Agency pricing that pays you properly.
“I'm embarrassed to say the price.”
We work with owners of £100k to £3M agencies on pricing and margin: set a price from what the work costs and what it is worth, say it with confidence, and protect the margin with retainers.
Signs pricing is the problem
- We win almost every quote, but the margin is still thin.
- The client asks for one more thing and we never charge for it.
- I'm the only person who can price a job.
- That retainer takes more work every month, but the fee never changes.
- We're busy, but I don't know which projects actually make money.
How we fix it
- Set a true-cost floor
- We work out the expected delivery hours, team costs and overheads, including your time at a real salary. Then we allow for profit. That gives us a floor to check every quote against, and we compare it with what delivery actually costs.
- Choose the model that fits the work
- We look at what the client is buying. Defined work can have a project fee; ongoing value can support a retainer. Where the commercial result is measurable, we price against that value. We agree scope and change control before the work starts.
- Use the win-rate test
- We track what happens to your proposals and raise the next comparable quote when clients keep saying yes. We practise saying the number out loud, then leaving room for the client to respond. The aim is to find a price you can hold with confidence.
- Review prices with existing clients
- We compare the work you now deliver with the original agreement. We test the new price with new clients first, then plan existing-client reviews around renewals. Give notice, explain the value and the scope that has grown, and be honest that some clients may leave.
- Build retainers that cover your costs
- We use the workstream-first approach: a defined project before ongoing support. Separate maintenance from strategy, write down the boundaries, and check what remains after delivery to cover fixed costs. Review each account so a steady fee also leaves a margin.
What changed at Everblue Digital
2xCore pricing roughly doubled on automation work, with a margin floor on anything outsourced.
“The bigger impact has been on our efficiency. We're getting more done with less stress. Practical and direct, all while being good craic. He focuses on what will actually work for your specific situation rather than generic business coaching.”Read the Everblue Digital case study
Connor McAuley, Founder. As specialists join, each area gets its own lead here.
Read more on pricing
Set your price
Retainers
For agencies under £100k, start with the Scorecard and the YouTube channel. We do not book calls below this level.
Questions on pricing and margin
How much should an agency charge per month?
There is no single monthly fee that fits every agency. Define the scope and outcome, check the real delivery cost plus margin, then price against the value to the client. Published rates are a comparison point; your costs and the result decide whether a fee works.
Should we use a retainer or a project fee?
Use a project fee for defined, one-off work. A retainer suits ongoing work with continuing value and clear boundaries. For new clients, a defined project first can separate the initial setup from the monthly work. Either can be priced on value where the outcome supports it.
How do we raise prices without losing clients?
We cannot promise that every client will stay. Test higher prices with new clients first. For existing clients, give notice and explain the value and any growth in scope, ideally at renewal. Check profitability before deciding which relationships to keep at the old fee.
Do you do the pricing for us?
We work through it with you in the sessions: review delivery costs and recent quotes, choose the model, agree scope and price boundaries, and practise the conversation. You make the commercial decisions and take the prices to clients. We review what happens and adjust with you.
Start with your pricing.
Score your pricing alongside the other areas and see which one to fix first.