Rethink Your Pricing Strategy for Better Profitability

Pricing is one of the most powerful levers in any agency - and one of the trickiest to get right.

In a recent episode of the Beautiful Business Podcast, Ryan Hall, founder of sales consultancy Friday Solved, joined us to share his refreshingly honest take on sales, new business, and why agencies should be rethinking how they price.

Ryan’s core message is simple: most agencies are underpricing themselves because they’re charging for time, not outcomes. And that could be holding them back from building the kind of business they really want.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the key insights, with a few ideas from our own experience at Wow woven in along the way.

The Problem with Pricing Time

Many agencies default to charging by the day or hour. It feels safe. It’s what clients are used to. And it’s easy to justify - especially when you’re trying to be transparent.

But Ryan argues that this approach often undervalues your expertise. “You’re not paying for the hour,” he says. “You’re paying for 20 years of experience and a specific outcome.” When you break pricing down into time, you invite your clients to assess your process, not your value. That often leads to cost comparisons, requests for breakdowns, and the classic “how long will that really take?” conversation.

Instead, Ryan encourages agencies to flip the model and think in terms of value-based pricing — where what you charge is based on the result you’re delivering, not the time it takes to get there.

This shift in mindset mirrors what we often see in our work with agencies. In fact, one of the core ideas in our blog on six pricing tips to make agencies more profitable is about communicating outcomes rather than activities. When clients understand what they’ll get, not just what you’ll do, they’re much more likely to see your work as an investment, not a cost.

Start Small: Create Packages

Moving away from time-based billing doesn’t have to mean a full pricing overhaul. In fact, Ryan advises agencies to start small, by creating one or two gateway products.

These are clearly defined offers like an audit, strategy sprint or one-day workshop with a fixed scope, a fixed fee, and a clear outcome. They’re designed to be easy to buy, easy to deliver, and easy to price based on value.

“Gateway products are a brilliant way to build confidence,” says Ryan. “They let you test pricing levels, scope boundaries and value perception without overhauling your whole commercial model.”

You can even treat them as experiments. Try a workshop at £3k, then the same format at £5k, and see how your clients respond. Just like we suggest in our pricing tips blog, you don’t need to apply a new approach across the board from day one. Pilot it. Learn. Evolve.

Not only does this help build commercial confidence internally, it also starts to shift the way your clients see you: less like a set of day rates, more like a problem-solving partner.

What to Do When Clients Push Back

Of course, not every client will immediately embrace value-based pricing. Some will still ask for time estimates, hourly breakdowns, or detailed justifications.

Ryan’s view? “It’s often the immature buyers doing that. They’re seeing you as a supplier, not a strategic partner.” That might sound harsh, but it’s a helpful distinction. It’s not about writing off those clients, but about reframing the conversation.

If someone asks, “How many hours will this take?”, try redirecting the conversation to the problem you're solving. What’s the outcome they’re hoping for? What would success look like? Framing things this way helps shift the conversation from how long something takes to how valuable it will be.

As we often say at Wow, communicating value clearly is half the battle. The more confidently and consistently you talk about outcomes, the more likely clients are to buy into a new pricing model.

Making It Stick Inside Your Agency

Moving towards value-based pricing isn’t just about updating your proposals - it’s also a cultural shift.

Ryan puts it perfectly: “You’re not selling services. You’re solving problems. And that’s a different way of thinking.” For agencies used to tracking time or justifying hours, that’s a big mindset change, and one that needs to be supported from the top.

It might mean helping your team feel more confident in articulating outcomes. It could involve changing how you scope or how you present proposals. And it might mean letting go of the idea that “more hours = more value”.

But once this thinking takes root, it’s powerful. It brings more clarity to what you offer, more confidence in how you price, and more alignment between what your clients want and what your team delivers.

A Clearer Path to Profit

So, does value-based pricing actually make agencies more profitable?

In our experience: yes. But only when it’s built on strong financial foundations. You still need to know your margins, understand your cost base, and price in a way that supports the business you want to build. Ryan echoes this too: start by knowing your numbers, then build value around that.

At Wow, we see pricing as one of the biggest opportunities for agencies to boost both profit and confidence. Whether it’s introducing tiered pricing, reviewing scope creep, or taking a fresh look at how you frame value, the goal is always the same: making sure the work you’re doing is commercially sustainable.

If you'd like some help nailing pricing and profitability, then book a no-strings-attached call with the Wow team. We'll listen to your challenges and give you some practical advice for next steps.

Ryan’s new book, Don't Sell, is a brilliant read if you want more on this mindset. It’s packed with ideas on how to simplify your sales process, structure your offers, and build a sales engine that’s fit for the agency you’re building, not just the one you have now.

Listen to the Full Conversation

This blog only scratches the surface. In the full Beautiful Business Podcast episode, Ryan shares:

How to build a sales engine that supports value-based pricing
Why inbound isn’t enough in today’s market
How to empower your team to contribute to growth
The underrated power of consistency, simplicity and effort

Listen to the episode wherever you get your podcasts. It might just help you reframe how you price, how you sell, and how you grow.