Putting prices on your site or not?

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Matt Lee

11 years ago

Never put prices on your website. You're shooting yourself in the foot. After qualifying, I'll send my prospect to my "request a quote" page - where they give me pretty much all the info I need - including their budget range . Then I come back to them with 3-4 package options based on their needs & budget. One tip that has worked well for me is I'll make sure to include 1-2 options that are outside of their budget range with the package options, because you never know if the budget they gave you, is really the budget.

No two clients are the same or will have the same needs and that's why I don't have "one size fits all" packages.

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isaacsmithjones

11 years ago

I don't put pricing on my site because there are so many variables to consider. Different combinations of services will work better for different people, and once services are grouped together, the way that they are used affects their value.

E.g. The same amount of SEO work will bring different industries different results. If you're sending the same amount of traffic to a pond installer that you're sending to a hat shop, then if the sites are converting at the same rate, the service will be much more valuable to the pond installer.

Although you're essentially doing the same work, you're bringing more value to the pond installer, and it is fair for you to charge him based on what you're bringing to him.

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Matt Lee

11 years ago

Originally Posted by isaacsmithjones

I don't put pricing on my site because there are so many variables to consider. Different combinations of services will work better for different people, and once services are grouped together, the way that they are used affects their value.

E.g. The same amount of SEO work will bring different industries different results. If you're sending the same amount of traffic to a pond installer that you're sending to a hat shop, then if the sites are converting at the same rate, the service will be much more valuable to the pond installer.

Although you're essentially doing the same work, you're bringing more value to the pond installer, and it is fair for you to charge him based on what you're bringing to him.

Agreed Isaac

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Cassie416

11 years ago

Originally Posted by isaacsmithjones

I don't put pricing on my site because there are so many variables to consider. Different combinations of services will work better for different people, and once services are grouped together, the way that they are used affects their value.

E.g. The same amount of SEO work will bring different industries different results. If you're sending the same amount of traffic to a pond installer that you're sending to a hat shop, then if the sites are converting at the same rate, the service will be much more valuable to the pond installer.

Although you're essentially doing the same work, you're bringing more value to the pond installer, and it is fair for you to charge him based on what you're bringing to him.

Thanks for this one. Your so right

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Cassie416

11 years ago

In my opinion its better to have one set price for your website service because when other business catch on to the scheme

However if your promoting your service directly to clients, maybe you can swing it..

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11 years ago

Should one pound of vegetables cost more for an obese person, or fit person? The pound of vegetables would clearly offer more value to the obese, unhealthy person, so with that logic, it should cost more.

I'm not against charging what you're worth or what value you provide, but the value you provide doesn't depend on the occupation or industry of the client.

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ThomasOMalley

11 years ago

Don't put your prices on your professional services site. You turn yourself into a commodity when you put prices on your site and you cut down on your number of leads.

Keep your net wide and send them to the "get a quote" page.

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MarcusMcDaniels

11 years ago

Originally Posted by ThomasOMalley

Don't put your prices on your professional services site. You turn yourself into a commodity when you put prices on your site and you cut down on your number of leads.

Keep your net wide and send them to the "get a quote" page.

I agree wholeheartedly with Thomas.... Don't make yourself into a commodity, product differentiation is the most important thing, and you can only do that if you don't flat rate everything. I'm not saying gouge your clients, but you can most certainly judge by someone if you talk to them, if they will be a HUGE client, or some guy with an accent that will be more work than they're worth.

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11 years ago

The only time you want prices on your site is when you're the lowest price provider and that's your big selling point. Then price acts as a lure.

Because anything higher than that, naturally won't act as a lure.

Except to price sensitive clients to whom your higher priced competition's price was too high. They'll see your price and say "ah, just right!" and guess what? You've just attracted a price sensitive shopper.

Except you don't see him as a price sensitive shopper because they were ok with your price. But now price was a factor in why they contacted you. You may then become like the frog getting cooked in hot water without realizing it because once in, that shopper tends to reveal their price sensitivity later by being hard to please, complaining, demanding, high maintenance and whining about prices and slow to pay.

The prospect can't fully determine at the point where they first land on your web site if you're the right service for them because they only know you look like you may be. But they don't quite yet have a sufficient enough understanding of why you're the right person for them out of everyone, or enough desire to want you over and beyond anyone else, so prices at this point aren't fully justified by value so guess what happens? Price is weighed in the context of commodity evaluation - because that's all there is to evaluate it.

So the quickest way to be viewed as a commodity is to come off like a commodity and that's what posting prices helps to do.

In fact, when you DON'T post prices, the price shopper balks. They refuse to do business with a site which doesn't post prices and they move on to the next guy who's price attracts them. It makes them vehemently angry. NOT posting prices tends to repel the price shopper.

They fear you must be expensive if you don't post prices and even though they don't actually even know what your prices are, their mentality pushes them away... because... they don't want an expense. Think about that. They're pre determined to pay the cheapest they can get making that decision even before knowing if the price they have in mind is even halfway reasonable for what they want and expect to get.

But guess what the more value oriented buyer does when they don't see prices?
They poke their heads inside the store to inquire. And that gives you the opportunity to have a conversation and establish some value and build interest and desire.

Guess what happens when the value oriented shopper sees a low, low price listed on a website? They think something must be wrong, got to be a hitch, and suspect trouble so they move on to the next guy.

Isn't that crazy? Posting prices may actually attract price sensitive people and push away those who may be better clients for you. How counter intuitive, eh? What a crazy upside down world.

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Claude Whitacre 11 years ago

My price is on my website. I only offer one service. The client's results will vary...but I only offer one service.

There is a reason I include the price.

Nearly everyone who goes to my website (the one selling my service) already knows who I am. They have already read a book or two of mine. They have either seen me speak, or watched a few online videos of me.

So, now I'm not a commodity.

And I post my price, because I only want the people...who know my price..to call me.

Without them knowing my price? I may get 12 calls a month....and close two.

If they know my price? I'll get three calls a month, and close two.

Could I close another one or two a month, once I get them on the phone (if they didn't know my price)? Absolutely. But I just don't want to put forth that effort anymore. Wasted phone calls are not for me anymore.

It's because my price is several thousand dollars. And I don't have a smaller offer.

If I were selling website? or SEO? or LInking? I wouldn't put my prices on the website, because most shoppers are price driven. Not that price is the only thing they consider...it's because they know what a dollar sign means and they can compare prices.

They can't compare most offers. They can't compare service. They can't compare expertise. They can't even compare results. Only price. It's the one universal thing they understand.

I put in my price, because I only want to talk to people that are 90% sold on me (and my service)....or better.

It's a personal choice. In nearly every instance, I wouldn't recommend it.
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savidge4

11 years ago

I personally include pricing. I am right there with Iamnameless, there are no inconsistencies. I TRY not to sell what I do as a service. I sell product. I sell websites. I sell SEO. I more importantly sell ROI. Like the business card video... I have a "Guaranteed"! I guarantee a equal or greater return within a set period for my "Services" with in a set period of time, or I will refund the entire project.

That alone separates me from my local competition. As I build what I am doing and get a bit bigger, that is what is going to separate me from my national competition as well.

I think it comes down to this... you can use your site as a business card and offer nothing more than what you do and how to contact you. OR you can lay it all on the line. PRICE what you do, and display examples of what that price gets your prospect, and let them make the decision before they even contact you.

Like Claude said, I don't want to talk on the phone all day with people that are kicking tires.. I want to only talk to those that are buying.

Think about this for a second... "The internet is for traffic, the door is for buying" If your site is not pre-qualifying and selling, how can your clients expect you and your services to produce that type of results for them?

I hear it time and again from clients. "You are not the cheapest, but I know up front what I am getting and how much it will cost."

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MRomeo09

11 years ago

One of my numerous business failures was a computer repair company called Nerds Next Door. I shut it down in 2010, the economic slowdown wasn't helping and It was too big for all the time and effort it was taking compared to my marketing business which was soaring. I sold off bits and pieces of the business, sold the customer databases, and websites off. So I didn't lose money but I surely expected greater things, I thought we would take on the Geeks and win.

