Do you think that we should we put our fee for service on our websites yes or no?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by James Malone on August 29, 2010 at 6:06pm

Geoff, I have heard a lot of varying opinions on this topic. Personally I do clearly post my fees since I myself would be unlikely to use the services of someone who doesn't make it clear what the financial investment will most likely be. I have heard of those who won't even give their fee structure over the phone and state 'we can discuss that when you come in." If that works for them fine, but to me it would raise a red flag. Jim

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Permalink Reply by geoff goodman on August 29, 2010 at 6:16pm

James,

I totally agree and I am very interested to hear what the others have to say because everyones opinion about this is different. Thanks for your response!

Geoff

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Permalink Reply by Jackie Spencer on August 29, 2010 at 8:07pm

I used to be the "we'll discuss it when you come in" type but I didn't like feeling like I was hiding something. I post my prices on my website now and offer flexibility for those with more limited incomes. I have more confidence when I am transparent with potential clients.

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Permalink Reply by tony cott on August 29, 2010 at 8:14pm

Like it or not we now live in a changing world, the old rules are not going to apply for long. In the 70’s 80’s and even in the 90’s money was plentiful, work and jobs were growing, that’s not the case today.

Even the rich have to watch every penny even though they have many pennies just listen to Tony Robbins speak now gone are the days of consent positive speaking, so where does that leave the middle class? Not even to bring up the fact that what was once considered middle class is now changed as well.

We must not just tell them how much it cost , but we must lower the cost to the rate that they can afford to survive as a running business , in one of the towns that I have an office over 450 people were layed off just last week! And in a medium size town that’s a lot of people. Now do these people need help? Yes, can they afford the $100+ fees that some charge , no.

So yes I put my prices up in my site, I tell them on the phone the price, I tell them on the street when I speak to them the price. They have to know that help is there and that it is still in reach.

Lets keep the Ideals of why we do this in place, lets keep the reasons we do this in place. Lets keep reaching to those who are in need, not for money, but because it’s the right thing to do.

Tony

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Permalink Reply by Michael on August 29, 2010 at 9:14pm

Hey Geoff,
Great question. I do not show my price on my website. All too often an info call comes in and the person straight off wants to know 1. how much, and 2. how long. I've found that if I answer these the person says thanks and hangs up, usually never to call again. As you said, the key is building value for your services. Now, I will talk price in an info call; my prices are also posted in my office and on my intake paperwork.

@Jay - It seems like you might be overlapping price and value. To continue your grocery story metaphor let's get more specific and look at just one item, say a jar of peanut butter. Now, the "name brand" which is a bit more expensive than the "store brand" is effectively the same product; ingredients are the same, proportions are the same, etc. In this case the "store brand" is a lower price but equal value. Now consider a jar of peanut butter that is made from organic peanuts and has no harsh chemical preservatives or fillers. Sure, this organic jar is more expensive, but it also offers more in value because of health benefits etc. For many clients, the adage "you get what you pay for" is a strong influence on their choices.

@Jackie - I agree that transparency is vital in building a trust and rapport with potential clients. My info calls tend to be more like consultations, the client is really shopping for someone that they can connect with and who can understand what has brought them to seek out hypnosis services. If I'm that person for them, we can talk price; if I am not, talking price would seem pointless because no matter how high or low, it still wouldn't be a fit.

@Tony - Yes, helping those in need is an admirable goal. To help those people, we have to keep our doors open, which either means having enough clients to be able to give discounts, or knowing just how low we are willing to go on our price scale. The real question to have our clients consider is does price reflect value - and for us as hypnotists, how low can we go before potential clients devalue our services?

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Permalink Reply by Jon Rhodes on August 29, 2010 at 10:28pm

I always try to place myself in the shoes of the customer. If I was the customer, then I would be far more likely to telephone if I knew the price in advance. Maybe it's an English thing, but it can be embarrassing discussing the price, especially if you think it is too high! I would rather they knew before ringing me. Some people can feel pressured to pay for the service, even if they have difficulty affording it - I personally don't want to pressure anyone into seeing me.

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Permalink Reply by Antoine Pruyssers on August 30, 2010 at 12:38am

If I don't see how much something's gonna cost, I don't buy it, it's that simple.
I've put all my pricing on my site, just as I want to see prices when I'm shopping.
I hate it, when afterwards I get to hear that the price wasn't the actual price, and I would be paying shipping, taxes etcetera, that were not included in the "original" pricing.
To save my customers from this hassle, I show them up front, what they will be paying me.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Ellner on August 30, 2010 at 2:10am

Hi Geoff-

Although, I have yet to add my fees to my main site: www.ellner.info
-- I have posted my fees on it's own page on the new and experimental website that I am building: www.nycanxieyhypnosis.com

My decison to add it on the experiemental website was based on everything that I have and I am learning about internet/web commerence. I will add my fees to my medical hypnosis website as soon as I figure out to make it clear that these are my basic fees and my goal is to be affordable to people in need...

Warmest regards,

Michael E.

