Pricing your services as a creative professional is tough. You look to others for guidance, but they can’t be in the room with you or on the Zoom call with you when you’re talking to your clients.

That’s why it’s important to understand the different pricing models that are available to you – and how you can use them to diagnose client problems and confidently charge what you’re worth.

This article is a written excerpt from Chris Do’s latest video titled, How To Charge For Design And Creative Work. It will walk you through methods for pricing and how to ask questions to uncover your client's true needs.

Three pricing models for creatives

It’s important to remember that no one solution works for all people at all times, which is why it’s good to know when to change the pricing model based on the project at hand.

The three types of pricing models are:

1) Time-based pricing: where you charge based on an hourly rate. It’s how many hours you are working on the project multiplied by how much you charge per hour.

2) Project-based pricing: where you charge a fixed fee per project.

3) Value-based pricing: this is where you charge based on the value provided.

Value-based pricing

Value-based pricing is the model that most creatives want to implement. To start using this model, you must shift your focus from time spent to the value provided. VBP (value-based pricing) involves having a dialogue with your customers to uncover what they value – and every customer values things differently.

Ironically, although it may be difficult to master, it is the most fair pricing model because it allows you to price something for more or less, depending on the situation. Most of the time, as designers and creative professionals, your value will extend beyond the materials and the time the project takes. You are creating transformative experiences for people.

How to choose the right pricing model

If you’re a designer or creative pro wondering how to choose which model to approach a client with, you first need to understand what you’re really selling.

Are you selling time?

Are you selling units of product?

Are you selling units of value?

Most people in the creative space default to selling units of time when time is not a good measurement. We usually put a false equivalence where we think more time equals higher quality so that we can charge more – but that’s not always the case. Usually, people want to pay more for a faster result, and quality is debatable, highly subjective, and not always 100% true.

For example, if an artist takes longer to render a painting, does it make that painting more valuable than something that takes less time? Renaissance oil paintings, for instance, are they more valuable than a Picasso painting? Is a Renaissance painting worth more than a Jackson Pollock painting? Interestingly enough, post-modern abstract impressionist paintings tend to command a higher price. So, we see things tend to be measured by aesthetics, notoriety, technique, and novelty… not necessarily by time.

How to measure the value of what you’re creating

When using value-based pricing, instead of measuring it by the amount of time you’re working on the project, measure it by the client’s time.

You must understand that you are selling people their time back. The more valuable the person is, the more they will pay you to buy back their time. Time is a non-renewable perishable resource. You can make more money, but you can’t make more time. In this case, time is money.

When deciding whether to use VBP, the client must fall under these two conditions:

1. The person must value their time
2. You must have a solution to their problem, and if you can do it faster, you should be able to charge more.

For example, if the client needs an e-commerce website created and they know that if they wait too long, they will miss major holidays, meaning they’ll miss out on sales, then they will want the website built rather quickly. The value you are providing is a fast service, the ability for their products to sell online, and the peace of mind that it is up and running. Plus, you’ve saved them the time and energy of having to create their own website.

Ask the right questions

In order to know the value you are providing, you will need to ask the client the right questions. Think of this as an investigative discussion where you get to know the client on a deeper level. You’ll need to know what outcome the client desires and what they believe the ultimate goal is.

From our previous example of the e-commerce website, you can think of it like this. The client doesn’t just want a website, so if you’re just going to focus on that, you’ve missed the point. The website is there to do something, to communicate something, to sell an idea or a product, and it’s there to create awareness for something the client believes in.

So, the website is just one vehicle to deliver the objective the client wants.

The next questions you need to ask are:

“In the past, have you tried to do this?”

“Why did it/didn’t it work? Tell me more about that.”

Once you’ve uncovered the challenge, you can move on to other questions like:

“What impact would it have on your business if this problem were solved?”

By asking these questions, you’re getting more information and will start to understand the client's real business needs and challenges. You’ll begin to come up with potential solutions, and then you’ll be able to diagnose the client's problem and move forward with working together.

Watch the full masterclass

This article was an excerpt from Chris Do’s full masterclass on pricing creative services. It’s an hour-long deep dive into pricing models, client meetings, and sales. If you’d like to watch the full video here

‍

‍

And - if you enjoyed this and you’re looking to take your business further this year while feeling supported, Futur™ Pro might be for you.

Futur™ Pro offers monthly live coaching calls with Chris Do, community support, and expert teachers there to guide you. Plus, you’ll gain access to a huge video library full of content covering sales, personal branding, social media, and more.

Ready to learn more? Head over to Futur™ Pro and listen to our member testimonials. The community of entrepreneurs is just waiting to meet you. Let us be your safety net as you build your dreams.

‍