Pricing Mistakes to Avoid

It’s easy to look at seasoned sales pros and think they’ve got negotiation down to a science. Truth is, we’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way. → Early on, I’d dive into pricing discussions while the prospect was still evaluating competitors. Rookie mistake. I learned the hard way that until someone’s fully committed to your solution, it’s too soon to talk numbers. → I’ve walked into negotiations without a clear bottom line, thinking I could figure it out as we went. That’s how you end up with deals that wreck your margins and come with high-maintenance clients. Never again. → And I used to skip past the most important question when pricing came up: “If we agree on price, what else needs to be resolved?” Failing to ask this has derailed more than one deal in my early days. These days, I lean on a few key principles:  1️⃣ Start every negotiation by anchoring to business value—if ROI isn’t clear, price becomes the sole focus.  2️⃣ Never negotiate until the prospect is 100% committed to your solution.  3️⃣ Set a walk-away price before stepping into the room.  4️⃣ Handle non-pricing objections before settling on numbers. My point? No one gets it right all the time. Mistakes are part of the process, and they’re how you learn. What’s your most painful negotiation lesson? Let me know 👇

The most common pricing mistake I see: founders pick a number out of thin air and hope it works. $9/month because "that's what Spotify charges." $29/month because "that seems reasonable." $0 because "we need users first." All wrong. Here's a better approach: Start with the problem cost, not the product cost. How much does your customer currently spend — in money, time, or pain — dealing with the problem your product solves? If a construction PM wastes 5 hours/week on manual scheduling, that's $200/week in their loaded salary. Your $50/month tool saves them $800/month. That's a no-brainer. If a freelancer spends 2 hours/week chasing invoices, that's $100/week in billable time. Your $25/month tool saves them $400/month. Price based on the value of the problem, not the cost of the solution. Three pricing rules for early-stage founders: 1. Never free. Free attracts the wrong users and gives you zero data about willingness to pay. Charge something — even $1 — to separate real demand from curiosity. 2. Price higher than comfortable. You can always lower prices. Raising them is much harder. Start where you're slightly uncomfortable and see what happens. 3. Let the market tell you. If everyone says yes immediately, you're too cheap. If nobody converts, test the offer before dropping the price — the problem might not be price at all. The 100X Founder has a pricing advantage: domain expertise means they already know what the customer pays for alternatives. That's competitive intelligence that takes generalists months to gather. What does your customer currently pay to solve (or endure) the problem you're targeting?

Pricing errors are the most common way sellers sabotage their own business, and I've watched it happen thousands of times on our platform. These pricing decisions are holding you back from your next growth target 👇 1- Pricing for validation instead of value. Charging what feels "safe" instead of what it's worth. If you price low because you're nervous, you're letting your insecurity decide your income, and your insecurity has terrible financial judgment. 2- Copying competitors blindly. Matching prices without understanding their positioning is a race to the bottom. Their business isn't your business. Their costs aren't your costs. Their audience isn't your audience. Their guess about pricing isn't any better than yours. 3- Ignoring transformation-based pricing. Selling the deliverable instead of the outcome. Nobody wants a course, they want the result the course provides. Price the transformation, not the hours of video you recorded in your spare bedroom. 4- No tiered pricing. Leaving money on the table from people willing to pay more. Some customers want the basic version. Some want everything and would happily pay triple if you let them. 5- No anchoring. Nothing to make your main offer feel like a deal. If your only option is $297, there's nothing to compare it to. Put a $997 option above it and suddenly $297 looks reasonable and everyone feels smart for choosing it. 6- Pricing without brand authority. Expecting premium prices without premium positioning. If your brand looks like it was built in 20 minutes on a free Canva account, people will assume your product was too. What you charge tells people who you're for and how good you are before they ever see the product.

