How to Position High Priced Services

Earlier this year I wrote a post about how to make your prices seem like a no brainer. That post focused on lower priced products and how to use positioning to make your prices an easy yes.

This technique works great with lower priced products, but it’s harder to use when you get to higher priced services. Saying your new website will only cost as much as a mortgage payment isn’t going to convince many people!

So how do you position and sell higher priced products and services? Today’s post is all about some of my favorite techniques (and one to avoid) to sell your high end service packages. 

Anchoring

Price anchoring is a classic technique that’s easy to use. All you do is introduce a higher priced service. Create a higher end package, just for the sake of making your main offer look less expensive.

When you only have one price available, all on its own it might seem too pricey. But when people can see it in comparison to a higher priced offer, it gives your price some perspective. It also affects the way people perceive your service, making the lower priced option look like a great value. 

Bonuses

You’ve seen this on sales pages. Maybe you’ve even bought something because of it. Someone adds on so many bonuses, listing the approximate value, then gives you the low, low price for everything. It’s too good to pass up!

Adding value is a great alternative to discounting a service. Buyers feel like they’re getting more, but you don’t have to sell it for less. It’s also a great way to build a sense of urgency by offering bonuses that expire. Get them now or miss out.

People love getting stuff for free. To make your price seem even more valuable, you can tack on some related bonuses your clients will love. Think of free trainings you’ve done in the past, workbooks that will help your clients get the most out of your service, or even a related service that you can add on, like a free 1:1 call. 

Benefits

Yep - we’re talking benefits, one of the basics of copywriting. It’s a fundamental because it works.

It serves as a way to show off the value of your service. When the price is just sitting there on the page, it can look expensive. But, when you break down everything that’s in the offer and how it benefits them, people start to see it as more valuable. Instead of “Wow, that’s expensive!” they’re thinking “Wow, that’s exactly what I need!”

Next time you’re trying to sell your high end services, tap into what your ideal clients really want. Tell them how your offer will improve their life. And if it doesn’t improve their life in some way? You might not have the right offer yet. 

A word of caution about a common tactic

Now that I’ve shared my favorite ways to position high priced services, I want to warn you against a common strategy I wouldn’t recommend. You see this tactic used a lot, but I don’t think it’s the best approach.

One way a lot of people position higher priced services is by comparing the cost to the expected return. Something like, spend $1000 on copy to bring in $10,000 from your next launch.

I don’t like this method. It’s one of those tactics that turns off people who don’t like sounding salesy, because it sounds incredibly salesy. It plays on people’s fears. It also puts the client in an awkward position, like they’re a dummy if they question your results. Who wouldn’t spend $1000 to make $10,000?

The other reason I don’t like this tactic is it feels an awful lot like a guarantee - one you can’t really promise. In the above example, I absolutely believe better copy would help anyone sell more. But there’s a lot more to sales than copywriting and most of it’s out of my control. You can have the best copy, but if no one visits your page because you’re not promoting it, the copy’s not going to help you.

Do you use any of these tactics for selling your higher priced services?