How to Double Your Rate

(00:01):
Welcome to Negotiate your Career Growth. I'm Jamie Lee, and I teach you how to blend the best of negotiation strategies with feminist coaching so you get promoted and better paid without burning bridges or burning out in the process. Let's get started. Recently, I sent out an email on my newsletter just inviting people to ask me a direct question, and then I reply to each of them with an individualized audio response. And today I'm going to share with you one of those responses because I think you will find it relevant. And if you wanna get on the funness, <laugh>, the funness of getting to ask me individual questions and getting your individualized audio response or something like that, and getting more, uh, tips, scripts, invites to future workshops and whatnot, get on my newsletter list. Come to jamie lee coach.com. J a m i e l e e c o a c h.com.

(01:03):
And you are also going to get my free ebook, how to Ask for a Big Pay Raise. It's chock full of insights, tips, and scripts to help you negotiate with confidence. I wanted to share my response to this specific question because I know many of y'all who are listening are employees, but some of y'all are entrepreneurial, and maybe some of y'all are in between. Maybe you are entrepreneurial employees, you might be working as an employee for now, but your ultimate goal is to work for yourself. And that was me. I have been an employee and I became a self-employed coach, uh, an entrepreneur. And I've used the mutual benefit negotiation principles that I used to negotiate for my pay raise. And then I used the same principles. I applied them to my business to growing my business, and I have coached my clients using the sales and marketing principles that I learned as an entrepreneur.

(02:05):
And then I helped my clients who are mostly empl, um, mostly employees, but some of them are consultants. I helped them get promoted and better paid by teaching, adapting, adapting some of the sales and marketing principles that I have learned as an entrepreneur. So today, as you listen to my response today, I, I, I hope that whether you are an entrepreneur, whether you are an employee, employee or whether you are an entrepreneurial employee, try saying that really fast. Few times, that's a tongue twister, entrepreneurial employee. I'd like you to listen for how you might adapt and apply whatever that I'm sharing here to your specific situation, whether you know you work for somebody else, whether you work for somebody else for now, or whether you, you know, work for yourself. Yeah, I think you can find nuggets here that you can apply to your specific situation, because at the end of the day, what I'm really teaching is how to adapt, uh, the principles of mutual benefit negotiation, um, to help you grow your income.

(03:18):
So the question that I'm answering is how do you make a case to double your rate? That was all I got. That was the question. How do you make a case to double your rate? So, based on the question, I assume that the person who asked me this question is in a position where she can double her rate. I mean, she can set her own rates. Maybe she works for herself like I do. I also assume that she has clients or potential clients with whom she can make the case to double her rate, which is amazing, which is an accomplishment. I know it takes so much hustle, so much grit, so much patience. It's not easy. It takes tremendous amount of effort, more effort than you think. It takes <laugh> to work for yourself and to make it work. I hundred percent relate and I respect that tremendously.

(04:14):
And to answer that question, I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna pretend like I'm speaking to this person who asked me the question. Um, to answer your question directly, doubling your rate is less about making the case and it's more about creating demand and value. I will also share with you how I do quote unquote make the case. But it's, it's interesting because it's really about helping the client or the other side make the case in their mind, right? There's a vivid picture in their mind where that case is made. <laugh>, I'm gonna walk you through that in a little bit. So let's talk about demand first. When you have created so much demand for your services, and you do this by giving value ahead of time, and I'll explain what that means, giving value ahead of time, I'll explain what that means in a little bit.

(05:12):
But when you have created so much demand for your services making, the case becomes as simple as telling your client or your employer your new rate. In other words, making the case becomes as simple as telling them how they can buy, how they can secure your services. Now, when you do this, when you double your rate, some client, some clients may not continue to work with you at your new rate, but you are going to be totally okay with that because there's plenty of demand. There are plenty of people who want your services. And right now there's so much more requests for your services than you can deliver at the old rate and feel aligned with the value you deliver at the new rate. Even when the new rate is twice what it used to be, you have conviction that the value you're delivering is 10 times that new rate.

