What price do you place on excellence? | Casey Brown | TEDxColumbusWomen
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0:17 - 0:19No one will ever pay you
what you're worth. -
0:23 - 0:25No one will ever pay you
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0:25 - 0:26what you're worth.
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0:28 - 0:30They'll only ever pay you
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0:30 - 0:32what they think you're worth,
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0:33 - 0:35and you control their thinking,
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0:36 - 0:37not like this,
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0:38 - 0:40although that would be cool.
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0:40 - 0:41(Laughter)
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0:41 - 0:42That would be really cool.
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0:44 - 0:45Instead, like this:
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0:46 - 0:51clearly defining and communicating
your value are essential -
0:51 - 0:53to being paid well for your excellence.
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0:54 - 0:56Anyone here want to be paid well?
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0:57 - 0:58OK, good,
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0:58 - 1:00then this talk is for everyone.
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1:00 - 1:02It's got universal applicability.
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1:02 - 1:06It's true if you're a business owner,
if you're an employee, -
1:06 - 1:07if you're a job seeker.
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1:07 - 1:09It's true if you're a man or a woman.
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1:10 - 1:14Now, I approach this today through
the lens of the woman business owner, -
1:14 - 1:17because in my work I've observed
that women underprice more so than men. -
1:20 - 1:23The gender wage gap is
a well-traveled narrative in this country. -
1:24 - 1:26According to the Bureau
of Labor Statistics, -
1:26 - 1:32a woman employee earns just 83 cents
for every dollar a man earns. -
1:33 - 1:35What may surprise you
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1:35 - 1:38is that this trend continues
even into the entrepreneurial sphere. -
1:38 - 1:44A woman business owner earns just
80 cents for every dollar a man earns. -
1:45 - 1:47In my work, I've often heard women express
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1:47 - 1:50that they're uncomfortable
communicating their value, -
1:50 - 1:52especially early on in business ownership.
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1:54 - 1:55They say things like,
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1:55 - 1:57"I don't like to toot my own horn."
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1:58 - 2:00"I'd rather let the work
speak for itself." -
2:01 - 2:02"I don't like to sing my own praises."
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2:03 - 2:07I hear very different narratives
in working with male business owners, -
2:07 - 2:10and I think this difference
is costing women 20 cents on the dollar. -
2:12 - 2:14I'd like to tell you the story
of a consulting firm -
2:14 - 2:17that helps their clients
dramatically improve their profitability. -
2:17 - 2:19That company is my company.
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2:20 - 2:23After my first year in business,
I saw the profit increases -
2:23 - 2:25that my clients were realizing
in working with me, -
2:26 - 2:29and I realized that I needed
to reevaluate my pricing. -
2:30 - 2:33I was really underpriced
relative to the value I was delivering. -
2:34 - 2:37It's hard for me to admit to you,
because I'm a pricing consultant. -
2:37 - 2:39(Laughter)
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2:39 - 2:40It's what I do.
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2:40 - 2:42I help companies price for value,
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2:43 - 2:45but nonetheless, it's what I saw,
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2:45 - 2:49and so I sat down to evaluate my pricing,
evaluate my value, -
2:49 - 2:52and I did that
by asking key value questions. -
2:53 - 2:56What are my clients' needs
and how do I meet them? -
2:57 - 3:01What is my unique skill set that makes me
better qualified to serve my clients? -
3:02 - 3:04What do I do that no one else does?
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3:05 - 3:07What problems do I solve for clients?
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3:08 - 3:09What value do I add?
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3:11 - 3:12I answered these questions
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3:12 - 3:16and defined the value that my clients
get from working with me, -
3:16 - 3:18calculated their return on investment,
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3:18 - 3:21and what I saw was
that I needed to double my price, -
3:22 - 3:23double it.
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3:24 - 3:28Now, I confess to you, this terrified me.
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3:29 - 3:32I'm supposed to be the expert in this,
but I'm not cured. -
3:33 - 3:34I knew the value was there.
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3:34 - 3:36I was convinced the value was there
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3:36 - 3:38and I was still scared out of my wits.
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3:39 - 3:41What if nobody would pay me that?
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3:41 - 3:43What if clients said, "That's ridiculous.
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3:43 - 3:44You're ridiculous."
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3:45 - 3:47Was I really worth that?
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3:48 - 3:50Not my work, mind you, but me.
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3:51 - 3:53Was I worth that?
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3:57 - 4:00I'm the mother of two beautiful
little girls who depend upon me. -
4:03 - 4:04I'm a single mom.
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4:05 - 4:07It's all up to me.
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4:09 - 4:10What if my business fails?
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4:14 - 4:15What if I fail?
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4:22 - 4:24But I know how to take my own medicine,
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4:25 - 4:28the medicine that I
prescribe to my clients. -
4:28 - 4:30I had done the homework.
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4:30 - 4:31I knew the value was there.
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4:32 - 4:33So when prospects came,
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4:35 - 4:38I prepared the proposals
with the new higher pricing -
4:38 - 4:39and sent them out
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4:39 - 4:40and communicated the value.
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4:42 - 4:43How's the story end?
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4:44 - 4:46Clients continued to hire me
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4:46 - 4:48and refer me and recommend me,
and I'm still here. -
4:50 - 4:52And I share this story
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4:52 - 4:54because doubts and fears
are natural and normal. -
4:55 - 4:57But they don't define our value
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4:57 - 4:59and they shouldn't limit
our earning potential. -
5:02 - 5:04I'd like to share another story,
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5:04 - 5:06about a woman who learned
to communicate her value -
5:06 - 5:08and found her own voice.