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Permalink Reply by Michael on August 30, 2010 at 4:30am

@Jay, I really have to disagree with you here. Let me apologize for being unclear and say that, in this case, I'm defining value as: to consider with respect to relative worth, merit, excellence, usefulness, or importance. And price as the monetary value set on something. When someone compares price, they are just looking at the absolute number, $175 vs $100, etc. This number in itself says nothing about the value of the services. The real issue isn't price really, it's the quality of interaction between client and hypnotist. By not posting price, yes, the client must call, but they are not only finding out just a number, but gaining valuable information on how we interact. Imagine if someone just shopped around for the lowest priced hypnotist, booked the appointment and had a bad experience. They would then tell all their contacts how the hypnotist cheated them and how it's all fraud etc etc etc.

Another thing to consider is scope of practice. I recently took an info call and, as I always do, asked the person to give me a brief overview of what has them calling. This client said that he was diagnosed with a personality disorder and wants to use hypnosis to discover possible sources of the condition. Right there is a huge red flag. By the laws in my area, no hypnotist - unless they also hold a current certification as a psychologist or other similar mental health professional - can work with personality disorder without a referral. By the client calling for information about price, so much more valuable data is gained.

I guess the real question here is not only do we post prices on our sites, but how do we build value in our services. Jon hit the heart of the issue by saying "...it can be embarrassing discussing the price, especially if you think it is too high!" Price is only too high when the apparent value of the service does not match. For example, I have a book to sell and I'm asking $200 for it. What? Two-hundred dollars for a book, that's insane, right? What if I then point out that it's a hand written manuscript by Charles Dickens containing all his work related to A Tale of Two Cities. All of a sudden $200 seems like a bargain. The price hasn't changed, but the value of the book has once you get more information.

So, how do you build value?

Michael Bueti
www.theintegratedperson.com
michael@theintegratedperson.com

Jay Budzynski said:

The thing with the word "value" being a nationalization it has a huge scope in its meaning, "in this case" in how we are making a small effort in peoples "time" which is based; at a value level. If it takes 2 minutes to checkout a website, to find out the price of services, rather than having to ring up at a small cost and maybe a heavy sales pitch which can and does tend to happen with many folks who don't have there prices on open view, if people can see what they are paying for upfront it make the choice process a lot easier, again a value base.

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Permalink Reply by Kelley Woods on August 30, 2010 at 4:54am

Hi Geoff,

I post my fees on my website; the info is contained on my FAQ page and additionally, my multiple-session fee for weightloss program is stated on its own specific page. Rarely do phone inquiries generated by my website even discuss cost; which tells me they have already found this information.

I probably "lose" some potential clients who aren't willing to pay or can't afford my $125 per session, but perhaps this is a way to filter some whimsy from true desire or even desperation! Like Michael and many of you, I offer a sliding scale when appropriate but don't advertise that fact on my site. (A recent inquiry from a young person responded back stating, he "was going to scrape up the money"...I offered him a discount.) Usually, though, referrals seem to procure most of my financially struggling clients.

I agree that, for everything in life, there's a price ~ and people want to know what that price, at least in dollars, is.

Best wishes,

Kelley

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Cole-NLPTrainingQuest.com on August 30, 2010 at 5:42am

I honestly think it depends on how much you are charging...

I'm on a higher scale than many-but not all- (although I live in San Diego, which is not a cheap place to live) and I found that when I took my rates OFF of my site for my one/one sessions (I still have the rates up for trainings), the phone rang about 20% more telling me that people were focusing on the price as apposed to the value.

That said, I never insist that someone needs to come into my office to discuss price. That just seems wrong to me, because fact is, not everyone can afford my services and I'd rather not waist their time driving into my office when we can have a friendly chat over the phone about what their looking to accomplish from my services. If they can't afford my rate, then I will refer them to someone local, either a student of mine or colleague that I trust to work with that clients particular issue. There are some exceptions to this rule however, such as if someone just lost their job or are getting out of an abusive situation of some kind, etc. And I take all of those on a case by case basis.

Statistically/percentage wise, for me, the clients that I "cut a break" with, just didn't take our work as seriously as those that pay my full rate.

So in summary, I do not post my rates and 90% of clients that call me (which is 20% more than when I used to have my rates on my site), end up booking anywhere from a few sessions with me and or work with me longer term with me as their coach and percentage wise, those that I offered a sliding scale to in the past, did not take our work as seriously. I really wish that were that case as I love what I do so much (When people take the work seriously) that I'd LOVE to just be able to help anyone that called me on the phone, but in my experience -with rare exceptions- if I'm "flexible" with my rate... it just doesn't work that way.

Of course that's just my experience and it could be largely based on where I live...

Kevin

Live NLP, Life Coach & Hypnosis Training

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Permalink Reply by James Hazlerig on August 30, 2010 at 6:39am

I remember being told once that "if you have to ask, you can't afford it."

I post my prices clearly on my website. Even so, most people who call do ask what it costs. I always answer, but before I do, I discuss the value of what they're getting.

Very rarely, I get someone who asks about one of the discounts I mention on my site. (I offer discounts to teachers, firefighters, and veterans.) This tells me that the individual is invested enough to have read my site thoroughly, so I don't mind knocking ten dollars off the price.

James

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