Regardless of your intentions, you trained her to believe what your dj service is worth.
I don't accept that proposition at all. If people were making that kind of direct connection then how could I be working with such varied rates to the same customers over and over? In fact, some of my customers don't even know the cost until after the event when I invoice them. Value is a
possession of the buyer not the seller.
Many years ago, I had a similar customer who had paid (guessing) $300 for a DJ. When she called for the same event a year later I gave her the same price but, also mentioned that our rates had increased substantially in the intervening year. Her contract itemized the DJ along with a discount to arrive at her continued price of $300. She called back to complain about the new prices despite the fact that it had
no impact on her at all. In fact, despite being given exactly what she had expected - in protest, she went and hired someone else anyway!
This example, along with experience in many negotiations over the years has taught me that
value is a property owned by the buyer not the seller. The reason the woman above balked at a number that had no affect on her purchase is because it represents a
transfer of power by shifting the role of
assessor from the customer to the seller. The psychology of that perception alone trumps even a $0.00 cost increase.
It is important to allow to the customer to
retain control of the problem they are trying to solve and to assess their own value of the underlying need. (i.e. You will never succeed by valuing their need - you can only assess your inventory of possible solutions and admit that mismatches are always possible.) Your quotations should be a staircase that customers can willingly choose to climb, rather than a qualifying obstacle or wall they must scale. There will always be situations in which a customer is unable to make even that first step but, you must begin with the proposition that they are worthy of your advice and attention, nonetheless.
In that spirit, when I encounter people who's
need dictates a $200 DJ I admit that I'm not equipped to produce that solution but, I will tell them where to look and how to find a good DJ for that price.
NEVER would I suggest that what they want is not available or that they are in any way unworthy of quality.