Money is a funny old thing. It makes the world go round we are told. And we are assured it doesn’t bring you happiness. But then nor does a lack of money in my experience!!

Money definitely comes with a lot of hang-ups.  Remember how your parents used to stop talking about money when you came into the room? They told you that ‘money doesn’t grow on trees’ and that you needed to work hard to earn it. Your granny probably told you it was the root of all evil!

Which means that we have a lot of baggage when it comes to asking customers for their money. Lots of ‘I’m not worth it’ and ‘if it comes too easy, it can’t be proper work’. Most of my clients tell me they struggle when it comes to closing a sale because they don’t like talking about money. And negotiating?! Forget it!!

We tend to think that others have the same issues and attitudes to money as we do and then overlay that on to our own businesses. If I have a £1 for everyone who has assured me that ‘my customers won’t pay that’ … well, I’d have a lot more money wouldn’t I?!!

I spoke with a young lady at the start of her business career the other day – she helps people in the social media arena and is charging her regular customers only £10 an hour!! I told her she’d be better off getting a cleaning job – none of the overheads and regular hours!

Her reasoning … she wasn’t ‘worth’ more. Why would anyone pay her £25 an hour when she was only 23? – with a degree and very good at what she does, btw.

I did a talk recently where I showed an example of the single and double suites soon to be available in Singapore Airlines new A380 fleet. The cost for a return flight to Singapore for me and Mr Day – £19,000 … compared to £1040 if we went via economy!  

Audible gasps in the room.  

But yes, there are people out there who will pay £19,000 to go on exactly the same airplane as you, via the same airport, endure the same delays, the same in-flight weather and arrive at the same time as you. And I promise you, they have a very different attitude to money to you and me.

We all want clients who are prepared to invest the right amount of money in the thing that we do. The people who spend the most typically value what we do more and appreciate the benefit of good service the most. Cheap people tend to treat you and what you do … well, cheaply.

The lesson? Recognise your money issues for what they are … yours. Not mine. And not your customers. Because if YOU don’t value what you do, I promise you, neither will they.