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Comment by NicoJuicy | Hacker News Reader

I'll give you example of how i upsell a website

When it is a new company (is going to launch in 1 month for example), i propose them to set a launch page (basic one, created in max. 15 minutes) for 100 €, to collect emailaddresses.

The launch page includes a text email to all of your visitors when they subscribe and say that this proposal doesn't include HTML (for images), because that is custom work and more difficult.

When the moment arrives, i ask them for the text they want me to send to their visitors.

In 70% of the cases, they ask to include a picture of the team.. I explain them that this was not part of the deal, but that i can change the message to a HTML email for 80€ (if provided the assets first).

So, selling a website earned me another 180 €, a happy customer (the launch page is added publicity)

How do you upsell?

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You're probably making less money than you think you are because you're ignoring most of the time costs in acquisition and client relationship maintenance. For example, the time taken for a 100 euro launch page is not 'max. 15 minutes' - it's 15 minutes development time + whatever time it takes you to persuade the client that it's necessary, time to write the necessary copy, time to source artwork, time to agree it with the client, time to put it online, time to update the client on it's performance, time to export the list of gathered email addresses, and so on.

In total I could imagine that 100 euros covers up to about 10 hours work if the client wants to change a few things along the way. I don't imagine your time is only worth 10 euros an hour.

This is a fundamental problem with scaling a consulting business - it might feel like you've earned a lot of money for a tiny amount of work, but the reality is that all the time you spent getting and managing that work means it's not very valuable.

Well, the launch page part is actually quite easy to sell. I propose it if the client is a new business.

It takes about 10 minutes to persuade (in experience), i choose the layout and ask for a picture and a small title + subtext. There isn't a lot to change on the launch page (the layout is almost solely the picture in full)

The changes by the client are usually for the website, but that's a different package. There i create max. 3 first page designs, then i create the whole website. (included according our talk). Then for reasonable changes, i check wether it's part of the package or is it stuff that we didn't talk about that requires >20 minutes of work (eg. new features)... I'm quite clear on that upfront.

The launch page is just an extra income that takes max 40 minutes (talk + create + publish + text email to subscribers).

Then again, i'm also waiting to raise prices untill i get (more) busy with projects to create.

you are ripping them off...

Why is that? Price is known and discussed, client is happy, i'm happy. What's the problem?

I suppose you don't do services to clients? The most important part is that you don't undervalue your own services. See here some opinions of patio11:

https://training.kalzumeus.com/newsletters/archive/saas_pric...

https://twitter.com/patio11/status/463934642500804608

Do not price software at COGS! :-) - Perhaps the most important lesson in any development / selling gig. (i had to learn it the hard way, initial discussed price was too low, had to put a lot of more hours in to get even below minimal wage - once but never again)

But the trick of selling a plain text email and only then html email seems like bad tactics. if you know that 70% will want the html email, you should tell them in advance that a good product will cost 180, instead of offering them a mediocre product that they don't want for 100, just to make the price seem low.

Pricing is an art, and it mostly applied psychology. Framing your product between a crappy product and an uber expensive product is a common tactic. You see it everyday on the web. You see it in Microsoft Windows editions.

It is not immoral in any way. It's such a common practice that customers already expect it.

I say them in advance, that the price includes sending an text email to all subscribers, because that is no trouble.

If they want a HTML mail, they have to pay. They know it in advance. What the customer realizes on the end (like they do in every project), is that they want a picture of the team/building included.

Changed requirements of the project => different price...

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