How to Sell More Mobile Websites. This should help...

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I was asked about this by one of my members the other day and thought it was definitely worth repeating... if only to refresh your mind about this simple yet effective concept.

It's called decoy pricing and it has been used in offline and online marketing for years. It involves adding extra pricing options to try and get people to choose the option you originally wanted them to buy.

Sound confusing? Let's have a quick look...

Let's say I wanted to sell mobile websites for $297. This package would include 5 or 6 website pages as standard. So right now I have one option for my customers...

1. Standard Mobile Website (including 5 pages) - $297

When the customer sees this option they have nothing to gauge it against. They don't know if they are getting a good deal or not. The only way for them to know for sure is if they go and do some research of your competitors.

This is NOT what we want.

Now let's say instead we presented that same customer with not 1 option but 3.

1. Simple Mobile Site (includes 3 pages) - $275
2. Standard Mobile Site (includes 6 pages) $397 but currently discounted at $297
3. Advanced Mobile Site (includes 10 pages) - $497

The middle standard package is the one you are trying to sell and you can see how by adding the basic and advanced packages on either side, it makes the middle package seem like an even better deal because now they have two other packages to compare it against.

You can see the difference between a 3 page site and a 6 page site is only $22 (roughly $7 per page) however the difference between a 6 page site and a 10 page site is $200 ($50 per page). So clearly they would be silly to buy the simple package when for only a few more dollars they can have the standard package... and they would be silly to buy the advanced package when the standard package is much cheaper and only has a few less pages.

If they do decide to purchase either of the other two packages (strangely enough it does happen from time to time) you win anyway - so it really is a win-win type situation for you.

TIP:
This type of pricing model works best when written down. So don't just tell your prospects the prices, show them the different packages written down next to each other so they can easily compare them all at once and see for themselves which is the best value. On the pricing comparison sheet I would have the middle option price listed as $397 and then tell the customer (verbally) that package is currently on sale at $297. Don't write the reduced price down as it makes the discount appear less genuine.

I hope that all made sense and I hope it helps you sell more stuff.

Use it wisely and enjoy!
#offline marketing #mobile #sell #websites
  • Nice Will.

    Picked up a similar tip from a Robert Cialdini book and tried it out. Works really well.

    Haven't seen it presented in this way before, thanks Will.
    • [2] replies
    • Mick,

      Yeah, there are different ways you can use this type of technique - I've used it online before when selling a physical and digital product. I used the decoy pricing to get people to choose the digital version over the physical version.

      It works really well when used properly. Gives your pricing a lot more punch than just presenting your offline clients with the one option.
    • That's what I thought at first - but I think it's in Predictably Irrational (different author)..

      Nice to find someone with my same tastes in reading material
  • Nice share... Thanks a lot for sharing it.
    Now, I'm confident that I can also sell one or two mobile websites
  • That's informative post to me. I think sooner or later there will be CMS for mobile
    • [1] reply
    • This should help with some projects I'm working on.

      Isn't this the movie theater business plan?

      By a small popcorn for $5 or a medium for $5.50 or a large for $7... :rolleyes:
      • [1] reply
  • Will, thank you for another great tip. I never thought about having more price options in this way. What you are talking about makes perfect sense to me and I will use this.
  • Sounds incredible Will

    hay? can you show us a handful of mobi sites you
    have created for local businesses?
    • [2] replies
    • This is an excellent tip. Thanks for sharing that and I have some work to do now on my pricing.
      • [1] reply
    • About four months back, WillR started a thread inviting warriors to display some of their 'website craft'.
      The subject / heading of the thread was "Mobile Website Showcase".
      MANY warriors showcased examples of their clients mobile sites, specimen designs / layouts etc.
      You should check the thread out for yourself ... very impressive, I think ..
      • [1] reply
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    • Excellent post. Thank you Will.
  • and just to add to this AWESOME thread, here is a link to 50 FREE pricing super stylisht designs, all PSD files which you can edit.

