The customer answered: What do you mean by that?
My friend responded: Doing a job completely from start to finish includes time spent to plan the project, pick up materials, travel time, gas, set up time, clean up, and waste disposal amongst other things. That’s all in addition to the actual project itself. And speaking of materials, that’s where we will start on Monday so I need you to meet me at the lumberyard at 6:00am.
The customer answered: At 6am?!! My work day doesn’t usually start until 8am!
My friend responded: Well then you’re in luck! My plan is to start on the deck build by 8am. But to do so we have to start at 6am to get materials picked up, loaded and delivered to your job site.
The customer answered: You know, I’m realizing that a lot more goes in to a job than what a customer sees in the finished project. Your proposal of $4500 is very reasonable. I would like you to handle the project.
CONCLUSION:
When you pay for a job, especially a custom job, (whether it’s a physical project or digital project) you pay not only for the material and the work to be completed. You also pay for:
✔️ Knowledge
✔️ Experience
✔️ Custom Skills
✔️ Tools
✔️ Time to plan
✔️ Time to prepare
✔️ Professionalism
✔️ Work Ethic
✔️ Excellence
✔️ Discipline
✔️ Commitment
✔️ Integrity
✔️ Taxes
✔️ Licenses
✔️ Sacrifices
✔️ Liabilities
✔️ Insurance
If you request a proposal for custom work to be done, please don’t disrespect a service provider by trying to get them to lower their prices.
If their proposal exceeds your budget, there’s nothing wrong with getting other proposals.
Just remember.. you get what you pay for.
SERVICE PROVIDERS: Know your worth and be confident in it.
CONSUMERS: Recognize their worth and be respectful of it.
Sharing this to support all my friends, family and clients who are Entrepreneurs, Business Owners and Tradesman.
Artistic Baker analogy
Food for thought for anyone who has thought that an artist, trades person, musician, photographer etc. charges too much.
And for all those above who get discouraged because people don’t value their work enough to pay for it.
“A lady wanted to purchase a beautiful handmade cake and spotted a cake maker who did absolutely amazing work, but she charged a good price too.
The lady thought that her price was way too high so she approached the cake maker and in quite an abrupt fashion stated: “I want to buy a cake from you, but I think you charge too much!”
The cake maker was a little taken aback but replied: “Ok, how much do you think I should charge?”
The lady replied, “I think you should charge “X” much, because the flour will cost this much, and eggs this much, and fondant this much etc. I have even factored in the price of a pan.”
The final price the lady had calculated was a lot cheaper than the cake maker’s original price, but she said “Ok, deal. You will get your cake in a week”.
The customer is very pleased with herself and she can’t resist telling all her friends what a fabulous deal she has negotiated and how smart she is, and that in a week she will have her gorgeous cake.
A week later her cake arrives. She opens it and inside is flour, eggs, fondant etc. and even a pan. Angrily she contacts the cake maker asking “How could you do this to me? I asked you for a cake and you sent me a box of flour, egg, fondant and a pan?!”
The cake maker quietly replies “My dear, you got exactly what you paid for, if you think that there is something missing, then you are absolutely right and you need to pay for it.”
The moral of this story………When you buy a product or service from an independent business owner, you are also buying the countless man hours, effort, experience, training, blood, sweat, tears, passion and dedication that goes into providing the product or service. I don’t know about you but I see on a daily basis, people asking for ‘cheap’ or ‘reasonable’ or say ‘I haven’t got much money’.
We all work hard to build our businesses. For many, the money that is earned supports a family, extra things for children and in some cases may well be the difference between whether you can pay the bills and put food on the table. It can take years to build and grow a business.
Never compromise on knowing your value even if others dont”.
Story Credit: H Sultan