At first glance, pricing seems to be all about the numbers. A closer look will reveal that it is actually about so much more—setting a price for your product or service is a delicate dance between value, strategy, and success. For those rooted in data, accepting pricing as an art may feel daunting. That’s why we’ve gathered insights from 25 exceptional female leaders across various industries to uncover a few breakthroughs.
From valuing your worth to transparency around production costs and crafting tailored pricing, these women aren’t simply sharing their experiences. They’re offering a roadmap for anyone navigating the twists and turns of effective pricing. Get ready to take notes because these insights may be key to unlocking your pricing potential.
Craft a flexible pricing strategy
Zahra Yarahmadi, Founder of BG Financial Consulting Group, specializing in SaaS pricing and revenue strategy.
My secret sauce to pricing: Discover what matters the most for the client, and create a flex pricing strategy that meets them where they are.
My advice: Pricing subscription/SaaS products is complex, and it is challenging to understand the short-term and long-term effects on company revenue and cash. Use financial modeling to truly understand the effect.
Strike a balance between value and affordability
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Leah Dergachev, Founder of Austley LLC, a premier partner in strategic communications and digital marketing excellence, harnessing deep insights for powerful communication strategies.
My secret sauce to pricing: The balance between value and affordability: charging enough to reflect the expertise and quality I provide, while remaining accessible to startups with limited budgets. I wish I had realized a lot sooner, the importance of flexible pricing models that can adapt to different client needs and market conditions earlier.
My advice: Thoroughly understand your target market’s budget constraints and value perception. Implement a tiered pricing strategy that accommodates various levels of service and budget, ensuring your services are both accessible to your customers and prospects while profitable for your business.
Seek constant feedback
Alexis Reardon, Founder and CEO of Fanfaire, a SaaS platform for modern event pros to unlock fan-worthy buying experiences and lightning-fast operations for bespoke events.
My secret sauce to pricing: Ask for feedback. Continue to adjust your pricing until you feel like you’re in the sweet spot. Understand the value of what you’re providing and how the buyer might justify the cost in their mind. You want the customer to feel like they are getting a good deal. When your customer wins, they tell everyone.
My advice: Customers like flexibility and the ability to try your solution. We’ve created a trial period that is reflective of how an individual customer will realize value. Then, they pay after the value realization. For example, our platform is a B2B2C platform. Our customers pay for our service after 45 days or two customer transactions, whichever comes first. The most likely scenario is that the first transaction will pay for their month, so it’s obvious to the customer that the service is already paying for itself.
Use a pre-boarding survey to set pricing expectations
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Vivian Acquah, Certified DEI Consultant at Amplify DEI™, supporting organizations and their employees with creating inclusive workplaces.
My secret sauce to pricing: I’ve learned a lot about the importance of clear communication, especially when it comes to pricing. I wish I had known earlier about the power of a pre-boarding survey. Now, I make it a point to state upfront that my pricing starts at $XYZ and provides different pricing buckets.
My advice: Create a pre-boarding survey to learn more about your potential future client. It will save you countless hours of the “budget dance”—wondering whether an organization can afford your services or not.
Use accessible statistics for pricing clarity
Marissa Joy Pick, Founder of Marissa Pick Consulting LLC, providing strategic consulting focused on digital transformation, content marketing, social media strategy, and more.
My secret sauce to pricing: I like to be as transparent and honest as possible. Luckily there are plenty of statistics readily accessible, which can help me showcase what success looks like for my clients. I’ve found having tangible metrics helpful when pricing, showcasing success, and working with clients to ensure pricing is reflective of expectations.
My advice: Explain and show what goes into a scope of work. Be realistic with timing and pricing. I’ve adjusted my prices and scope of work as needed and am a part of consulting groups to share similar scopes of work and ensure I’m priced realistically.
Have confidence in the value you provide
Michelle Glogovac, Founder and CEO of The MLG Collective®, a PR agency that specializes in podcasts working with authors, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and advocates.
My secret sauce to pricing: Knowing what you have to offer and the value you provide. When starting out, it can be difficult to find the confidence to price your product or service without questioning if you’re too high. Don’t be afraid to increase your prices as you grow.
