• You separate fees from effort. In other words, if you charge your clients based on the number of hours or days you (or your team) works on the project.
• You offer more than one alternative to your prospect; such as, 3 to 4 prices for different bundles of benefits.
• Your higher-priced alternatives deliver commensurately higher value. The assumption is you'll offer more value in your bundle of approach and benefits.
• Your prospect has at least a vague, "expected fee" in mind based on the objectives and the possible alternatives.

PRICING STRATEGY #1: THE TEASER/TRAILER

>> When to use it: When you're confident you'll win the immediate project at hand, and you have your eye on more projects with this client. For example, a medical devices client asked us to help assess whether they should launch their products into a new market. The immediate project at hand, which we knew they would give to our firm, was the assessment; however, if the assessment went well there was a downstream opportunity to use our team to develop a "market attack plan."

>> How to use it: Price your first alternative to win the project (within reach of the expected fee); this is your anchor. Price the second alternative slightly above the first alternative and add value—you may just win the second alternative and get a richer project than you anticipated. The third alternative is priced very high and includes additional phases that preview the work you'd like to do with your client down the road.
This strategy has the added benefit of making the second alternative look like a great deal in comparison.

>> Why it works: The client reviews the third alternative and thinks, "We're not ready for this," but the seeds of the next project have been planted.

5 Pricing Strategies: More Projects at Higher Fees

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