It’s not uncommon that someone in the group asks how they can get clients that are willing to pay higher prices, so today I want to look at a few reasons people might be willing to pay you more.
1. Your services are more valuable to the client’s business. This really comes down to the kind of client you’re trying to attract. A website is a lot less valuable to a mom-and-pop small town boutique than it is a SaaS company. The SaaS company is going to rely on their website to bring in new leads and convert those leads into customers, or their business will quickly fail. The boutique’s primary focus might be the foot traffic in front of their location with the website potentially getting only a few visitors a day.
2. Your reputation & referrals. What other people say about you is extremely important and people are willing to pay a higher price for something that’s got a stellar reputation. Of course, this takes time (years, even) to build up — so new agencies often don’t have this luxury — but over time you’ll likely earn more with more skins on the wall.
3. Your specialty. They say the riches are in the niches, and it makes sense. People are going to be willing to spend more money on something that is more tailor made to fit their needs. Let’s say your prospect is a dentist who is opening a new location and needing to book appointments as quickly as possible to build up a clientele — an agency who specializes in helping dental practices get inquiries is going to be a lot more valuable than someone who “designs and develops websites”.
4. Your sales process. I’ve not done it before, but I can’t imagine going out to find someone to build you a website is a fun experience. There’s a lot of mistrust in our industry, and for most business owners, websites are something they don’t fully understand. The easier and more transparent your process is of getting from point A to point B, the more likely someone is to agree because they want to avoid a potential hassle.
5. You proudly charge more than your competition. This might sound silly, but having higher rates is a great way to get clients to pay more. A good number of people won’t even consider the cheapest option because they assume that a lower price means poorer quality. Yes, you’ll risk losing jobs because you’re more expensive — but you don’t want the low price job anyway, right?
These, of course, aren’t all the reasons why someone might be willing to pay more — but they are all worth considering as potential ways to increase your earnings.
Kyle Van Deusen
After spending 15 years as a graphic designer and earning a business degree, I launched my agency, OGAL Web Design, in 2017. A year later, after finding the amazing community around WordPress, I co-found The Admin Bar, which has grown to become the #1 community for WordPress professionals. I'm a husband and proud father of three, and a new resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
