Ryan Dohrn explains how to structure three pricing options: lead with the most expensive, position the middle option to match typical budgets, and make the cheapest one unattractive. Use industry language like "dominant" instead of "good-better-best," and proposals with three options close about 60% better than single prices.
Questions this video answers
Present the most expensive option first (best‑first), label options with industry‑relevant terms (dominant, competitive, basic), align the middle option with the prospect’s budget without asking directly, keep the price jump from middle to high reasonable, make the low option clearly less attractive, and use add‑ons to enhance perceived value.
Chapters
Hey friends, Ryan Dohrn here, your global sales coach. Thanks so much for sending in your listener questions to ryan@ryandohrn.com. We get a lot of them, so we'll do our best to feature as many as we possibly can. All right, next one is Robert from Connecticut, and Robert's question is about the 3 pricing options that I mentioned before. So Robert's question: 3 pricing options. You mentioned some science around it. Which one should be the most expensive, and how much difference should we make between the pricing? So a good question, uh, Robert from Connecticut. So typically what I like to do, I present 3 pricing options. Normally the middle option is in alignment with their budget, whatever the budget number is that they gave me. Now remember, I don't usually ask people their budget. Instead, I try to figure out what they're doing, what other customers of mine have done. I use what other customers have done to recommend pricing and product information to my new customers. If it's not in alignment with their budget, they're going to tell me. But if I ask them their budget, I'm forced to build a proposal around their reality. The problem is their reality is usually not accurate. It's usually off. By as much as 50%. All right, to Robert's question, I typically put my most expensive pricing option first. So I don't go good, better, best. I tend to put the best first and then what's good last. I like to use language like a dominant option, a competitive option, or kind of a basic option, but it really depends upon your business. Sometimes people do gold, silver, bronze. That's kind of old school. But I'd like to put a little bit of language related to your industry, uh, really around that. Second part of Robert's question, what is the price difference between the different pricing options? I try to keep it reasonable. Like, if I'm, if I'm going to sell somebody that middle option, I want them to look at the next biggest option and go, hmm, that's really not that much. Maybe I can stretch a little bit and reach that. Now, the basic option though, I also don't want to make it so cheap. That third option, I don't want to make it so cheap that it sounds like too good to be true. So I try to make it a pretty logical jump in somebody's mind between that middle option and the next highest. And then the lower option, I try to make that just seem unappealing, like, nah, that definitely is not something that I want to do. That middle piece, that little pricing option, I want to make sure it contains all that they really need, but then on the basic option, the one less, I try to take out everything that's great. I want to force them really to that, to that middle option. Now, Robert from Connecticut, there's a lot of art, there's a little bit of science behind pricing options. Be willing to experiment, but I'm just telling you this, and we mentioned it in another tip: 60-some percent of the proposals that I presented with 3 pricing options almost always did better. Now, some of you have to do customized solutions. That's fine, but still give them add-ons and extras. Give them other options. You'll be amazed at the number of times that they'll actually go ahead and buy a bigger option because you priced it in an attractive way. So great questions there from Robert from Connecticut. Friends, keep your questions coming in. Love to get them. Ryan at ryandohrn.com. Hey, I'm doing a ton of virtual speaking. You can see I'm set up for it. So you've got a sales meeting coming up, a national, national sales gathering, love to be a virtual keynote speaker. Or hey, I've been taking COVID tests and I've been traveling, so I'm COVID-free and happy to come in safe ways, uh, to your next event. So talk to me about that. I've got some safety protocols in place to keep myself safe and keep your people safe as well. Learn more about what I do over at ryandohrn.com. Otherwise, friends, we will see you next time. Take care.
