Upgrade to Pro
— share decks privately, control downloads, hide ads and more …
Speaker Deck
Features
Speaker Deck
PRO
Sign in
Sign up for free
Search
Search
Value-Based Pricing for Freelancers
Search
Sponsored
·
Ship Features Fearlessly
Turn features on and off without deploys. Used by thousands of Ruby developers.
→
Brennan Dunn
July 11, 2013
Business
2.5k
6
Share
Value-Based Pricing for Freelancers
Brennan Dunn
July 11, 2013
More Decks by Brennan Dunn
See All by Brennan Dunn
WooCommerce Conference 2014
brennandunn
1
960
6 Tricks That Helped Me Triple My SaaS' Growth Rate
brennandunn
10
39k
The Long-Tail Sale - MicroConf 2013
brennandunn
2
660
Rails Without Views
brennandunn
25
19k
Other Decks in Business
See All in Business
【ラクス】新卒採用
rakus_career
0
75k
VISASQ: ABOUT DEV TEAM
eikohashiba
6
44k
中期経営計画2027
buyselltechnologies
0
260
Mercari-Fact-book_jp
mercari_inc
7
190k
【営業職】中途採用向け会社説明資料(テックファーム株式会社)
techfirm
0
780
【For Engineer】会社紹介資料_20260413
homie__recruit
0
320
Eight Career Recruiting Pitch_2605
sredoa
0
290
2000年前の「心の整理術」で、ふりかえり後の1アクションを決める!〜ストア哲学で、チームをもっと軽やかに〜
doiko123
0
600
オッドナンバーとは何だったのか 〜ラブライブ!蓮ノ空女学院スクールアイドルクラブのスマートホン向けアプリ「Link!Like!ラブライブ!」の果たした役割〜
ceras123
1
220
司コンピュータ株式会社
tsukasacomputer
0
280
株式会社ELYZA(イライザ) 採用情報資料 / RECRUIT PITCH
elyza
2
750k
GEO Experiments 2026: What We Tested, What Failed, and What Actually Works
thomaspeham
1
2.4k
Featured
See All Featured
The SEO identity crisis: Don't let AI make you average
varn
0
460
CoffeeScript is Beautiful & I Never Want to Write Plain JavaScript Again
sstephenson
162
16k
Speed Design
sergeychernyshev
33
1.6k
BBQ
matthewcrist
89
10k
Why You Should Never Use an ORM
jnunemaker
PRO
61
9.8k
JAMstack: Web Apps at Ludicrous Speed - All Things Open 2022
reverentgeek
1
440
Why Our Code Smells
bkeepers
PRO
340
58k
The State of eCommerce SEO: How to Win in Today's Products SERPs - #SEOweek
aleyda
2
10k
brightonSEO & MeasureFest 2025 - Christian Goodrich - Winning strategies for Black Friday CRO & PPC
cargoodrich
3
690
How To Speak Unicorn (iThemes Webinar)
marktimemedia
1
450
How to Talk to Developers About Accessibility
jct
2
190
Visualizing Your Data: Incorporating Mongo into Loggly Infrastructure
mongodb
49
9.9k
Transcript
Value-Based Pricing How to make your clients happier by charging
more.
None
None
None
$100
$100
$100
$100 $10
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
Why should I pay you $150 an hour to write
Ruby when that other guy will do it for $15?
None
RACE TO THE BOTTOM
RACE TO THE BOTTOM COMMODITIZATION
RACE TO THE BOTTOM COMMODITIZATION MARKET RATES
VALUE-BASED PRICING TO THE RESCUE!
A Paradigm Shift
A Paradigm Shift ★ You are no longer a Ruby
developer
A Paradigm Shift ★ You are no longer a Ruby
developer ★ No one cares about Ruby or Rails or whatever you take pride in
A Paradigm Shift ★ You are no longer a Ruby
developer ★ No one cares about Ruby or Rails or whatever you take pride in ★ Clients want to know: "What's in it for me?"
