How much do you charge for your services? What determines your asking price? If you charge too much, you run the risk of losing the job. If you’re selling yourself cheap, you look like an amateur. Here are 10 ways to win the bidding war.
“Do these cookies taste as good as they look?” asked our friendly neighbor.
“Even better,” said my almost 8-year old daughter with a big smile on her face. “I baked them myself this morning!”
Last week, she went door-to-door to raise money for our Walk MS team. She’s a much better fund-raiser than her father, who’s still hoping to do better with his own campaign.
“How much are they?” the neighbor wanted to know.
“You can get two cookies for a dollar,” answered my daughter. A moment later, she had four shiny quarters in her hand.
“Fantastic,” I said. “I’m so proud of you! You just made your first dollar. Now, do you want to know a little secret to raising some serious money?” She was all ears.
Thanks Paul – I’m going to cut that out and paste it into a .doc and print it — put it up above my computer – – of course after decades in this biz – I am very aware of all those pitfalls – – but I’ve never thought about them all at once – – and often fall into one while trying to avoid some of the others.
Yep – I’m gonna do that, as soon as I get some kleanex – somethng in my eyes – – must be from your little girl . . .
Gray – – voice guy
Going door-to-door in our neighborhood made me realize how many good, caring people are living on our block. I almost got tears in my eyes when an elderly woman said: “I have diabetes so I can’t really eat your cookies, but I’ll give you some money anyway.”
We noticed one other thing: three quarters of the households had a dog. My daughter said: “Next year, I’m baking dog biscuits!”
On Dog Biscuits: your daughter is not only very enterprising, but very sensitive to market trends … likely a real winner IMO!
My daughter is absolutely amazing. Of course most fathers would say that about their daughters. This year she’s organizing a pj-day for MS at her school. Kids can come in their pj’s if they donate a dollar to the cause. I think she’ll do really well!
Another good read, Paul.
Thanks, Steve! This article was in part inspired by Dave Courvoisier’s 3-part series about setting voice-over rates:
http://www.courvo.biz/2010/03/setting-vo-rates.html
Thanks, Paul. I wish someone had given me this advice 30 years ago – but I’m planning on using it for the next 30!
Hi Paul, that’s how things should go and the “double dutch” stuff may be done better by our children – hopefully; it’s good to know that there are people who help each other!
Sie haben völlig recht! That’s the dream of every parent. However, I do hope that my dear colleagues will learn from my mistakes and take some of my suggestions to heart. As I said in my piece, just because we have a nice voice, doesn’t mean we know how to sell it well.
Voice-over trainers talk about “using your money voice” all the time. But what’s a money voice worth if people blindly bid on vague projects offered for budgets that are “to be defined”?
great read Paul, I am brand new to your site, and love it, its chalked full of info and links..I only came across you my accident, thru FB, glad I did..
Thanks John. Glad you’re enjoying my articles. That’s why I keep on writing them. As some people would say: There are no coincidences. Things just coincide!
Paul,
Your insightful writing always amazes me!
Your articles have such a well thought out strategy… always a pleasure to read. Nice ending too! Thanks!
Thanks Rick, I appreciate that! Our Walk MS team is up to almost $3000 and I couldn’t be more proud of my daughter. I’m glad I could share my story with insightful people like you!
The awesome share of a voice of experience. Said clearly and succinctly. As Guy Fieri would say, “This is money!”
Thanks for stopping by, Mitch!