Playbook 6 of 10, Grow
Price your first SaaS product
Tie price to the value a customer gets, choose a simple pricing model, test it in real conversations and record every reaction before you publish a page.
What you will have at the end
- A value statement in the customer's words
- A comparison of the customer's current alternatives and their cost
- A one-sentence description of the pricing model
- A log of price reactions from real conversations
- A first pricing page
The steps
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Write down the value in the customer's terms
State what the customer gains when the product works, in their words and units, such as hours saved, errors avoided or revenue protected. Price follows value. It does not follow your costs.
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Find out what the customer does today and what it costs them
List the current alternatives, including spreadsheets, staff time and other tools, and what each costs the customer in money and effort. That range sets the frame for your price.
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Choose a pricing model you can explain in one sentence
Pick what you charge for, such as seats, usage or a flat package, based on how the customer gets value. Write the sentence you would say to a buyer.
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Test the price in conversations before you publish it
Raise price with each prospect early and write down what they said. A reaction is not a no. Ask what they would compare it with and what would make it easy to say yes.
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Design a small set of packages
Offer a few packages that differ in the value they give, with names a buyer can tell apart. Remove any option that nobody can explain a reason to choose.
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Publish the page and review it on a schedule
Put the price on a page that states what is included and what is not. Set a regular date to review the log of reactions and to change the price or the packages when the evidence calls for it.
The playbook at a glance
A cover, one public figure that frames the question this playbook answers, and the steps drawn as one path.
These figures describe the wider market, not WE's results.
The steps, in order
- Write down the value in the customer's terms
- Find out what the customer does today and what it costs them
- Choose a pricing model you can explain in one sentence
- Test the price in conversations before you publish it
- Design a small set of packages
- Publish the page and review it on a schedule
Open these next
- Pricing page checklist A checklist for a pricing page before it goes live.
- Pricing page checker Tick the statements from the launch checklist in the pricing page article that are true of your own page. See a count of what is marked and what is left.
- Metrics calculator Type one month of your numbers and see net new MRR, gross revenue churn, quick ratio, CAC payback, LTV to CAC and runway, with every formula shown.
This playbook does not recommend a price or a range, because the right price depends on your customers and your evidence. It shows how to find your own.
What good looks like
A good first price rests on conversations, not on a competitor’s page. You can say what the customer gains, what they pay today to get it done, and why the price you chose fits between the two.
- The value statement uses the customer’s own words and units, taken from your interviews and pilots.
- You know what customers do today and what it costs them, in money, time and effort.
- The pricing model fits in one sentence, and a buyer can repeat it back.
- Your log holds the price reactions of real prospects, including the nos and the silences.
- The pricing page says what is included and what is not, and each package has a reason to exist.
Decision aid: what to charge for
Choose the row that best describes how your customers get value. Then test the choice in conversations before you commit to it.
| How the customer gets value | A model that often fits | What to watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Each person on the team uses it regularly | Charge per seat. | Customers may share logins or hold back invitations, which hides the real use. |
| Value grows with how much the customer processes or sends | Charge by usage. | Bills can swing from one month to the next, and buyers may ask for a cap. |
| The product does one clear job for a business of any size | Charge a flat package. | Large and small customers pay the same, so check that neither group is a poor fit. |
| A small team uses it and some customers need much more | Combine a base package with usage or seats. | The pricing page gets harder to read, so test whether a buyer can explain it back. |
| Value depends on the number of locations, properties or accounts managed | Charge per unit that the customer already counts. | Check that the unit is easy to count and hard to dispute. |
| You cannot yet say what the customer gains | Do not publish a price. Return to your interviews and pilots. | A page full of guesses teaches you nothing and may anchor buyers. |
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Why it costs you | Do this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Setting price from your own costs | The customer does not care what the product costs you to run. | Start from the value to the customer and what they pay now. |
| Copying a competitor's page | You inherit their market, their customers and their reasons without knowing any of them. | Use competitors as one comparison, and talk to your own buyers. |
| Avoiding the price conversation | You find out late whether anyone will pay. | Raise price in early conversations and write down every reaction. |
| Offering too many packages | Buyers cannot tell them apart, so they delay or leave. | Keep a few packages with different value, and remove any that nobody can explain. |
| Setting the price once and never reviewing it | The product and the customers change, and the price stays behind. | Set a review date and bring the log of reactions to it. |
| Treating a discount as the answer to hesitation | A discount can hide a missing result or an unclear value. | Ask what is stopping the buyer, and fix the cause. |
Evidence to check before you move on
Move to Earn your first customers when you can show each of these.
- The value statement is written in the customer’s words and units.
- You have the current alternatives and what each costs the customer.
- The pricing model fits in one sentence and a prospect repeated it back correctly.
- The log holds price reactions from real conversations.
- The pricing page states what is included and what is not.
Where WE can help
WE’s Customer Relations and Market Development line covers pilot design and a written record of what buyers actually said, which gives you evidence to bring to a price decision. It does not close deals for you or promise that conversations will turn into customers or revenue. The service line page lists what it covers and what it does not.
Sources
The decision aid and the steps draw on the research brief and articles below. Each names the public sources it read.
Start a readiness review
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A short PDF of the charts and sources, sent by email to the address you give.
Talk to WE : A question that does not fit a form.