Pricing Structure for David Preston's Offline Cash Cow? $1000, $2000, $5000!?

The question of charging gets asked a lot by people starting out selling their internet marketing services to local business owners.

I've generally been telling people who start out that they can charge somewhere between $1,500 and $6,000 for a basic 2-6 page website plus $100 to $500 a month for maintenance.

To set up an email autoresponder you could charge $500 to $2,000+ for the initial setup plus $100 to $1,000+ for monthly maintenance.

For an online video creation service you might charge between $500 to $2,500+ for setup plus $100 to $1,000+ per video (depending on how much production you do and what the video is worth to your client).

There are some very good reason I don't list services with fixed prices...and I don't think you should either.

And it goes to the heart of what you SHOULD be doing when you talk to business owners.

Many people would like a fixed price that they could quote to everyone they talk to.

And the reason is so they can go in, talk to a business owner, SELL that service and get out as quickly as possible with a check.

If you're thinking that way you are screwing up big time.

Your whole mindset is based around what YOU can GET instead of being based around what you can GIVE to a business...how you can help a business owner get what HE wants out of his business.

How you can customize a solution that helps him increase his sales and profits and get him the results in his business that he's looking for.

Talking with business owners is NOT about selling them on some pre-conceived idea you have of how you can help them.

It's a process of discovery where you ASK QUESTIONS and think of ways to help improve the marketing process in that business.

Every business is different and the solutions you come up with will be different based on the unique business situation and your unique skill set.

You probably won't recommend SEO if you're an expert at pay per click marketing for example.

With your skillset you're far more likely to see how pay per click can help a business.

But the biggest mistake people make with this is seeing themselves as a SELLER of fixed services instead of seeing themselves as the creator of unique internet marketing solutions.

This whole process is about building relationships with business owners.

When you build those relationships you'll get hired or you'll get referrals.

And there is no place in this process for the hard sell.

Suggest enough ideas and solutions designed specifically for the business you're looking at and you will get hired sooner or later.

But stop thinking of this whole operation as cookie cutter selling.

You're a consultant and a service provider.

You need to think that way and charge that way.

Every solution is different...every price is different.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh