Confused on How to Price Your Stuff? Read This.
One of the things I see people struggle with the most is how to price their stuff.
And I get it! It's hard. A lot of it comes down to how you value yourself, what industry you are in, etc. etc.
We can talk about that another day..
But today I wanted to introduce some common pricing models that might help you simplify your quoting.
I'm also going to get into a very important detail about PROCESS. So be sure to read to the end.
Here's a list of ways you can price your stuff:
All upfront
50% down, 50% in 90 days
50% down, 50% on completion
Continuity (ongoing monthly fee)
Continuity (with x months commitment)
Start up fee + Continuity
All upfront:
This is a really common way to price coaching programs, but can be more difficult to sell. Imagine the sticker shock of "Well to work with me costs $30,000 for the year.." VERSUS "My fee for services is $2,500 a month.."
..Which is the same price, just made to sound more affordable.
50% Down, 50% in 90 days:
Pitching this way is another simple way to make things feel more affordable and is common in business consulting.
Never ever do 50% on completion because the client will always manage to find something that is undone, dragging out the project for months while you feel squeezed for work.
Continuity (My favorite):
If you provide services that need monthly management (Advertising is a great example), continuity is a great way to go. This is also how you can price ongoing group programs (example: Frank Kern Inner Circle or my upcoming Matt Wright Inner Circle ;-) ).
However, this can be a model that you roll into after completion of an initial program.
Maybe a webinar and funnel build costs $10,000, sold as $2,500/mo. for 4 months... Then you can downlevel them to ads for $1,000 a month.
Now how do you choose? What if you are doing custom quotes every time?
Writing custom proposals/contracts for every new client SUCKS. Especially when the changes are only minor.
For funnel builds... Maybe someone needs a few more automations...
For health coaching stuff... Maybe someone requires a few more supplements you include in their package.
My advice?
Price it flat and eat the loss.
The amount of time you save is worth more than the money you will make by getting a couple extra hundred bucks on a proposal.
AND here's the real benefit:
When you do value-based pricing AND keep it at a flat fee AND have authority built in your market, the people who don't need as much work done won't question your price.
You will actually have an increased margin on these types of customers.
The Bottom Line:
If you’re a coach who knows that their timeline to success revolves around a specific number of days or calls, packaging is a great way to go.
If you have less clear timelines like in more consulting/advisory relationships, retainer is my preference.