Have you ever looked for a solution to a problem so much that you were willing to go anywhere and pay anything just to get the answer you sought?
Have you ever been that desperate and you didn’t care where advise came from about what to do?
And in that desperation you probably magnified your challenge and made it out to be a problem that just won’t go away. And doors were flung open to exploit you…because you needed a solution.
But it still didn’t work.
I’ve been in the same boat and it opened my eyes to a big mistake clients make when they seek to get something done.
I didn’t have any challenges until I started shaving clean just to go some places and meet with some people. And then I started shaving clean again after a long while.
That was when my facial skin started protesting. I started noticing aftershave bumps and acnes that made me uncomfortable.
I started touching my face and pressing them and compounded the challenge. I couldn’t take it anymore.
I had to rid me face of these ‘things’ and get my smile on.
There were different possibilities as to why they started appearing on my face
- Using a commercial clipper
- Pulling facial hair
- Irregular shaving
- Touching and pressing acnes
- Sensitive skin
- Not using aftershave products etc
After getting all the other non-possibilities out of the way, knowing I had a sensitive skin, barbers recommended aftershave products like a diet I was to go on.
They started with the costly products that usually worked for most of their customers.
“It’s costly but it works”
I got the first one. It seemed to work at first and I used it until it was exhausted. Then, ‘they’ came back.
“You will have to continue using it o…”
Continue I did until I travelled and got advised again to switch to another brand that was as costly.
I didn’t see any difference in treatment and it seemed a solution wasn’t close.
I left my skin fallow and grew some for a while and then went shopping…
Through every aisle of the cosmetic section I combed for ‘something for me.’ Not something they’d recommended for others but something that was really going to work on my face.
And then I found one. It was paid for at the counter with every other item and out of curiosity I asked the cashier how much it costs.
It was ridiculously cheap!
Two things raced through my mind
- I’m about to cheat this people since they don’t probably know the price
- It may not work so better go check another one and replace it before you leave.
I took my chances and left with it.
Just try it… I thought.
I took it with me and on my way home I bald my chin again and used it. Again and again I used it and saw the results! This cheap thing? I cleared the other products from the stand and pledged my loyalty to my new solution.
And it was on one of those occasions while applying it in front of the mirror that I realized a mistake clients who want a solution also make:
They go for EXPENSIVE BUT INEFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS!
• “Please we need a website with xyz for our brand”
• “Can you write a copy and some pages for our company?”
• “We used xyz before but we want something different. Can you?”
• “What is your opinion on this project as a creative consultant?”
And some admit other solutions they have tried with big names and brands don’t work or they pretend they just want to try something new.
Unfortunately, when I give solutions to an extent and they know I know my onions…
“How much?”
“Here’s what it will cost.”
And that was it… I never get to hear from them for a long time. Then it dawned on me in front of the mirror – YOUR. SOLUTION. IS. TOO. ‘AFFORDABLE.‘ It wasn’t ‘expensive’ enough.
Step your price up!
And then I sealed the thought by something I picked from the mechanic.
A car was brought to him by a ‘big boy’ and he was in a hurry to be attended to so he could go with the car.
“You have to go and come back boss. The repair will take some time. Come back about when you close from work.”
He had to go to work with a taxi and come back at that time.
When he left, the mechanic muttered these words: IF I FIX IT TOO QUICKLY HE WILL THINK IT’S EASY AND PRICE ME CHEAP. LET HIM GO AND COME BACK.
No wonder Israelmore Ayivor said,
Time and talents are the most expensive gifts God gave to us at no cost. However, they are the main things that are easily abused. To abuse something time and talents is to take them for granted and not appreciate their values.
Unfortunately, that is the psychology of some/most clients.
• If you do it too quickly, it’s cheap
• If it’s affordable it may not be a good solution
And sadly some people just don’t value intellectual property. They just prefer expensive.
But clients, be sure that EXPENSIVE IS NOT ALWAYS EFFECTIVE and AFFORDABLE ISN’T ALWAYS AS CHEAP AS IT LOOKS. NEITHER IS IT INEFFECTIVE… Go for what works for you; not what is recommended or what works for others. Moreover, who says you have to break the bank for solution?
Know your worth. Then up your price. As a creative deliver the ‘goods’ at the right tag.
In career, business, your organization, and life be the solution without appearing cheap.
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#MondayMotivation #Motivation #LifeLesson #Creative #Expensive
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