How to Raise Your Agency’s Prices

3 Minute Read...

Do you ever feel like you don’t charge as much for your services as you should be?

Well, that’s because you aren’t!

Many agencies underprice their services because of the fear of scaring off prospects or losing clients. But, if you provide premium services you should have premium prices that reflect that! So how do you raise your prices 20% and get away with it? Perceived value!

There are different pricing models and packages you can experiment with but it ultimately boils down to perceived value. Perceived value is why the same shirt that cost $1.00 to make can sell for $5 at Walmart and $79 at Banana Republic. So how do you rationalize pricing your services like Banana Republic instead of Walmart?

You increase your perceived value through building social proof, documenting your processes, designing professional proposals, and developing professional brand positioning. If a prospect believes that your services are worth $500 and you’re selling them for $250 they’ll buy in a heartbeat. Let’s go over those topics with a fine tooth comb.

Social Proof

Social proof is validation coming from people outside of your agency. Positive reviews, tons of followers, and testimonials. Testimonials are my favorite tactic to use, but the funny thing about them is that they don’t physically make your agency any better or worse. The way your agency operates will be the same before and after a testimonial, but it supports your social proof and builds trust. It’s people who vouch for your services and say, “Yeah they’re worth that and so much more!”

My marketing mentor Jay Conrad Levinson explained it to me like this: If IBM endorses someone, and I see that, I’ll think “If it’s good enough for IBM then its good enough for me.” So talk to your biggest and best clients and get them to sing your praises from the rooftops. Celebrities, CEOs, and big brand testimonials will carry the most weight but any testimonial is better than none.

Documented Processes

Do you have a defined project management process? Do you have defined core values and a purpose statement? Because you should! These are incredible selling points behind the work that you’re already doing! You don’t have to do anything differently, you simply have to show people the value of it. Having defined and documented processes show people that you have your shit together. And showing prospects where they’re going will help them have faith in the process (and you). Once a prospect sees all this they’ll think, “Well they’ve clearly done this before because they’ve got this whole thing figured out!” Offering that peace of mind is worth paying top dollar for.

Professional Proposals

What does your normal process for writing proposals look like? Do you pull up a Word Doc and slap some stuff together? If you are then you’re doing yourself a big disservice! Proposals should have logos (your’s and there’s!) all over them, a creative title, a professional design, FAQ sections, definitions, and ROI projections. Even add your testimonials and outline your project management process. Think of every section in your proposal as an opportunity to build trust and value.

(RELATED: Luckily for y’all I’ve already shared my proven proposal template. Click here to get your copy and start building perceived value.)

Professional Branding

This is making sure everything you have is in tip-top shape. All of your marketing and promotional materials should be sending out the same clear and cohesive message. If you’re trying to sell your custom coding services but your website looks like shit, nobody is going to believe you or buy from you. To get away with selling top-of-the-line priced services you’ve got to have collateral that supports it. Professionally branding your entire agency will help justify your prices and make your agency appear more established.

Fine tuning these four elements will give the illusion that you’re agency is way bigger and way more established than you actually are. As long as you deliver on all of your promises that’s okay though! Just because you offer digital services doesn’t mean they’re easy, quick, or cheap. People don’t always understand that at first though, so you’ve got to make them believe it.

Think through how you can add value to your agency design and processes, don’t make more work for yourself though. Instead, take what you’ve already got, fluff it up, and raise your prices. Once you’ve got more business and higher profit margins you’ll be able to hire the help you need to really begin growing and scaling your agency.

Do you have any perceived value tactics you like to use? Comment below and let me know!

(NOTE: Learn more about pricing and value in our Pricing online course)

If you have any questions feel free to reach out to me on Messenger or email me at lee@leegoff.com-  I’m here to serve.