I used to be unsure about how much to charge because I always felt I needed more information. It’s always hard to say exactly how much more data I require, though. More than I had, basically. It was like a desert mirage, always juuust out of reach.
Here’s the thing: price setting is strategic in nature, meaning it’s less like “driving a car” and more like “planning a destination”. Sure, it would be helpful to know facts about other cars on the road, whether the road is wet, if there’s fog, etc. But that data is hard to come by, and even if you had it it would all change by the time you get going. That’s why plans are made using maps, which can show you none of the above information, and yet are a great tool for the job.
Having more information doesn’t always make it easier to make a pricing decision. When setting a price for an expertise-based service, you need to know 3 things:
1) How much value does it create for the client
2) How costly is the service you are selling
3) Who is going to be comparing your pricing, and to whom
The second consideration is about math, and it’s usually easy to get all the data about your costs. The other two considerations are about understanding client psychology and strategy, not data.
So it turned out that the only thing standing between me and a price tag closer to the value I provide was fear, after all. Don’t let that happen to you.