Underpricing isn’t just a mistake—it’s a fast track to burnout. Let’s fix it... because it’s one of the biggest things new consultants screw up. Here’s the deal: when you’re coming out of a corporate role and starting your own consulting business, setting your prices can feel like a complete guessing game. Go too high? You’re afraid clients will run for the hills. Go too low? Now you’re stuck doing premium-level work for bargain-basement rates—and good luck raising those prices later. I see this all the time. People underprice themselves, and it snowballs into burnout, frustration, and a business that’s running YOU instead of the other way around. Let me hit you with some facts: • 72% of new consultants say pricing is one of their biggest challenges (Source: Consulting Success). • Consultants who charge too little are 50% more likely to burn out in the first year (Source: Freelancer’s Union). Pricing isn’t just about numbers—it’s about confidence. Get it wrong, and you’ll feel stuck before you even start. Here’s What Happens When You Don’t Fix This You’ll constantly second-guess yourself: “Am I charging too much? Too little? What’s everyone else doing?” You’ll struggle to scale: Clients will expect discount rates forever. Worst of all? You’ll work twice as hard for half the money, and the resentment will creep in. Here’s How to Fix It Study the Market: Look at 3–5 consultants doing similar work. What are they charging? What’s included? How are they packaging their services? Know Your Floor: Calculate the minimum you need to charge to hit your income goals. Don’t just guess—do the math. Offer Choices: Create 3 pricing tiers: Basic: A small, no-frills package. Standard: Your main offer, full value for your regular rate. Premium: Add extra value and charge more. Test and Adjust: After every project, ask yourself: Did I charge enough for the value I delivered? If not, bump it up. Repeat until it feels right. The Truth About Pricing Your pricing tells people how much you believe in your own value. If you don’t charge what you’re worth, no one else will take you seriously. But when you own your rates, you attract the right clients, the right opportunities, and the right results. Don’t wing it. Grab my "Consultant Pricing Guide" and get clear on your rates, your value, and how to package your services to grow your business. Comment "PRICING" or DM me and I'll send it your way.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a global Nigerian freelancer is thinking in Naira. When I first started freelancing, I used to charge based on how much I felt something was worth not based on the actual value I was offering. I’d say things like, "Ah, $50 is a lot in Naira. Let me not overcharge them." Meanwhile, the client I was trying to “help” was probably paying someone else $500 for the same work. The aha moment for me was when a foreign client paid me x5 of what I charged cause he liked my work and told me I was charging too little lol. That’s when I knew I had to stop pricing like a Nigerian trying to survive, and start pricing like someone who brings value, no matter where they live. So if you’re a freelancer in Nigeria with global clients (or who wants), here’s how to price smart: ✅ 1. Stop converting USD to Naira in your head If you keep thinking, “$100 is ₦150,000 oh!”, you’ll end up undercharging. The truth is: people abroad don’t think like that. They’re comparing your rate with other global freelancers, not your local cost of living. So price in dollars, based on the value you’re bringing , not your location. ✅ 2. Create different packages (I was a little late💀) Not every client has the same budget, & that’s fine. Create options: •Tier one gets the basic package •Tier two gets the mid-tier •Tier three gets premium That way, you can confidently say, “Here are your options,” instead of struggling to hack one “safe” price. ✅ 3. Price based on results, and effort—not effort alone. Don’t just say: “I’ll write 5 posts in a month.” Say: “I’ll extensively research into your industry and prepare 5 optimally written posts that help you build consistency and attract more of your target audience online over the next 30 days.” The more outcome-focused your offer sounds, the more valuable you become in the client’s eyes. ✅ 4. Say your price with your full chest If you quote and then immediately explain or apologize, they’ll smell the uncertainty. Instead, be calm and clear: “This project starts at $750. I can explain what that covers.” Say it like you’re ordering food, not begging for approval. ✅ 5. Factor in your real costs Let’s be honest, working from Nigeria has its own challenges: •Internet wahala •Generator or inverter bills •VPN subscriptions •Payment delays or charges All of that should reflect in your pricing. Don’t shortchange yourself. ✅ 6. Ask for a deposit. Always. At least 50% upfront. Use platforms like Payoneer, Wise, Deel, or even Chipper if needed. You’re running a business, not doing “please help me” work. ✅ 7. Make your brand look global If your social media, website, or portfolio is looking too “local,” some foreign clients will assume you’re cheap. Polish your look. Show testimonials. Speak the language of impact and results. Bottom line: You’re not just a Nigerian doing remote work. You’re a global talent solving real problems from Nigeria. Start acting (and pricing) like it.🦋

