Feat. Model: @jackie.what
“Taking People’s Money”
Someone recently told me, “Jason, i’m just not good at taking money from other people.” This was in response to a discussion about obtaining more business/ closing more deals for commercial photo shoots. When I heard this it reminded me of how prevalent this misconception about sales is. I truly believe that in business, nothing is really achieved until there is a value exchange... whether monetary or some other currency...
Because of this, correctly understanding your value is absolutely vital to the success of your brand and business. Without closing more deals are you even “IN” business... or are you a hobbyist? I also place a high value on charity and will get to that later. It’s so much easier to be charitable from a position of success and momentum.
Know Your Value - Become More Valuable
“If the value exceeds the price, people don’t think, they pull triggers” - Grant Cardone
This simple phrase has always stuck with me. Price is a total myth and all money is made-up... when it comes to obtaining new business, what really matters is VALUE.
Answer these questions:
What is my “Value proposition”?
What lies do I consistently believe about myself that are preventing me from effectively conveying my value?
What value do I bring to the clients I’m working to attract?
How much residual value will they benefit from because of my efforts?
What can I do in every deal to bring even more value and exceed my clients’ expectations?
What new training can I dive into to become even more valuable in future dealings?
The first step in contacting new business is understanding what it is you bring to the table. This includes your product/ service, your team, your time and all the benefits your work will provide to your target client. The price is secondary. (It’s important to price competitively and realistically but that’s not what this rant is about). It is all about value. What problem will you solve for your client and what will be the economical impact of that solution for them? If you are modeling commercially or creating commercial content for marketing this is immeasurable. In the digital age, content is king and being the best asset you can be will create tremendous value to these clients. It is more important than ever to understand this value and to be able to effectively articulate it.
This understanding is why I never price anything I do “hourly”. There’s no point. Who cares how long it takes! What is the value I’m bringing? What is it worth to them? Let’s make it happen!
Becoming more valuable is crucial. Are you consistently growing and training? Are you becoming the absolute best you can be at your craft? Are you doing the things no one else will do? Not only will new value help you attain new business but your existing clients will be way more likely to bring you repeat business when they know you are hungry and consistently bettering yourself. This means every time they hire you they get more and more benefit. You can bet that most of your “competitors” are not working this hard and it will set you apart.
Believe - Commit
It’s not enough to be merely aware of your value. You need to be “sold” on your value and committed to it.
I’ve always been fascinated by the process screenwriters go through to get their vision on the big screen. Getting a movie made is brutal and requires a relentless commitment to your story and your mission. Many times a concept is presented dozens of times before it ever sees the light of day. The people who make it in that industry are the non-quitters... the ones who believe in their value and remain committed no matter what. Why then do so many people get discouraged and/or quit when they get one or a few bad comments on social media? They don’t know their value, they certainly don’t believe in it and they have no commitment. Pain & Vision (See previous Revo Rant).
I am confident in my value and the value my team brings. I firmly believe in our mission and cause and I am relentlessly committed. I don’t care how many clients I have to contact, how many cold calls I have to make or how many times I have to tell the story of my vision.... I’m going to do it. I am all in! I am constantly looking for new skills to pick up as well as perfecting the ones I currently poses to be the absolute best in my sector at what I do.
“I don’t want to compete, I want to dominate.”
This does not happen over night. It takes time, sometimes years to be able to convey and capitalize on your value. That being said, the sooner you figure this out, the sooner you can star achieving your financial goals.
Take the money
Remember, you provide zero benefit to your client or audience until there is a value exchange. When you know your worth it is highly ethical and beneficial to all involved for you to send that invoice and collect a check (or whatever the terms of the deal were). People and businesses want to be separated from their money. I’m serious. They browse online for hours hoping for a good excuse to spend it. Money is completely worthless until it is actually used (spend or invested) for something that brings value. So stop feeling bad for getting paid. I’ve never had the clerk at the grocery store tell me “sir, it’s really hard for me to do this. You know what, the groceries are free today because we don’t think there is any value in your shopping cart.” What??? IT makes no sense. When’s the last time you had a gym say they don’t charge for memberships because they don’t like to take members’ money? It sounds crazy in this context.. why is it not crazy in yours? The gym owner understands the value they provide to their members and are confident you are getting that volume out of the monthly membership. So they take your money. Take the money! Every month millions of people exchange their hard-earned $12 for the privilege of streaming hours and hours of mind-numbing shows and movies into their brains. To these people (me included) the ability to stream Netflix is more value to us than the $12.00. Do you get it? I sure hope so.
Charity - “Free work”
If you’re like me, you love to help others. You would spend hours, days, months to help someone out because you believe in their cause. I have done this my entire professional life and it is extremely important. It is important to help others out when you can.
That being said, this “charity” mentality can backfire quickly. I’ve seen people get taken advantage of. I’ve seen people never get rewarded for their value. This is a real quick way to never reach your goals. Choose your charity work wisely, make sure it aligns with your big-picture goals and keep it “real” charity (no in-between or “Pay me later” deals). Take nothing from it and do it with all your heart. However, be very selective and make sure your time isn’t monopolized thus compromising your long-term goals. Trust me, you’ll be able to help way more people when you are highly successful. You, reaching your full potential will enable you to serve others much more generously. So think bigger when it comes to charity and protect your decisions in this area.
Free is never free. Know that when you do “free work” it is costing you. It’s costing your value and time. I’m not saying to never do it. But know the cost and do it with a smile on your face when you choose to work for free.
The cost of accepting “free work”
Most don’t think about this but you give something or work for free (especially when the client probably could’ve afford it which is almost always) you are devaluing your own service/ product. This reduction in perceived value will quite often cause your client to not fully appreciate and/ or waste your spent efforts. You may end up enabling bad business practices or fiscal irresponsibility.
In conclusion, do not lose your charitable heart. Remain faithful in serving those who you commit to in this way... but be wise and weight the long and short term costs as you do it. Be certain that offering your product or service for free is actually a benefit to them in each specific instance.
To wrap it all up: Know you value, grow your value, and be rewarded for your value.
That’s all I got in this rant for you.
Do you agree with me? Do you need help seeing your value? Please contact me for further discussion.
Until then... go get paid.
- Jaso
