People pay more for furniture they built themselves

A person is given a blank T-shirt and told to add their own design. Once they are finished, they are asked how much they would be willing to pay for it.

Then that very same t-shirt is given to a second person. They are asked the same question. The only difference is that they had no part to play in the design of the shirt.

The first person is willing to pay more. Every time.

That was a real study run by Martin Schreier, a consumer researcher. He found that people would pay around 113% more (that's over double) for a T-shirt they'd designed themselves compared to the exact same shirt designed by someone else.

People are willing to pay more for something when they have a hand in creating it, even when it's identical to something they didn't.

The same logic can be applied to any creative business. And it might change how you think about your quoting process.

Your existing process probably looks something like this:

The call goes well. The client asks you to send a proposal. So you open a Google Doc or a Canva template, lay out the scope and the price, export a PDF and send it over. That PDF is now the most important thing about you in the eyes of the client. It's the first real thing this client sees with your name on it.

The work might be worth five figures. But it's won with a document that looks like a utility bill.

Now imagine - if instead of a PDF, they receive a link. They open the link and are presented with a fully branded, interactive proposal that the client can customise themselves to their liking. They can choose between different pricing tiers, select add-ons and see the total price update live. They can add notes and questions, and approve the quote all within their browser.

You can probably see what I'm getting at here. Because the client plays a part in the creation of their quote - the science says they are likely to pay more. They don't feel like they're being sold to, because they are the ones in control.

It also establishes you as a business twice your size with real infrastructure and systems. That's a critical early perception for a new client.

Stop treating your proposals as paperwork, and start treating them as sales infrastructure. It's the first thing a new client will judge you on, and sometimes the only thing they really look at before they decide what you're worth. And most people are treating it like an afterthought.

This week's AI workflow builds your very own interactive proposal in as little as 10 minutes. Input your brand details, styling, offer structure & terms. It outputs a beautiful, functional proposal template that you can start using to win real work this afternoon.

The workflow is available to our Made With Machines members. If you're ready to start punching way above your creative weight, and start producing better work in less time using AI - all for less than the cost of 1 billable hour per month - sign up today.

Catch you next week!

Sam

.