Clients have imposter syndrome, too. Even worse, many times the only reason they are not worried over something is that they don’t understand it enough to know that there is something to be worried about.\
Understanding this is important because, put simply:
1) It can get you noticed: in a hyper-saturated world of communication, talking about things clients are insecure about will get you noticed faster than pandering or entertaining could.
2) It can highlight value: your value for clients isn’t what you do, but the effect of what you do on the changes they worry about making or avoiding. Until you know what that is, you don’t know what you are actually selling, and neither clients tell if it’s worth the money.
3) It can demonstrate authority: show a client a “landmine” they know they would have stepped on had they never met you, and you will show enough authority to get “permission” to sell them advice.
4) It can help you price: outcomes and value are “fuzzy” concepts, but can usually be quantified once the client can directly link your work to a specific insecurity they feel.
If you have ever wondered how to “translate” what you can do into a bunch of numbers with a $ sign next to it, thinking about specific client hopes and worries and how your work can affect those is probably your best bet. So go out and ask them what they worry about, rather than what they need done.
And if that doesn’t work
Claus Raasted, the rockstar consultant, external McKinsey advisor, and co-author of my book “Pricing Expertise” and I talked about his strange but very authentic way of finding out what the budget is – he politely asks for it. Find out why it works and when it doesn’t in the latest podcast episode of the “What I should have charged” series here:
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