Putting the numbers of wed design together?

Businesses do not want to pay anything for a web site ;-)
what they want is to take care of a need.
If the need is great enough they will pay any amount to meet that need.
Talk less about number of hours etc.. and more about the benefits of the site.
To be honest I don't even build sites that I do not feel the business will benefit from .

Imagine for example that the person you are selling the site to can make hundreds of dollars from just one new client and today they don't have a site or the site is just plain bad and hurting sales.
Is is not justified to spend a bit of money $697 or even $1000 or $2000 if that spend has the potential to make them profit?

Here is some thoughts from the other side.

You're right we don't want to pay $697 as that seems too "cheap".

The question I have to ask you is why you seem to think it is expensive? Are you not providing $697 of value? At the going rate of $100 to $150/hr for web services I would expect a $700 to take you around 5 hours to make.

For a basic website that is fine and I am sure many small local businesses only need a simple website.

You will find that you will lose money on first couple contracts anyway. It always takes more time than planned, they always want more revisions etc. If you are not sure what to charge, it simple to calculate. Start with how much you want per year, divide per 48 weeks and 5 hrs a day. Now you have hourly rate. Now calculate your hard costs - your hosting, business cards, office, laptop, than add that to your hourly rate. Now add 20% to roughly inlcude tax and insurance.
Or you could just charge what you think you are worth. People don't but an eyleash on the £1000 website if it makes them money. It's small change to them. They balk at the price when they think it's expense. Show them how it will benefit their business and they are yours.

Throw in a mobile site then show them places selling a mobile site alone for $500..its all perceived value.

The proper pricing for anything offline is "as much as you can plus 50 bucks"

"The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of a low price is forgotten" - Benjamin Franklin

You're selling the benefits of a quality web presence, such as leads, more business, ROI...

I'd not make any assumptions about their budget. They'll pay based upon the benefits you influence them to believe.

They are not a client until they have agreed to a deal and paid. You won't get 100% of
prospects or suspects to convert. There will be ones you don't want as clients.

After your confident sales pitch, $697 should not be a valid or real objection.

"...work out some of the details" should only mean agreement on payment terms such as
half down and half upon completion. Under $1000, they should pay all up front. Don't give them an easy out in your negotiations.

$697 only seems like a lot because you're starting out. A $697 website is QUICKLY going to turn into a giant headache with the types of clients you're going to attract at that price.

When I started out, my first site was for $750. I was psyched out of my mind that I could make that kind of money so "easily". Three weeks later after i finished his 5th draft, I realized that cheaper clients are too much of a headache. Lesson learned the hard way.

To add, make sure you layout all of your terms up front. Cost for the site, cost for changes, updates, etc! Don't underestimate or undervalue your time.

Great advice guys. I really appreciate it. It almost makes me want to boost up my prices right now!

When giving pricing I'd high ball the offer from $2500 to $1999 minimum. You can always negotiate down if you have to but it's nearly impossible to move up. This also positions your services as selling on value instead of price, which is very important.

Remember that people buy based on value, not price. There are price-driven buyers in the market which may be around 10%, but the majority of people buy for what they get in return, and if you can demonstrate that having a website will generate X amount of leads which will turn into Y amount of sales you should have no problem in doing this.

You demonstrate this by asking them of course.

Also remember that your offline business is like a big locomotive just beginning to grind its' gears and get moving, it's going to be a frustrating and slow start, but the more prospects you sell to the faster you'll begin to move and more unstoppable you'll feel when you're on the phone them, that's when you'll start bagging these $1k and $2k deals left and right through your momentum.

If at all possible you should try to protect your prices by:

Creating urgency - show them they are losing money daily by not being online, and that their competition is eating up any potential profits

Selling value - give them a GOOD DEAL. Offer to claim their Google places for free if they get their project started with you today, give them an Adwords coupon, do their facebook page. Make them feel that they are getting so much and MORE with this offer that justifies the price.

Reduce risk - let them pay over installments, give them 30 days of hosting to try you out, give them a complimentary web design draft. Do things which makes it easy for them to commitment to that over time adds up to buying from you.