    50 Free Pricing Table UI Element PSD ~ Best UI PSD | UI Design Development & Digital Photography

    in case you are one of those detailed freaks like me and want to make everything look perfect
    • [ 9 ] Thanks
    • [4] replies
    • This is a wonderful share.
      Thanks for this one.
    • I just spent $80 for a designer to create pricing tables for my website and it took 3 weeks to get it right! I wish I had this know about this earlier, thanks so much!
    • This looks great - but having trouble finding download.
      • [1] reply
    • Here is a link to a nice Wordpress plugin to generate pricing tables dynamically - all you have to do is plug in the details: WordPress › Pricing Table « WordPress Plugins

      Dee.
      • [ 3 ] Thanks
  • Excellent post! Thanks for sharing this information.
  • I use this in my photo studio. It's called having a "Whopper" it's designed to make other options look like a bargain and it works like crazy!

    I've been told that when double cheese burgers were first offered they did not sell well until they added a triple cheesebeurger to the menue and only then did sales take off!

    Cheers,
    Steve
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    • Banned
      2 "Closing" techniques that work for my guys;

      1) Show a Setup Fee and a Monthly Fee. And....if they decide NOW...we drop the SetUp Fee; Example; 3 page Mobile Site - $150 Set up and $150/mo with 3 mos in advance HOWEVER....order NOW and we drop the $150 Set Up.....$450 for 3 mos

      2) Show a setup fee and a...3 month or 6 month option; Ex: $150 SetUp and $150/mo for 3 mos = $450 or....6 mos for $100/mo = $600

      They usually take the "6 mo option" and....for a, we call it the "Out The Door Close"....drop the Set Up!

      Don Alm...."closer"
      • [ 3 ] Thanks
      • [1] reply
  • very helpful, thank you.
  • I used to sell cars and that works every time.
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  • I have been meaning to get into mobile sites! Havent got around to it though.
  • This is pretty similar to what I offer clients too. Will hit it RIGHT on the head about offering mulitple package options - nobody likes a one size fits all package. It's easy to get what you want - and make your clients feel like they made the right choice for their business. Nice post!
    • [1] reply
    • It's one tactic that makes sense and can never grow old.
      Better to keep the potential client focused on getting the best deal from MY multiple option package, than looking 'abroad' - for an alternative supplier.

      Thanks WillR, and Cheers !
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  • I like your think,Excellent advice Thankyou
  • Ok.
    But Will, you design a great mobile site for your client. And then they and you want to connect it ti their main domain. If they don't know who their site hosting is and have to go through their web builder/designer, who will presumably offer to build the mobile site for them what do you do.

    This is the biggest obstacle I see in the mobile business. How do you get round it?
    • [2] replies
    • If you're offering them a mobile site and their web designer offers them one, they'd be comparing apples to apples, they could choose their web person.

      If you're offering them a mobile site with something else (a way to use it to get more clients... and of course you show them how, you might even let them test drive if for free) and their web site offers them just a mobile site?

      Don't sell tools, sell streams of income.

      That said, I'm no expert. I was offered the same thing by 2 people for my business a few years back, a website for my business (a business I no longer have).

      One of them told me how beautiful the site they'd build will look and how impressed anyone looking upon it would be. Showed me a lot of gorgeous sites.

      The other one asked me what I want my site to do. He told me he could create a site that would get me leads, a site that would impress anyone who would come upon it, or a site where people could sign up for my service, and a few other variations.

      I liked the 2nd guy's idea of getting leads. But how could that be.

      He took me to a site he'd built for someone else, an accountant, said the accountant was getting 200 extra leads a month. I talked to the accountant, who confirmed the 200 extra leads. He told me he'd even made extra sales.

      I took went to the first guy and asked how many extra leads were people getting from their sites. He said he wasn't sure, it was, of course, up to the business owner.

      I liked the 2nd guy even better, paid him what he asked.

      • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • If you're offering them a mobile site and their web designer offers them one, they'd be comparing apples to apples, they could choose their web person.

      If you're offering them a mobile site with something else (a way to use it to get more clients... and of course you show them how, you might even let them test drive if for free) and their web site offers them just a mobile site?

      Don't sell tools, sell streams of income.

      That said, I'm no expert. I was offered the same thing by 2 people for my business a few years back, a website for my business (a business I no longer have).

      One of them told me how beautiful the site they'd build will look and how impressed anyone looking upon it would be. Showed me a lot of gorgeous sites.