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5:09 - 5:12She runs a successful
web development company -
5:12 - 5:13and employs several people.
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5:14 - 5:17When she first started her firm
and for several years thereafter, -
5:17 - 5:20she would say, "I have
a little web design company." -
5:21 - 5:24She'd actually use
those words with clients. -
5:24 - 5:25"I have a little web design company."
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5:27 - 5:28In this and in many other small ways,
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5:28 - 5:32she was diminishing her company
in the eyes of prospects and clients, -
5:32 - 5:34and diminishing herself.
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5:35 - 5:38It was really impacting her ability
to earn what she was worth. -
5:39 - 5:42I believe her language and her style
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5:42 - 5:44communicated that she didn't believe
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5:45 - 5:46she had much value to offer.
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5:48 - 5:51In her own words, she was practically
giving her services away. -
5:52 - 5:55And so she began her journey
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5:55 - 5:58to take responsibility
for communicating value to clients -
5:58 - 5:59and changing her message.
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6:01 - 6:02One thing I shared with her
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6:02 - 6:04is that it's so important
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6:04 - 6:06to find your own voice,
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6:06 - 6:08a voice that's authentic and true to you.
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6:08 - 6:12Don't try to channel your sister-in-law
just because she's a great salesperson -
6:12 - 6:15or your neighbor who tells a great joke
if that's not who you are. -
6:16 - 6:18Give up this notion
that it's tooting your own horn. -
6:18 - 6:20Make it about the other party.
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6:20 - 6:23Focus on serving and adding value,
and it won't feel like bragging. -
6:25 - 6:27What do you love about what you do?
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6:27 - 6:29What excites you
about the work that you do? -
6:29 - 6:33If you connect with that, communicating
your value will come naturally. -
6:35 - 6:37So she embraced her natural style,
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6:37 - 6:39found her voice and changed her message.
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6:40 - 6:44For one thing, she stopped calling herself
a little web design company. -
6:44 - 6:48She really found a lot of strength
and power in communicating her message. -
6:50 - 6:52She's now charging three times
as much for web design -
6:52 - 6:54and her business is growing.
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6:55 - 6:57She told me about a recent meeting
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6:57 - 6:59with a gruff and sometimes
difficult client -
6:59 - 7:03who had called a meeting questioning
progress on search engine optimization. -
7:04 - 7:05She said in the old days,
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7:05 - 7:08that would have been
a really intimidating meeting for her, -
7:08 - 7:09but her mindset was different.
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7:09 - 7:13She said, she prepared the information,
sat down with the client, -
7:13 - 7:16said this isn't about me,
it's not personal, -
7:16 - 7:17it's about the client.
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7:17 - 7:20She took them through the data,
through the numbers ... -
7:22 - 7:26laid out the trends and the progress
in her own voice and in her own way, -
7:26 - 7:29but very directly said,
"Here's what we've done for you." -
7:29 - 7:32The client sat up and took notice,
and said, "OK, I got it." -
7:34 - 7:36And she said in describing that meeting,
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7:36 - 7:39"I didn't feel scared or panicky
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7:39 - 7:41or small,
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7:42 - 7:43which is how I used to feel.
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7:44 - 7:47Instead I feel like, "OK, I got this.
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7:48 - 7:51I know what I'm doing. I'm confident."
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7:54 - 7:56Being properly valued is so important.
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7:56 - 7:58You can hear in this story
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7:58 - 8:01that the implications
range far beyond just finances -
8:01 - 8:05into the realm of self-respect
and self-confidence. -
8:06 - 8:10Today I've told two stories,
one about defining our value -
8:10 - 8:13and the other about
communicating our value, -
8:13 - 8:16and these are the two elements
to realizing our full earning potential. -
8:16 - 8:18That's the equation.
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8:19 - 8:21And if you're sitting
in the audience today -
8:21 - 8:24and you're not being paid
what you're worth, -
8:24 - 8:26I'd like to welcome you
into this equation. -
8:28 - 8:31Just imagine what life could be like,
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8:31 - 8:33how much more we could do,
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8:33 - 8:35how much more we could give back,
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8:35 - 8:37how much more we could
plan for the future, -
8:37 - 8:39how validated and respected we would feel
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8:40 - 8:43if we could earn our full potential,
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8:43 - 8:45realize our full value.
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8:46 - 8:48No one will ever pay you
what you're worth. -
8:49 - 8:52They'll only ever pay you
what they think you're worth, -
8:52 - 8:53and you control their thinking.
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8:54 - 8:55Thank you.
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8:55 - 9:02(Applause)
- Title:
- What price do you place on excellence? | Casey Brown | TEDxColumbusWomen
- Description:
-
Pricing consultant Casey Brown opens this talk with an alarming premise: no one will ever pay you what you’re worth. The good news? Casey goes on to communicate key learnings, amassed from years of working with business owners, which outline how to be paid well for your excellence.
Because women business owners earn just $0.80 for every dollar male business owners earn, Casey presents this talk through the lens of the woman business owner, but these challenges and principles carry serious implications for men and women alike, and for business owners as well as employees and job seekers.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 09:03
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for What price do you place on excellence? | Casey Brown | TEDxColumbusWomen | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for What price do you place on excellence? | Casey Brown | TEDxColumbusWomen | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for What price do you place on excellence? | Casey Brown | TEDxColumbusWomen | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for What price do you place on excellence? | Casey Brown | TEDxColumbusWomen |