As I’ve started selling my own stuff, and offering coaching, I’ve realized that I wouldn’t particularly enjoy it if people tried to not pay me.
This hasn’t happened, because I only work with cool people, but it has made me realize that when I’m a customer, I want to be the ideal customer.
I want to think before I ask questions. I want to pay on time and be easy to deal with.
I even want to pay more just to surprise people and most important of all, I want to make sure I thank the service provider for being awesome and helping me solve my problem(s).
I realized this one day as Ingela and I were out enjoying the spring sun here in Spain. I saw a price tag in a shop window and thought “wow, that’s expensive. I would never pay that much!”
At that exact moment a thought entered my head about being the person selling the product instead of being the buyer.
How would I feel if a customer wanted rock-bottom prices? Would I be able to feed my family? Would I want to keep selling my product or service to ungrateful customers?
Buy Low, Sell High
Why do we want low prices when we buy, but high prices when we sell? Why wouldn’t you pay people for their hard work if YOU want to be paid for your hard work?
I used to feel bad when paying a premium for services. I have been raised to save money, haggle and get the lowest price possible. When you’re working for someone else, you are never selling anything, so you never think about it.
I understand that everyone likes to save money. Hell, I even wrote an article a few days ago about how minimalistic my life is. But that doesn’t have to mean I don’t reward the people I work with or buy goods from.
There’s a difference between wasting your money on useless products and rewarding the people that provide solutions to your problems.
A Shift in Mindset
Lately, I’ve been working a lot with people who know their stuff. I have no trouble paying for expertise. I realize that I’m not awesome at webdesign or copywriting.
That’s why I’ve worked with Sean, Lexi, Danny and David. They help me make my blog and business better. I have no trouble paying them, because I know they’ll deliver on their promises and make my life easier. I like easier.
It’s time we shift our mindset for how we think about spending money. If you aren’t willing to give, why should you expect to receive?
Your Dream Customer
Imagine having your own business, and visualizing your ideal customer. I’m sure we all want the positive customer who’s willing to pay on time and even pay more than you ask. That’s a dream come true.
But there’s still a discrepancy. How can the dream customer exist if no one is willing to take on the role? It’s up to you and me to be the dream customer.
If you believe you need a platform to make a difference in the world, you’re wrong. Your platform is you. By changing yourself, you will affect others.
If you’re the best client someone has ever had, you will make an impact in their lives and it will ripple throughout the lives of everybody involved (also known as the butterfly effect).
Hi there. My name is Henri. I was born and raised in Sweden. I help people turn their passion into an online business that supports their lifestyle. To learn how I can help you set up an online business and enjoy more freedom, 
Hi Henri,
I seems a bit obvious to say this, but I’ve found that the more people pay for something the more they value it. In the past I’ve been involved in providing free services to eligible individuals (I was paid by the government). Despite the fact that there were limited funds available for this service, I found that the people who used it didn’t appreciate it and often wasted the opportunity they’d been given (and my time).
Although I gave these people the same quality service as my paying clients, this pool of people made the highest number of complaints and generally had unrealistic expectations. My paying customers, on the other hand, valued the service I provided because they had an appreciation of its value (because they paid for it!).
They made the lowest number of complaints (none) and had the most realistic expectations. They were the ideal clients and certainly gave me the most fulfillment. That’s the kind of client I want to be!
That’s a strange phenomenon, Topi, but it makes total sense to me. Sure, it’d be nice to get everything in the world for free, but that would make life so BORING. I can see why you said that those who got your services for free were complainers.
When you’ve earned money and decide to trade it for something – for either tangible goods and intangible goods – it’s hard not to have some sort of emotional attachment to that purchase. You value it so much more when you trade your hard earned money for it. But if you’ve never earned it, where’s the value? How can you really appreciate it?
I personally could care less what an item costs. If I’m willing to part with that amount of money for something I think that I’d value, I’ll buy it with no regrets. Like Henri mentioned, I will pay for expertise when necessary. It’s something everyone should embrace, as hard as it might seem.
We can’t all be awesome at everything.
