Which pricing words come with a cost?
Once upon a time I was advised not to use the word fee or price when it came time to reveal the cost of the service. The sales script I was following prescribed:
“Your investment in this program is $X.”
Dear Service-Based Entrepreneur… you’re going to have to work out how to phrase your fee for service at some point. For many folks, it comes up when you’re having a live conversation with someone, you’ve walked through the transformation, approach and the details, they’ve asked all their questions, and it’s time to let them know what they can expect to pay.
My strategy for the longest time was to avoid naming the price altogether, and simply “put it in an email to you later today.” Then I’d spend an inordinate amount of time pulling together a pretty, well-written proposal with a quote.
Putting your quote in writing and ultimately in a contract is good practice. And lots of businesses work this way.
Here’s the thing… For several reasons, I want to let people know, while we’re having the conversation, what my copywriting service will cost.
Price is of course part of the decision making process.
Copywriting isn’t a service people invest in all the time.
There is a massive range in fees for service, created by Upwork & Fiverr at one end, and what I refer to as the Celebrity Copywriters at the other. Copywriting services literally range from pennies per word to $15,000 per day.
It’s important for me to state my pricing out loud, to hear myself say it, and to get comfortable with what I believe my work is worth.
Why ‘investment’? Why not ‘fee’, ‘cost’ or ‘price’?
Sales mentors advise not saying Buy, Order, Cost, Price, or Purchase when we’re on the phone with a potential client. And I ignore this advice every time I say “The cost for website copy, as we’ve described it, will be X.”
I understand why cost is a tricky word. Sometimes when we use it, it has a bad connotation: “Well that mistake cost him dearly,” or even “…the decision cost him his life.”
There’s a risk that your client-to-be may hear the word cost and feel a subconscious wave of fear, high-risk, and displeasure. Which is why I prefer the word fee, because it feels neutral; it isn’t laden with foreboding.
And investment may be the most accurate term. It implies a conscious, intentional commitment on your client’s part to participate in the process. Most of our services involve a bit of effort on our clients’ part… they do more than pay us and walk away with a ‘been there, done that’ t-shirt. So I agree with this in principle, but haven’t managed to feel natural saying it.
When it comes to copy, especially buttons, keep it obvious.
When you’re not saying the word, you don’t need to worry as much about terminology. You can just list the price. A dollar sign is the only introduction you need, like:
$2499
Or something like…
One payment of $1499 USD or ten monthly payments of $169 USD
Once you’ve outlined the pricing, make it easy to buy with one click: <Buy now> or <Get Started> (if there will be a few steps in the purchase process) or <Apply now> (if it’s not time to get out the credit card yet).
Ultimately, which word allows you to spit out the price?
If you have any discomfort at all about stating your fee for service out loud, confidently, without wavering (which oh-so-many of us do) then adding a phrase which feels awkward and sounds unnatural coming out of your mouth is not going to help.
Whether you choose to say fee or investment or price or cost, I simply encourage you to prepare: think about different ways to present your pricing. Practice, out loud, to feel how it sounds. Choose one, intentionally, and try it. There will be lots of baggage around setting the number and stating it. We can at least get the introductory phrase nailed down and out of the way.
Which price words do you use? Which do you avoid? And how easy is it for you to say it, out loud?