Insights
Perspectives on pricing,
margins & service firm growth
Data-driven analysis and practical frameworks for B2B service firms navigating pricing strategy, scope management, and commercial optimization.
Why 73% of Fixed-Price Projects Lose Money
Most agencies treat fixed-price projects as a gamble. They estimate hours, add a buffer, and hope for the best. The data tells a different story, and points to a systematic fix.
The Agency Owner's Guide to Value-Based Pricing
Hourly billing punishes efficiency. The faster you get, the less you earn. Value-based pricing flips this equation, here's how to make the transition without losing clients.
The Scope Creep Prevention Framework
Scope creep isn't a client problem, it's a process problem. This framework gives agencies a systematic way to detect, quantify, and prevent scope expansion before it destroys margins.
Good-Better-Best Pricing: The Framework Top Agencies Use
Single-price proposals force a binary decision: yes or no. Three-tier pricing shifts the question from 'should we buy?' to 'which option fits best?', and the data shows it works.
Should You Even Pitch This Deal?
Every proposal costs time and money. Bayesian win probability gives agencies a data-driven framework to decide which deals to pursue, and which to walk away from.
Stop Discounting. Start Framing.
When a client asks for a discount, most agencies comply. Behavioral economics offers a better playbook: reframe the conversation so discounts become unnecessary.
Monte Carlo Simulation: Your Agency's Secret Pricing Weapon
A 20% buffer on your project estimate isn't risk management, it's a guess. Monte Carlo simulation runs 10,000 scenarios on your actual data, giving you a probability distribution instead of a single number.
The 7 Pricing Mistakes Killing Your Agency's Margins
After analyzing 200+ agency projects, the same pricing mistakes appear over and over. Here are the seven most common, ranked by how much margin they destroy.
The Psychology of Proposal Pricing
Your client's decision isn't purely rational. Understanding the cognitive biases at play in pricing decisions lets you design proposals that feel right, not just look right.