“I recently raised my fee to $2,000 from $1,500,” he said. “But I didn’t want anyone to balk, so here’s what I do: I tell them my new fee is $2,200, but I’m giving them a courtesy discount to $2,000.”
Sometimes my curiosity gets the best of me, I admit, so I asked him whether people bought the “courtesy discount” line.
“Sure, sure,” he enthused. “I use any number of reasons, like because your mother referred you, because you’re a returning client, because you caught me in a good mood— you name it, I’ll say it.”
I smiled at that point, just to be polite. He took that as encouragement and went on. “Really, you should try this. Everybody I try this on hires me. They all think they are getting a bargain!”
