This story may be apocryphal, but it is valuable nonetheless.
Pablo Picasso, the painter, was dining at a fancy restaurant in New York City. A fan, feeling prominent enough socially to introduce herself to Mr. Picasso, did precisely that. Standing by Picasso’s table, the socialite gushed how thrilled she was to meet the great artist; how she loved his work; and blah-blah-blah. Encouraged by Mr. Picasso’s polite acceptance, the fan begged, “Oh, Mr. Picasso, would you draw me a sketch?”
Picasso grabbed some paper, and with pen and pencil, promptly sketched the waiters passing parfaits. As the woman reached for the sketch, Pablo Picasso said, “Madame. That will be $10,000.” Shocked, she replied, “But that only took you five minutes.” “No, Madame,” replied Picasso, “it took me fifty years.”
Pablo Picasso priced his product to its value, not to its cost of manufacture. He priced his product to its investment value, not to the sum of the cost of the paper plus the ink plus some hourlies wage rate. A painting with the brand name “Picasso”- in signature form – is worth more than a similar- looking painting with the name “McGillicuddy.”
Determine your product’s economic value to the customer and price the product to that value, not to the manufacturing cost.
Learn to price- if not painting -from the Master.
