A Lesson on Pricing from Picasso

Pricing your services is often much more difficult than just charging, “what the market will bear” don’t you think? After all, what is your talent and knowledge worth? Why are some in your profession able to charge so much? Others so little? Will you seem more attractive to potential customers if you’re perceived to be more affordable?

As you ponder the answers to these questions consider this short story about the painter, Pablo Picasso. It’s a story I first read in Harry Beckwith’s best-selling book, “Selling the Invisible” and wanted to share:

A woman was walking along a Paris street when she noticed Picasso sketching at a café. The woman approached him and asked if he would draw a sketch of her for which she would happily compensate him. Picasso agreed. After a few minutes the sketch was complete and Picasso handed the woman the drawing. She asked what she owed him and he replied, “5,000 francs.” “But it only took you a few minutes” said the woman. “No” Picasso responded, “It took all my life.”

Don’t just charge for the time it takes to solve a problem. Charge for the expertise it takes to “know how.”

This much I know.

-Jeanine