You Don’t Have To Sell Cheap WordPress Sites

Let's talk about pricing. Should you list your prices on your website? Should you have a pricing page? If you list prices that are too high will that scare away potential clients? What if you list prices that are too low? Will that scare away potential clients and does that trap you into always selling low priced websites?

I started our web agency in 2002 and have tried almost every approach I can think of when it comes to pricing. There are times when listing prices is good and times when it's not. It all depends on what you're offering. If you're offering a product, like a plugin, or a theme, or even a semi-product like a turn-key solution to get a website then listing prices makes a lot of sense. People want to know what they are getting, what to expect, and how much everything costs.

On the other hand, if you're going to be working with a client and develop something that meets their specific needs, then you don't want to list your pricing.

Do You Have Cookie-Cutter Agency?

Listing your prices suggests to your client that you do the same thing for everyone. Even though you're offering a consulting service, the client is going to think (consciously or subconsciously) that you're a cookie-cutter agency. And, you know what, they may be right.

Nobody wants to think of themselves as running a cookie cutter agency, but if you know up front what it's going to cost to build every clients' website then that suggests you're pretty much doing the same thing for everybody. If you're listing high prices, then that leaves room for a fair amount of variety. But listing high prices is a problem.

What's Wrong With Listing High Prices?

If you want to sell high-value WordPress sites, you should not list your prices on your website because when your client first lands on your website, they don't know what they want. Almost all of the clients I speak to, when we first start talking, they think they want an online business card with a contact form… and maybe a blog.

Hey, it's not their fault. This is what they have been trained to think because this is what everybody is doing. When you think that all you need is an online business card, you are not going be willing to spend $5,000 for that.

When I start talking with a potential client, one of the first questions I ask is, “Why do you want a website?” This surprises people. Everybody tends to just jump in head first and starts talking about their blog, and their degrees, why what they are doing is awesome, colors, logos, and all that stuff. So, when I ask them why they want a website, they respond like the answer is so obvious it's not even worth talking about. They want a spot online to put all this stuff they just mentioned.

They're not understanding the question. So, I ask it again a little differently. If they say they want to start a blog or whatever I say something like, “OK. Why do you want to start a blog.” This gets people thinking about the big picture a little more. But even with all of that, everybody says something like this. “I want to get online so people can find me and see what I'm doing.”

Now they might use different words depending on what they do, but that's the answer everybody gives. Not only that, but this is also the reason web agencies list on their websites for why you should get a website.

Yes, this is certainly one reason why people should have a website. It's important to be online, no question about it. But, if you stop there, you're not offering a high-value WordPress site. Anybody can build a website that looks decent. You can do it for free.

Have You Given Up?

A ton of WordPress agencies have pretty much given up and agreed with this concept. So, then they try to make money selling other services like marketing, copywriting, AdWords, Facebook ads… whatever.

I'm telling you right now that you don't have to give up the fight against free website builders by offering really low costs WordPress websites and then try to make money on marketing or whatever. Sure, keep helping clients with marketing. Keep helping clients with copywriting and everything else, but you can also do make money building high-value websites.

Here's the key. If your client thinks that the reason they need a website is to get online so people can find them and learn about what they are doing then they are missing a really big opportunity. It's an upside down view of what your client needs to be doing.

Your client needs to use their website to find people, meet them, learn what they need, and to stay connected with them after they leave the website. It's not about them finding you and learning what you're doing. It's about you finding them and learning what they need.

It's our job to help our clients generate leads, get new customers, and make more money through their websites. They don't have to have an online business either. It doesn't matter what you're selling, you could be an author, life coach, health coach, you could sell t-shirts or watches, it does not matter. The concept is still the same. You have to meet people online, learn what they want, and communicate with them on an ongoing basis.

So, back to the main point, if you list high prices on your website, the reason it scares off clients is that they don't know what you're offering. They think they're buying an online business card, but you're listing the price for an online platform that's going to generate leads, win new customers, and bring in more sales. In other words, the product in your client's mind is entirely different from the product that you are pricing.

Nobody is going to pay $5,000 for business cards when they can get the same thing for $500 from somebody else. I'm not just talking about raising your prices. I'm talking about doing something better and more powerful for your clients.

If you really want to help your clients, build them a website that generates leads, wins customers, and makes them money. It's a win for everybody. Your client wins because their business is growing. Your client's customers win because they are getting solutions for their problems, and you win because you're getting paid real money for your work.