A great way to look at things Henri. There are two sides to the coin and as you said sometimes we are the seller and sometimes the customer. Treating people with respect wherever you are in that chain is important.
If I need to complain about something for example, I try and put myself in the other persons shoes too. We all make mistakes and I have been them too! I agree – it is nice to reward people by paying more if you have good service. It supports good work and pays it forward.
Henri
This is a pretty interesting take. I come from a culture where cheap is almost a mantra and it took several years for my dad to realize you get what you pay for. He could never understand why I would buy a 500 dollar pair of Ferragamo dress shoes.
However it’s funny that those same dress shoes will last me for what seems like forever. I just took them to a shoe repair shop recently just because they were a little scratched and for 5 dollars they were made to look almost brand new. I think you’ll get what you pay for most of the time.
i have a following you got inspiration for this post from notaproblog.
Hi Henri,
I love your attitude of prosperity. I have no doubt this is what makes you a winner in life. I’ve noticed there is a ‘force of multiple returns’ at work in the universe. When I make it my daily practice to call upon this force by giving often and generously, that which I want to receive, I am priming the pump.
Whenever I prime a pump generously, I set up a consciousness of prosperity, and this consciousness sets the ‘force of multiple returns’ into action. The trick is to not be overly concerned about HOW the multiple return comes to me, but it is my business to make my claim with a feeling of expectancy.
That’s a really good point Henri. I was also raised to save money and pay the cheapest at every opportunity. But I’m slowly learning that if I want to have the ideal customer in my business, I need to be that one myself. I’ve been shifting my mindset towards buying something and paying premium for it, if I know that it adds value to my life.
As a college student who’s about to graduate with a degree in business, I really liked how you switched your mind set to think like the seller.
So much of business is being able to put yourself in the shoes of the seller or buyer. Seeing things from another perspective allows you to find the perfect price for a particular item.
I also pay a lot more for things. Quality is important to me and I don’t mind receiving good quality for a high price.
Thanks for the great article Henri
Very Insightful post Henri.
It is amazing in a bad way to find out that most people want things free ALWAYS. We really need a change in mindset and I believe this post will go a long way in doing that if more people know about this.
Henri, I see value in the investment aspect of a purchase vs. a frivolous purchase (as referenced in your minimalist approach). If you are gaining knowledge, growing your Self and your business, then enlisting Sean, Lexi, Danny, and David’s services makes sense. By that same token when you Coach — if clients are receiving enlightenment and solutions to problems — why not receive compensation for your contribution. It sends the universe a message of abundance for everyone.
Similar to Topi, I remember counseling clients pro bono in the past. These clients didn’t respect their appointment times, had more complaints, and fished for more freebies. I found that by respecting and valuing my time, I attracted clients who did the same. They were investing in their growth, showed up, and were serious about doing the work.
Wishing you every success as you grow your offerings
I’ve heard that the pro-bono approach doesn’t work well. The more people pay, the more they’ll appreciate what they buy. There’s of course a balance you have to find for what price tag you put on your products or services, but getting paid is natural!
Excellent article, Henri! You are very wise for one so young!
I liked Srinivas’s example about the shoes. While I can’t afford $500 for shoes, I did buy a $100 pair of Born shoes. They were some of the best shoes I’ve ever had. I wore them completely out in 2 years, but I wore them a lot! I will always buy just a few pair of good shoes as opposed to a lot of cheaper ones. My mother bought expensive shoes and she has no trouble with her feet at 92. My mother-in-law bought a lot of cheap shoes, because she wanted them to match her clothes. For years she had painful feet, because they were uncomfortable.
Truly, you do get what you pay for!
In your case, Henri, you get quality help to do the things you know they have more expertise with. I wish I’d had it together as well as you when I was young! Sigh!
Quality over quantity. I agree with you completely on this issue of being willing to pay more. Value. The cheapest is never a great value.
Knowing the type of client or customer you like to work with is something many people never figure out. It can be stressful beating somebody out of a buck. It is just bad business either way. Long term business is built on relationships. We all like to do business that creates a positive experience for all parties. Everybody makes money, the win-win are not just pie in the sky dreaming.
What a wonderful post! Thanks