Now I'm going by memory because it's been a few years. Anyway, on our website we didn't offer any prices. We did a ton of testing. We spent roughly $4,000 a week on PPC where a normal click was in the $1.50 range. We had multiple landing pages, split tested to infinity, etc. In many of our locations we completely dominated in SEO having 4-5 of the top 10 sites as far as SEO. Our conversion rate was around 7-8%, and we generated something like 150 incoming appointment calls a day, and closed between 40-60% of them. We did a lot of testing on pricing structure, when to mention pricing, whether to have it on the website or not.

My split testing showed that absolutely not having the price on the website was more profitable. Here was our process. Get the phone to ring, and don't answer any questions about price until you've had the opportunity to build up value. Usually we wouldn't offer a price until at least 90 seconds into the phone call, we'd problem solve, and build rapport, build rapport, build rapport. You have to redefine the service you're providing. It wasn't just about the price, it's rarely about price, and if it is about price those aren't the types of customers you need.

Now on to consulting, I've gone round and round with Savidge about having a service vs a product. You'll never get the price you deserve if you're only going to offer a product. I think embracing the product model is the wrong approach. We can go down that road again if you'd like.

I just never feel that putting a price on your services is a good idea. It's like my phone calls for my computer business if I state the price is $89/hr before you understand the value the service can provide. If you're just slapping a website up for $399 that's one thing. But if you're providing a website that is completely customized that has x, y, z to it that no one else has done. That has been conversion optimized and tested with over $200k in ad spend, etc. That's irrelevant if all they see is that $399 number. They'll see that and put their OWN value on you.

Now with Claude that's a completely different situation. His prospects are coming to him with value already established. They know what they expect to receive from him. So putting a price up there could weed out the tire kickers. I'd probably argue that he needs a further step in his funnel. He already has the opener(tripwire) his books, now he needs a higher level product to further weed out time wasters. Probably in the $300-500 range. But I don't know his pricing structure so I'm just guessing

So put my vote down for no pricing.

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11 years ago

Originally Posted by MRomeo09

. I'd probably argue that he needs a further step in his funnel. He already has the opener(tripwire) his books, now he needs a higher level product to further weed out time wasters. Probably in the $300-500 range. But I don't know his pricing structure so I'm just guessing

So put my vote down for no pricing.

It's great to hear someone say "Tripwire".

I get what you are saying about the step up product. I have also sold a program, teaching everything I know about local online marketing. I charged $300 for the program. I still do the program. It's an in person seminar. Although it would work well as a webinar.

My results are; 20% of the people who attend that program...even though they learn everything they need to know (I hold nothing back) to do their own local online marketing...go on to buy my $6,000 service at the end of the 3 hour seminar.

And between 5% and 8% of a general audience, who is hearing me speak for the first time...buys my $6,000 service.

I've figured out that selling the $300 seminar costs me about $300. So I tend to break even on the seminar (it varies widely). But it's marketed to non-customers, who don't know me.
I also sell the program through trade associations, and we split the $300. that acts as my speaking fee. And I keep 100% of the money from the service sales.

I've done the math. The $300 seminar is an unnecessary step. It just postpones the $6,000 sales. And I strongly believe (although don't know), that the delay that this step produces...hurts sales. There is a window where the audience is in heat....when they are itching to do something.

I've figured out that my book acts as a trip wire. If they read my book on local online marketing....they are pretty prepared to buy when they get on the phone with me.

So, I get them through the $300 seminar, and through my books. Those are my trip wires.
And they are two separate doors to come through, to get to me.

The people who call, that have only seen a video (for free) are far less qualified. I sell maybe 20% of those calls.

Writing the books, and selling them on Amazon? Smartest marketing I've done.

Added later; Something I should explain. I mention my price on my website. I don't break down what they get, and the price of each. I just mention what the price is, as though it just got dropped into a conversation.

I do, however explain the $199 a month continuing fee. Because that's what people ask about.

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MRomeo09

11 years ago

Take a look at the picture really quick. Not 1 in 10 people would know or care that they guarantee that the spots don't come back or they'll come back and fix it. Most of them are going to see that price, and that's all they are going to see.

And that's the problem with putting a price out there. You can't control the conversation. You can't build the value. They are just going to glance at it, then make the decision whether to learn more or not. If you put your prices out there easy to find, they are going to jump to it almost every time and decide whether it's worth looking into more or not.

