The author of the Dilbert comics has an excellent book in which he shares some of his strategies for success. This passage caught my eye because it reminds me of some of our discussions on pricing and the importance of presenting our prices with confidence:
I put the question to him: “What should I say is my price for speaking?” I told him that I would be perfectly happy to price myself out of the job. He said, “Ask for five thousand dollars. If they say no, you avoid a trip to Canada.” I laughed at his suggestion, knowing that I wasn’t worth that kind of money. But I had my plan. I practiced saying “five thousand dollars” until I thought I could say it without laughing. I called back my Canadian contact. That conversation went like this: Canadian: “Did you come up with a price?” Me: “Yes . . . five thousand dollars.” Canadian: “Okay, and we’ll also pay for your first-class travel and hotel.” I flew to Canada and gave a speech.
Btw, the book is called How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big. Excellent read if you wanna check it out.