      The other one asked me what I want my site to do. He told me he could create a site that would get me leads, a site that would impress anyone who would come upon it, or a site where people could sign up for my service, and a few other variations.

      I liked the 2nd guy's idea of getting leads. But how could that be.

      He took me to a site he'd built for someone else, an accountant, said the accountant was getting 200 extra leads a month. I talked to the accountant, who confirmed the 200 extra leads. He told me he'd even made extra sales.

      I took went to the first guy and asked how many extra leads were people getting from their sites. He said he wasn't sure, it was, of course, up to the business owner.

      I liked the 2nd guy even better, paid him what he asked.

      Of course, some business owner's web guy would offer income streams too... Then it's a matter of whose stream is deeper.

  • Hi Will, thanks for the insightful post. Kind of struggled with pricing and your article here has made it simpler. At least, I know where to start.
  • Thanks for the great sales reminder. I was going to have 3 options - I just hadn't decided to focus on one being such a great deal they will find it hard to refuse.

    I learned years ago that you want to give your clients options -- never a yes/no scenario. For instance, the old - I can see your tues or thurs - which works best for you. This a variation on that concept.

    You are very generous in helping us! I've seen your generosity in other threads.
  • Sounds like a great tip. I know that the pricing is negotiable but is 5-6 page site the standard size for a site? Maybe I have been making my sites a little to big.
    • [1] reply
    • I have this plan:

      1. "Beginner" incl. 1 Page €175,- + Page installation €35,-(redirect + installation on server)

      2."Basic" incl 3 Pages €247,- + Site installation €35,- (redirect + installation on server)

      3."Standard" up to 6 pages €397,- but currently discounted at €357,- Site installation for free

      4."Premium" up to 10 Pages €487,- Site installation for free

      2,3,4 with custom header, map directions, contact form (custom form only 3,4), SEO optimazed
      3(Standard)-Iphone App for €99,-
      4 (premium) with Iphone App for free


      I have also plan for hosting
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
      • [1] reply
  • This is one of the best threads I've ever read on a forum. The sales information that some of you have taken the time to write and the generosity is astounding.

    To answer the OP's question, we are still early by most standards. This is vastly annoying to me because I have been building mobile sites and writing about mobile marketing for over 4 years. The biggest hurdle I've had to overcome is, believe it or not, my techie side. It's not about the mobile site. Not really.

    I'm glad to see Quentin and Jason on the thread, because they've both done so much for mobile marketing. I haven't crossed paths with WillR yet but I can see plenty of reasons why I'd want to buy his programs. But I digress...

    I think I actually did learn this simple fact from Jason - you need to, have to, absolutely must show why what you are selling is going to pay for itself many times over if you have a prayer of making a sale. It is not enough to show people that a mobile site looks better. It's not even enough to show people a blank screen with flash on an iPhone.

    I'm concentrating on finding case histories where people have actually made more money with a mobile site than without one. These are hard to find right now since mobile is still in its infancy but they do exist. It's easier to find studies about bounce rates (people leaving the sites within 10 seconds and not clicking on other links) right now. But, you said your customers aren't interested in analytics, so you are going to need numbers with cold hard cash behind them.

    In the meantime, how far are you from NYC? QR codes are the norm now, so you might be better off changing markets if yours is a mismatch.
  • Fantastic stuff! At Visioniz and OMFGmobile we do the exact same technique, same with our QRlicious custom QR code service. It works like a charm to close a deal.
  • Excellent pricing strategy, thanks for sharing and the info.
  • Such great information from very generous people! Thank you all!
  • Thanks Will, This will create a big help and new ideas to all who have been engaged in mobile website. Keep up the good work.
    • [1] reply
    • Did anybody ever find any stats for mobile websites in generating leads, sales or otherwise to show that this pays for itself?
  • Nice logic, hadn't thought of trying price strategy that way. Thanks for the share.
  • Thanks for all this information. Before, what I have tried to sell on the phone were classical websites. I think that mobile sites could look more appealing.
  • It's kinda like selling car payments instead of the total price. Or using buying in bulk pricing. Sam's and Costco are multi billion dollar companies based on this. Who needs 1 year of plastic forks or 1 year of 3 big jugs of ketchup? But the "per unit" cost is so cheap people can't resist. (sometimes it even isn't! perception is reality) Grocery stores do the little stickers on the shelf giving you cost/oz to compare products.