Think through the WSO section. I know I can't be the only one who does this. Do you open up a WSO, start reading it, decide if it's interesting or not, go down and check the price and then make another decision on whether it's worth it to go back up and finish reading the sales letter? I know I do. Ryan Deiss does that now where they have a simple script that reveals the price, call to action button below the screen only when the video sales letter goes to a certain part in the pitch. His studies on it are very detailed.

Quick what kind of brushes were offered in the steam cleaning above? And what was the price? Maybe the brushes matter to me, but when I put price front and center, you're having people make a decision prior to knowing what I'm going to do for that money. I was satisfied with my tests of pricing strategies.

Claude- Where on your website do you even mention the services you provide. I'm out of town at the moment and left my iPad behind so maybe you have another website you provide in your books. I couldn't find anything but your books on your website, but maybe I'm just blind.

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11 years ago

Originally Posted by MRomeo09

Take a look at the picture really quick. Not 1 in 10 people would know or care that they guarantee that the spots don't come back or they'll come back and fix it. Most of them are going to see that price, and that's all they are going to see.

And that's the problem with putting a price out there. You can't control the conversation. You can't build the value. They are just going to glance at it, then make the decision whether to learn more or not. If you put your prices out there easy to find, they are going to jump to it almost every time and decide whether it's worth looking into more or not.

Think through the WSO section. I know I can't be the only one who does this. Do you open up a WSO, start reading it, decide if it's interesting or not, go down and check the price and then make another decision on whether it's worth it to go back up and finish reading the sales letter? I know I do. Ryan Deiss does that now where they have a simple script that reveals the price, call to action button below the screen only when the video sales letter goes to a certain part in the pitch. His studies on it are very detailed.

Quick what kind of brushes were offered in the steam cleaning above? And what was the price? Maybe the brushes matter to me, but when I put price front and center, you're having people make a decision prior to knowing what I'm going to do for that money. I was satisfied with my tests of pricing strategies.

Claude- Where on your website do you even mention the services you provide. I'm out of town at the moment and left my iPad behind so maybe you have another website you provide in your books. I couldn't find anything but your books on your website, but maybe I'm just blind.

You're looking at my blog or my speaker site. go to Localprofitgeyser dot com. it's a basic FAQ website that explains my service. It's the link in my books.

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iamchrisgreen

11 years ago

Claude has hit on something very important. If you can build the trust through your content before they hit your price page and you also help guide them to the right product then I can't see any reason for not having prices on your site.

I agree that some clients will need more of a consultative approach, but at least they can see your starting prices and you aren't wasting your time.

This guy for example has decent prices, but builds trust vis optins, lists and videos etc:

SEO Dubai Businesses Trust By No.1 SEO Company | Dubai | SEO Sherpa (no affiliation)

Great conversation so far guys. Thank you for your input.

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11 years ago

Originally Posted by iamchrisgreen

Claude has hit on something very important. If you can build the trust through your content before they hit your price page and you also help guide them to the right product then I can't see any reason for not having prices on your site.

It's trust but it's more about credibility and authority. Then he's also sending the message in his books how he has this particular strategy for getting people ranked in Google that unless you search high and low you're not going to find everyone offers the same duplicate service. So you kind of have to go to him for it if you want it. You're not shopping him for it as one might be when looking for someone to do typical SEO work or website design.

Then using posted price - and this is key - a high price point - to foster perception of a high value.

Without those other elements in place, posting a high price to weed out "price shoppers" is something people do when they don't have a system for wedding them out otherwise and don't want to get time wasted on time wasters. But of course that impacts possible great clients who may have called and were figuring their budget just under the posted price, who may have been converted to paying clients and then once the work relationship begins prove over their lifetime to be very profitable...

...but because they were at first looking at the price and seeing something just over what they were looking to spend, decided to pass and move on to the next site. So you'd lose the chance to ever do business with them because you pushed them away at the very start by forcing them to make a primary and FINAL decision based mostly on price alone.

So they make that decision because of the posted price and move on to the next guy, who, because they don't have their prices listed, gets the inquiry from the value oriented buyer and after 6 minutes with them, has them agreeing what they want is worth amending their budget to get.

