Christine Carrillo: Charge for Expertise, Not Just Time, on LinkedIn

In a recent LinkedIn post, Christine Carrillo discusses the common struggle professionals face when pricing their services, advocating for a shift from hourly rates to value-based pricing rooted in years of expertise.

Carrillo highlights a pervasive issue: many skilled individuals undervalue their contributions, feeling hesitant to charge adequately for abilities honed over extensive periods. She emphasizes that the perceived ease with which experienced professionals perform tasks should not diminish their perceived value.

“Your experience makes it look easy, but that doesn’t make it less valuable.”

The Psychology of Pricing Challenges

According to Christine Carrillo, the difficulty many professionals have with pricing stems from several key factors. She identifies three primary reasons:

1. Focusing on Hours, Not Impact: Carrillo points out that professionals often think in terms of billable hours, a metric that fails to capture the depth of knowledge and years of learning that inform their work. Clients, in turn, may only see the time invested, overlooking the accumulated expertise.
2. Inappropriate Comparisons: The post argues that professionals sometimes compare their pricing to lower-cost providers, leading to a devaluation of their own specialized skills. Carrillo suggests that simply because someone can offer a service cheaper does not mean they are the appropriate benchmark.
3. Underestimating Invisible Work: Carrillo stresses the importance of recognizing the ‘invisible work’ involved in professional services. This includes strategic thinking, complex problem-solving, and the application of deep expertise, elements that are crucial yet not immediately apparent to the client.

Shifting the Value Proposition

Carrillo advocates for a bold stance when clients express concerns about pricing. She shares a direct approach: when a potential client states they want to work with Carrillo but find her services outside their budget, her response is clear.

“Then we have nothing to talk about.”

This firm reply underscores her belief that aligning on value is a prerequisite for engagement. As Christine Carrillo asserts, professionals must be unapologetic about their worth.

Viewing Expertise as an Investment

The core message from Christine Carrillo is a call to reframe how professionals perceive their own value and how clients perceive their services. She argues that expertise should not be viewed as a mere expense but rather as a strategic investment that yields significant results.

“Your expertise isn’t an expense. It’s an investment.”

Carrillo encourages professionals to charge accordingly, ensuring their pricing reflects the substantial value and impact they deliver. She concludes by inviting discussion on pricing justifications and encouraging the sharing of her insights to help other professionals adopt a similar mindset.