(06:12):
And you may have to do some thought where you may have to sit down and make a list, and you may have to really look for and collect the evidence that there is so much value being delivered. Because when you lack the confidence in yourself, so sometimes when you lack the confidence, you become biased against the value you are already delivering. So you're not seeing that very clearly. And if you want more specific details about how to unbias yourself, please do check out my podcast, how to Get Better Paid. I think it was episode eight or nine. So what is the demand for your services now? Now, are you fully booked? Do you have a wait list or do you have inbound requests for your services than you can handle? You have more requests for your services than you can handle right now. This happened to one of my former clients, grace.

(07:15):
Grace is a project consultant and she was fully booked. She was working more than 40 hours a week. She needed to hire employees and contractors to take on the overflow of work. On top of that, she was getting requests from additional potential clients who wanted to consult with her, pick her brain, get on her calendar. She didn't have the time. As soon as her current clients got a wind of this, they just went ahead and increased her consulting rate. They gave her more money so they can keep Grace working on their projects. Competing demand on Grace's time would be a problem for them. So they threw money at the problem and dissuaded grace from taking on other clients, she's that good. There was no need for grace to make a case because there was more demand than there was supply of Grace's time and attention.

(08:17):
Now, I know that's an extreme example, but I think it really helps to illustrate that demand has to come first before you make the case. This is also the reason why in the case of salary negotiation or job offer negotiation, it does help when you have multiple job offers, more demand for your employment, your services means you have more leverage in the negotiation. And if you're curious, okay, what, what do I say? Here's a sample script. If you get a competing offer, you can say something like, thanks, I appreciate this offer. This is a great start, but guess what? I have a competing offer. Even though I'm very keen on working with you, potential employer X, if you can meet or exceed this other competing offer, it would help me make a decision sooner rather than later. So say something like that so that you, you can use the leverage you have in the negotiation.

(09:22):
Okay? But let's go back to what we're talking about. We were talking about how to double your rate. Let's talk about what creates demand. Giving value ahead of time, giving value ahead of time does not mean you give away the house doing free work for everyone. It does not mean that you burn yourself out doing everything for everyone. No, what I'm talking about is how you market your services and demonstrate your mastery, your skill, your expertise in a very strategic way, talking specifically to the types of potential clients who can benefit from your services and who can pay your new rate. Now, if I were to make an analogy to the workplace, it would be getting clear about who the real decision makers are who actually decides on payroll, salary, bonus changes. You know, sometimes it's the ceo, sometimes it's the coo, or maybe it's an svp.

(10:27):
And then you make sure that those folks, the real decision makers or maybe the influencers who have the ear of those decision makers or all of the above, you wanna make sure that all those folks know that you are working on a solution that drives the goals they most care about. And if you wanna hear more about this, please go check out episode two of my podcast, negotiate your Career growth, which you are listening to right now. Okay, back to marketing. As a service provider, let's say you're a consultant or a coach like me, the truth is, there are endless ways to do marketing. There's no limit as to how you can market your services and give value ahead of time. You can do it for free, you can do it for cheap, you can do it on social media, you can do it on email, you can do it in person in webinars and workshops.

(11:25):
And I know firsthand it can be overwhelming sometimes. So just in case you're somebody like me and you're somebody who markets her or their services, uh, to help people as a change worker, a coach, a consultant, I'm going to refer you directly to my own marketing mentor. Her name is Simone Sol, it's spelled s i m o n e. Last name is s e o l. She's South Korean like me. She's actually living in South Korea. I'm living in New York City. Anyways, she's great. She's great podcast. It's called Joyful Marketing. Check it out for now. I wanna give you a simple analogy for giving value ahead of time as a service provider. And I think this analogy will apply to, you know, wide groups of people, a wide range of scenarios. Think about marketing your services as if you are one of the more easily understood professions. You know, like a lawyer, an accountant, or a doctor. Let's go with doctor for now.