And their lifetime value? All can go to that guy.

So can all their referrals.

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PriTuk

11 years ago

In my opinion, if your target audience in terms of customers is well defined, then it is okay to publish your prices.

In today's market, where the world is your oyster, why confine yourself to one price as your offering could be different / tailor made depending upon the customers needs and requirements.

At the end of the day, the nuances of pricing a service is different from pricing a product.

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Aaron Doud

11 years ago

I just want to add one piece here that people are forgetting.

Not all price shoppers are looking for the lowest price.

And not everyone who wants to know a price is even a price shopper.

Simply put if you see something that is a relative commodity and I can't get a basic idea of you prices (packages start at $$$) I won't bother contacting you unless you have been recommended highly.

Why? Because I don't have time to waste letting someone sell me. Because I have no idea if it is in my budget.

If my budget in $2,000 and you offer nothing that cheap we have both wasted time.

On the same note if I have a budget of $10,000 and you only build $2,000 or cheaper websites it doesn't work.

Some hint at price is helpful. Even if it is a standment like "We are not the cheapest but if you give us a call we will give you a quote for a customized website that fits your needs and your budget."

Of course said quote may end up being "We can not do what you want for $$$$$ but we can do this for $$$$ and what you want for $$$$"

Edit: On a related note...

If you need customers so badly that you are not trying to filter and qualify (what prices on websites are for IMO) than you need to have prices on your website even more. Because you need to show that you are a great value.

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11 years ago

Originally Posted by Aaron Doud

Not all price shoppers are looking for the lowest price.

"Price shoppers." By definition, they look for the least expensive, most bang for their buck. So they surf to a web site looking for services and since they figure it's all the same stuff no matter who they get give or take, they look at the price tag. So of course they're looking at lowest price. If they weren't, if some other factors were more important, then they wouldn't be "price shoppers."

if you see something that is a relative commodity and I can't get a basic idea of you prices (packages start at $$$) I won't bother contacting you. Why? Because I don't have time to waste letting someone sell me. Because I have no idea if it is in my budget. If my budget in $2,000 and you offer nothing that cheap we have both wasted time.

All of that's exactly what price shoppers say.

The value oriented shopper says, "if I see something that is a relative commodity and I can't get a basic idea of you prices (packages start at $$$) I might contact you to find out what they are if I think it's what I'm looking for and get a sense that it may be. Why? Because I don't have time to waste - my time is money and it's worth a few minutes to inquire and find out rather than hopping around wasting time looking at site after site just trying to find the lowest price and then come to find out it's not what I want. What's the point of me saving $100 spending five hours searching if my time's worth $100 an hour? I have no idea if you're in my budget but if it turns out you're not what I'm looking for than at least what I'll get out of talking with you is a better understanding of what I am looking for and what I absolutely don't want. I don't consider it a waste of time, I consider it part of my research. It's only price shoppers who don't want to bother learning anything much and are way more concerned with only knowing what the price tag is - that's the metric they're concerned about. They'll complain later because they got what they paid for, but I don't want to have complaints so all this is part of me doing my due diligence."

Some hint at price is helpful.

You don't need to post prices for that. You just need to look expensive if you're higher priced and look cheap if you're cheap.

Not all price shoppers bother to look at the price anyway. There's always some who slip through.

I had a real price shopper last week. Guy calls and the first words out of his mouth were "can you work with a $3,000 budget?" and since that's about half of where I start I figured there's no point talking further with this dude BUT I told him so and offered up a couple of earnest suggestions BUT guess what? The guy didn't even want to listen he was rushing off the phone.

Think about that.

He had made the time to speak with me but as soon as he found out I'm twice the price he's in a hurry to get off the phone DESPITE THE FACT that a professional who makes TWICE what he's ready to pay and serves a higher paying clientele was willing to offer him a couple of pieces of helpful advice for his search.

He didn't care to know a ******* thing except the damn price, excuse my language.

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iamchrisgreen

11 years ago

Originally Posted by misterme

I had a real price shopper last week. Guy calls and the first words out of his mouth were "can you work with a $3,000 budget?" and since that's about half of where I start I figured there's no point talking further with this dude BUT I told him so and offered up a couple of earnest suggestions BUT guess what? The guy didn't even want to listen he was rushing off the phone.

