Why you need a fee sheet in your mind
So what's a fee sheet? And why is having one important for your self worth and your net worth?
Restaurants have menus with the prices clearly displayed.
Media and advertising companies have a rate card.
Online SaaS businesses have a pricing page.
Professional firms have a fee sheet.
Hairdressers have a price list.
When you’re thinking about creating more value so you can increase your return on the backend, you need a fee sheet, a rate card, a menu, a price list or a pricing page too.
For many businesses, this mechanism plays a role in facilitating the journey from lead or prospect to customer or buyer.
For professional services firms, for example, the fee sheet communicates the cold, clinical, emotionless professionalism which is a central part of what you’re buying and what you’re going to get.
[The old adage about IBM computers goes: “Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM.” The implication was clear: you don’t want to take risks when your neck is on the line. For professional services firms like PwC, Deloitte or KPMG, the customer’s neck is always on the line. That’s how they can charge fees that seem outrageous, even as scandal mounts on outrage on top of fraud.]
For a software-as-a-service website, on the other hand, the pricing page plays a critical role, not just in outlining the features and benefits but — in almost all cases — drawing in the mind of the would-be customer a compare-and-contrast picture between the different subscription tiers, thus helping the would-be customer move from “Should I buy this?” to “Which one should I buy?”
For many other businesses, restaurants or hairdressers, for instance, the menu or price list is simply a way of communicating without the need for the difficulty of a money-based conversation (about which more below). These businesses are fairly clear on what they do and do not offer, and their typical customer is fairly clear on what they want. Here’s a menu. Please choose.
Where your fee sheet needs to be
Your fee sheet — or rate card, or price list — is different from the businesses outlined above, but it’s essential in its own way.
It doesn’t have to be expertly designed and professionally printed on quality paper.
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