The counterintuitive truth about charging more
- Erin Stubbs
- Oct 20, 2025
- 5 min read
In Robert Cialdini's book "Influence," there's a fascinating story about a jewelry store owner who couldn't sell her turquoise pieces despite being in the middle of tourist season.
Frustrated and heading out of town, she scribbled a quick note for her assistant:
"Everything in this display case, price × 1/2"
When she returned a few days later, she discovered every piece had sold out. "Of course, it was mispriced," she thought.
But it wasn't what she imagined.
Her assistant had misread the note. Instead of cutting prices in half, she'd doubled them.
And that's what made the tourists buy.
Robert Cialdini calls this the "click-whirr" response (like an automatic tape player in our minds.)
When we see a higher price (click), our brain instantly assumes higher quality (whirr).
Without giving it any conscious thought.
It’s worth noting, that in this case, literally nothing else changed.
Now, I'm not telling you this story so you'll randomly double your prices tomorrow.
But if you can genuinely deliver great branding work and results for your clients, you need to understand that the reverse is true as well.
Low price (click) signals low quality. Cheap signals risk (whirr).
And when clients are making important business decisions, they don't want risk. They want certainty.
I experienced this firsthand with a recent client.
They had reached out after a $3,200 disaster with two other designers
They'd spent four months and over $3,000 trying to get their B2B rebrand right:
$1,500 with a freelance designer
$1,700 with a full-fledged agency
Still no clear direction, wrong market positioning, and other projects being delayed
Now if this client had reached out to a generic designer and provided this info on the discovery call, the designer might think: "Maybe that's their budget. Something less than $2,000."
And because of this, they would immediately start justifying, defending, or worse, dropping their prices.
All from the lens of trying to be "more competitive."
Why? Because generic designers operate from fear.
fear of losing the client,
fear of being "too expensive,"
fear of not being worth it.
I am pretty sure that if I did that, I’d have lost this client.
Because they had already been burned by two cheaper designers. If I had tried to undercut those prices out of fear, I would have positioned myself as 'more of the same' and as a matter of fact, dragged myself down to compete on the price.
But instead, I chose to position myself as a “solution to the problem”
You see, both previous designers that my client worked with, had positioned them as B2C when the brief clearly stated B2B repositioning.
The visual identity reflected this misstep, and because there wasn’t enough depth in the strategy stage, the designs missed the mark.
Using this information, I designed the discovery call to focus on three things:
Uncovering the real issue (wrong market positioning)
Clarifying their vision (what they actually needed)
Understanding their pain point (tired of wasting time and money)
By doing so, I was the expert in this conversation who wanted to dig deeper on what went wrong, how they perceived their previous experience, and what they wanted from this project.
When I asked about budget, they said: "We just want to pay to get it right."
I quoted $12,000-$14,000 for the project scope.
There was initial hesitation since it was significantly higher than their previous experiences.
But ultimately, the higher price gave them confidence and reassurance to move forward.
They wanted to invest properly to solve this once and for all.
The higher price didn't scare them away. It reassured them.
When you charge appropriately for your expertise, you signal that you:
Understand the true value of what you provide
Have enough demand that you don't need to compete on price
Are confident in your ability to deliver results
And in my opinion, you don’t increase your prices by “adding more years” in your design experience.
To start charging your worth, you need to shift how you think about money.
Because the sad thing about being a cheap alternative is that no one cares about the 2nd cheapest option.
Which is why I am sharing the 4 mindset shifts you need to transition from competing on price and racing to the bottom to being a trustworthy designer who’s capable of delivering outcomes.
Mindset Shift #1: Business owners think differently about spending than your friends
Most designers are afraid to charge higher because they don't personally know anyone who would pay those amounts.
But, you often forget that your friends and family buy things with personal money.
Business owners invest company money to solve business problems.
These are completely different spending contexts.
A business owner spending $10,000 on strategy and branding isn't thinking "I could buy a nice vacation with this money." They're thinking "This investment needs to generate $50,000 in additional revenue."
Mindset Shift #2: Higher price positions you as the expert who can get it right
When clients have already been burned by cheaper options, your higher price becomes reassurance, not a barrier.
It signals that you're the specialist they should have hired first, not the budget option they're settling for.
My client didn't hesitate because the price was "worth it." They moved forward because the price confirmed I was the right person to fix their $3,200 mistake.
Mindset Shift #3: If you want to charge higher, you must say no to those who can't afford you
Ferrari doesn't negotiate with customers who want a sports car for the price of a Honda.
They maintain their positioning by being selective about who they serve.
The same applies to your design business. You can't command higher fees while also accepting every budget that comes your way.
If a client thinks you’re too expensive and you’re not the right fit, you need to realise: they’re not the right fir for you either.
Say no.
It’ll help you protect the positioning that allows you the space and time to find the right clients.
(FYI: if you are just starting out, you can ignore this, take any client that comes your way and get those reps in)
Mindset Shift #4: Focus on outcomes, not deliverables
Generic Designers sell logos, brand guidelines, and design files.
Strategic Brand Designers sell business transformation, market differentiation, and revenue growth.
When you shift the conversation from "what you're making" to "what you're solving," price becomes secondary to results.
My client came to me because their positioning problem was delaying multiple business initiatives. They needed someone who could understand their market, fix their strategic foundation, and get their other projects back on track.
The design files were just the vehicle for delivering that business solution.
That’s it!
If you've been competing on price instead of value, start with one simple change:
Stop justifying your rates.
The next time someone mentions finding cheaper options, don't defend or explain. Simply say: "I understand price is a consideration. Based on what you've shared about your goals, here's why this investment makes sense for your business..."
Then redirect the conversation back to outcomes.
You'll be amazed how this one shift changes the entire dynamic of your client conversations.
Because when you stop acting like the budget option, clients stop treating you like one.
Chat soon,
Abi 😊
PS...
If you're thinking, "But Abi, how can I focus on outcomes when all I do is design logos?"
The answer lies within the question.
If you want to charge higher prices and attract clients who value expertise, you need to go beyond just offering logos. You need to understand how to create an asset that solves real business problems.
That's exactly what I teach in Strategic Brand Identity Lab.
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