So if you'd had "prices start at $6,000" somewhere you probably wouldn't have wasted time on the call?

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11 years ago

Originally Posted by iamchrisgreen

So if you'd had "prices start at $6,000" somewhere you probably wouldn't have wasted time on the call?

First of all, there's no guarantee he would've seen it. But regardless...

Second of all, it took me all of one minute so it's okay to invest a little time exactly because not too long ago I had a person call, who, had I posted a $6,000 starting price, would've passed me by. When she called, that was somewhat outside of her range (she was budgeting $5000) but in talking with her, her desire really got built up and she was open to amending her budget...

...and I got the gig...

...and that turned into a total contract of $17,140.

$17,140 I would NOT have made had I posted a minimum starting price on my site.

And now she's referring someone to me.

Case closed.

(so please, do go ahead and post your prices because when someone like that $17,140 client sees your rate and passes you up and moves on to someone like me, I want you to know it's sincerely appreciated.)

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11 years ago

Originally Posted by misterme

Second of all, it took me all of one minute so it's okay to invest a little time exactly because not too long ago I had a person call, who, had I posted a $6,000 starting price, would've passed me by. When she called, that was somewhat outside of her range (she was budgeting $5000) but in talking with her, her desire really got built up and she was open to amending her budget...

I've had leads who have seen the price and were interested even though they had a lower budget. Your situation, do you know for certain she would have passed you by? I always get people saying they have a budget of $1,000 and then it magically gets raised. I have people who say they have a ridiculously low budget, but have seen the prices, ended up buying, etc.

It's easy to think that you're going to lose out on people but you're not going to if you have a proper funnel in place. Follow Hubspot's lead on that... they do it better than anyone in my opinion.

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isaacsmithjones

11 years ago

Thanks for starting this thread, Chris:

Some really useful information.

As for Claude:

I'm really interested in what you're doing. As people have already mentioned, you've generally already built up the value BEFORE people have visited your website, so it's okay to post price.

Because you're beyond the "commodity" stage, by the time the person visits you. As you said: You have a couple ways that people can enter into your funnel.

Thanks for the info... I'm thinking of how I might implement that.

Is that the reason why you don't have your website in your Sig?

EDIT:
Claude... Thanks, I just checked out your website. Nice and simple and informative.

I understand what you were saying about your pricing being "matter of fact", and casually mentioned. It's not like you wrote it in big red letters. If someone has read through your page to that point, then the odds are that they're already interested.

Thanks
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11 years ago

Originally Posted by isaacsmithjones

Is that the reason why you don't have your website in your Sig?
.

The Warrior forum isn't my market. I sell a book, now and then to the members of the Offline Forum. But my services is only sold at retail to end clients.

Thanks
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isaacsmithjones

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre

The Warrior forum isn't my market. I sell a book, now and then to the members of the Offline Forum. But my services is only sold at retail to end clients.

Cool. Thanks for your response, Claude. Makes sense.

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savidge4

11 years ago

My sales are in a sense price driven. HOWEVER, they are more importantly feature driven. I have done this more than long enough to know what clients are looking for. I have simply broken the most common "Wants" into price points.

In my local market in particular. I am the only design firm that lists price. That Makes me the bench mark that the rest are measured to. ( A good place to be in ) That is probably why I land on average 8 jobs a week, and my competitors get 2 or 3 maybe.

Let me ask you this... Ever look for a car online? You goto a site and it says call for a quote.. do you call? Ever look for a house online? Most expensive investment made in most peoples life time... if there was no price are you still interested, or do you keep looking?

I think there is a difference between Pricing something, and Educating. Yes I can sell you a $300 website ( my base price by the way - never sold one at that price, but its the base non the less ) With that $300 website these are some features you might want to add on page SEO $X, G+ Listing $X, Custom log and graphics $X etc.

Step up to the next package SEO is included.. 2 steps up G+ is included. Get to this level and all of these things are included. Still not what you want? We offer custom solutions call for a quote.

