How Much Do You Charge Your Offline Clients?

10 replies
I lost my job last week and since I have some money saved up thought this would be the perfect time to follow through on offering my online marketing expertise to offline clients in the area. I'm excited about this, but I'm having a hard time deciding on a price point.

I'm sure it depends on the area you are working from, so I was thinking of offering a package for somewhere in the area of $300 to $400 a month. What have the rest of you been charging?
#charge #clients #offline
  • Profile picture of the author Effective
    Originally Posted by ELVISTHEPELVIS View Post

    I lost my job last week and since I have some money saved up thought this would be the perfect time to follow through on offering my online marketing expertise to offline clients in the area. I'm excited about this, but I'm having a hard time deciding on a price point.

    I'm sure it depends on the area you are working from, so I was thinking of offering a package for somewhere in the area of $300 to $400 a month. What have the rest of you been charging?
    What would this be for? PPC I assume?
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    • Profile picture of the author abbot
      Banned
      If you just lost your job. You should not be worrying about how much you will charge clients. Just start calling (I'm assuming you don't have a budget for other marketing plans)

      Just call, call, call. Use some scripts here from John D. Just call businesses, say you are a new web designer in town, and ask them if they have a website or are considering any other web projects in the future.

      It depends on how bad you want it...

      I take that back....It depends on how bad you NEED it. When I started, I had NOTHING. Just seriously call until you get an appointment. THEN you can come up with a price while at the appt. depending on how complex the project will be.

      My basic package is $547, that's as cheap as you can buy me for. I wouldn't recommend charging much less...

      I'm babbling....But I want you to understand that it's NOT about the price. Everyone starts out worried about price and profit margins. When in reality they should be focused on actually getting clients.

      Don't start off on the wrong foot
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      • Profile picture of the author ELVISTHEPELVIS
        Well I'm not in desperation mode as I've saved some money, I just know that charging too much will scare some businesses away- while charging too little will put you in a position where you end up overworked with very little to show for it.

        Originally Posted by abbot View Post

        My basic package is $547, that's as cheap as you can buy me for. I wouldn't recommend charging much less...

        Don't start off on the wrong foot
        Would you be able to indulge what you include in this package if at all possible?

        Thanks
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        • Profile picture of the author searchgal
          I agree with those who say get out there and start marketing your services. But, you do need to think about what you want to offer - web design, G+ optimization, citations, SEO, PPC, all of the above, etc. Pricing will differ, based on exactly what you're providing to the client. Don't be afraid to be paid for your knowledge. Keep in mind that you can always negotiate down - but you'll never get more than your asking price! Aim high. You'll find that people who need our service and recognize its value will pay for it! Know your bottom line. Don't be afraid to walk away if your prospect can't/won't agree to what you think is a reasonable fee for the service you're providing.

          Cindy
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      • Profile picture of the author singerdg1
        Originally Posted by abbot View Post

        If you just lost your job. You should not be worrying about how much you will charge clients. Just start calling (I'm assuming you don't have a budget for other marketing plans)

        Just call, call, call. Use some scripts here from John D. Just call businesses, say you are a new web designer in town, and ask them if they have a website or are considering any other web projects in the future.

        It depends on how bad you want it...

        I take that back....It depends on how bad you NEED it. When I started, I had NOTHING. Just seriously call until you get an appointment. THEN you can come up with a price while at the appt. depending on how complex the project will be.

        My basic package is $547, that's as cheap as you can buy me for. I wouldn't recommend charging much less...

        I'm babbling....But I want you to understand that it's NOT about the price. Everyone starts out worried about price and profit margins. When in reality they should be focused on actually getting clients.

        Don't start off on the wrong foot
        How do you get those scripts from John D? I'm in almost the same boat and want to get clients for Websites SEO Google Places etc.
        Thanks
        Signature

        These Vital Marketing Tools and System Could Make You $1000's per Month For Only $7!
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  • Profile picture of the author Mwind076
    ^^^^^What they said. Your price doesn't matter if you don't have someone asking what it is. GET YOURSELF IN FRONT OF PEOPLE, then decide on pricing. You can even do it on the spot, or say "give me just a few minutes here and let me figure out your pricing."

    Don't sit here figuring out pricing, when you could be making calls or visiting businesses in your area.
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    Cold Calling, Appointment Setting, Training, Consulting - we do it all!
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  • Profile picture of the author hayfj2
    Reviewing the " 7 Rs " may help with your pricing and putting together a game plan...

    R - Real Problem. What is the real problem or pain you can solve?
    ! Think how you can get the prospect to quantiy the impact of their pain
    R - Recipients of service. Who needs what you're offering?
    ! Think who you're IDEAL clients would be not just the obvious ones
    R - Revenue Streams. What are ALL your passive & active revenue streams?
    ! What are your upsell, cross-sell and back-end sales opportunities?
    R - Routes to Market. What are the best ways to promote & get your message out?
    ! By lowering/reducing your marketing acquisition costs increases margin and profit
    R - Resources. What human, technical & financial resources do you need to start?
    ! Depending on the service you offer, will determine what it is you need
    R - ROI. What do YOU and any stakeholders/investors expect and when?
    ! Set your goals, how many sales you need & how many leads you need
    R - Required Steps. What's the game plan/what do you need to do to get started?
    ! What steps do you need to complete the plan to achieve your goals and ROI.

