What Should I charge to local business for?

2 replies
Hello,

I am planning on offering consulting services to business in my area (Chicago) who don't have any of the following

- website
- blog
- presence on google maps/local
- facebook fanpage
- twitter

What do you think I should charge for each? I was going to create a very simple website from them on weebly.

Thanks in advance
#business #charge #local
  • Profile picture of the author BamIPD
    Depends how much each of those services will increase revenue for the companies you're targeting.

    If you're services aren't going to help them increase profit or customer retention then you should offer to do it for free.

    If those services will give the company another $50,000 per year then charge somewhere around $5000.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8249852].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
    First why use weebly vs offering real value? Using something free like that would worry me that no matter what they charged they would feel it was too much.

    Second what is the point of trying to be a low price leader? At least I am hoping you were going for low price leader and thus the use of weebly.

    Third selling to those who have at least a basic web presence will be easier, from the general consensus here, vs. targeting those with nothing. You are adding services or redoing what they currently have vs. trying to sell Johnny local on a website for the 1,000th time. Remember if they don't have it they likely have been sold to for it multiple times.

    Finally when it comes to price there are two good ways to price your services. There is the way that Bam suggested above which is based on the value you bring to them. Jason does a great job describing this. Or you can set prices based on your value. I'm more of a fan of the second. Yes you will cost too much for some and may leave money on the table but the consistency will be good. Also it means you are likely to not bite off more than you can chew by going after too big of projects till you are ready.

    Over time your value will go up as you know more and as your company provides more value.

    But to start I would say figure an hourly rate of $50 to $150 for active work. That will allow your prospecting time to get paid as well. Also remember if you have someone else do it still charge based on the time it should take them. But have set prices plus custom quotes. And always charge by the project and not by the hour. No one wants to pay you $200 for two hours of your time but they will gladly pay $200 to update something on their web page.

    Example prices based on that.
    • Websites: Starting at $299. It is great to have a starting point or a few basic packages. But remember that many will need a custom solution.
    • Blog: Put this into web sites. Maybe as an add on plus custom beyond the basic.
    • Google Local: Have a few packages from say $199 for basic on up.
    • Facebook/twitter: Build packages around the number of posts per day or week and rather you are providing the content.
    So a $299 website would be one that you/your team could get done in 3 hours or less. Maybe even 2 hours or less if you want some flub time.

    The formula I normally give is this for price setting.
    (Estimated Hours) * (Flub Factor of say 20 to 25% = 1.2 or 1.25) * (hourly rate = what you decide you and your team are worth) = (Price for that service or package)

    Remember to include maintenance and hosting packages for websites and to have an add on for a mobile site (easy $299 for a basic one).
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8249934].message }}

Trending Topics