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Avoid Common Pricing Mistakes: Discover the Power of Value Pricing

May 22, 2023

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It's great to have you here! As a seasoned business coach, consultant, mentor, and motivational speaker with over 20 years of experience, I'm excited to share my personal and professional insights to help you on your entrepreneurial journey. Let's get started!



Hi, I'm Jennifer!

As leaders in various sectors – consulting, coaching, e-commerce, digital marketing, and branding – we constantly strive to understand and meet our clients’ needs. Our success largely depends on how well we can show the value of our products and services. The key question is, how do we put a number on this ‘value’? Even more importantly, how do we set our prices based on this value?

This is where Value Pricing comes in. This concept, championed by Alan Weiss in his book, “Million Dollar Consulting,” encourages businesses to move beyond traditional cost or time-based pricing. Instead, Weiss advises us to focus on the value our clients see in our products or services.

Whether you’re in digital marketing, consulting, coaching, or e-commerce, we all face a common challenge: clearly expressing the value of what we offer to our clients. Weiss’s Value Pricing strategy is a practical solution to this problem. It shifts the question from “What does it cost us to create and deliver this?” to “What is this worth to our client?”

This change in thinking can fundamentally change how businesses operate. By aligning pricing with the value our clients see, we can build stronger, more rewarding relationships. Also, when clients pay for value rather than production or delivery costs, we can increase client satisfaction and boost profitability.

In this blog post, we’ll take an in-depth look at what is Value-Based Pricing. We’ll explore types of value-based pricing and how it can work in various businesses, including consulting and coaching firms, e-commerce platforms, and marketing and branding agencies. My goal is to provide you with practical insights and examples of value-based pricing so you can explore Value Pricing and implement it in your business. Understanding and using Value Pricing could be the transformative change your business needs. So, let’s dive in!

Understanding Value Pricing

Companies need to set themselves apart to succeed in today’s fast-paced business world. One powerful way to do this is by switching from a traditional cost-based pricing strategy to a more innovative, customer-centric approach: Value Pricing.

Most business models set prices based on the cost of production or delivery. In other words, they consider the resources and time needed to create and deliver a product or service. This cost-plus pricing strategy has been around for a long time, but it doesn’t consider one crucial element: how much the client values the product or service.

This is where Value Pricing comes in. As described by Alan Weiss in his book, “Million Dollar Consulting,” Value Pricing shifts the focus to the client when setting prices. Instead of asking, “What does it cost us to create and deliver this?” Value Pricing asks a more important question: “What is this product or service worth to our clients?”

Value Pricing encourages us to think about more than just the cost of creation and delivery. It pushes us to consider the real and perceived benefits our product or service provides to the client, showcasing our value.

For example, consider a digital marketing agency hired to boost a client’s online presence. Under a traditional approach, the agency would bill based on hours worked or the cost of resources used. With Value Pricing, the agency would set its fees based on the value it provides—improved online visibility, increased traffic, and potential revenue growth for the client.

Value Pricing ensures clients pay for what they see as valuable rather than the basic cost of production or delivery. This approach promotes transparency because clients know they are paying for value, not just hours worked or resources used. By aligning business goals with client satisfaction, Value-Based Pricing fosters a partnership where success is shared.

Switching from cost-based to value-based pricing can revolutionize your business. It can help build stronger client relationships, increase client satisfaction, and potentially boost profits. However, to use Value Pricing effectively, you need to understand it fully and have a clear strategy—which is exactly what we’ll cover next.

Putting Value Pricing into Action in Service-Based Businesses

For service-focused businesses such as consulting, coaching, digital marketing, and branding agencies, adopting Value-Based Pricing can be a game-changer. This strategy consists of two critical steps: Discovering Value and Putting a Price Tag on Value. Each step is crucial for a successful transition to a Value Pricing model.

Discovering Value

The first step towards integrating Value-Based Pricing into your business is the process of Discovering Value. This phase is all about interaction and exploration – having in-depth conversations with your clients. It’s not just about understanding their exact needs; it’s about digging deeper to unearth the underlying needs and how your services can meet them.

