Pricing or Quotes on your website?

Hi Eli, I'm sure you are going to hear that it has worked well one way or another for different services. I always believe, build the value, then give them a price.

In our other business, graphic design and copywriting, early on we tried moving to listing rates, or even more specific, package rates. Hourly rates didn't work well at all, since most everyone could only wonder "how many hours will this take". Then when we went to package deals, not one bite on that as well. In fact it was kind of worrisome to us, hoping the perspective client would understand the parameters set for that cost. In any case, we went back to bidding jobs, and have done that for years and years.

From looking at your web site you do fabulous work and it speaks for itself. Your samples enough show the value of your work, and I would stick with quotes!

Best of luck, bob

As an illustrator I struggled with this also, but now I'm firm (and happy) on my decision not to list fees and rates on my web site.

I found that, like Bob mentioned, clients would look at my hourly rate and ask how long it would take. I got a lot of price shoppers and wouldn't even know who was ultimately looking at price and who was looking at my skills and experience.

This way I can create my own personal sliding scale, bidding based on all parameters of a project, also taking into consideration whether a client is a small local biz or Nike.

It also opens up opportunities for inquiries. People have to ask you what your rates are, which means communication with someone who is now an active lead, rather than an anonymous hit on your web site.

This is also much better than doing damage control on a perceived high rate.

I hope this helps! Let us know how your current strategy is working out for you.

Hi Eli,

I may be way off base about where you're coming from, but the first thing that comes up for me when I read your comments is that it's usually best to avoid trying to compete on price. Unless you're Wal-Mart, it is nearly always a losing proposition.

That said, it sounds like you want to attract more real estate agents. I noticed on pricing.html that you have a special rate for Pacifica Real Esate Agents.

Have you considered extending that idea to creating a flat package rate (or two) just for real estate agents?

For all other jobs, as others have suggested, you might bid by the job.

Hourly rates are challenging to sell for a service like yours, but even when quoting out a job it's important for you to have some sense of parameters so that you're not reinventing the wheel every time someone inquires about your pricing structure.

Good luck and remember to have fun!

Very nice web site, by the way Eli.

As a web designer I never quote by hour. I always flat rate the job based on scope of work. Yes the total is always calculated using an hourly rate but my clients don't know that. This way they know what they are getting for what they are paying, unless they change the scope of work. I often get people calling in asking how much I would charge for a site. Well that is a loaded question as I don't know what they want in the site. e-commerce, photo gallery, blog?

If I called you and asked if you could do a virtual tour of my house? Could you give me a quote not knowing the size of the house, how many rooms, etc?

Now you said that your prices are too high for some realtors but too low for those large projects. Since you are in that industry, would it work to give a flat rate based on square footage? This way your price is based on size of job vs. hours. You can always firm up a quote after they call, if they need something specific that would require more time.

Just my 4 cents. Good luck Eli.

Pricing is a funny thing. I list pricing for my major phone system brand, yet almost every call and email I get people want to know what the system will cost (they don't know which pieces to select).

On the flip side I'm looking at buying something for myself and its frustrating that NO ONE lists even a ballpark price I've seen. Everyone wants to come out and quote. Which is an annoying waste of time to have 3 companies come out and quote and I'm not even sure its at a price range I'll consider.

Eli,

With the current market the way it is for realtor's, I don't know if you can honestly judge your marketing success or failures.

So don't restrict yourself just to realtor's. What about gym's, specialty medical offices, high-end daycare facilities, office space rental agencies, etc? These clients can always be sold on virtual video tours of their clinics, facilities and/or office spaces. Deal with the elite first and then work downward showing people what their competitors are doing (or what you are doing for them).

Look outside of your box. And develop new relationships.

I'm associated with the international creative site CreativeLatitude.com - a consideration for a portfolio website link being posted on the site is NOT posting pricing on the site. As listed on the site's "Join now" page - "You don't promote your practice based on price. It's just bad business and bad for the industry." There's an additional link to an article that explains the issue further.

I post no prices online at all. When contacted by a potential client (usually by email) I send them a somewhat generic email with prices ranges. If they request additional information, pricing is also addressed in the marketing packet I send out. If pricing scares aware some potential clients it's not necessarily a bad thing. Clients primarily basing their decision to hire a designer on price are not the clientele I hope to attract or work with on projects.

Gorgeous website, Eli. Your videos/service looks incredible. Perhaps if you continue to beef up your other marketing efforts so that you're offering presentations, writing articles, creating strategic alliances (could be very powerful in your situation), networking, joining BNI (might be great for your service), doing sales calls, social networking, you-tubing, etc, then your website can be supplemental to your initial contact. For a high-end service, that might be the way to go.

Maybe you could offer a series of free/low-cost classes to teach realtors (and/or other market segments) some element of marketing related to virtual tours. For example, "How to use virtual tours to get higher-end clients", etc. This would allow you to showcase your expertise, and build a relationship with people. You could also create a great multi-media presentation and deliver it at conferences, etc. The website could then support that relationship.

For many businesses, one the primary goals is to build your list. By offering some kind of valuable free report/video/CD/ecourse/ebook, you could get people's email address, and that would give you permission to be in relationship with them over time. That will allow you to educate them on the benefits of virtual tours, and give them all sorts of valuable information to help them with their businesses. Over time, the relationship is built, and you're the first person they think of when they're ready. Generally speaking, the bigger and more qualified the list, the better.

I might suggest listing pricing RANGES. You could list 3 sets of ranges, and typically what you will deliver within that range. That might prevent you from wasting your or your prospective client's time. I noticed on a recent thread that the majority of Bizniks prefer to see pricing on websites.

Eli, nice work. I shoot lots of hotels and they are always asking about virtual tours. I will certainly keep you in mind.

As for pricing, I used to get away with a flat day rate but as the photography market has become more dependent on stock, I have had to quote each job as it comes. I try to build the relationship and assume I am going to get the job and then base the quote on what they need. I promote the idea that:" I will work with your budget" and scale the project to fit that.

Steve