People Love to Give You Money—But You Have to Ask!
A Lesson in Negotiating from “The Wealthy Spirit”

“Everything is worth what its purchaser will pay for it.”—Albert Einstein 

Sarah Edwards, with her husband Paul, has written many books on creating the life you want to live, including Working from Home, Secrets of the Self-Employed, and The Practical Dreamer’s Handbook.

Years ago, she called me to say that a local department store was looking for speakers for a series of events and she had given them my name.

I thanked her for alerting me to the opportunity, and when they contacted me, the department store representative asked what my fee was.

When I said, “$1,500,” she explained that it was a trial program and they didn’t have a large budget. But it would be great publicity and exposure for me in my local area.

Would I be willing to negotiate my fee? I agreed, and discounted my speaking fee to $1,000. 

Sarah called me back a few hours later and said that they were asking her to speak as well, and wanted to know the amount of fee they were willing to pay.

Speaking fees are very diverse, and it is often difficult for speakers to know what kind of budget the company has in mind. If you ask for too little, you don’t look professional and if you ask for too much, you can price yourself out of the market. 

I was happy to share with her my negotiations with them, since she had gotten me the job.

She called me back two days later, laughing on the phone. She said she just had to tell me this story! 

Knowing that I had lowered my price for the department store event, and figuring they would try to negotiate with her as well, she decided to ask for more to begin with. 

So she told them her price was $2,000 and settled for $1,500.

But that wasn’t all. The next day, another friend who had also agreed to speak for them called Sarah to compare notes on pricing, too. That woman had said her price was $3,500 and settled for $2,500! It was a perfect lesson in negotiating. 

Look again at your price. Who picked that number?

Chellie Campbell, Financial Stress Reduction Expert, is the author of bestselling books The Wealthy Spirit, Zero to Zillionaire, and most recently From Worry to Wealthy: A Woman’s Guide to Financial Success Without the Stress. She is widely quoted in major media including Redbook, Good Housekeeping and more than 50 popular books. She has been treating Money Disorders like Spending Bulimia and Income Anorexia in her Financial Stress Reduction® Workshops for over 25 years. Her website is www.chellie.com.