Use a pricing guide to book clients

What’s a pricing guide?

And how freelancers and service providers use pricing guides in Dubsado workflows.

As a freelancer or service provider, you’ve probably been asked by leads for an overview of your services and rates. Even if your work is largely custom, it’s good to have a services guide like this to refer people to your typical packages and starting prices. Rather than just sending this on request, I recommend clients include it in their standard lead or onboarding workflows.

A pricing guide is also a super important step in your Dubsado workflows—here’s 4 reasons why… 

1. With a pricing guide, you can continue the sales process or the lead’s experience from your website through to your onboarding.
2. A pricing guide offers more detailed information about the features of your services or packages than your website copy. You don’t want to overwhelm leads with all of this information on your website.
3. A pricing guide showcases the value of your expertise and processes because you can break down popular packages into clear phases or signature frameworks that they understand.
4. A freelance pricing guide gets rid of tyre-kickers—aka screens those who can’t afford your base rates—before you get on a call, so you don’t waste your time with them. If you don’t have starting points for rates on your website, this step is crucial.

 

Stop calling it a pricing guide!

Okay, I might have led you astray a little bit. I introduced you to the idea of a pricing guide using that terminology, but if you want this powerful document to be the most effective, you need to make a mental shift: Stop calling it a pricing guide! Instead, refer to this as your services guide.

It’s silly to call this a pricing guide for a few reasons, but most importantly because we want to sell leads on the value you have to offer, rather than just drawing their attention to the price tags. When we call it a services guide, we make it clear that they can expect a complete overview of your popular services, which of course will include starting points. If you call it a pricing guide, they might be expecting a one-pager like a freelance rate sheet they can choose from a la carte, like a menu at a restaurant.

And I know your services are so much more than click-and-collect.

Dubsado workflow with a pricing guide

Want to fit a services or pricing guide into your Dubsado workflows? Here’s how I set up mine. This type of format is effective for many of my clients and students as well, although the exact process should be an intentional decision when you’re planning your workflows.

1. Lead completes website contact form.
2. Dubsado sends services and pricing guide to the lead automatically with a link to book a call if they are still interested after viewing the document. Typically, I send this within the hour of receiving a new lead, so they feel supported. Being proactive is key to making warm leads hot!
3. The lead books a call to chat about the project details and so both of us can confirm it’s a good fit. If they’re interested at this point, I offer to send a proposal to them that reinforces the information in the services guide, but only including details specific to their project.
4. The lead confirms the proposal, signs the contract, and makes the first payment to book.
5. Dubsado labels the lead as onboarding when they’ve signed and paid and adds the client to your calendar. Time to get to work!

 

What’s in my services guide?

Here’s a good peek behind the scenes! (If you’d like a closer look, check out my Services Guide training.)

On-brand cover page

Think of your pricing guide as an extension of the buying journey continued from your website. You want to guide your prospects from point A to hiring you, rather than bombarding them with information.

Introduction

Why should they care about the services you offer? What will they gain from reading? The same as you would sell in your website copy and proposals, you need to keep that mentality throughout creating your services guide.

Testimonials!

Sprinkle testimonials throughout the entire document so prospects can see how respected you are because of the amazing work you do.

Your offer

Of course, you need to include the information about your offers, but try to focus on selling the value of your services rather than presenting a shopping list. Again, this should be an extension of the buying process that makes each prospect feel understood and like they’re in the right place.

About me section

Keep this short and concise. Also, vary this information from what you present on your website. For example, my services guide includes my education and work experience, while my website skips those details because they’re unimportant at that stage of awareness.

Imagery and design

You need to put in effort with your services guide because first impressions matter! This guide might be the first thing a lead sees if they came from an external platform and you need to send it manually. It’s the second thing leads see when they complete your contact form if you have Dubsado set up. Choose beautiful imagery and branded design.

Frequently asked questions

This section isn’t always necessary, but if you have lots of common questions in your discovery calls, including this will save time during calls, so you can focus on the good parts of the conversation.

Call to action to book a call!

If they’re a good fit and feel comfortable with your starting rates, invite them to book a call at the end of the services guide.

Need help creating your own Services Guide?

Stop sending a freelance rate sheet…

…or *gasp* nothing, and use my Services Guide training to create one that works hard for your business. This attention to detail makes a huge difference when you want to grow your business, increase your rates, and impress prospects from the get-go.

Just getting started? Enroll in my free course: 7 Steps to Automation to set up your first systems and workflows ASAP.