TEDxColumbusWomen
Casey Brown: Know your worth, and then ask for it
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Your boss probably isn't paying you what you're worth -- instead, they're paying you what they think you're worth. Take the time to learn how to shape their thinking. Pricing consultant Casey Brown shares helpful stories and learnings that can help you better communicate your value and get paid for your excellence.
Casey Brown - Pricing consultant
Casey Brown wants people to be paid well for their excellence. Full bio
Casey Brown wants people to be paid well for their excellence. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
No one will ever pay you
what you're worth.
what you're worth.
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No one will ever pay you
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what you're worth.
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They'll only ever pay you
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what they think you're worth.
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And you control their thinking,
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not like this,
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although that would be cool.
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(Laughter)
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That would be really cool.
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Instead, like this:
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clearly defining and communicating
your value are essential
your value are essential
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to being paid well for your excellence.
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Anyone here want to be paid well?
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OK, good,
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then this talk is for everyone.
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It's got universal applicability.
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It's true if you're a business owner,
if you're an employee,
if you're an employee,
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if you're a job seeker.
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It's true if you're a man or a woman.
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Now, I approach this today through
the lens of the woman business owner,
the lens of the woman business owner,
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because in my work I've observed
that women underprice more so than men.
that women underprice more so than men.
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The gender wage gap is
a well-traveled narrative in this country.
a well-traveled narrative in this country.
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According to the Bureau
of Labor Statistics,
of Labor Statistics,
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a woman employee earns just 83 cents
for every dollar a man earns.
for every dollar a man earns.
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What may surprise you
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is that this trend continues
even into the entrepreneurial sphere.
even into the entrepreneurial sphere.
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A woman business owner earns just
80 cents for every dollar a man earns.
80 cents for every dollar a man earns.
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In my work, I've often heard women express
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that they're uncomfortable
communicating their value,
communicating their value,
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especially early on in business ownership.
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They say things like,
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"I don't like to toot my own horn."
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"I'd rather let the work
speak for itself."
speak for itself."
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"I don't like to sing my own praises."
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I hear very different narratives
in working with male business owners,
in working with male business owners,
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and I think this difference
is costing women 20 cents on the dollar.
is costing women 20 cents on the dollar.
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I'd like to tell you the story
of a consulting firm
of a consulting firm
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that helps their clients
dramatically improve their profitability.
dramatically improve their profitability.
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That company is my company.
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After my first year in business,
I saw the profit increases
I saw the profit increases
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that my clients were realizing
in working with me,
in working with me,
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and I realized that I needed
to reevaluate my pricing.
to reevaluate my pricing.
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I was really underpriced
relative to the value I was delivering.
relative to the value I was delivering.
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It's hard for me to admit to you,
because I'm a pricing consultant.
because I'm a pricing consultant.
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(Laughter)
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It's what I do.
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I help companies price for value.
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But nonetheless, it's what I saw,
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and so I sat down to evaluate my pricing,
evaluate my value,
evaluate my value,
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and I did that
by asking key value questions.
by asking key value questions.
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What are my clients' needs
and how do I meet them?
and how do I meet them?
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What is my unique skill set that makes me
better qualified to serve my clients?
better qualified to serve my clients?
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What do I do that no one else does?
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What problems do I solve for clients?
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What value do I add?
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I answered these questions
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and defined the value that my clients
get from working with me,
get from working with me,
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calculated their return on investment,
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and what I saw was
that I needed to double my price,
that I needed to double my price,
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double it.
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Now, I confess to you, this terrified me.
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I'm supposed to be the expert in this,
but I'm not cured.
but I'm not cured.
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I knew the value was there.
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I was convinced the value was there,
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and I was still scared out of my wits.
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What if nobody would pay me that?
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What if clients said, "That's ridiculous.
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You're ridiculous."
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Was I really worth that?
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Not my work, mind you, but me.
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Was I worth that?
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I'm the mother of two beautiful
little girls who depend upon me.
little girls who depend upon me.
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I'm a single mom.
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What if my business fails?
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What if I fail?
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But I know how to take my own medicine,
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the medicine that I
prescribe to my clients.
prescribe to my clients.
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I had done the homework.
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I knew the value was there.
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So when prospects came,
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I prepared the proposals
with the new higher pricing
with the new higher pricing
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and sent them out
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and communicated the value.
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How's the story end?
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Clients continued to hire me
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and refer me and recommend me,
and I'm still here.
and I'm still here.
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And I share this story
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because doubts and fears
are natural and normal.
are natural and normal.
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But they don't define our value,
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and they shouldn't limit
our earning potential.
our earning potential.