    Think how you can package, productise and monetise your KNOWLEDGE

    e.g. Ebooks, Reports, CDS, DVDS, Kindle ebook, Phone Apps etc

    Think how you can package and offer DIRECTION to your customers

    e.g. coaching, webinars, training, support etc

    Think how you will exchange your time for money with IMPLEMENTING for customers

    (this should be the most expensive part of your offering) and should be split into 4:-

    a) AUDIT - Charge the client to discover their pain and confirm what they need

    b) PLAN - Charge to provide a written strategy document (many stupidly do this for
    free by way of a proposal)

    c) IMPLEMENT - Get paid to do the work needed in the audit, and agreed in the plan

    d) REVIEW - Charge to provide analytics, and realtime stats reporting systems and how to interpret them (offer progress reporting monthly)

    There are various psychological price points you may wish to consider packaging your Knowledge, Direction and Implementation offerings and making them available to your clients.

    Just ensure that when you double the price. You double the value. And that the price you're charging is less than their pain

    $0
    $10
    $20
    $50
    $100
    $250
    $500
    $1000
    $2500
    $5000
    $10,000

    You now, potentially have many multiple new revenue streams at different price points with many different value propositions, which can and will increase the Life Time Value of a client, and create possible repeat passive revenue opportuniites for you too.

    Hope it gets you thinking...

    Regards


    Fraser
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  • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
    Elvis,

    Since you are not desperate (if you were I would suggest a job honestly) for cash let's talk pricing.

    What you need to do is figure out your minimum pricing. So if someone asks what it costs you can say, "I have packages starting at $$$". Also during this you will figure what you are worth per hour which is a good way to price out bigger projects.

    Step 1: Figure out how much you/the service is worth per hour
    - Professional web services are often priced about $100 to $150/hr. If you have more or less skill adjust up or down.
    - Remember that you are self employed. $20/hr self employeed is like minimum wage IMO. So never price too low unless you need cash.
    - Too high a price without great value building will kill you. (You can't charge $1,000/hr as a n00b. While a great consultant might get $50,000/hr for speaking.)
    -Too low of pricing will turn off many businesses. (But low is relative. You may find a business owner who thinks $20/hr is too high. These are not clients you want so just move on if you find one.)
    - A certain amount of time will be for prospecting. Make sure your hourly rate is high enough to cover the costs of prospecting/admin. (This is why $100/hr works well)

    Step 2: Figure out how long your basic service (or any service) would take you (or a normal professional)
    -If you can do something in 1 hour that would take a normal professional 3 hours still base the price on 3 hours (You need to build in the ability to have employees)
    - Vice versa: If you are a n00b and it takes you 6 hours while a normal professional would take 3 just charge 3. (You will get better over time.)
    - Flub Factor (Many will add in a 20 to 33% flub factor so 4 hours would be 5 hours.)

    Step 3: Confidently present your service based on your pricing
    - Business can't afford it? Find another (He who is willing to walk away is in control.)
    - If you are targeting clients that want to haggle artificially inflate your price but never go below your minimum unless you must have the cash (and honestly if that is the case just get a job).

    Now I don't know what you are selling but you see a lot of basic websites (including basic mobile sites) starting at $299. Using my $100/hr figure this gives you 3 hours to complete it. Can you build a site in 3 hours? Though honestly I would aim for a basic site you can do in 1 hour (but looks like you spent longer). If so this is a good price to offer. But always be talking custom solutions. This builds value for you and the client.

    Also find a way to get monthly income. With websites this is best done with hosting and maintenance packages. Remember to offer multiple choices. 3 works well with the middle being the one you want them to take. But I would suggest 5 (with the lowest hidden). This takes the basic 3 and adds the hidden low price save face out for the client (save a sale) and adds a larger priced option to land whales (some clients want to spend money so upsell, upsell, upsell). Remember if you are billing them monthly (even $10/month) you have a chance to upsell.

    Example
    Basic Hosting: $10/month /Maintenance Billed at $150/hr (leave this option hidden as a backup for those who balk at the normal price)
    Classic Hosting: $25/month /Maintenance Billed at $150/hr (Includes Monthly Backup)
    Webmaster Classic: $100/month (Includes Basic Maintenance {up to 1hr/month}) /Extra Maintenace Billed at $150/hr (Includes Weekly Backup & Reports).
    Webmaster Gold: $200/month (Includes Normal Maintenance {up to 3hr/month}) /Extra Maintenace Billed at $100/hr (Includes Weekly Backup & Monthly Reports).
    Webmaster Ultimate: $500/month (Includes Sitemaster Maintenance & Updates {up to 10hr/month}) /Extra Maintenace Billed at $80/hr (Includes Daily Backup & Monthly Reports/Conference Call).

    If you have a big fish landed and you think you can feel free to sell more menus for SEO, mobile websites, and etc. But don't lose a sale. You can upsell these a few months later.

    Your mission is to close as many as you can. Even $299 and $10/month gives you a chance to get more business later from that client. As long as you grow your business you can always offer these low priced options. If you are a one man show in time you will get to the point where such low hanging fruit isn't worth your time.

    Hopefully this helped. And best of luck to you.
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    You may have some savings but don't assume you can make easy money online. Follow all the good advice in here to get you going but TAKE ACTION. Don't assume your savings will cover you because it may be a while before you actually make money. Pretend it is not there and work your butt off to succeed.
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    Cheers, Laurence.
    Writer/Editor/Proofreader.

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    • Profile picture of the author ELVISTHEPELVIS
      Thanks everyone who took the time to reply.
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