My advice: Do your research. Don’t copy what others are doing but look for gaps where you can elevate your service offering and provide a greater value to clients. Set yourself apart from others!
Also, It’s okay to listen to advice or feedback from others, but don’t let that be your final answer. I was told that I might be able to get $250 per month for what I do, despite working many hours to secure podcast interviews. I charge 10x that amount because of the value I bring and the results I give my clients. Don’t be afraid to charge your worth!
View products with suites and customers as individuals
Devanshi Garg Sareen, Founder and CEO of Motif Beauty, creating clean, evidence-backed skincare that is uncomplicated, enjoyable to use, and made to work.
My secret sauce to pricing: Don’t consider a product individually but as a part of a product suite. Don’t consider your customer simply as belonging to an audience segment. Rather, narrow in on them as individuals.
My advice: Realize that your decision to play in a specific market will come with its own challenges and opportunities.
Tailor pricing to client needs
Saundra Marcel, Designer and Brand Author at Design Minded, a uniquely creative brand studio that helps bold brands and smart startups achieve their creative potential.
My secret sauce to pricing: I’m not rigid with pricing. In fact, I’m quite flexible. Every client and project is different, and it’s my job to understand what they need. If the price isn’t sitting right, then it’s not right. I’ll happily revisit the scope or suggest an alternate approach. It’s a conversation.
My advice: Don’t be shy when it comes to talking numbers. Verbally providing a range or rough ballpark is helpful information for a potential client. You can also ask for feedback. By the time your client receives the written agreement, they should know what’s in it because you’ve already talked about it—no surprises.
Emphasize customer value over cost
Taryn McCarty, Co-Founder of Ventnor Ventures, a sports-focused startup studio specializing in identifying and capitalizing on gaps in this accelerating growth sector.
My secret sauce to pricing: Focus on the value that you are delivering to your customers, not only your costs. This means understanding what your customers are willing to pay for and what they perceive to be the value of your product or service.
My advice: Understand and communicate the value your service brings, be it through exclusive insights or personalized strategies. From there, you can customize your pricing to suit your niche audience segments, providing customized packages that accommodate a variety of needs and budgets.
Experiment with pricing
Morgaine Trine, Owner of Honestly Bookkeeping, a boutique bookkeeping firm helping owners with a portfolio of businesses to stabilize and strengthen financial systems.
My secret sauce to pricing: I wish I had known to throw spaghetti at the wall more often. When first starting out, I listened to “experts” about pricing. It ended up putting me at a disadvantage because I was doing what I “should” instead of figuring out what my actual audience and client base would resonate with. Once I started trying out different models and tracking the results, I was able to set pricing that fit both the business needs and client sentiment.
My advice: Try it all out. There’s no one “right” way to price. Figure out what actually works for you. If you’re trying to find your pricing, do testing on a couple of different methods and set a number of sales or length of time for each test. Then review what worked and didn’t. As your business grows and the markets change, you’ll have to keep coming back and tweaking. This is not a “set it and forget it” aspect of your business.
Embrace transparency for equitable pricing
Dr. Claire Green-Forde, Founder and CEO of Dr. Claire SPEAKS! LLC, a speaking and advisory consultancy dedicated to dismantling systemic inequities in healthcare.
My secret sauce to pricing: Seek community with others who are willing to be transparent about their rates/fees and that will help push you out of your comfort zone. Surround yourself with those who will push for equity so you and others are paid fairly. So often we’re told not to be transparent about fees; however, that lack of transparency contributes to inequality. We all rise together.
My advice: You set your value, not the market. While it’s true that some people may question your fees, your worth is beyond measure and your gifts are priceless. Your fees are reflective of your skill, time, knowledge, and preparation. Go where you are celebrated, and always stay true to your values.
Reveal production costs and emphasize value
Brandy Mercredi, Founder of Franc, a sustainable clothing brand that makes effortless, ethically-made styles in Canada for people fed-up with fast fashion.
My secret sauce to pricing: As a DTC brand, we avoid traditional retail markups and strive to keep our prices as reasonable as possible. We had a breakthrough moment in pricing strategy when we decided to be transparent about the true cost of production and the cost per wear for each item. This approach has helped us provide customers with a better understanding of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into our products and their value.
