If you’ve bought into fixed pricing for your practice then you should be advertising it on your website. It’s a great hook for new clients and starts far more sales conversations than ‘call us for a free consultation’.

But many firms wipe out the power of fixed price packages with a simple four letter word.

The word is from. As in price from $350 per month.

 

Pricing From

 

Most of BizInk’s clients price this way. And a quick scan of other accountants’ websites shows it’s common practice.

So what’s the problem?

Before answering that, let’s do a quick dive into the benefits and psychology of fixed pricing. In his post on the Xero blog, Ronald J. Baker looks at the advantages of fixed prices for accounting firms.

He’s looking at the overall benefits of fixed pricing. I’m just interested in the sales benefits which are:

  • Pre-qualifies the customer. Discovering the customer’s perception of value – before your firm commits any resources – is a better strategy than finding out after the service has been performed the customer has a lower value perception than you do, no matter how you price your services.
  • Overcomes buyer’s emotions. Price resistance (sticker shock), price anxiety (buyer’s remorse) and payment resistance (not paying the invoice) will all diminish by utilizing FPAs. By discussing value, price and terms upfront, you will diminish the negative impact of these emotions on the customer, not to mention your firm’s profitability.

By adding ‘from’ in front of your prices you lose both these benefits. Here’s how:

  • You don’t pre-qualify the customer. OK you’ve set a base price but you’ve not established their true perception of value. Much better to have them sign up for a clear price so you know exactly where you stand before talking to them.
  • With pricing ‘from’ you create price anxiety. From your own experience, if you see ‘prices from $50’ in a shop window do you really expect to pay that? Or do you see it as a sales trick to get you through the door (which it is). Your clients think the same way.

With ‘From’ pricing, you also lose the marketing power of fixed pricing. Which of these phrases sounds better?

We can manage you accounts from $250 per month.

Your accounts done for $250 per month – guaranteed.

Of course the second is better. There’s no uncertainty and promises are great in marketing (as long as you can keep them!).

At this point you might be thinking – but what if that fixed price package isn’t right for that client? What if I could sell them a more expensive package?

No problem!

The exact pricing and features of the packages you advertise aren’t important. They are just examples designed to grab attention and get someone to contact you.

Once you get them on the phone, of course try and up-sell them or create a custom package just for them which makes them feel special.

The key is starting conversations. Anything that hinders dialogue has to go. And ‘from’ creates uncertainty which translates into inertia from the client. End result – no conversation.

‘From’ pricing is like hedging your bets. But that’s a risk averse strategy. And without risk there is no reward, especially in the competitive world of marketing

So be bold and shout about your prices. Business owners deal with uncertainty every day. So anything that’s clear and exact attracts them.

Don’t get hung up on the exact details and pricing. Just because they call about your ‘Silver Package’ for $350 per month doesn’t mean you have to sell them that.

Just like a restaurant has a menu of dishes but would swap fries for mash, you can tailor the package for each client. They key is to get talking to them.

If you’d like to see how to market your fixed price packages on a BizInk website, then sign up for an online demo. We even have an option for ‘From’ pricing but use it at your peril!