Pricing transparency: showing our work
Why we publish starting prices on the site and what changed when we did.
For two years we kept pricing off the site. The conventional wisdom said "every project is custom" and "let us qualify the lead first." We changed our minds.
What changed
We added a pricing page with real starting numbers. Three tiers, each with what's included and what isn't. A "from" price that's the actual minimum for that tier.
What happened
Lead quality went up. The leads who reach out have already self-qualified out of the budget bracket below ours. Conversations start at "we're aligned on budget, let's talk about scope" instead of round one of haggling.
Lead volume went down. About 30%. Nearly all of the drop was leads we wouldn't have closed anyway - wrong-size budgets we'd have spent calls on before declining.
Our close rate doubled.
What didn't change
Project quality. Project complexity. The bespoke part of every engagement. The work itself isn't standardized - the entry point is.
Why teams resist this
Fear of leaving money on the table by stating a number. The number is left on the table either way. Stating it just shifts where the conversation starts.
Two years of this and we'd never go back.