My advice: Ensuring fair pricing of items and providing a fair wage to all employees is a challenging task, but it is highly beneficial in the long run. As consumers ourselves, it is important to treat our customers with transparency and honesty, just as we would expect from the brands we choose to shop from.
Openly share pricing details
Emily Kenison, Founder of RobeCurls, the No.1 award-winning, patented heat-free curler that creates five times longer-lasting curls with only seconds of effort.
My secret sauce to pricing: Transparency in pricing is the secret sauce to building trust with customers. I wish I had realized earlier that openly sharing how prices are determined, including cost breakdowns, builds trust and credibility with your audience.
My advice: Don’t underestimate the importance of delighting your customers after the purchase, like providing excellent product support or a confidence-building return policy. Such elements can differentiate your offering, favorably influence purchasing decisions, and turn customers into brand champions. Invest in them wisely, and give weight to them in your pricing strategy.
Experiment with diverse pricing structures
Rachael King, CEO of Pod People, a content and marketing studio for award-winning podcasts and social creative.
My secret sauce to pricing: For the first couple of years, we were working on a project basis, with milestone-triggered invoices. This was difficult for clients to wrap their minds around since it’s a big lump sum with unpredictable invoicing—the worst of both worlds. We restructured our pricing to be on a monthly retainer model, which is more predictable for clients and protects our team if a project drags on longer than planned.
My advice: When you’re first starting out, spend the first three months A/B/C testing at least three different pricing structures with prospects and the way you present them. That kind of feedback in the early days will give you an incredible foundation to build upon.
Conduct pre-launch interviews to inform pricing
Kalyn Salinas, Founder of The Citrine Compass, a boutique travel advisory group that helps busy, sophisticated world explorers create curated and authentic travel experiences.
My secret sauce to pricing: I wish I had conducted ideal client interviews before launching my business. It would have helped me solidify pricing sooner—as well as branding, social media strategy, web design, and more. If you can figure out what your ideal clients have spent on similar services and offerings in the past, you can figure out what they would spend on a service or offering like yours in the future!
My advice: After doing competitive research and ideal client interviews, price your offering on the higher end of the spectrum. If clients transact, you’re capturing that upside. If you end up needing or wanting to lower your price, then clients will perceive what they’re getting as more valuable. If you start low and raise your prices, you may lose existing customers who feel like they’re now paying a “premium” for what they had on the cheap before.
Tailor pricing to your ideal demographic
Lexie Smith and Emily Merrell, Co-Founders of Ready Set Coach Community, a community built for coaches by coaches.
Our secret sauce to pricing: No matter how you price a product, there will be someone out there who objects. Stand confidently behind your price point, and know that with the right messaging, your ideal clients will buy.
My advice: Be mindful of matching your price point to your demographic, and consider flexible pricing options such as payment plans. Pricing low doesn’t always indicate an easier buy-in and larger revenue. Volume is required to bring in comparable profits to that of a high-ticket offer. How you price will directly inform how you market.
Adapt swiftly to evolving needs
Mindie Kaplan, Founder of MaleRoom, a media brand that takes women inside the minds of men.
My secret sauce to pricing: Go directly to my current clients, past prospects, and other industry leaders to determine the value of your offering and, most importantly, what they would pay.
My advice: Being able to adapt quickly to changing needs, timing, and budget parameters helped us to grow our business in an ever-changing industry.
Avoid frequent discounts to prevent devaluing products
Marnie Rabinovitch, Founder and CEO of Thigh Society, the leading direct-to-consumer brand of size-inclusive long-leg undergarment solutions to sweating, chafing, and modesty.
My secret sauce to pricing: Don’t discount your products regularly. Customers are willing to pay for quality. If you continuously put your products on promotion, you’ll just train them to only buy on sale, which won’t help your bottom line. Discounts on first-time purchases are great. But there are so many ways to incentivize customers aside from offering a discount, like with a free gift or free shipping.
My advice: Ensure you factor shipping costs in your pricing so that you can have healthier margins. You may be able to negotiate volume discounts with your suppliers as your business grows, but shipping costs can make or break a business.
A/B test pricing elements
Jessica Alderson, Co-Founder and CEO of So Syncd, a dating app that matches compatible personality types.