If they are ONLINE and looking for a web designer... they already know what most of this is. If not, I have links to explain each and every one ( examples included as needed - logos etc )

Setting values across the board, no longer means things are getting more expensive as you go up the price scale, it means you are saving more, than deciding to add things later.

as an example starting at level 3 a Mobile site is included. Starting at Level 4 my ROI Guarantee kicks in. I mention these 2 in particular for a reason. my 5th most looked at page on my site is my guarantee page. My 6th, is the mobile site page. to give you an even better understanding of how important that is... both of these pages are set to no-index. - they are NOT landing pages.

That is a clear indication that my page is doing its JOB... it is educating, and better yet Pre qualifying people that CONTACT me. ( this means they HAVE reached the Tipping Point )

Late last year I got a wild hair. I dropped my website. As in gone. Pulled completely, no longer in the serps never existed. The old site was producing client contact, but I was spinning my wheels with building proposals and meeting clients and doing this and doing that. I spent more time chasing work, than actually working.

End Of February I put up the new site. Cleaner look, better navigation ( 5 years of adding made it a cluge of a site ) The referrals from the new site... went from developing proposals to closing deals. the difference? PRICES. ( the better layout didn't hurt! ) I now spend 2 hours with a client fine tuning the expectations and design concept ( taking pictures, getting text information etc ). I used to spend 2 hours selling.

I no longer have a website, I have a machine. basically the same machine, that I sell my clients, but was to stupid to build for myself in the past!

Prices will only work, if you understand how to have them work FOR you and not against you. Pricing is the determination of Profit. If you do no understand how long something is going to take, or the expense of added's ( IE Plugins etc ) you are destined to work yourself into a hole. The idea is to walk away from a project and say.. "after expenses I made $X per hour." If all goes well, the X is better than $100 an hour.

Thanks
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11 years ago

Originally Posted by iAmNameLess

I've had leads who have seen the price and were interested even though they had a lower budget. Your situation, do you know for certain she would have passed you by?

Yes, actually. In that particular circumstance she distinctly told me, when in the conversation I first mentioned price, that if she knew it was that much she would've passed me by.

But by the time I introduced what my price started at, she was already hooked. Why? I had touched on something very, very important to her I would not have known to touch on if we had never spoken. I would never have had the opportunity to even speak with her.

This isn't a one time situation either. For example, I had another lead call in and it turned out my starting price was at the very top of their budget. And they booked in just a smidgeon over that starting price. At the time I was $5000. But by the time we were done with our working relationship they had spent a total of $12,000.

I can't tell you how many stories I have like that.

You may be wondering, as I did, WHY is it that people are so particular about how little they'll spend at the very onset when they're first looking for a provider - but then seem to open up their wallets freely and in very large amounts SO EASILY afterwards?

Well, it dawned on me that the two instances aren't related. They're not the same situations. And if they're not the same situations, then price isn't working the same way both times either.

Read the next thing here. I think this'll clear it up:

Originally Posted by savidge4

In my local market in particular. I am the only design firm that lists price...

That is probably why I land on average 8 jobs a week, and my competitors get 2 or 3 maybe...

My sales are in a sense price driven. HOWEVER, they are more importantly feature driven. I have done this more than long enough to know what clients are looking for. I have simply broken the most common "Wants" into price points.

You see, you're crediting listing prices with being the reason you think you book 8 to your competition's 2 - but I'd believe you get those sales because of the way you sell them AFTER they call.

In other words, what people seem to be missing here, is the concept that price works differently when potential clients first come upon your site then it does when you're deeper into the selling process.

When they first come to a site price acts as either a lure or repellant.

When they first come to a site and see a price, their particular buying triggers, their wants, their desires, their particular itch, isn't being scratched yet. You haven't become the obvious choice, simply put, they're not sold. There's no compelling reason why they should do business with you beyond all others. ALL THEY HAVE TO BASE A DECISION ON is price and what they get for it - which is exactly by the way how we decide on buying commodities: How much stuff do we get? How big is it? What does it weigh? What color is it? Anything that can be measured and compared and then assessed against its price is commodity decision making.

Price is the only consideration in the absence of other values.

