One of the biggest questions I’ve been getting lately has been about pricing.
If you’re a service provider, I’m betting that at some point you’ve either received an email after you sent a proposal or had someone tell you flatly and outright that you might be out to lunch with your pricing. It’s possible you’ve even had people go radio silent and ghost you once you explain your rates.
If that’s you, congratulations! It means they see tremendous value in what you do.
They are simply uneducated about why it costs what it costs. You’ve got an incredible opportunity here to educate, shore up your systems, and help your audience understand the value they’ll be receiving with their service.
The thing is, sticker shock does not mean you’re overcharging.
It IS a sign that you might not have enough information publicly available for individuals seeking your service to comprehend why it is what it is and that, my friends, is fixable without feeling like you have to discount your service or adjust your numbers.
Long before I pivoted my business into a thriving community I built a LOT of websites. I have a gold medal in the overthinking of my own pricing strategy and I know exactly what I did to turn it all around.
My personal experience was that when someone was surprised at the proposal I delivered, or they had the kahunas to ask for a discount to my face, it was usually because they had a previous experience with a different provider who offered what they considered a similar service for the price they had in their heads.
I realized pretty quickly the best way to avoid this and get clients signed up faster was to put a few things in place to help anyone looking to work with me as many clues as possible before it became awkward.
Here are the things I did to help avoid the awkward pricing conversation:
- I always published “starting at” pricing on my services page. This gives you leeway to go higher in peak periods of demand.
- If I wanted to encourage more people to book a chemistry call (always a first step in my new client discovery process), I added radio boxes with each possible service I provided including the price on my contact form. Before they could submit, they had to choose one from the list. This is a link to an old web design form I once used.
- During my discovery call with a new lead, I would start by asking who, other than them, they’d be running their decision to invest in their service with me by. I wanted to know (before I invested too much of my own time) who else I’d need to convince I’m a pro at what I do. Often just naming this gave us an opportunity to talk about why running it by their partner might not give them the best feedback if they are not their own ideal client.
- I regularly published case studies with outcomes, priorities, and results on my blog and social media. I needed to take the time to break down my projects with timelines, scope, and client results. When new leads read what went into me designing a website, they often understood what I offered was different than what they thought they were getting.
- I showed my process, not just my client’s results, on social media. I took people behind the scenes of my days so they could see research, the revisions, the replying to emails, and the strategy calls. A well placed, “here’s what happens in week two of our project” goes much further in making your price make sense without you ever having to defend it or consider discounting it.
- I would prepare a, “Here are the things we could remove,” list and ask them what they’d like to cut in order to get their dream result.
- I apologized for misunderstanding the scope and gave them an opportunity to clarify their needs. “I’m so sorry, NAME. I must have completely misunderstood. I heard you say that you wanted X, Y, AND Z, not A, B, and C. I could totally do ABC, all we need to do is decide between THIS and THIS. Or, I understood you wanted me to <>, and I want you to end up with <<INSERT DELIVERABLE, e.g. “a space that actually works for you,” “a system you’ll use,” “a home that supports your life”>>, not just <<INSERT SURFACE-LEVEL VERSION THEY MIGHT SETTLE FOR, e.g. “a quick tidy that falls apart in a month”
- I’d list out all the things I include in a standard project compared to what I know some of my competitors did. I’d include things like, “3 sanity saving phone calls to talk you off the ledge when you want to give up” and “emotional support in making the right decisions” (free). I humanized my pricing strategy and made them consider what they value so they might stretch a little to get what mattered. I kept this page unlisted publicly on my website but live so that I could share it with anyone asking to understand.
- I asked my clients when we were complete to answer a few short questions about the ROI they experienced and highlighted those prominently on my website. I always asked for approval first, like: “Thank you for answering my feedback form, NAME. I loved where you explained that you made your investment back after only two clients with your new website. Are you ok that I share that to help others decide to work with me? I really believe that will help me help more awesome people like you!l” BTW…never, not once, did anyone ever say no. Even those with NDAs!
- I added FAQ’s to my website tackling the pricing objection head on. I’m even going to share all my secrets below!
- Lastly, I’d always be gracious. I’d say something like, “I know this is a big investment and I want you to take all the time you need to decide if this is right for you. I’m sensing this might be more than you were prepared to invest A few of my clients have decided to try a tiered approach, focusing on priorities first. A few others have decided to let go of (add what you could take away) and instead (offer payment plan or lower tier service). Would either of those feel like something you’d care to explore?”
There you have it! Eleven ways I was able to salvage a well priced service from completely going off the rails. I hope it’s helped you too!
