Raise Rates to silence the photography impostor?
Image by: @angelekamp
We often try to find ways to keep the impostor at bay through positive thinking and mindset shift, but that's often a long game because it's so hard to shift our thinking. What about raising rates? I know, that strikes fear into your photographer heart. And how on earth would that work, if the imposter is what usually prevents us from raising our rates - isn’t that a catch-22? Well, it’s reverse psychology exercise based on the fact that money establishes value.
Let’s compare cars as an easy example: A Hyundai and the Jaguar. At their base, they are both cars with tires and steering wheels and get you from point A to point B. But the price tells you something different about both of those. When we hear Hyundai, we think inexpensive, reliable, middle-income. When we hear Jaguar we think expensive, luxurious, wealthy. The financial differential contains some design elements - better engine, better quality materials and finishing, but it also embodies brand elements: prestige, affluence, status. But if you knew nothing about cars and someone presented you with 2 shiny cars (with no labels of any sort) in a showroom, and told you the one on the left was 5x the price of the one on the right, what would you assume? Our psychology leads us to believe that the one with the higher price is better somehow, on those financial differentiators: that the quality is better, or softer elements like the elevation of someone’s status in driving that car. Now, do you need to do any research on these cars to come to that conclusion? Do you have to read the spec sheets? No, we often take price as a face-value validator. There are times where we’ve paid a lot for something that’s revealed to be poor quality, but that’s more exception than norm. Typically, price is sufficient to tell the story of value.
Using this psychology, try raising rates to change your mind. Not even fake it til you make it, because your value isn't fake. See yourself as the Jaguar right now, with a Jaguar price-tag. What this does is help to you SEE your own value. Take this one step further. Create a copy of your price sheet, and update your prices to a healthy and profitable place. The place you want and need to be but are terrified of. Put these price sheets next to each other, close your eyes for a few moments. Then, open your eyes. What immediate perception do you have of the lower priced versus the higher priced photographer?
I had an epiphany recently that regardless of what clients think about my prices, it's ME who needs my prices at a certain level in order to maintain my identity as a decade-long professional who brings a high level of skill, service and integrity to the table. I can never again wear a $200 price tag for anything because I have walked miles away from there. You may not be miles, but you're further in your journey than you give yourself credit for - it’s the impostor standing in the way of you believing it. This would be the same in the standard job market if I had a skill set - for example a University degree in a subject or years of experience in a work sector - and I was looking for work. There would be a financial level I wouldn't drop below because it would undermine my skills and talents. Unless circumstances were dire for some reason, a professional in his or her field would seek employment commensurate with their skill and experience.
You need healthy prices for YOU. You are the Jaguar.
Linking the other pillars
Seeing a higher price tag associated with our own selves can give us a similar boost to wearing an outfit that makes us feel terrific. You have 2 choices - you can feel terrified of a higher price or you can feel empowered. Which do you prefer? Allow that to lead you.
You really need to do a cost of doing business (or as I call it, a dream allocation) so that you actually know what rates you need. When I say raise rates, it’s not just playing with arbitrary numbers; it’s knowing what your business revenue needs to be to support your life and your goals.
When you raise your rates FIRST, it’s a motivator to then demonstrate value and it can gives us the energy we need to finally uplevel in our brand promises. What does the “higher-priced” you offer to clients that is amazing?
We often talk about the psychology of pricing when it comes to our clients, but use the same principles to affect your own pricing psychology too! Intuitively we know when we are selling ourselves short and it’s time to stop playing small or shrinking. Believe your intuition as it can be life (and revenue!) changing!
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