Ladies and Gentlemen….Lower Your Prices By Making things Products…

by Chris Johnson

Instigator, anthill kicker.

Author website

I’ve been a freelancer, mostly, since November of 2007.  (I closed about 4mm in loans in 2008, mostly 1st quarter).  I’ve built websites, blogs, I’ve set up CRMS, and I’ve created landing pages, and sold a variety of e-books.   I created an ill fated subscription service, (got it up to 30 members, then remembered the things I hate about loan officers) and I’ve built a ton of websites, done a ton of writing, and had an utter blast.  I’ve delivered sometimes, f’d it up sometimes, and learned more faster than I ever have at any period of my life.

One of the things I learned…and that Dan Kennedy would freak out about is that lowering your prices means more profit, more relaxation, and better, happier clients with a chance to succeed.   I used to charge people about $2,000 per blog.   And I’d do a reasonable job with the blogs. I’d spend time training people in what WordPress does, I’d train them in how to post, I’d share my analytics with them, and I’d go through it.  But for $2,000, you gotta have value.  So people would continue to call.  The service I offered wasn’t worth $2,000 to them, they felt like something MORE was needed.  And honestly, they were right.

I had more time sunk into support and followup than the stuff that I was charging for.   So, I thought some more about it.

And decided to lower all of my prices on everything I do.  Because if you’re only charging $700 or $800 it’s a far different situation than $2,000.   People can afford it, and it’s easier to meet that expectation.  They have a level of indifference about the outcome because, honestly, $700 bucks isn’t going to make or break most months for most people.  You can increase value by adding more information (videos etc) and it’s a BONUS and not an ENTITLEMENT.

To do that, though, ya need a defined process.   The blue ocean thing: everyone was using the Thesis framework for blogs, why not make ’em look cool?  I mean really cool? Take away the option from the customer, sell a product, not a service, and streamline EVERYTHING to the essence.   The plugins I use (thanks to Eric, Keith & Alec), the way a blog will be, and the theme.   It’s better than undefined hourly work, it’s better than having people feel like they are entitled to their pound of flesh.

And–it’s easier to sell when you know what you’re offering and what you’re not.

Making things into ‘products’  makes the “Help-u-Fail” model seem more appealing.  You have a defined set of services, offered cheerfully on a “Take it or leave it” basis, and nobody is anxious when things aren’t perfect.  The services aren’t for everyone, but they are nothing to be contemptuous of as long as they are honestly marketed, honestly delivered, and honestly sold.  I can afford to refund the money and get people out of my hair, and they can afford to say no.  Nothing is unclear, and nothing is left undefined.  You still have to be competent and excellent. You still have to make sure that you do what you say.  I treat everything I do as a product now, a set of defined things that don’t leave room for ambiguity.  My customers are getting happier and happier about things.

Mortgage brokers can charge a set fee regardless of loan amount.

Realtors can likewise charge a-la-carte (and upfront) for their services…if that is the direction they wanna go in.

But–by not pushing people to the wall–prrice wise…by deliberately leaving money on the table, you have less tension than you would otherwise.  You have less potential for sour grapes. You are leaving money on the table, selfishly so as not to create problems later. You don’t want to sell beer at champagne prices–people will buy beer, know they’re buying beer and be happy to drink beer if that’s what they expected.