(12:42):
When you have a consultation with a doctor, you get a diagnosis and you get an expert medical opinion on how to treat this diagnosis. And this diagnosis immediately demonstrates expertise, mastery, skill. And let's just pretend you have great bedside manner as a doctor, because I mean, who doesn't love a doctor with great bedside manner? And when you do, you immediately give that patient a sense of relief because the patient feels like they're in good hands and they know they're going to be taken care of. That is value. Treatment hasn't started, but tremendous value has been delivered as a reminder. This is an analogy, and in this analogy, your potential client or the person who pays your rate would be the patient. But you know, for a second, you know, let's think about it from the perspective of the patient. Okay? Imagine you are the patient.

(13:52):
Imagine you've been suffering from mystery illness and you don't know what's what in this mystery illness. It's been impacting your sleep, your work, your productivity, your digestion, maybe even your sexual function. So it's just been eating away at the quality of your life, your career negatively impacting your relationships. You go to the doctor for some kind of relief for an answer. And even before you start the treatment, even before you pay the medical bill, just getting that diagnosis gives you such a peace of mind because now you can be rest assured knowing that you are not crazy. You have not been just imagining this, it has a name and it's treatable. Your doctor cares, and you are in good hands. How amazing does that feel? That's the feeling you want your potential clients to experience through your marketing. And when you do this well, and when you're doing it consistently, you will be in demand.

(15:08):
And again, you are only limited by your imagination as to how you demonstrate your value, how you give value in this way, in this generous way. And if you can imagine that you will double your rate in the future, you can do it, you can create demand by giving value ahead of time. So if we were to think about this from the perspective of an employee, you might think of quote unquote, giving value ahead of time as personal branding. I personally don't like the term personal branding because in my mind I think of like a literal brand. You know, that hot metal object that you sear into an animal's hide. And so I don't like the phrase, even though my clients sometimes tell me, oh yeah, this is what we're doing. We are coming up with a strategy for personal branding. I like to think of this as managing up in a very smart and strategic way.

(16:09):
Think about it like this. If you have insights, I have clients who are VPs at their organization, but they have insights as to how the organization can be run more effectively and how the organization can become even more profitable, how the organization can become saleable, right? Many businesses, private businesses, their ultimate goal is to be sold or to go public, right? And, and the VP is like, I have ideas, I have a plan, I have a strategic plan. And then they go to the decision makers, maybe they go to the board, maybe they have a conversation with the chairman or the president of the organization, and they present their idea. In that sense, they are like the doctor in the scenario that I just described. They're presenting a diagnosis, right? And they're saying, we have a plan. This is treatable. We have a step by step solution that's gonna help us go from where we are now to having an exit to having the company be sold or having the company be more profitable, right?

(17:16):
That is giving value ahead of time. So I like to think of that, like I said, less as a personal branding exercise and more as managing up in a very smart and strategic way that demonstrates that you have what it takes to be the president. You have what it takes to be in that next role that, that um, uh, whatever the next step in your career progression would be, or maybe even, you know, leap forward <laugh> few steps beyond that when you can demonstrate that you understand the problem and you have solutions and ideas to help address that problem in a very actionable way. So in terms of making the case itself, you're wondering, okay, but this is great. I understand, I understand the concept of creating demand. I have a better understanding of, um, giving value ahead of time. But you still curious. I I'm still curious, how do you make the case?

(18:21):
I think the best advice I can share is from my own experience of signing clients through my one-on-one consultations, which of course, you know, you can also sign up for if you would like. And here's the thing, in my consultations, I help the client paint a vivid picture in their minds where the case is made in their mind. Yeah. And I think really good negotiation, really good marketing, really good persuasion is about helping the person, the deciders, see that picture very vividly in their mind. And the key step to doing this is bringing curiosity and asking open-ended questions. So I'm going to tell you exactly what happens in my consultations. Okay? Here's what I do in my consultations. I approach the conversation not as a way for me to make more money, but as a way to help the client and myself see whether there is mutual fit.

