Pricing Strategy: How to Charge Your Worth with Confidence
How do you feel when someone asks the dreaded question on a sales call… ‘So, what’s the investment?’
If you have every been on a sales call and felt that sick feeling in your stomach, you aren’t alone. I must have had 100s of sales conversations now, and trust me, I’ve had some shockers in the past! Or maybe you struggle to even get the conversation to the point of talking about the money. I’ve been there too, and that isn’t going to grow your business.
With 10 years running businesses under my belt, I can safely say that there is one thing I am certain of. Your confidence in your offer (that includes your price) is everything.
The truth is, if you aren’t clear on your pricing, you won’t be confident in what you’re putting out into the market. And here is the hard truth: buyers can sense a lack of confidence. If you aren’t sure about your prices, your potential clients won't be sure about your value and therefore won’t buy from you.
When learning how to price services, clarity breeds confidence - and confidence drives sales. I want to share with you what a confident pricing strategy looks like and please get in touch with any questions because this is a really tricky, and personal, subject.
The great debate: To publish prices or not?
One of the questions I get asked most often by service-based business owners is ‘Should I put my prices on my website?’
If you sell products, it’s a given. But for service providers, there are different schools of thought. There is no absolute right or wrong answer here; it depends entirely on your business stage, your industry, and how you feel about it. I have a mix of clients who do and don't share their rates.
If you look at my own website, I take a hybrid approach. I don't share the prices of my bespoke, high-value packages, but you will see clear pricing for my workshops and lower-ticket services. If you do choose to share pricing but you are nervous to do so, you could use a ‘Prices from £X’ model as a great middle ground.
Remember, industry context matters… Look at what your industry peers are doing. For example, it’s quite standard for photographers to list package prices on their websites. If I’m working with a photography client, I’ll usually tell them to publish their rates because that's what their market expects. However there are plenty of coaches (like me) that don’t publish their rates on their website or socials.
4 steps to finding a price you're confident with
Charging your worth means picking a number that makes you feel both comfortable and empowered. Here is how you can use strategic research to find that number.
1. Conduct savvy market research
If you are feeling stuck or unsure on how to charge, the best place to start is with market research. You can get so much information online and on social media profiles to help with this. Create a spreadsheet and get documenting what your competitors are charging. Write down what their inclusions are, so that you can truly compare the offerings and take the time to reflect on the information. Aim to look at 3-5 competitors that you admire and don’t allow this to make you feel inadequate - just remember some people will be further along in their journey.
Here is what I do when it comes to market research:-
Website Audits: See what your competitors are sharing on their website about their charge rates. Sometimes you are better off going on their socials, browning highlights, or looking at the links in their bio for their latest programme rates. You can even ask AI to do the hard work for you and build a quick comparison table for you.
The ‘Mystery Shop’: This is an incredibly powerful tactic. Set up a separate email address, create a realistic scenario, and inquire with competitors. Not only will you get direct pricing data, but you’ll also see their entire sales process, learn what they value, and spot things you don't want to do in your own business. I did this a lot in my previous business - I made lots of phone calls with a pretend story and asked for charge rates. It felt out of my comfort zone but it was a standard approach in the industry at the time and it helped us price our services competitively.
2. Define Your Market Positioning
Once your research gives you a realistic price range for your service, you need to decide where you fit. To do this, you need to be clear on where you want to sit in the market…
Are you positioning yourself as a budget-friendly, accessible option?
Or are you positioning yourself as a high-end, premium specialist?
Or maybe somewhere in between in the mid-market?
It’s a well-documented that women in business frequently undercharge for their services. IPSE research shows a 13% gender pay gap in self-employment. Which basically means you could increase your rates by 10% and you would still be charging less than a male led business owner. So use this as empowerment to know that the price you come up with is probably pretty competitive when you look at the full market.
Source: https://www.ipse.co.uk/articles/why-do-self-employed-women-earn-less-than-men
3. Decide on your pricing
This is THE most important step in the process. Make a decision on your pricing. Be super clear on how much you charge and what it includes. Don’t overcomplicate it with lots of different options / add ons / etc. Especially if you are in the early stages. Get clear and confident with one price and offer, get known for that, and then you can bring other things in over time. If you’ve done your market research, and your prices are in alignment with the market, then you can sell that service and make money.
This may seem like an obvious step, but it is an important one. I am going to say it again(!). Decide on your price, write it down and be clear on what is included for that price. Make sure you keep that piece of paper in front of you when you have sales conversations so you emit confidence (this is a whole other blog post!).
Once you’ve decided and shared your pricing on a sales call, is to start explaining to your potential client why it is that amount. Remember that you do not need to justify your prices to ANYONE!!!! Money is simply an exchange of energy. And we need to get better at being okay with that. The sales conversation is simply an offer, or an invitation, for someone to buy from you. The decision is up to them. Stand strong on the belief in the value you provide!
4. Commit to Annual Price Reviews
Your pricing isn’t something that should stay the same forever and I highly recommend reviewing your pricing structure at least once a year. At a minimum, your rates should increase in line with inflation, but ideally, they should go up slightly more than inflation to reflect your growing expertise, efficiency, and the compounding value you deliver to your clients.
I like to keep my fees consistent for my existing clients. They have invested in me and believe in me, and I want to reward loyalty with conssitent prices. So I choose to increase my prices annually for my new clients. I feel like this is fair and aligned to my values and how I like to do business. It annoys me when I see adverts for companies giving 'new clients hefty discounts. Your existing client are so valuable to you! This however is a personal choice and in my previous business we did serve annual price increases to all clients (the business model was different, and charged by the hour). Remember this is your business so you get to make the decisions (fun, but sometimes overwhelming I know).
In summary
When you stop treating pricing like a panicked afterthought and start treating it like a core pillar of your marketing strategy, your confidence changes. Remember that your pricing is up to you, and you can test the market and tweak it if you need to.
Find the pricing that you feel confident in, and practice saying it out loud in sales conversations. I do sales role plays with my clients and although it can feel cringey, it is so valuable and really elevates their confidence. Boopk in some time next week to properly look at your pricing and check in that you feel confident and excited about it. Your bank account—and your future clients—will thank you for the clarity.
Thanks for reading and if you’d like to reach out you can find me on insta @jenlisterstrategy and if you want to chat more about your pricing you can book a call here.
