Pricing · Lesson 3
Packages and controlling scope
Offer clear options and write down exactly what is — and isn't — included.
Clients find it easier to choose between options than to say yes or no to one price. Offer three packages: a focused essential option, a recommended option, and a premium option with more support or speed. Most clients choose the middle; some choose the top, which lifts your average fee.
Each package needs a clear scope: deliverables, number of revisions, meetings, timelines and what the client must provide. Equally important is what is excluded. Unclear scope is the biggest cause of lost margin in professional services.
When the client asks for more, do not refuse, and do not quietly absorb it. Say: 'Happy to do that. It's outside our agreed scope, so I'll send a short change note with the cost and timing.' Written change notes protect the relationship and your profit.
Example — Hypothetical: three options
Concept only: ₦4.5m (2 design options, 1 revision). Concept + planning drawings: ₦9m (recommended). Full service + site supervision: ₦16m. The client takes the middle option, which earlier would have been a single ₦6m quote.
Try this
Take your most common service and sketch three packages with clear inclusions, exclusions and prices.
Reflect
Where did your last scope creep start — and what sentence in your proposal would have prevented it?