How To Charge Top Dollar For Your Design Services (With Case Study)

Have you ever heard of a Nobel Prize winner by the name of Richard Thaler?

Back in the 80’s he conducted a famous thought experiment that fundamentally changed our understanding of price and value. 

He got a group of students together and asked them to imagine the following scenario:

He said, I want you to imagine that you’re lying on the beach on a hot summer day and then one of your friends turns to you and says;

“How much are you prepared to pay for a bottle of your favorite beer from the run-down grocery store that we passed on the way to the beach”

To his surprise, the average response was just $1.50 (it was the 80’s!!!).

So he repeated the question only this time with a slight twist.

He swapped the words “run-down grocery store” for “fancy resort” and once again asked:

“How much are you prepared to pay for a bottle of your favorite beer from the “fancy resort” that we passed on the way to the beach”

On this occasion, students responded with a much higher price tag!

Now students were willing to pay $2.65!!!

Now just so we’re clear, it's the same bottle of your favorite beer being consumed in the same location (on the beach) so why the 76% increase in price?

It doesn’t matter why!

As Architects selling design services all we need to know is that it’s not what you sell, it’s how you sell it. 

If you want to charge premium fees you need to change the user experience.

This may sound a little woo-woo so let me give you a real-life example:

Payless Shoes (Case Study):

Payless Shoes is an American shoe store that’s famous for its affordable footwear, (hence the name Payless Shoes)!

In 2018, they decided to test Richard Thaler's thought experiment in the real world.

They set up a high-end-looking store in Beverly Hills. 

They gave it a luxury Italian name "Pallessi," and then they filled it with the same ‘affordable’ footwear they sell in their regular stores.

Can you guess what happened?

Yes, that’s right!

Once they changed the customer experience, they were able to change the prices customers were willing to pay.

Customers were now happily shelling out over $600 for shoes that were retailing for $20 to $40 in their regular stores.

That's approximately 20X the original price!!!

So it just goes to show: It’s not what you sell it’s how you sell it!

If you want to charge premium fees you’ll need to change the client experience.

So join us at the Architects Mastermind Class where we’ll be sharing examples from Architects who’ve changed the user experience and achieved incredible results. 

CLICK THE LINK FOR DETAILS: https://blueturtlemc.com/mastermind-group-for-architects/

We hope to see you on the inside.

Thank you for reading this far.

Warm regards,

Ian Motley

Co-Founder 

Blue Turtle Consulting