(19:30):
If there is no mutual fit, we end the call as simple as that ahead of the conversation, I coach myself so that I'm not bringing this needy, like, oh, I need to sign this client, kind of like this graspy energy. I assure you that kind of energy repels, not attracts clients. It is the opposite of bringing that calm confidence you want to bring to a negotiation. And I know this from experience, experience, I have learned this lesson the hard way. Instead, I focus on treating the consultation as if it is a paid session. Now, this doesn't mean that I give a free session, okay? Instead, it, it's, I'm talking more about the mindset. I'm talking about. I'm a hundred percent focused on delivering value, right? This is why I talk about self-advocacy, being an act of service, right? And giving value ahead of time within that conversation.

(20:39):
So like a doctor, in the consultation conversation, I ask my client open intake questions, open curious questions so that I understand, I hear from her what her specific problems, her specific challenges, her specific obstacles are. I of course also ask open questions about the results she wants to create in her career, the results she wants to have in her life by gaining greater confidence, more self-assuredness and strategic self-advocacy skills. So I'm just gonna pause here and just recommend that whether again, whether you are an entrepreneur, an entrepreneurial employee, or just an employee who wants to get promoted, really start building the skill of getting curious and asking more open questions to the people. So the deciders to the stakeholders influencers, right? You really wanna understand what's going on in their minds. You wanna have an understanding of what their struggles are. So back to the consultation, inside the conversation after I have asked open intake questions, if and only if we have both find there's a mutual fit, meaning I can hope this client and she would benefit, she would clearly benefit from the tools that I teach, then only then I walk her through the specific tools and processes I offer my paying clients.

(22:18):
So in a sense, I give her a sort of diagnosis, it's like a short prescription, if you will. And that short prescription is like this. It's that one missing piece in the puzzle, that one piece that would get her to overcoming her problems in achieving her desired results. So let's get, you know, let's, um, uh, let's give you an example. So the client says, yeah, I can see how the tools that you are offering me the tools to rewire my brain, the process of strategic self-advocacy in coming up with a communication plan and the coaching so that I have support to feel and genuinely get more confident in myself. Yeah. I see how those things that you're offering me will help me feel less anxious at work. It will help me stop ruminating about that conversation with that particular executive. At 11:00 PM when I'm trying to fall asleep, I can see myself being ready.

(23:34):
I can see myself feeling calm and confident asking for a promotion and the raise, and I can see myself carrying that confidence to other areas of my life, to my personal relationships, to my family relationships, to my romantic relationships. And I can see how the tools that I learned inside this coaching container, I'm gonna take it with me for the rest of my life so that I can take it with me to the directorship, to the VP position, to the c e o office, to the C-suite. Yeah, I can see it. When the client can see it, the case is made in her mind because it's very clear to her what I offer, the services that I offer are going to deliver way more value than the price of the investment. So, so to recap, if you wanna double your rate, here's what I recommend. Create demand

(24:32):
By giving value ahead of time. Get very strategic. And if you are an employee, think about how to manage up in a smart and strategic way, demonstrating that you have the mastery skill insight, right? You're like the doctor who's offering a diagnosis that provides so much relief, reassurance, yeah. And you make a case quote unquote by painting a vivid picture that is in your client's mind, that is in the mind of the decision maker. They can see how what you offer, the solutions that you offer will help them get value that's way bigger than what you are asking for. If you can imagine it, you can do it. I hope you found this helpful and, um, I look forward to talking with some of you very soon.

(25:28):
If you enjoy this podcast, come to jamie lee coach.com, j a m i e l e e c o a c h.com to get your free ebook. How to ask for a big pay raise and get it. And if you want expert guidance in your corner to help you achieve greater self-confidence and greater career satisfaction as you grow your skills in negotiating, leading, and influencing as a woman professional, I invite you to book your free one-on-one sales call with me to find out how executive coaching can help you do exactly that. The link is in the show notes, talk soon.