Let’s say you’re a digital marketing consultant, and your client wants to boost their online presence. The overt need here is more online visibility. However, underlying needs could include:

  • Driving more website traffic
  • Enhancing customer engagement
  • Improving lead conversion rates
  • Boosting sales

Discovering Value would involve having these broader discussions and getting a handle on your client’s ultimate business goals.

A crucial part of this dialogue involves pinpointing both tangible and intangible benefits that your services bring to the table. Tangible benefits are usually easier to spot – for instance, a predicted increase in website traffic or leads. Intangible benefits might involve improved brand image, customer loyalty, or a larger slice of the market share.

Putting a Price Tag on Value

The next phase, Putting a Price Tag on Value, involves assigning a dollar value to the benefits identified. While this can be challenging, especially when dealing with intangible benefits, focusing on the potential Return on Investment (ROI) can provide a good starting point.

Sticking with our digital marketing consultant example, you might quantify value by showing how your services can drive increased web traffic and lead generation. You could estimate the potential rise in leads and link that with the average conversion rate and the average sale value. By doing this, you can illustrate how more leads can translate into higher revenue.

However, merely putting a price tag on value isn’t enough. You also need to effectively communicate this value to the client. This might involve presenting the potential ROI using charts or graphs or narrating success stories of your past clients who saw similar returns. The goal is to clarify the value you bring and relate it to the client, linking the cost of your services to a potential uptick in their revenue.

To sum it up, integrating Value-Based Pricing in service-based businesses calls for a deep understanding of your clients’ needs and a knack for quantifying and articulating the value you provide effectively. This approach encourages a client-focused business model that aligns your services with your clients’ goals, promoting a collaborative and mutually beneficial relationship.

The Part Value Pricing Plays in E-commerce Businesses

Applying Value-Based Pricing in e-commerce businesses might sound tricky, given the large and impersonal customer base and digital transactions. Yet, with carefully crafted strategies, even e-commerce businesses can successfully implement Value Pricing, boosting the customer experience and increase profits.

Let’s look at an e-commerce business selling custom, artisan-crafted hand-made beaded earrings to show how this can be done.

Highlighting the Good Stuff Over Just the Facts

One of the key ways to integrate Value-Based Pricing in an e-commerce setting is by emphasizing the advantages of your product, not just the basic facts, in your product descriptions. A basic fact is a simple truth about the product, such as “these earrings are hand-made using a variety of delicate beads and stones.” However, an advantage goes a step further, explaining how the product can make the buyer’s life better, thus communicating the value they get from buying it.

For our business specializing in custom, artisan-crafted earrings, potential benefits could include how these earrings can enhance an outfit, reflect the wearer’s unique style, make them feel beautiful, or even serve as a heartfelt gift for someone special. For example, the product description could be: “Our hand-made earrings, crafted with a variety of delicate beads and semi-precious stones, aren’t just accessories—they’re style statements that enhance your outfit and express your unique personality. They also make perfect gifts, allowing you to share something uniquely beautiful with a loved one.

Showcasing Customer Reviews and Positive Feedback

Another powerful way to show the worth of your products in e-commerce businesses is by highlighting customer reviews and positive feedback. These firsthand accounts provide potential customers with real-life proof of the benefits your past customers have experienced, which can greatly affect their decision to buy.

In the case of our custom earring business, reviews could mention how the earrings boosted the customer’s style, were well received as gifts, or even became a focal point at social events. These real experiences provide a layer of credibility, emphasizing the added value that your earrings provide beyond just looking good.

Standing Out from the Crowd

In the competitive world of e-commerce, it’s crucial to set your business apart. For the hand-crafted beaded earrings, this difference could come from aspects like the detailed hand-made designs, the stories behind each piece, or the traditional methods used. These elements not only make the product unique but also provide extra worth to customers who appreciate one-of-a-kind items, expert craftsmanship, and authenticity.

To wrap it up, while using Value-Based Pricing in e-commerce might seem challenging, it’s definitely possible. By focusing on the benefits instead of just the basic facts, leveraging customer reviews and positive feedback, and making your products stand out, e-commerce businesses can effectively use Value Pricing. This approach can improve customer satisfaction, create loyal customers, and drive business growth.

