Can you say you're very good at what you do, and really mean it?
How do you feel about blowing your own horn?
What do you feel when someone tells you your work is outstanding? Do you believe them? Or do you think something like, "Hmm, he or she is probably just saying that to be polite"?
Do you recognize your own strengths and talents? Do you believe that you are better at what you do than most other people? Can you accept praise from your peers and your clients?
If you are totally comfortable recognizing your own talents and abilities, good for you.
But a lot of freelancers aren't.
Many freelancers, maybe the majority, hold back when it comes time to recognize and applaud their own expertise.
And this becomes a huge problem when you need to step out and get new business, and then estimate for that business.
If you don't truly believe that you are very good at what you do, your prospective clients will sense you own uncertainty and will be unlikely to give you work. It's pretty risky to outsource to someone who doesn't come over as being confident in his or her own abilities.
Would you hire an accountant who gave the impression that he or she wasn't really that strong with small business accounting?
If you don't carry yourself with confidence as a true expert in your field, you will also have trouble estimating correctly.
If you don't feel confident and suffer from a low self image while working on an estimate, you could very easily estimate $450 for a $2,500 job.
The sad part is, your prospective client was probably expecting a $2,500 estimate. And on some occasions prospects will award the project to someone else, simply because the low figure has undermined their confidence in the quality of work you can do.
How do you get past this inability to feel confident in your own talents and value?
One "trick" I have used for myself is to separate my personal and professional personas.
Whatever insecurities I may have about my own self worth, I put them aside when I sit down to work.
When I am working I wear my professional persona.
I look at the work I have done, the clients I have worked with and the reputation I have built for myself...and create the "Nick Usborne guru persona".
It's not really "me" in many ways, but it does allow me to present myself as a high-value copywriter, speaker and consultant. And it means I can estimate higher because that is what is expected of me.
Why work hard to build the persona of a lion, and then estimate like a mouse?
You need to do the same for yourself.
Leave the mouse at home. At work, be the lion.
Do you want help developing your own professional persona? Find out about my coaching service...
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