My secret sauce to pricing: How you present your prices makes all the difference. A/B testing fonts, colors, placement, images, and other elements can majorly impact your customers’ perception of your product’s value.
My advice: Test different aspects of your pricing strategy, and make changes based on the data. Run this process continuously to stay on top of evolving customer preferences and market trends.
Balance industry norms with unique value
Ashley Graham, Founder of The Conscious Publicist, a PR and media concierge raising the awareness of conscious thought leaders and organizations.
My secret sauce to pricing: Finding the sweet spot for pricing services requires a fine balance between industry value and positioning while considering the true worth of your expertise or business model. Looking back, I wish I had realized sooner that effective pricing is not just about knowing the current pulse of the industry but also about acknowledging and valuing the distinct qualities and skills that differentiate our services from others.
My advice: Recognize the distinctive qualities of your product or service. Don’t underestimate the value of your unique expertise, features, or the special touch that sets your offering apart.
Challenge yourself with higher pricing
Charmaine Green-Forde, Founder and CEO of Chapter tOO, LLC, an organizational and people development consultancy, leveraging data-backed people insights.
My secret sauce to pricing: Your price is your price. Someone serious about what you do will pay for it. Don’t compromise your value and the unique IP your experiences bring to the table. Whatever you come up with, challenge yourself to price it 10-20% higher than you’re comfortable with until that new price feels normal to you.
My advice: Do market research to gauge baseline rates you can charge, and always factor your overhead costs into your pricing strategy. Remember that it’s much easier to offer a “special discount” than it is to try to negotiate for more if you undersell your services or products.
Set prices based on perceived value
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Kinsey Wolf, Founder of The Lane Collective, a growth strategy firm that helps future-focused technology companies achieve their goals with consulting expertise and free resources.
My secret sauce to pricing: It sounds basic, but pricing is about value. Pricing challenges are usually—if not always—due to a failure to communicate or deliver enough perceived value in the eyes of your customers.
My advice: There’s more emotion in pricing than most of us would like to admit. Charging premium prices requires delivering a premium experience that honors, delights, and validates your customers, in addition to a great product or service.
Align client willingness, value, and profitability
Ari Krzyzek, CEO of Chykalophia, a web agency helping women-led brands in B2B tech and Femtech DTC transform their websites into platforms that drive business growth.
My secret sauce to pricing: Nailing the perfect price point is like finding that sweet spot where what clients are willing to pay meets the knockout value we bring to the table, all while ensuring profitability for our business. It often takes us some trial and error, and we’re not afraid to adjust our pricing as we gain more insights into our costs, the market, and the added value we continue to provide.
My advice: Immerse yourself in the nuances that shape your pricing strategy. This means mastering value-based pricing, staying attuned to market rates, understanding client budgets and aspirations, and finding the sweet spot in your profit margins. Equally important is the agility to offer tiered pricing, upsells, and cross-sells and to consider the long-term financial landscape with licensing and ongoing costs for web projects.
Believe in the services you provide
Ashley Rector, Founder of Quimby Digital, crafting compelling social media marketing and paid advertising strategies for startups around the world.
My secret sauce to pricing: If I only learned earlier that the power of pricing directly correlates to the value I place upon myself, I would have saved a lot of heartache. You have to feel worthy of the price you pitch and the services you provide. Otherwise, it doesn’t matter how low or high—you won’t be able to sell it.
My advice: Agencies are either heavy on headcount or incorrectly estimate hours of a project. Be ultra-aware of time because time is money. Look at efficiencies within the business not only to make your people better, quicker, and more efficient but to capitalize on your profit margins.
Offer tiers to meet varied client needs and budgets
Meredith Fennessy, Founder of Le Chéile, not your typical finance and strategy agency, working specifically with boutique creative agencies to scale profitably and mindfully.
My secret sauce to pricing: One size does not fit all. Give your clients options: different offers at tiered price points to meet their demands and sweet spot. Get to know your client’s needs, and budget and price accordingly.
My advice: Be accessible to clients with different needs. Some just need quick support, others need targeted resources, and a select few need longer-term consultative support. Be flexible, while also targeting your services to ensure smooth internal and external processes. Don’t offer discounts and regularly increase your rates.
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