    A good way to quote is offer cost per page info for various packages. Sell them on the per unit to upgrade them.

    Example:
    Basic works out to be 50 bucks a page
    Better works out to be 40 bucks a page
    Best works out to be 30 bucks a page

    but obviously they are spending more for setup and per month total with you. But they feel they are "saving" on bulk discount. Sell the payment! Sell the discount!
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • You can also get the Wordpress Price Table Plugin for free from here:

    WordPress › Price Table « WordPress Plugins

    Hope this helps.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [2] replies
    • There's a show about an expert taking over bars which are failing. In one episode he placed a very high priced drink on the menu in increase sales in the more expensive drinks.

      Rick
    • Good share Will!
  • Another great way to get more conversions when selling Mobile Websites is to provide added value.

    So many people out there now selling mobile websites that you need to provide something that your competitors isnt.

    We add QR Code tracking to all our packages and this helps us win a lot more contracts over our competition.

    Quentin
    • [1] reply
    • Hi

      I love this pscyhology, but I was thinking how would you incorporate this into basic mobile website pricing?

      In this example of Will's..

      1. Simple Mobile Site (includes 3 pages) - $275
      2. Standard Mobile Site (includes 6 pages) $397 but currently discounted at $297
      3. Advanced Mobile Site (includes 10 pages) - $497


      What are "pages" on a mobile website? Do you mean the tabs which you click to go deeper into the site? e.g "Contact Us", "Find Us" - are they all a "page"?

      I find that slightly difficult to sell, seeing as they are all placed on the same page (home page). I realise this is the same with a normal website, but with a normal website, once you click the link on the home page, you get taken to a completely different page, and it feels like that.

      I don't mind if how I understood it is correct, and that you've been able to sell like that. I just want to be clear what I'd be basing my prices on ("pages").

      Thanks
      • [2] replies
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  • This is a great pricing & sales strategy.

    Most companies as well as individual marketers employ this highly persuasive & effective technique to close sales.
  • Nice work fellow Aussie!

    Cheers,
    Mike
  • Thanks for the tip.
  • I have a client who has a lot of product images, these are going to take the most time to set up.
    How would you go about pricing? Would you charge extra for more images?
    thanks
  • How much do I charge a month for hosting if my mobile website fee for six pages is $300?
  • Awesome sauce. This work and I first learned it about from the Influence Book
  • Thanks for sharing the info about mobile website sell. It will help me a lot.
  • Very nice explanation of this excellent method. Thank you
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  • A very valuable sharing..
    Thank you..
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • great tip I will try this with one of my products very soon
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Hi All,
    Just wondering with all the new phones around and screen sizes getting bigger, is it worth trying to sell a mobile version?
    These days you can just double tap the screen, turn it sideways and you can view the site (yes I know its still small)!
    Just wondered on your thoughts?
    • [1] reply
    • It's not just about sites fitting on a screen. It's also about the way information it presented.

      What do you do when you look for a restaurant on a mobile phone? What do you want to find? Does the restaurant's desk top present that fast or can you create a mobile site that presents it faster?

      • [ 1 ] Thanks
      • [1] reply
  • Yes, great thread and info, we see this employed all the time at many different retailers, You can buy in bulk and often significantly lower the cost, you see this a lot in some smaller retail markets where a store brand is often priced at 30 percent lower than a national brand and there is not really that much difference in the quality of the product. When presented with a choice most consumers react with predictability.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Great post thanks for sharing.
  • This is a great way to package the offers to your clients.
  • Great idea. Knew about it but didn't know it was called decoy pricing! A+
  • Thanks for the share !
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  • 117

    How to Sell More Mobile Websites. This should help...

    I was asked about this by one of my members the other day and thought it was definitely worth repeating... if only to refresh your mind about this simple yet effective concept. It's called decoy pricing and it has been used in offline and online marketing for years. It involves adding extra pricing options to try and get people to choose the option you originally wanted them to buy.