From Abi Connick's email:

Mistake #1: Pitching your “skills/time” instead of “solutions to problems.”

See, most designers accidentally position themselves at the bottom of the value ladder by saying things like:

“I have X years of experience in logo design…” “My logo packages start at…” “I can create your brand identity…”

Because they don’t realise something.

No business owner wakes up thinking “I need a logo today!”

What they’re really thinking is:

“I’m losing clients to X (competitor) whose IG looks cooler than mine” “My current brand makes me look cheap, so I can’t charge premium prices”
"I can’t seem to stand out enough to attract clients without spending a fortune on ads"

The “I need a new logo” is almost always an afterthought.

But I’m not blaming anyone. I get it.

Most designers “fall into” the world of freelancing and for most part, did not care about any of this. They focus working purely on “design”.

What they don’t realise is–when you start running a design business, things change.

You’re not just creating. You’re selling.

And if you’re like most designers I know (including my past self), you know way more about designing than selling.

So you talk about what you know and think that is what sells.

And that’s where you lose

Every time you pitch your skills, experience, or time, you’re essentially saying: “Hey, I see you need a logo. I can make that for you.”

And in that single moment, you’ve already lost.

Because you’re playing a game you can’t win.

There will always be someone with

• more experience

• a bigger portfolio

• lower price

But here’s the thing:

Your clients don’t have a design problem.

They have a business problem that they think design can solve.

When a client says “We need a new logo,” they’re really saying: “Our market doesn’t see us the way we want to be seen.”

When they say “Our brand needs refreshing,” they mean:

”We keep losing clients to competitors who look more professional than us”

When they request “Just a simple website update,” what they’re actually saying is: “Our conversion rates are dropping and we don’t know why.”

Let me show you this via two different conversations:

The Task-Doer

Client:“Hey, I need a new logo for my business.”

The Task-Doer:“Great! I have 5 years of experience in logo design. Here’s my portfolio. My packages start at $500.”

Now imagine what happens when you understand this deeper layer.

The Strategic Brand Designer

Client:“Hey, I need a new logo for my business.”

Strategic Brand Designer:“I took a look at your business before our call. Your ads are showing up in my Instagram feed, and I noticed something interesting. Every time your brand appears – your ads, your social media, your website – it looks like a different business. This inconsistency is making it harder for people to trust and remember you. Which results in less $$$.

Potential customers see your ad, visit your profile, check your website – and each time, they’re getting a different impression of who you are and how you can help them.

I know this because I help businesses like yours solve this exact problem. Doing so will build stronger brand recognition and engagement resulting in better conversions. Would you like to know more?”

...

See the difference?

Now would you say the two are comparable?

Now do you think design is going to be seen as “an expense”?

No, because a Strategic Brand Designer solves problems that any business owner will WANT to invest in.

These are the real problems that real businesses solve. Design solves.

And the design skill itself barely changes.

What changes is how you approach the design and how you communicate that to your potential clients.

You’re not just creating a logo – you’re helping a business become the go-to choice in their industry.

You’re not just refreshing a brand – you’re building a system that helps a business compete at a higher level.

You’re not just updating a website – you’re creating a conversion engine that generates real revenue.

How you can avoid this mistake

• Design solutions that move bottom lines. ​
  When you see beyond the surface-level request to the deeper business challenge, every design decision becomes strategic – because you’re not just making things look good, you’re solving problems that impact revenue and growth.

• Sell transformation, not execution. ​
  When you articulate business solutions instead of design features, you transform how clients see your work. The same brand assets, presented as tools for attracting premium clients, become infinitely more valuable than when they’re presented as “professional designs.”

• Position yourself as the revenue driver, not the cost center. ​
  When you combine problem-solving with powerful communication, you’re no longer an expense to be minimized. You become an investment in their business growth, and that’s what makes the difference between charging $500 and $15,000 for your work.

When you solve better problems, you become worth more. Simple as that.

And that’s why I believe I’ve cracked the code of helping businesses solve better problems by creating a packaged service - Strategic Brand Identity.