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I'd like to share another story,
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about a woman who learned
to communicate her value
to communicate her value
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and found her own voice.
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She runs a successful
web development company
web development company
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and employs several people.
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When she first started her firm
and for several years thereafter,
and for several years thereafter,
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she would say, "I have
a little web design company."
a little web design company."
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She'd actually use
those words with clients.
those words with clients.
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"I have a little web design company."
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In this and in many other small ways,
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she was diminishing her company
in the eyes of prospects and clients,
in the eyes of prospects and clients,
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and diminishing herself.
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It was really impacting her ability
to earn what she was worth.
to earn what she was worth.
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I believe her language and her style
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communicated that she didn't believe
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she had much value to offer.
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In her own words, she was practically
giving her services away.
giving her services away.
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And so she began her journey
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to take responsibility
for communicating value to clients
for communicating value to clients
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and changing her message.
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One thing I shared with her
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is that it's so important
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to find your own voice,
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a voice that's authentic and true to you.
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Don't try to channel your sister-in-law
just because she's a great salesperson
just because she's a great salesperson
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or your neighbor who tells a great joke
if that's not who you are.
if that's not who you are.
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Give up this notion
that it's tooting your own horn.
that it's tooting your own horn.
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Make it about the other party.
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Focus on serving and adding value,
and it won't feel like bragging.
and it won't feel like bragging.
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What do you love about what you do?
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What excites you
about the work that you do?
about the work that you do?
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If you connect with that, communicating
your value will come naturally.
your value will come naturally.
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So she embraced her natural style,
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found her voice and changed her message.
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For one thing, she stopped calling herself
a little web design company.
a little web design company.
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She really found a lot of strength
and power in communicating her message.
and power in communicating her message.
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She's now charging three times
as much for web design,
as much for web design,
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and her business is growing.
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She told me about a recent meeting
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with a gruff and sometimes
difficult client
difficult client
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who had called a meeting questioning
progress on search engine optimization.
progress on search engine optimization.
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She said in the old days,
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that would have been
a really intimidating meeting for her,
a really intimidating meeting for her,
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but her mindset was different.
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She said, she prepared the information,
sat down with the client,
sat down with the client,
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said this isn't about me,
it's not personal,
it's not personal,
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it's about the client.
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She took them through the data,
through the numbers,
through the numbers,
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laid out the trends and the progress
in her own voice and in her own way,
in her own voice and in her own way,
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but very directly said,
"Here's what we've done for you."
"Here's what we've done for you."
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The client sat up and took notice,
and said, "OK, I got it."
and said, "OK, I got it."
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And she said in describing that meeting,
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"I didn't feel scared or panicky
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or small,
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which is how I used to feel.
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Instead I feel like, 'OK, I got this.
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I know what I'm doing. I'm confident.'"
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Being properly valued is so important.
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You can hear in this story
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that the implications
range far beyond just finances
range far beyond just finances
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into the realm of self-respect
and self-confidence.
and self-confidence.
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Today I've told two stories,
one about defining our value
one about defining our value
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and the other about
communicating our value,
communicating our value,
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and these are the two elements
to realizing our full earning potential.
to realizing our full earning potential.
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That's the equation.
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And if you're sitting
in the audience today
in the audience today
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and you're not being paid
what you're worth,
what you're worth,
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I'd like to welcome you
into this equation.
into this equation.
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Just imagine what life could be like,
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how much more we could do,
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how much more we could give back,
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how much more we could
plan for the future,
plan for the future,
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how validated and respected we would feel
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if we could earn our full potential,
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realize our full value.
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No one will ever pay you
what you're worth.
what you're worth.
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They'll only ever pay you
what they think you're worth,
what they think you're worth,
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and you control their thinking.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Casey Brown - Pricing consultantCasey Brown wants people to be paid well for their excellence.
Why you should listen
Casey Brown is a pricing geek and professional speaker. She leads an organization that helps companies improve profits through better pricing. She speaks at conferences, trade associations and networking groups around the world. She is on a mission to correct the injustice of underpricing.
With degrees in chemical engineering, Spanish and business -- and career experience in engineering, Six Sigma and pricing strategy -- Brown uses her expertise to help clients discover their true pricing power. She is fluent in Spanish and holds a US Patent for lightbulb technology she developed.
Brown volunteers more than 600 hours annually around the world, focused on meeting children's basic needs. She volunteers with Drop in the Bucket, a non-profit which drills wells in Africa, with Free to Smile, an organization dedicated to performing cleft lip and palate repair surgeries globally, and with First Descents, a group that provides life-changing outdoor adventures for cancer survivors.
Casey Brown | Speaker | TED.com