Comments on: No Pricing Information on Your Web Site? That’s Just Sleazy

By: Ruben

Ruben — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:27:36 +0000

Tom and Nick — I think you could make it work either way really.

I understand what Tom’s saying about losing a sale because there’s no interaction. If you do post pricing information, I highly advise against pricing by page, or posting exact pricing information.

It’s really more about transparency and saving you time in that you don’t talk to leads that aren’t really leads. I also wouldn’t put this information front and center on the marketing site — I’d put in my FAQ or a page that’s giving more detail about your work and the relationship (again, for increased transparency) .

For instance, I might put something in the FAQ part of my sales site that states that medium to large size projects can range anywhere from 5k to 100k. Yeah, it’s a huge range on purpose, this would eliminate the people that are shopping around for $100 websites. If you get a fair amount of traffic and are in high demand, this could have a very positive impact in getting more qualified people to you.

Another example is the newly released Haystack by 37signals.com. There aren’t exact prices, just very large ranges. Though it’s much more prominently displayed than I would advise on your sales website.

By: Nick

Nick — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:06:26 +0000

I agree with Tom. We are selling a service not a product. How many attorneys, accountants, plumbers or electricians have pricing on their sites?

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:34:38 +0000

I came from the same thinking as you not too long ago.

While I do provide pricing information on my website, I am soon going to be taking it away. My thinking is this: When my pricing information wasn’t there, I was contacted by prospects asking how much a website would cost. This would often lead to a needs analysis meeting and more often than not, a sale.

Now that I post pricing information, my prospects say to themselves “OK, he costs $5000 (or whatever), let’s see how much XYZ Company charges”. When that company doesn’t provide pricing information, they phone them up to get a price… that leads to a needs analysis meeting, and they end up with the sale.

I think the decision for displaying pricing information is really a matter of “test and measure”. My personal experience tells me that companies selling products should (nearly) always display prices, and companies selling services should (nearly) never display prices. It varies from business to business.

Tom