Welcome back to another edition of Unthreaded.
This week can get a bit uncomfortable because it deals with the private battles many of us have when it comes to running a business.
And it's why the current state of it is a direct reflection of how you think, what you believe about yourself, and why your pricing is the place it usually shows up first.
Hear me out on this one.
So we recently needed to hire a production team locally for a client that required a ton of content for an upcoming launch.
One of the teams we talked to got the full scope up front: everything from the number of cameras that were needed, to the audio and lighting requirements, time onset, and all the shots that we had to get. It was a ton of work and they knew that going in.
But when their quote came in way lower than everyone else's, it scared the hell out of me.
When a price comes in that far below after we’re all clear on scope, it tells me a couple things. Either you’re…
1) Not ready for this kind of project, or
2) You're not sure you can pull it off.
Their price screamed that they were unsure of themselves. So I couldn't move forward with them, off the pricing alone. It was just too big of a risk.
I don’t mean to be judgey because I've been on the other side of that quote before. Matter of fact, I was no stranger to negotiating myself out of deals all the time. Now don’t get me wrong, there's a time and a place for that. Especially when you're new, looking to build up your portfolio and reputation.
But once you've stacked case studies and have gotten real results for people, but raising your prices still makes you nervous, then that’s more about the way you view yourself, your brand, and not about the reality of the market in most cases.
Your customer has no idea that conversation is happening. So when they see a number, they’re assessing whether that number is fair according to the value they expect to receive.
And here’s what we sometimes forget: your pricing also says a lot about your brand. Before someone experiences the work, pricing helps shape how they perceive it. A higher price doesn’t automatically make you premium, and a lower price doesn’t necessarily mean it's a better value. But it does give a subtle indication of your expertise, confidence, and the caliber of work you deliver.
And that’s what happened with the production team. It was more than just they felt inexpensive. It made me question whether they could handle the project and so the pricing became part of their positioning.
Every aspect of your company is a direct reflection of how you think about it. Pricing is just where this shows up first for many of us.
The parts you feel good about, then it’s likely your mentality around it is probably strong.
For the areas that feel like they’re lacking, then I encourage you to go check your outlook on it.
I'd bet money it's negative.
Your mentality shows up in your leadership, your operations, your sales. Everywhere.
So before you go looking for the next tactic that fixes the lagging part of your business, look at the story you've been telling yourself about it.
This week, you're going to reprice your core offer based on the value it delivers instead of what feels safe to charge.
Copy the prompt below and paste it into Claude (or ChatGPT, or whatever AI tool you use).
You are a pricing advisor who prices work by the value it creates, and you're going to walk me through repricing one offer the value-based way. Right now my pricing is some mix of my costs, my market, and my own comfort level, and I want to price on value instead.
Work through this with me one step at a time, using my real numbers, and don't move on until each step is nailed down.
First, have me pick the offer to reprice and tell you who buys it and what I charge today.
Then help me get concrete about what it's worth to the customer. Dig into what changes for them when the work succeeds: revenue they gain, costs they cut, risk they avoid, time they get back. Push for real numbers from real clients, and when I don't have one, help me estimate it honestly instead of skipping it.
Then have me walk through what it costs them to get that result without me, whether that's a competitor, building it in-house, or doing nothing.
From all of that, put a dollar figure on the value a typical engagement creates and set a price that's a defensible share of it. Show me the math. Give me the new number, how far it sits from my current one, and a two or three sentence justification I could say to a buyer, built on the value we just worked out.
Start with step one.If the number it comes back with makes you uncomfortable, sit with that before you argue with it.
The team we didn't hire lost a real project without ever knowing that price was the reason. Make sure your number isn't quietly doing the same thing to you.
We'll keep building on this next week.
GET MORE FROM UNTHREADED:
Hear the conversations behind the lessons. Heavy on Brand is the podcast hosted by Brian Fitch where he sits down with founders, operators, and people building incredible brands to talk about what it actually takes to grow a business people remember.
Ready to build a brand that works as hard as you do? Carbon Thread is the agency behind Unthreaded. We help companies in the $1M–$50M range build brands, authority, and growth systems that actually move the needle. If you're tired of guessing and ready for a partner, let's talk.
Until next time,
Brian Fitch
CEO, The Carbon Thread
PS: Subscribe to my YouTube channel for videos on how to scale impact and revenue through strategy, storytelling, and media.