When technical competence is no longer enough to grow

And you find yourself competing with those who cost less but know less

Do you recognize this situation?

• You have extremely high technical skills, accumulated over years
• But the client compares you to someone with just a diploma who costs half
• Explaining the difference requires time that no one grants you
• Margins thin because "it's all the same anyway"
• You bill more hours but earn less

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The paradox of invisible competence

You know how to do things that others don't even know exist.

You solve problems that require years of experience.
You avoid errors that others would commit without noticing.
But all this is invisible.

The client sees only the final result: a project, a report, a survey.
And if the result seems identical to that of someone who costs less, why should they pay more?

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What happens when competence isn't valued

On the commercial front:

• Every quote request becomes a race to the bottom
• Price is the only perceived selection criterion
• The best clients go to those who know how to sell, not those who know how to do
• You find yourself justifying every item in the quote

On the operational front:

• You work on underpaid projects to "not lose the client"
• Time for professional updating disappears
• The best team leaves because "you don't grow"
• Quality drops to stay within margins

On the personal front:

• You feel frustrated: you study, you update, and no one recognizes it
• You see less prepared colleagues billing more
• You wonder if it's still worth investing in competence
• You think about giving up and doing "the bare minimum"

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Why it happens

It's not that clients don't appreciate competence.
It's that they don't know how to recognize it.

For them, two technical projects are equal if they both lead to the result.
They don't see:

• The risk avoided
• The problem solved before it happened
• The more efficient solution chosen among 10 possible ones
• The experience that saved time and money

And if they don't see it, they don't pay for it.

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The (wrong) path many try

Apparent solution: Lower the price to compete

But this is a dead end.
The more you lower, the more you attract clients who choose only on price.
The more you work for these clients, the less time you have for those who would value you.

It's a spiral that leads only to exhaustion.

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The 5-step method:

1. Making the invisible visible
   → Document the process, not just the result
   → Make them understand what you avoid, not just what you produce
2. Positioning on specific problems
   → Not "we do projects," but "we solve this precise problem"
   → You become the expert on that problem, not a generic technician
3. Market education
   → Content that explains what distinguishes competence from approximation
   → The client understands even before contacting you
4. Selected clientele
   → You work only with those who appreciate (and pay) the difference
   → You say no to those looking only for the lowest price
5. Value-based pricing
   → You don't sell hours, you sell results and security
   → Price reflects value created, not time spent

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What changes after

You no longer compete on price.
You compete on something only you can offer.

The client chooses you because they know that with you they're safe.
Not because it costs less, but because it costs right for what they get.

Competence finally becomes a commercial asset, not just a technical one.