There’s been a conversation on Threads lately about when is the best time to reveal your pricing as a service-based business. This is especially relevant to freelancers and solopreneurs, who tend to both make a lot of sales or “discovery” calls and dread them specifically for the reason that money-talk makes things…awkward.
The dreaded question
“So, how much will that cost?” I used to hate getting on calls with prospects purely because I never knew how to answer this question. If you share your price and it’s too high, you risk losing the gig. If you price yourself too low, you either scare them away because they think the quality of your output might be low or you end up doing the work unhappily for less than you deserve.
So how do you deal with this situation? My favourite method is to simply share my price upfront on my website. But this isn’t the right option for everyone. Let’s look at both choices.
Sharing your price upfront
This is what I do on my website because I find it leads to the least amount of discomfort when talking with people who are interested in working with me. It immediately positions you in the market as a budget or premium option (along with the rest of your brand) and lets prospects know whether they can afford you or not straight away. If you’re opting for this route and happen to offer payment plans, I recommend letting people know that so you’re not leaving money on the table. With the economy in its current state, people who would normally afford you and value you might be struggling a little so it can pay to help them out. You still get a great client.
The main con of the up-front approach is that it does scare away a LOT of people if you’re pricing yourself at a premium but this is balanced by saving everyone time that would have been wasted on an unaligned sales call.
Sharing your price on the call
If you’re an amazing sales person who enjoys convincing people of your worth, this is the option for you.
It’s also a great option if you’re just starting out or desperate for work, and don’t mind working with lower budgets. I’ve found in the past that when I hid my pricing, most people interested in my services had no idea how much brand and web design was worth. They’d come to me wanting a logo for $50 or a full custom website for $800. There are people who’ll offer these prices but the quality tends to be poor and the work usually won’t hold up well over time.
If you’re working with a great copywriter who can nail your messaging, you can avoid attracting people like this in the first place.
A happy medium
Sometimes, there’s no easy way to share pricing due to the nature of your work. You might want some wiggle room for more customised projects. In this case, you can share a pricing range upfront, like “Starting from $XXXX” or “$XXX – $XXXX” rather than a specific flat rate.
Ultimately, you get to decide which method works best for you.