Take The Spotlight Off Yourself
Take The Spotlight Off Yourself ★ Reverse engineering salaries
Take The Spotlight Off Yourself ★ Reverse engineering salaries ★
Figuring out what your peers charge
Take The Spotlight Off Yourself ★ Reverse engineering salaries ★
Figuring out what your peers charge ★ It’s all about me, me, me
And Start Understanding Your Clients
And Start Understanding Your Clients ★ Are they losing money?
Are they missing out on untapped revenue?
And Start Understanding Your Clients ★ Are they losing money?
Are they missing out on untapped revenue? ★ How can you increase core KPIs?
And Start Understanding Your Clients ★ Are they losing money?
Are they missing out on untapped revenue? ★ How can you increase core KPIs? ★ How can you help them fix their pains?
Focus On The Future
Focus On The Future ★ Most of us bill. We
look to the past.
Focus On The Future ★ Most of us bill. We
look to the past. ★ ...What can this project do for my client?
Focus On The Future ★ Most of us bill. We
look to the past. ★ ...What can this project do for my client? ★ How will this improve what matters?
Focus On The Future ★ Most of us bill. We
look to the past. ★ ...What can this project do for my client? ★ How will this improve what matters? ★ How can I further improve their KPIs?
Tech Is A Means To An End
Tech Is A Means To An End ★ No one
is paying you to write code
Tech Is A Means To An End ★ No one
is paying you to write code ★ People pay you to make more money
Tech Is A Means To An End ★ No one
is paying you to write code ★ People pay you to make more money ★ EXPLOIT THIS!!!
Be An Investment, Not An Expense
Be An Investment, Not An Expense ★ Most don’t recognize
the value we produce
Be An Investment, Not An Expense ★ Most don’t recognize
the value we produce ★ We focus on the deliverables. The code. The features. The workflows.
Be An Investment, Not An Expense ★ Most don’t recognize
the value we produce ★ We focus on the deliverables. The code. The features. The workflows. ★ None of this matters.
Level Up Your Business Skills
Level Up Your Business Skills ★ ROI, TCO, KPIs, utilization,
profitability, overhead
Level Up Your Business Skills ★ ROI, TCO, KPIs, utilization,
profitability, overhead ★ Make sure every meeting, every proposal, every LoC aims to benefit a particular KPI that matters to your clients.
“Brennan, You’re Throwing Out A Lot Of Jargon!”
“Brennan, You’re Throwing Out A Lot Of Jargon!” ★ Yes
I am.
“Brennan, You’re Throwing Out A Lot Of Jargon!” ★ Yes
I am. ★ The $10 coder overseas doesn’t use this jargon.
“Brennan, You’re Throwing Out A Lot Of Jargon!” ★ Yes
I am. ★ The $10 coder overseas doesn’t use this jargon. ★ And this is how you’re going to get ahead.
And now...
And now... THE SECRET TO GETTING PAID MORE MONEY
Value based pricing focuses on the destination, not the road.
When our focus is correct, the risk that we'll fail
to solve the business problem(s) at hand is lower.
And when we can clearly communicate that we know what's
at stake and we know what that goal is, we’re perceived as low risk.
Clients want to hire someone who knows their business, its
needs, and has the technical knowhow to get from today to tomorrow OVER the person who is merely adept at coding.
If a client think there's a 50% chance that a
project will fail (e.g. a website redesign won't result in more customers) and is quoted $50k, the true cost is $75k after self-insuring for failure.
Reduce perceived risk by aiming for the right target and
helping your client get to that target faster and more efficiently, and you'll be able to charge more.
Value-based pricing means focusing on the client, not yourself, and
pricing based on the expected outcome of a successful project completion via establishing a low risk profile.
Ê> > > 2>Ê+"(>. Over 3,000 freelancers are
charging more. Are you? doubleyourfreelancingrate.com use coupon RUBY for $10 off