How to Avoid Being Seen as Too Expensive or Overqualified

Do you come off as being too expensive or overqualified?

I met with a client yesterday and she told me of a conversation she had with one of her clients.

She’s working on a marketing campaign for the first time with this client. He told her that he’d looked into reaching out to her on two separate occasions before, but he thought she was too expensive or overqualified (based on her website), so he never did.

When she inquired into the details of the jobs, she realised that her price would have probably been about the same as what the client paid.

What a pity, right?

It somehow reminded me of a situation years ago, in my career life. I went for a job interview I knew I could excel in but more importantly I knew it was going to be meaningful work for me. And they turned me down.

Building trust and showcasing value to attract the right clients and opportunities.

When I asked for feedback, they said I was overqualified. They worried the job wouldn’t be challenging enough, hence I would not stick around too long.

Also a pity. I was excited about this job and I knew I would be more than committed as I was passionate about the field.

Have you been in either one of these situations?

How do you not put off people who assume you are either too expensive or too qualified?