The Emotional Aspect of Pricing: Insights from a Sales Call Experience

Pricing is not merely a mathematical exercise; it can carry an emotional weight that is often overlooked in the high-paced world of business. A recent experience reminded me of this fact in a profound way during a sales call I conducted late last year.

A familiar client, a restaurant owner I had previously collaborated with, reached out in distress. The business was struggling—sales were plummeting, financial records were in disarray, and she was contemplating selling the restaurant. To make matters worse, she needed to secure a line of credit, but her financial documents were anything but presentable. During our call, I opted to take a step back and listen as she expressed her concerns; sometimes, being an effective consultant means acting as a sympathetic ear while also bringing in the necessary expertise.

For her, the urgency to rectify her financial situation went beyond mere practicality; it was deeply emotional. This job could determine her future—whether it would enable her to continue growing her business or facilitate a transition out of it altogether. Small business ownership often runs parallel to personal identity, making the stakes particularly high.

As we discussed her financial chaos—rife with personal expenditures mixed into her business records—I quickly realized that this wouldn’t be a simple cleanup job. While I appreciated our past business relationship and wanted to help her, I also recognized the risk of underquoting myself and potentially facing a labor-intensive project I would come to resent.

To establish a fair and reasonable price, I brought out a straightforward pricing worksheet that I frequently use for validation. After carefully considering her situation, I proposed a fee of $4,200. To my surprise, she accepted the proposal immediately, enclosed the deposit, and remarked that it was the first time in months she had felt at ease discussing her business’s challenges.

This experience reaffirmed a crucial lesson I’ve learned repeatedly: when clients sense that you grasp their pain points and the challenges they face, the price becomes secondary. They desire someone they can trust to solve their problems, especially if they have the means to pay. It’s essential for professionals to remember that the value of the work is not merely in the hours spent but in the resolution provided and the restoration of control for the client.

In the past, I’ve made the mistake of underpricing such projects, equating the task with a set number of hours instead of recognizing its inherent value. There’s always an unpredictability to these situations—unforeseen complexities invariably surface