August 27, 2019

Success story from reader Anthony English

Sent by Jonathan Stark on August 28th, 2019

Long-time reader and friend-of-the-list Anthony English wrote in with this inspirational anecdote (shared with permission, bold mine):

Hey JS, As a business coach, I rarely do career coaching. However, today I made an exception. A senior manager in the health industry got a strong recommendation from one of my clients, and he’s working out his options. After I had spoken to him about his challenges and how we might work together, I challenged him to prove this was a good investment for him. I said: “I believe I can help you, but are you sure you need my help? After all, you could land a new job next week and you won’t be needing career coaching, will you?” He then explained why it made sense for him to get some coaching, regardless of whether he landed a new job or stayed where he was. In other words, he sold me on why we should work together, starting as soon as he pays me (100% up front, of course.) Another home run to my investment of being on Jonathan Stark’s email list. Anthony

Well done, AE!

Here’s the thing…

Value is subjective.

In other words…

How much something is worth is a number that originates in your buyer’s head. Not in your head. Not in “the market”.

Therefore…

If you want to value price an engagement, you must uncover what it is worth to the person you’re talking to. Otherwise, there is no value on which to base a value price.

A great way to uncover the value in your buyer’s head is to try to talk them out of working with you by having The Why Conversation with them. It takes confidence and practice, but the payoff is big for both you and your clients.

Yours,

—J