Build the offer

This chapter walks you through how to design tiers that sell, hold up under pressure, and don’t trap you in a service you’ll come to hate.

You picked your archetype in Chapter 2. Now you’ll turn it into something a client can actually buy. Most care plans are sold in tiers. A tier is a packaged version of your service — a specific price with a specific list of what’s included. Selling tiers is better than selling one-size-fits-all because it gives the client a choice, and choosing makes them feel in control.

The three-tier model

The best practice is: offer three tiers. Two tiers force a yes-or-no decision — the client is comparing your service to nothing, so they often pick nothing. Four or more tiers create decision paralysis: the client looks at the table, gets confused, says “let me think about it,” and never replies.

Three tiers let the client compare you to yourself. The middle option becomes the “normal” choice. The top option makes the middle look like a deal. The bottom option exists to make sure you don’t lose the client to nothing.

The names of the three tiers

Pick names that tell a story about who each tier is for, not how much it costs.

Why the anchor wins

Behavioral research shows that when people are given three choices, they overwhelmingly pick the middle one. This is called the compromise effect. People don’t want to look cheap, and they don’t want to look like they’re showing off. Use this. Build your anchor as the plan you actually want most of your clients on. Price it where the math works for you.

What goes in every care plan

Some things go in every tier. These are the baseline. If you’re not doing them, you’re not running a real care plan.

1. Updates of plugin, theme and WordPress core
2. Regular backups
3. Uptime monitoring
4. Security
5. Monthly report sent to the client
6. A clear way to reach you when something is wrong

This is basically your promise of keeping the website online. If a competitor is selling “care plans” without all of these, they’re selling something less.

What separates the tiers

The entry tier has the baseline. Period. The anchor tier adds things that the client notices and values, but that don’t take you all day. Common anchor add-ons:

• A small monthly content edit or technical support allowance
• Faster response time, like 24 hours instead of 48
• Performance monitoring (page speed checks)
• Security hardening

Naming traps to avoid

Names matter more than people think. Avoid Bronze, Silver, Gold — every tech-conscious buyer has seen these; they suggest a commodity service and let the buyer compare you to anyone else. Avoid Basic, Pro, Enterprise — same problem. “Basic” is the kiss of death; nobody wants the basic anything. Use names that hint at the outcome or the relationship.

Should hosting be included?

This is the most-debated question in WordPress agency communities. There’s no single right answer.

Most Concierge agencies include hosting. Most Insurance Providers don’t. Growth Partners go either way.

MY ARCHETYPE: _____________________________

ENTRY TIER NAME: ______________________________
Price: $________ /month   Target buyer: ______________________
Always-included baseline: updates · backups · uptime · security scan · monthly report · support
Other: _____________________________________________________

ANCHOR TIER NAME: _____________________________
Price: $________ /month   Target buyer: ______________________
Add-ons over entry tier:  ____________  ____________  ____________

PREMIUM TIER NAME: _____________________________
Price: $________ /month   Target buyer: ______________________
Add-ons over anchor tier:  ____________  ____________  ____________

RESPONSE TIME by tier:      ____ / ____ / ____ hours
CHANGES INCLUDED by tier:   ____ / ____ / ____ minutes per month

The most common mistake we see WordPress professionals make is charging $39 a month for work that takes 90 minutes a month at a $150-an-hour skill rate. That’s $225 worth of work sold for $39. This chapter is about fixing that.

The four pricing models

The cost-plus calculator

Before you set a price, you need to know what each plan costs you to deliver. Figure out what one plan costs you each month, add a margin — that’s your floor. Charge above it.

• Tools cost Every tool used to deliver this plan — hosting, backup, uptime, security, dashboard, reporting. Add up monthly cost, divide by sites served.
• Time cost The time you actually spend per month. Be honest — include emails. Example: 90 min × $150/hr = $225 per site per month.
• Risk cost The one most agencies skip. A broken update, an emergency call. Estimate 10–20% of your time cost. Example: 15% of $225 ≈ $35.
• Total cost Tools $37 + time $225 + risk $35 = $297 per site per month. If you charge $199, you’re losing $98 a month per site. Your floor is cost + a margin of at least 20–50%.

Pricing for the client you want

Here’s a counterintuitive truth: cheap clients are the most expensive clients. Clients on $49/mo plans are often more work — they’re frequently running their own first websites with no technical experience, who panic at every little thing. Clients on $499/mo plans tend to run real businesses, value their time, and don’t email you at 11 p.m.

Price for the client you want, not the one you have. Your prices teach the market who you serve. Cheap prices attract cheap clients. Mid-market prices attract mid-market clients. It’s that simple.

Annual vs. monthly contracts

A reasonable middle ground: offer both. Default to monthly. Offer 10% off annual, paid up front, no refunds after 30 days. The ones who take it are your most committed clients.

Talking about price on a sales call

1. Don’t apologize. “Our care plans start at $199.” Not “I know it sounds like a lot, but…” If you flinch, the client flinches.
2. Anchor high first. “Our top tier is $899 a month. Most clients choose our middle plan at $449. We also have an entry-level plan at $199.” By the time you say $449, they’ve already heard $899.
3. Defend your floor. If a client negotiates down: “I can’t drop the price, but I can drop scope. Which features are you most willing to live without?”

Raising prices on existing clients

Most agencies are underpriced because they were underpriced when they started and never raised it. The longer you wait, the harder the conversation gets — and often it’s not even as bad as you think.

Hi [First Name],

I'm writing with some news, and I wanted to give you plenty of notice.

On [DATE — at least 60–90 days out], the price of your care plan is going up from $[current] to $[new]. This is the first price change since you joined us in [YEAR].

Here's why. Over the last [X] years, the cost of the resources we use to keep your site taken care of has gone up. We held off as long as we could, and now it's time.

If you'd like to lock in your current rate for another 12 months, you can switch to an annual plan paid up front by [DATE]. That's $[current × 12 × 0.9] for the year — a 10% discount on top of the current rate. Just reply and I'll send the invoice.

If you have questions, you can reply to this email or grab a time on my calendar: [LINK].

Thank you for trusting us with your site. Working with you over these years has been a pleasure, and I'm not taking that for granted.

Best,
[Your name]