You Don't Have a Pricing Problem
Oct 05, 2026You have a clarity problem. It happens to be the most profitable one you'll ever fix.
“A million girls would kill for this job.”
— Emily Charlton, Runway magazine
A Confession First
Truth be told, I own this movie. I own the book. I probably watch it with one of my nieces or sisters at least once a year.
And that movie is The Devil Wears Prada.
Don't believe me? I can pick the exact shade of cerulean out of a hundred blue swatches.
It's charming, funny, delightful. But the true story behind it hides one of the greatest branding lessons I know.
The Ninth Choice
For the 2006 film, Anne Hathaway was the ninth choice to play Andy Sachs.
Ninth. Eight actresses ahead of her on the list. The studio couldn't see past The Princess Diaries.
The talent was already there. They just couldn't see it.
Twenty Years Later, One Obvious Choice
The sequel couldn't be made without her. There was no list. There was only Anne Hathaway.
She was paid $12.5 million.
Same actress. Same talent. So what changed?
What the market could see.
Your Buyer Can't See Your Work
That studio isn't unusual.
Your buyers have the same problem.
They can't see your work before they buy it. Not the quality of your thinking, not the care you bring, not the results you'll deliver. All of that is invisible on the day they decide.
They're not buying your work. They're buying what they can see about you before the work begins.
When They Can't Tell the Difference, Price Decides
Put your firm next to your two closest competitors. Same promises. Same words. Trusted partner. Client-first. Tailored solutions.
Your buyer reads all three and can't tell you apart. So they decide on the only thing left that's different.
The number.
That's not a pricing problem. That's a clarity problem showing up at the pricing conversation.
Clarity Takes You Off the List
Once a buyer sees you as different in kind, there's nothing to price-compare you against.
When your value is specific — whom you serve, what you solve, why it works — the buyer stops asking “which of these is cheapest?” and starts asking “is this right for us?”
Those are different conversations. The first one you can only lose. In the second, price doesn't lead.
Real difference doesn't win the comparison. It removes the comparison.
The Decision Happens in Rooms You're Not In
You never hear the most important conversation in your sale.
It happens when the person who wants to hire you has to explain you to someone else. A managing partner. A board. A committee. A spouse.
If they can repeat your value in one clear sentence, they can defend your price. If they can't, they retreat to the number they can defend.
The lowest one.
Clarity gives your champion the words to fight for you when you're not there.
Price Follows the List
On the list, the market sets your price. Off the list, you do.
Every discount you've ever been squeezed into came from the same place: the buyer couldn't see the difference, so they priced you like there wasn't one.
A clear brand doesn't win the price conversation. It ends it.
What Ending the Price Conversation Looks Like
One of my clients, a consulting practice, raised the price of their flagship program by a third this year.
Same program. Same delivery. What changed was how clearly the market could see their value.
The business grew.
What to Try This Week
Think of your three best competitors. The ones you aspire to. The ones everyone talks about.
Now be honest. They charge more than you, don't they?
Then, look at what they're saying. They're probably a lot clearer on who they're for, what they do, and the value they bring to their clients.
They didn't raise their prices and then get clear. They got clear, and the price followed.
Become the Obvious Choice
Your value is already real. Your work is already good. The only question is whether the market can see it.
When it can, you're no longer one name on a list.
You become the Obvious Choice. And a clear brand pays you a premium for years to come.
Branding Changes Everything®
Because clarity changes everything.
