Pricing Strategy Workshop
Find a price that reflects your value and your market — not just your costs.
Most small business owners underprice. This workshop walks you through three pricing frameworks — cost-plus, value-based, and competitive — then helps you find the right model for your specific business and build the confidence to charge it.
The Workflow
Calculate your floor price
Before looking at value or market, know your costs. This is the price below which you lose money.
Help me calculate my floor price for [PRODUCT_OR_SERVICE]. My costs: - Direct costs per unit/project/client: [DIRECT_COSTS] - Monthly fixed costs (rent, software, insurance, etc.): [FIXED_COSTS] - Hours I spend per [UNIT_OF_WORK]: [HOURS_PER_UNIT] - Target hourly rate for my time: $[TARGET_HOURLY_RATE] - Estimated units/clients per month: [VOLUME] - Other costs I've listed: [OTHER_COSTS] Calculate: 1. My fully-loaded cost per unit (including my time) 2. The price I'd need to charge to break even at [VOLUME] volume 3. The price to hit $[INCOME_TARGET] monthly income at [VOLUME] volume 4. What volume I'd need to hit that income goal at [LOWER_PRICE] Present as a table so I can see the relationships clearly.
Replace: [PRODUCT_OR_SERVICE], [DIRECT_COSTS], [FIXED_COSTS], [HOURS_PER_UNIT], [TARGET_HOURLY_RATE], [VOLUME], [OTHER_COSTS], [INCOME_TARGET], [LOWER_PRICE]
Assess value-based pricing potential
What would the customer gain or save by using your product? That's the ceiling of your pricing power.
Help me assess my value-based pricing potential for [PRODUCT_OR_SERVICE]. What my customer achieves with my product: [CUSTOMER_OUTCOME] The quantifiable value of that outcome (time saved, money earned, cost avoided): [QUANTIFIED_VALUE] What they'd spend on the alternative: [ALTERNATIVE_COST] Who makes the buying decision: [DECISION_MAKER] Their budget authority: [BUDGET_CONTEXT] Please: 1. Calculate the economic value my product delivers 2. Suggest a price that captures a fair share of that value (typically 10-30%) 3. Compare my floor price to my value-based price — the gap is my pricing opportunity 4. Tell me what I'd need to change about my offer to justify a higher price 5. Suggest how to frame my price as an investment, not a cost
Replace: [PRODUCT_OR_SERVICE], [CUSTOMER_OUTCOME], [QUANTIFIED_VALUE], [ALTERNATIVE_COST], [DECISION_MAKER], [BUDGET_CONTEXT]
Design your pricing structure
With floor and ceiling established, design the actual pricing model.
Design a pricing structure for [PRODUCT_OR_SERVICE]. Floor price: $[FLOOR_PRICE] Value-based ceiling: $[VALUE_CEILING] Competitor price range: $[COMPETITOR_RANGE] My target customer segment: [TARGET_SEGMENT] Sales volume I need: [VOLUME_NEEDED] My preference for simplicity vs. optimization: [COMPLEXITY_PREFERENCE] Recommend: 1. The best pricing model type (flat fee / hourly / retainer / tiered / per-seat / usage-based) 2. The specific price or price range to start with and why 3. Whether I should offer tiers and what they'd look like 4. My initial price-increase strategy once I've validated demand 5. Any pricing psychology techniques appropriate for my market
Replace: [PRODUCT_OR_SERVICE], [FLOOR_PRICE], [VALUE_CEILING], [COMPETITOR_RANGE], [TARGET_SEGMENT], [VOLUME_NEEDED], [COMPLEXITY_PREFERENCE]
All Prompts for This Workflow
Calculate my floor price for [PRODUCT_OR_SERVICE]. Direct costs per unit: [DIRECT_COSTS] Fixed monthly costs: [FIXED_COSTS] Hours per unit: [HOURS_PER_UNIT] Target hourly rate: $[TARGET_HOURLY_RATE] Estimated monthly volume: [VOLUME] Income target: $[INCOME_TARGET] Show: fully-loaded cost per unit, break-even price at target volume, price needed to hit income goal, and volume needed at a lower price point. Present as a table.
Replace: [PRODUCT_OR_SERVICE], [DIRECT_COSTS], [FIXED_COSTS], [HOURS_PER_UNIT], [TARGET_HOURLY_RATE], [VOLUME], [INCOME_TARGET]
Help me communicate a price increase to existing clients. Current price: $[CURRENT_PRICE] New price: $[NEW_PRICE] (a [PERCENT]% increase) Reason for increase: [HONEST_REASON] When the new price takes effect: [EFFECTIVE_DATE] How long clients have been with me: [TENURE] Value I've added since last pricing: [VALUE_ADDED] Write a client communication that: - Is honest about the increase (no corporate euphemisms) - Shows what they're getting for the new price - Gives them adequate notice - Doesn't apologize excessively - Makes it easy for them to respond or ask questions Then tell me: what's a reasonable grandfather period to offer loyal clients?
Replace: [CURRENT_PRICE], [NEW_PRICE], [PERCENT], [HONEST_REASON], [EFFECTIVE_DATE], [TENURE], [VALUE_ADDED]
A floor price (cost-based), a value-based ceiling, and a recommended pricing model with specific price points — plus a price-increase communication template for existing clients.
- !These pricing frameworks are general guidance. Specific industries have norms and regulatory factors that may constrain your pricing options. Research your specific market.
- →Most service providers are undercharging by 20-40% relative to the value they deliver. Run the value-based assessment before setting your price.
- →Raise prices with new clients first. Test the new price on three new clients before rolling it out to existing ones.