[social_warfare]
To list your pricing on your website, or not to list? That is the question.
In many service industries, there is a constant debate over this. It’s not just about whether or not to put pricing on your website, but also whether or not you should even discuss budget or investment/pricing in the beginning stages at all.
As my headline implies, I’m in the “bring it up early” camp. Specifically, I’ll talk about the website here, but I believe in this across the board.
“BUT WAIT,” you might say, “if I put my pricing on my website, they’ll move on before I get a chance to really sell them on the value of my product/service!”
To that, I say: don’t waste each other’s time.
And also: the people who move on are those who probably aren’t a great fit, anyway.
We live in a world of almost instant information. People are expecting more and more transparency from businesses. It’s extremely easy to call around for pricing, or google average pricing for x, or check multiple websites to get a general idea – and not in that order. Usually the opposite order.
If your website doesn’t answer or at least satisfactorily address the pricing question to a client who is still researching things, you are more likely to lose. Especially if another business is willing to address it.
If somebody truly cannot afford to work with me, even if they really really want to, it benefits both of us to get that out of the way upfront. Otherwise, we both wasted our time. Yes, I got a chance to show my expertise, and hopefully they will contact me down the road, but what if I had spent that hard-sales time talking with somebody who already knew the general starting point?
I’m not implying that we should compete on price alone. Absolutely not. But any expert in their field should be able to give a ballpark estimate at the very least. It benefits everybody to know the starting point, and it helps you use your sales time and effort more effectively.
There are better ways to build repertoire than constantly trying to hard-sell to people who aren’t financially (or otherwise) ready for what you’re offering.
If pricing varies by situation, you can say that.
There are so many ways to address pricing that don’t have to involve a full-scale price list, if that’s not appropriate for what you do.
For example, on our website’s services page, we say, “Website pricing varies by project, need, and so many other factors. Typically, this investment starts at $5000+ for most of the websites that we design and develop. For a more accurate quote, let us know what you need.” (link to contact page)
We’ve had that up for a while, and we still frequently close sales for double that amount, and then some. Nobody pulls up our website and points to that paragraph to haggle the pricing. It’s just an average starting point. People get that.
If a service call costs $85 most of time, put that on your site. If your hourly rate is $150, or your mobile car wash rates start at $50, put it on your website.
The other argument is that competitors will see your rates, and lower theirs accordingly.
And to that, I say: let them. If you’re in a race to the bottom, and your clients are only price-shopping anyway, that’s a different thing than what I’m addressing here. I’m assuming you have a quality product or service, and you want to charge what it’s worth.
The point here isn’t to compete on price – it’s to speak to the people you want as your clients. You can still compete on value, service, and other factors while addressing pricing on your website. In some industries (especially those that are more tight-lipped on pricing), it might help you stand out even more.
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