If your pricing discussions start with “what did it cost us?” or “what’s the market rate?” — you’re leaving significant profit on the table. Cost-plus pricing is a revenue cap. It ties your earning potential to your internal efficiency, punishing you for getting better and faster.

The Value-Based Pricing Framework

Step 1 — Identify the pain or opportunity. What specific, quantifiable problem are you solving? Reducing churn by 10%, generating $50K in new qualified leads, cutting a process from 3 days to 3 hours.

Step 2 — Quantify the Anchor Value. Put a dollar figure on that outcome for the client. If you reduce their churn by 10%, what ARR does that save? That’s the number your price is measured against — not your hours.

Step 3 — Set price at 10–30% of Anchor Value. This gives the client a clear, immediate ROI while maximizing your fee. A $75K engagement that saves a client $500K/year is an obvious yes.

It’s stressful when a great service is undermined by timid pricing. You deserve to be paid for the expertise and results you bring — not just the time you clock.

Ready to stop anchoring prices to cost and start anchoring them to client growth? Book a Financial Clarity Session