A Real-World Example of Value Pricing

Let’s look at an example to better understand Value-Based Pricing. Say you run a marketing and branding agency that also offers website development services. Usually, you might charge based on how much time or resources you use for your clients’ projects. This could be the time spent making a strategic brand and marketing plan, designing a logo, or building a user-friendly website. But this approach doesn’t take into account the possible value and big changes these services can bring to your client’s business.

With Value Pricing, you’d switch up your pricing strategy to focus on how valuable your services are to your client. Let’s pretend that your complete branding package, which includes a website makeover, can really boost your client’s brand visibility, engage customers, and drive sales. Let’s say that your branding, marketing strategy, and website overhaul could lead to an estimated revenue increase of $500,000 over two years. With Value-Based Pricing, you might charge a fee of $50,000, which is 10% of the estimated value.

In this situation, your client is paying for the possible value your service provides, not the number of hours you’ve put into the project. This changes the discussion from the cost of your services to the expected return on investment (ROI) your client can look forward to. It’s not about how much time you’ve put into the project, but instead about the possible increase in revenue, customer reach and brand visibility your services could bring.

This value-focused approach can lead to better, fairer client relationships in the long run. It ensures that your efforts are rewarded based on the value you’re providing. At the same time, your clients can see a clear outline of the potential return on their investment. This visibility often leads to higher satisfaction and trust, setting the stage for a lasting, successful partnership.

Final Thoughts

In summary, Value Pricing, as explained by Alan Weiss in his book, “Million Dollar Consulting,” has the potential to transform many types of businesses. From service industries like consulting, digital agencies, marketing, and branding companies, to the broad world of e-commerce. By shifting focus from cost or time-based pricing to valuing the perceived value delivered to the client, businesses stand to win big.

This value-focused model can help build stronger, more team-oriented relationships with clients, creating a bridge of understanding and respect. It aligns the business’s goals with the clients’ goals, fostering a partnership that values results over efforts. This customer-focused approach improves client satisfaction and can lead to higher profits. As businesses aim to meet and exceed the perceived value, it can drive innovation, quality improvements, and better service delivery, all boosting the bottom line.

Indeed, transitioning to Value Pricing can be tough. It calls for a major shift in thinking and business operations. It asks you to deeply understand your clients’ needs, clearly communicate the value you provide, and adjust your pricing strategy accordingly. But these challenges are not insurmountable. They can be overcome with commitment, patience, open communication, and a strong desire to learn and adapt.

In short, Value-Focused Pricing is a strategic commitment to understanding, delivering, and communicating value as the client sees it. While the path to Value Pricing might be filled with challenges, the rewards – in terms of client satisfaction, business growth, and profitability – make it a journey worth taking.

Consider Value-Focused Pricing as your guiding light, leading your business towards a brighter, more successful future. It’s a game-changing step in pricing strategies.


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e-commerce, service-based business, business coach, consultant
Join me on Instagram for more business tips and insights

As an accomplished Business Coach, Consultant, and Motivational Speaker, I specialize in advancing e-commerce and service-based businesses. I am honored to have been ranked as one of the top 10 business coaches in the US by Apple News+.

With my experience as a former startup founder and small business owner, I bring a wealth of knowledge to my clients and employ keen problem-solving and strategic prowess to devise innovative sales, marketing, and operational solutions. I am dedicated to adapting to ever-changing markets and personalizing my approach to each client’s needs.

As a devoted mentor and visionary leader, I champion client success by cultivating relationships and inspiring collaboration. With a steadfast commitment to continuous learning, I guarantee unparalleled service to achieve ambitious business goals.

Want to work together? Learn about my Business Coaching and Marketing & Branding Studio services.


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About Jennifer

Hello, I'm Jennifer. With a career spanning over two decades, I've had the pleasure of collaborating with a diverse spectrum of companies - from eager startups to global Fortune 500 giants. I passionately believe in transforming entrepreneurial dreams into tangible realities, infusing vitality into businesses, and sparking positive change that ripples out to impact our clients' families and communities. Together, we're not just building businesses; we're illuminating the path towards a brighter, more prosperous future.








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