Also, a great close to use on people that want to negotiate when they are adamant that they can't afford it is:

'How far apart are we? How much is too much? or What would you expect to pay for a package like this will generate you business, Mr. Prospect?'

Once they give you an answer you can lead in with your first close:

'If we can make arrangements to pay just $x amount today and the rest over instalments will you take it today? or If we can lower the price to $x amount today will you take it today?'

Turn their objections into a a reason to buy NOW. Make it part of the deal. Don't give them an opening to escape the sale by thinking it over or procrastinating after lowering the price.

Keep learning and filling your pipeline, you can do this.

I almost forgot.

Remember that people buy benefits and not features. They don't particularly care that it would take xx amount of hours to design their page or write content, they care about (and will pay for), things that will ultimately benefit them.

If I was explaining my pricing to someone on paper or email:

Our amazing deal includes:

Item 1 worth $99
Item 2 worth $299
Item 3 worth $79

So that's $477 worth of value for only $97.... or however much it is...

This is what I mean by demonstrate value.

If I'm in person or over the phone:

Before breaking down my pricing structure I'll establish two things first:

Resell the positive ROI expectations of being listed on Google

'You said that after we get you xx amount you leads per month... you'll more than likely convert at around xx%..... which means you should make an extra $xx.... amount that month alone..... or an extra $xxxxx per year.... is that correct?'

Get them to agree with your premise that this is a NO BRAINER INVESTMENT.

And..

Compare my prices to my more expensive competition so I look like a less expensive service by comparison.

'Most people charge $xxxx for a design and $xxx amount each month for hosting.... but I'm not going to charge you anything like that today.... It's just $xxx now, and then $xx per month because that's how much it costs to keep you online...'

You get the idea now?

Depends on the size of the chamber. If they have 50 or less members then a lower price is more appropriate to get them started, especially if they don't have a site.

If it's a growing chamber they'll pay as much or more for their chamber software so allow yourself to charge more, but within reason.

Nothing wrong giving a lower price to gain the exposure it can give you, link to your site, etc. I do recommend bartering a membership as part of the payment so you can take advantage of chamber exclusive advertising and publicity.

You didn't mention page count or if it needs to tie into their echamber software (if they use one). That makes a big difference.

Many comments are good advice. You'll find your way so don't beat yourself up on price in the beginning. Lessons learned are priceless if they help you improve.

A formula you can try is X per page, X for design customization and X for project management if you are outsourcing instead of doing it yourself. Use amounts you won't resent as you learn the actual time involved.

Throw in some low cost bonuses like a mobile landing page or mini site

If the chamber has been around for a while they've had web proposals before so I'd want to know why they haven't done it before. If it's a redesign, talk to them about their budget when you discuss their goals and needs.

But having said all that, if you are having a hard time and just need to get something going to boost your confidence then I would try something like this.

Call and tell them you are a new web designer who just opened up in town and would like to build your portfolio so you are offering a special to 3 people who dont have websites and want to get started. Normally our websites start at $2000 but if you want you can get a 5 page site with x and x for $499 if you will give a testimonial.
($500 is kinda a magic number for small biz owners, its easier to make a spot decision for them if they have interest)

Generally I suggest coming from a place of strength but you dont have any yet so if you come from the newbie angle several things happen.
You kinda activate both the deal seeking side of people and the predatory nature they have as well. Use your weakness to your advantage.

"Ive been thinking about a website but dont want to spend thousands of dollars and this guy is going to do it for a fraction of the price, yeah sure kid here's $500 and Ill give you a good word."



Plus you can always try and upsell them when you get in.

Once again I only suggest this as a way to boost your confidence and ease you into the game
-do not suggest it as a long term business model.

they want to look forward for extra added value like
- some extra free SEO tools to use
- free maintenance of the website for how many days.
- how good is your support, might be 24x7 standby .
- is it including domain and hosting .

Try add as much as you could for the details to make them feel the value to paid it for a website.