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I didn't get the bid but I sure learned a lot about how I can and must value what I have to offer. How do we make that shift, that shift that keeps us from underselling ourselves, or our services, or even our expectations. Know how much you know This was a bid to write a teleclass for someone else. I've written tons of teleclasses for myself and have been asked if I would consider writing for others but I never perused it. So I decided to bid on this opportunity. Now I've been well trained, I'm a Certified Teleclass Leader and I'm experienced and through the years I have added creative elements to my teleclasses so the students get great value. This project was based on a 52 page book. If part of the teleclass series is to read the book - guess what -you've gotta add more content. And because it's a learning environment you have to create experientials that help the students own the material. That comes out of my brain, my knowledge, my background, my experience. And that has great value. Do it right Giving a teleclass is not just about talking and hanging out. It's about offering more than they expect; it's about organizing your content so they get it! So that they go away with a shift in their awareness. And that takes planning. And knowledge. And insights. And thought. And that has great value. So in my bid I added all the small things I know how to do to build community and keep the learning process going. It is very effective. Bid its true value It's tricky to bid copy writing. You really don't know in advance how long it will actually take you. A copy writing colleague of mine suggested I bid by the day or half day. That allows for whatever takes longer than you figured on. Then she told me to decide what I wanted to earn per day and create the bid. One other thing influenced my bid. This is material that can be repeated over and over after it is created so it has a long shelf life. It will keep on generating income. I considered that in setting my price. List the extras In my bid I listed all the extras - my own teleclass template, the community building material and on the bid simply marked it "included." That clearly indicated the extra value I was providing. See what new doors it opens But here's the big gift - it opened up a new place of service for me. I put my copy writing and content editing services back on my web site and wrote a sales page about creating teleclass and workshop curriculum for others based on what I decided and discovered while creating this bid. When other people ask you to do something for them - listen. See if it's what you love to do, see if it's profitable and add it to y our services if it would be fun to do. Value what you know It turns out I had a bigger vision than the person looking for a bid, or maybe a greater sense of the value I had to offer when I start bringing everything I know into a project. I could have lowered my bid, or taken things out - but that wouldn't have made it as top notch as I want all my work to be. I don't want to settle I want to play big and bigger. And you know what, a few days later I was hired for a really big curriculum development project by someone who knows my value and values what I know. © 2009 Feel free to reprint this article if you include the following: Cara Lumen, MA, Your Idea Optimizer helps you turn your ideas into steady profit. As a business developer, content developer and educator, Cara helps you make money from what you already know. You can learn more about how to put your wisdom to work through her radio show www.blogtalkradio.com/passioantelyonpurpose and her Passionately On Purpose emagazine at www.caralumen.com
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Cara Lumen |