My client just had her first $100K month. Same offer she's been selling for two years. Nothing about the transformation changed. Nothing about the deliverables changed. What changed? She stopped customizing everything. Here's the uncomfortable truth most business coaches won't tell you: Your offers aren't the problem. The way you've designed them is. I spent the last year obsessed with one thing: offer architecture. Not because my clients weren't getting results. They were crushing it. Not because revenue was struggling. We had our best year ever. But because I kept watching talented educators hit revenue ceilings they couldn't break, and the culprit was always the same three mistakes: MISTAKE #1: Making every offer customized Customization feels like premium service. It's actually a full-time job you just created for yourself. You cannot scale customization. You cannot automate it. You cannot easily delegate it. Scalable offers solve common problems in repeatable ways, with room for personalization in delivery, not design. MISTAKE #2: Staying in experiment mode too long There's a season for throwing things at the wall to see what sticks. But too many entrepreneurs camp there for years. At some point, you have to stop saying yes to every opportunity and start saying no to things that don't align with where you're going. Yes, that means turning down money today to create space for bigger growth tomorrow. MISTAKE #3: Building high-ticket offers with no client journey Your $10K offer doesn't exist in a vacuum. If you don't design a clear path that helps clients ascend from where they are into your highest transformation, you'll always struggle to fill premium seats. Strong offer suites don't just sell to today's clients. They grow with them over time. When I restructured our offers last year, I didn't add more services. I refined what we had. Created clear pathways. Eliminated custom work that was draining the team. Made it obvious what clients needed and when. Revenue didn't just grow. It became predictable. If you're working hard but not seeing corresponding growth, your problem probably isn't marketing. It's offer architecture. The structure matters more than the strategy. What's one offer you know you need to refine or retire?

The biggest pricing mistake? Thinking it's about finding what the market will bear. Premium pricing isn't about charging more. It's about architecting scarcity in a world of abundance. When you're scaling past your first million, the rules change completely. Your competition isn't other service providers. It's the client's internal option to "figure it out themselves." And that changes everything about how you position value. The premium market psychology is counterintuitive: → Higher prices signal exclusivity, not expense → Scarcity creates urgency faster than discounts → Premium buyers purchase certainty, not solutions → Market leadership comes from pricing confidence The sophisticated buyers in your market aren't Price shopping. They're risk shopping. They want to know: Will this solve the problem completely? Can I trust this person with my biggest challenges? What happens if this goes wrong? Your pricing architecture should answer those questions before they ask them. Value architecture at the premium level: Layer 1: Core transformation (what they came for) Layer 2: Risk mitigation (what they actually buy) Layer 3: Status elevation (what they tell others about) The price isn't the product. The exclusivity is the product. When you position yourself at the top of the market, You're not competing on deliverables. You're competing on confidence. Premium clients pay for certainty in an uncertain world. Your job isn't to be affordable. Your job is to be irreplaceable. The moment you can walk away from any deal without hesitation? That's when premium pricing becomes automatic. ♻️ Repost if premium positioning changed your business trajectory

Found a tiny design flaw on Monday.com's pricing page that’s likely costing them millions. You might be making the same mistake. The culprit? Dropdown feature lists. Why is that a problem? Decision fatigue. Prospects don’t want to "discover" value. They want to see it INSTANTLY. Every second they spend clicking around is a second closer to bouncing. Most pricing pages look fine… but tiny missteps like this stack up. And when they do, they silently kill conversions. Bill Wilson, a SaaS pricing expert who’s coached 400+ founders and analyzed hundreds of SaaS pricing pages, found that the average page fails 14 out of 22 key conversion dimensions. Even well-known companies like Monday.com (7.5/10), Motion, and Jobber (6.5/10) make these mistakes — proving there’s always room to optimize and capture more revenue. The upside? Even small fixes drive massive returns. A 7% conversion increase on a $1M ARR business? That’s an extra $70,000 annually, with zero extra marketing spend. This is HUGE. So, what are the levers you need to be pulling? FOCUS CLARITY – Confused prospects don’t buy. ❌ “Unlimited features” buried in dropdowns ✅ 3–5 clear differentiators that help users self-select AMPLIFY CONFIDENCE – Buyers hesitate when they don’t see proof. ❌ Generic stock images, no testimonials ✅ Customer logos, tier-specific reviews, and clear risk-reversal SHAPE PACKAGING – Customers don’t buy features; they buy outcomes. ❌ Feature lists that read like technical manuals ✅ ROI-driven pricing models (Motion’s $981/month ROI calculator) TRIGGER ACTION – Every extra click kills momentum. ❌ Competing CTAs that overwhelm users ✅ One clear, primary CTA that guides them effortlessly Want to see how yours stacks up? Bill Wilson does deep-dive pricing teardowns for SaaS Academy founders, breaking down exactly where their pricing page is leaking revenue and how to fix it. But, I believe his SaaS Pricing Scorecard is a tool every founder should have. It helps pinpoint exactly where you’re losing revenue right away. 💬 What's the one thing on a pricing page that convinces you to hit that "Buy Now" button? #pricing #ux

