Did you spend money or make a financial decision today? If so, think back to the moment you swiped your card, tapped your phone, entered your 16-digit card number, or made that choice. What did you feel?
Were you excited, happy, confident, anxious, stressed, guilty…or just indifferent?
And here’s a bigger question: do you know *why* you felt that way?
When people buy from me, I want them to feel like it’s the best damn money they’ve spent. Every aspect of our time together is designed to reinforce that feeling—whether they’ve paid me three-, four-, or five-figures.
I approach my own purchases the same way. Even when I’m buying something purely functional, like a countertop compost bin, I want the decision to feel good.
That’s because feelings are the human side of pricing—for both the buyer and the seller.
And, in my opinion, far too many people underestimate the power and influence of those feelings.
The Problem With Pricing by the Numbers
Many pricing models focus solely on external factors like cost, competition, and profit margins. Or they rely on oversimplified, “turn-the-knob” formulas like raising prices by 1%.
But these approaches tend to overlook a crucial element: the client’s emotional response.
And that response can create barriers to trust, ultimately hurting your sales.
Think about this: Have you ever hesitated to buy something, unsure why?
Often, it comes down to how the price made you feel—a factor numbers alone can’t capture. Or, it represents a disconnect between the price quoted and the value it communicates.
On the flip side, entrepreneurs often face pressure to avoid seeming “too expensive.” So, you slash your prices without a clear strategy or keep them “accessible,” hoping to attract more clients. And while it might work, the clients you attract often undervalue what you bring to the table—your expertise, experience, and excellence.
The result? Financial stress, frustration, and eventually, burnout.
Making a Case for the Human Side
I had been working on the components of what would become the Pricing Made Human® (PMH) framework over many years. (My trademark became official in 2021.) It is based on my own experiences and what I also observed happening in the businesses of my clients.
You’ve likely heard me share the story of my “aha” moment courtesy of a question:
“When are you going to stop mortgaging your life?”
I was asked this in 2003, by my CPA at the time. I was quite surprised, because he had never asked that before, and we’d been working together a long time (since 1988 on my personal taxes and 1995 on my business taxes).
Shortly after this uncomfortable conversation (for me, anyway), I had a business bill to pay…and didn’t have enough money in my business account to pay it.
So, I did what I had always done when my business account was short; I went to the branch to transfer money – getting a withdrawal slip from my personal savings account and a deposit slip for my business checking account. In that moment, as I’m standing in front of the teller to complete the transaction, I got why Mr. Berthoud asked me what I now dub as “the” question.
And, he was correct: If I didn’t interrupt the pattern of dipping into my savings, selling securities, and increasing my debt load to subsidize my business, I would end up mortgaging my life.
Shifts Happen Over Time
The process of getting my business to where it is now took many years, and in that time, I learned that:
- I was giving my business everything – including my financial future. (Not good, in general, and also, not sustainable.)
- I discovered how severely I was under-charging for my coaching and speaking services.
- I began to notice how the dynamics of some personal relationships were showing up in my sales process.
What I began to notice and acknowledge in myself/business, I also began to recognize in my clients and their businesses. And it turns out, that despite our varied educational, business, expertise, and experiential backgrounds, we were all making a similar and common mistake.
We were struggling to acknowledge our own emotions when it comes to money and pricing and how it shows up in our purchasing choices, let alone being able to pause to consider the emotions of our clients regarding the same when it came to them buying our offers.
No, the irony is not lost on me that I could see the connection between money and emotions more easily when it came to others than I could with myself. Or, that it was easier to see it when it came to saving, investing, spending, and earning, but not pricing.
Actually, until I developed the PMH framework, I, too, took a mathematical approach to the pricing I could control (coaching and speaking). (Note: When I managed money, those fees were regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.)
But what was becoming clearer and clearer, was that there are three sides to pricing: the financial; the emotional; the personal.
And tapping into those sides involves exploring four key relationships: the one you have with money; with yourself; with your business; and with your prospects and clients.
I formalized this into the framework as a way of accounting for the needs, desires, pain points, and emotions of buyers, along with the same for the sellers.
This was my way of honoring the interests of both the buyer and the seller.
Emotions and Pricing: The Invisible Forces at Play
Emotions play a key role in pricing—for both entrepreneurs and their clients, but for very different reasons.
For clients, price is often tied to perception. Higher prices can signal expertise and quality, while lower ones may raise doubts about value or reliability. Think about the last time you hesitated over a purchase: Was the price too high—or did it seem too low to be true?
For entrepreneurs, pricing can stir up an entirely different set of emotions. The idea of charging higher rates might trigger fear of rejection, comparisons to competitors, or even guilt. These feelings can lead to underpricing—a decision that not only impacts revenue but also affects confidence and long-term growth.
Pricing influences more than your bottom line; it shapes how clients feel about investing in your services and how you feel about delivering them. It touches everything, from how you market and sell to how you show up to support your clients.
So, what if money and pricing could feel good—for both you and your clients?
Imagine creating offers that inspire confidence, trust, and excitement on both sides of the transaction.
It’s possible! When every aspect of your work—from innovation to delivery—is aligned with the value you provide, pricing becomes more than a number. It matches with what you’ve imagined, and becomes a reflection of the transformation you create.