And so, when they come to a site with prices, essentially they're being asked to make a final and lasting decision whether or not to at least check to see if indeed maybe this provider knows exactly how to help you best and get what you want in a way that surpasses all others... just make that final decision NOW based mostly on the price you see listed. Are you to be lured in or repelled away?

This is a far cry from making a final and lasting decision AFTER the consumer has full knowledge, all their particular concerns have been covered, is fully informed and THEN makes a decision on whether they feel now the expense is justified.

That's when price is evaluated as cost, against the value to be received which includes not only measurable "stuff" but in addition, the feeling this is the right provider, the trust, the particular ways this provider has pointed out they'll take care of you that deeply satisfies your own particular wants and desires, and maybe is even customized to fit you perfectly to obtain the outcome exactly as you want it to be.

You're sold. Price doesn't act as a lure or repellant now. Now price is viewed as the thing you pay to obtain so very much more.

Big difference in the role price plays depending on where it's used.

So let's not confuse how price functions differently depending on at what point in the process it's used.

Thanks
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11 years ago

I have a client/student that owns a large retail store. I gave her an ad that I ran, very successfully...to give it a try. It got good results, predictably.

But then she decided to try something new. She ran the exact same ad, without prices.

Her sales from the ad increased about 20%. And I was at a loss to explain why.

Her sales staff had to put more effort into making the sales. But there were more net sales, for a higher average sale.

I still put my priced in my ads (even Youtube videos), because I don't want to take the time to really sell at retail anymore.

But, based on this one instance, I'm guessing my sales might go up if I just didn't mention price.

Thanks
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11 years ago

Originally Posted by iAmNameLess

Are you doing or wanting to do high volume or are you focusing more on just a few clients but very high quality ones?

I'm a personal service so a reasonable number of clients is what I handle. I wouldn't say they're "high quality" though they are, the important factor is that they not be so price sensitive, though price is important to everybody. And the way I'm currently accomplishing that is if I take price out of the equation entirely up front, by not posting it, therefore not having it play any part in influencing a prospect's decision whether or not to contact me, then I know they're more likely coming to me on the strength of other factors not related to price.

Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre

She ran the exact same ad, without prices.

Her sales from the ad increased about 20%. And I was at a loss to explain why.

I'd suggest the reason is because everyone's common question is, "what's the price?" When you give them the price in the ad you've answered that question, and now armed with what they believe is all the information they need, they go off and price compare instead of calling.

If you don't give them the answer, they have to call.

So the natural result is, more people call.

If more people call now it's up to the math: your conversion rate.

Even without a bump in calls, what I wrote in previous posts and above may be applicable here insofar as attracting more of the better customer types when not posting prices and perhaps that's the reason for more sales.

[ 1 ] Thanks
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11 years ago

Originally Posted by misterme

I'd suggest the reason is because everyone's common question is, "what's the price?" When you give them the price in the ad you've answered that question, and now armed with what they believe is all the information they need, they go off and price compare instead of calling.

If you don't give them the answer, they have to call.

So the natural result is, more people call.

If more people call now it's up to the math: your conversion rate.

Even without a bump in calls, what I wrote in previous posts and above may be applicable here insofar as attracting more of the better customer types when not posting prices and perhaps that's the reason for more sales.

That makes perfect sense. My ads are really mini presentations. Most people come in to buy, based on what they read in an ad. I can flip them to something, better, more expensive...but I want them coming in to buy something.

My ads appeal to the higher end shopper. And maybe that's another reason that not including prices, helps get more calls....and more net sales.

Thanks

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11 years ago

I personally think if you don't list prices you're missing out on a lot of leads. I've been able to test this over the last few years and can say hands down that from an inbound perspective, you generate more leads and have higher quality leads with prices listed. If it's something with SEO, you obviously can't have a one price fits all type of deal, but for websites, you can and should.

A little more info... Have a strong call to action under your pricing that says to call for details on current specials or something similar... that gives you the people you're afraid of losing that are on the cusp.

IMO... if you're worried about someone seeing prices before seeing value, then you're absolutely doing it wrong whether you display prices or not.

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11 years ago

Misterme, I think we may have different views on listing prices due to different goals in business. Are you doing or wanting to do high volume or are you focusing more on just a few clients but very high quality ones?

Thanks

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