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This question popped up three times this week:
Should I list prices for websites/SEO etc on my website?
I’ve heard good arguments for both sides:
“Listing prices is open and honest for consumers, it lets them determine if they can afford you without having to talk to you, and it lets you sell directly from a website eliminating time-consuming consultations.”
“Not listing prices is in your best interest, it lets you put prospects through a consultative process to determine their exact needs and customize a solution for them, which also allows for premium pricing.”
But to me it basically comes down to one simple distinction…
Are you selling “it” as a product or a service?
If you are selling it as a product — where everyone gets the exact same thing (or a choice of different packages of the exact same thing) — then listing prices might be a good idea. Especially if your prices are relatively low or you want to sell from the interweb.
But if you want to get premium prices or you’re selling it as a customized service — where every client is getting something slightly different, if only in terms of management / hand holding / results / expectations etc — then you’re better off not listing prices and putting people through a consultative process.
Neither way is “right” — they’re both useful in different situations.
And my best students implement both strategies 😉
I agree Kyle, if it is a fixed price object: course, book, report etc then I prefer to see sales pages with the price upfront.
On the other side, just last week I removed writing package prices from my own site. Reason: there are too many variables.
I now have a questionnaire for clients to complete, offering everything from 100 word blog blasts through to press releases (they can skip past what they don’t need) and I am then able to come back to them with the best package price to fit their specific requirements.
This is working well, allows me to offer clients services beyond ‘the article’, and encourages them to think about things like keywords and competitors.
Great topic.
Kerry
Perfect. You can bet the people that take the time to fill out a survey are much more qualified, and once you put them through a consultative process they’ll spend more money with you too.
I had prices for my consultive work. After hearing you speak about consulting and not displaying prices, I removed them, and feel much better about it.
Aaron
You can always use a “priced from..” approach if you feel that your prices are a major selling point. I often wonder how many possible clients slip through because they feel that internet consultancy sounds an expensive service?
I don’t want clients who are thinking “oh that sounds expensive”, I want clients who are thinking “I wonder what kind of return we can get on that investment” 😉
But isn’t that the same thing? They can only make a decision on whether their return on investment is good or not once the price has come into the equation. If the price is unknown you are relying on their curiosity to take it a step further. If the price is known up front, they know whether the service is in their price range or not. Prices of $199 or $1999 are worlds apart and known up front would eliminate those that are never going to afford the latter price.
Anyway, just my opinion. 🙂
I’m talking about a mindset difference — some people are focused on price, others on value. Obviously you have to know the price and potential return before you can calculate ROI, but it’s the mindset coming in to the relationship that I’m interested in.
The clients I and many of my students are working with (and focus our marketing on) spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on marketing each year, they’re not worried about whether something costs $200 or $2000… and frankly it’s not worth my time to deal with clients at that lower end of the market.
Your original question was “I often wonder how many possible clients slip through because they feel that internet consultancy sounds an expensive service?” and my response is anyone who feels that it “sounds expensive” isn’t ever going to be a client of mine, so the answer is 0 😉
Yep understand your point Kyle. But can you get into that end of the market when you are starting out, from day one? If so I’d love to know how.
You bet, that’s what my trainings are all about.
Check out the interview I did with Jock — he landed a 6-figure client in 6 weeks using the strategies I teach.
Thanks Kyle, checking out a few of your case studies.
It’s funny, I was having this conversation with a friend of mine recently and I think both have advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are you really want to taylor your service to the clients needs as I know with my business I don’t want to portray myself as a vendor with set prices.
However others in the industry have stated that if a potential prospect views your site for the first time, and doesn’t see any prices they may be the type of person that just wants to know, so they can decide whether first they can afford it and second if what is offered is the right fit for their budget and needs. If no prices are displayed they may just click off and look elsewhere.
I always think it’s a good idea to offer something free so even if they do not see any prices they can opt in there details get the free information and you can always follow up with them later.
Alex yep you are right. Collect a lead and build a relationship, educating them as you go is definitely the right move!