Most business owners leave 6 figures on the table when they sell. Not because their company isn't valuable. But because they make 7 predictable - and totally avoidable - mistakes. I've looked at hundreds of deals throughout my career at SeatGeek, StubHub, and AMEX. The pattern is clear. The same mistakes destroy valuations over and over. Fix these and you'll transform your outcome. Mistake 1: Pricing on emotion, not market reality "I need $5M to retire" isn't a valuation strategy. Only 25-30% of listed businesses actually sell. Overprice based on your needs instead of market comps and you'll be in the 70% that never close. Mistake 2: Waiting until desperate to prepare Smart sellers start 6-12 months early. Desperate sellers get desperate offers. The market can smell desperation from miles away and will lowball you every time. Start before you need to. Mistake 3: Winging due diligence Missing documents kill more deals than bad financials. You need 3 years clean financials, documented processes, written SOPs. When buyers ask for something you can't produce, they assume you're hiding problems. Mistake 4: Picking bad places to sell Bad brokers list and pray. Bad marketplaces charge brokers for listings. The difference between a good broker who creates competitive bidding and a discount broker can be 30% of your sale price. Mistake 5: Ignoring deal structure A $10M offer with earnouts and asset sale taxes might net $6M. A $9M all-cash stock deal leaves you $7.5M. Structure determines what you take home. Most sellers learn this after signing. Codie Sanchez talks about this constantly - and she's right. Mistake 6: Not aligning with partners first Big deals die when partners can't agree on exit terms. One partner wants out while another wants to stay. Without alignment upfront, your deal implodes at the finish line. Have the hard conversations before listing. Mistake 7: Underestimating the emotional toll 76% of sellers experience profound regret within 12 months. You're not just selling a business - you're losing your identity. Without a plan for what's next, the grief hits harder than you expect. To avoid all this: Start early. Get quality advisors who've done deals. Clean up operations and financials now. Price based on real comps, not wishes. Build your data room before listing. Model after-tax proceeds for different structures. Plan your next chapter. Most importantly - sell from strength, not desperation. These aren't just observations. After watching too many owners get burned, we built BizScout to prevent each mistake from day one. Better prices, faster closes, no regrets. If you're thinking about selling in the next 3 months, 3 quarters, or 3 years, let's talk. No pressure - just a straight conversation about your timeline. The best exit strategy starts way before you need it. DM me or grab time at bizscout.com.

One of the most expensive phrases in 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀: "I'll get back to you with another proposal" One of the biggest mistakes founders make when presenting price or negotiating is to chase procurement's request for a better price. 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀— If you're going back to get a better price without context, you're a puppy dog chasing after an impossible ball. You end up: • Guessing what discount percentage is going to get the deal done. • Wondering why the list price you presented doesn't work. • Second guessing the value of your product. • Undercutting the ultimate price you could close the deal with. Skilled negotiators from the competition aren't guessing what discounts or deal structure are going to get the deal done. They're pushing back on nebulous discount requests and are engaging in rich realtime negotiation. So the next time you're asked to come back with a better price, here's what you can do: 1. 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 → "The price is the price because..." 2. 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 → "This is our view but it'd be great to get a sense for how you think about budgeting for a platform like this." 3. 𝗔𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗢𝗥 𝗼𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲 → "That makes sense so thank you for providing that context" → "I'd view our product in a bit of a different light because..." 4. 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲 → "Can I ask what price would work for you? Is there a magic number you have in mind?" 5. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘁 → "If we don't miss that price are we in a place where this deal doesn't get done?" 6. 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝗵𝘆𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 → "If we're able to meet that price can we sign the contract this week?" → "If we're able to meet that price, can we move forward with the legal terms as is?" etc. 7. 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 → "I'll need to discuss with my cofounders but can commit to getting back to you tomorrow" With an approach like this you: • Have an opportunity to reposition the value of your product • Gain clarity around a deal structure that will work • Can accelerate the deal vs. slowing it down Want more sales & negotiation tips? Follow me and check out the resources in my featured section. S/O to Chris Do for the hook and post format inspiration ✨