The Invisible Mentor

Mistakes are a way of life, but the trick is to learn from them. Here are two mistakes that I made that you can learn from.

Mistake I

I allowed people to talk me into putting their needs ahead of mine because I did not really value what I had to offer. If I did not value what I had to offer, why would anyone value it? Because I did not place a value on what I had to offer, I worked for much less than I deserved based on my experience and the quality of my service. I never trusted that if I said no others would say yes.

Lesson I

• We all have skills and much to offer, so do not devalue what you have to offer to please clients
• Trust that if you set your price based on your skills and experience and your service is in demand, you will never go hungry
• People mirror you and treat you the way you treat yourself

Mistake II

A few years ago I secured a new not-for-profit client in the educational sector. We had a few meetings and they told me that if I discounted my fees I would be getting a lot of work from them. I discounted my prices and got a few small projects from them. When they had a large research project, which would have made working at a discounted price worthwhile, they did not tell me about it, but instead hired one of the large research firms. I found out by accident and it did not make me feel very good about myself.

Lesson II

1. If a new client asks you to discount your fees, thank them for their faith in you and let them know that for the first few projects you will keep your prices, but for subsequent projects you are open to negotiating a special pricing
2. As a professional it is very important not to devalue your services if you want to keep your reputation intact, especially when you cater to a certain level of clientele. It is better not to be in a situation where you have to explain to Client A why Client B got a discount

Related posts:

1. Learning from our Mistakes, Or Not

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