“Think for a second about how much discussion and research needs to go into the project before you’re even able to produce a price quote.”

If you’re putting that much time and effort in before the project even starts, then you’re doing value-based pricing wrong. What you’re describing is strategy and it’s a service that any sufficiently experienced freelancer should charge for. You’ll earn more and gain more respect from your clients! (:

This is what works for me…

When potential clients come to me for a “website,” I have a 30–60m phone call with them (and refer them away immediately if I find they aren’t a good fit or don’t want to spend any money).

In this call, we define the business problem and place a value on the solution—that price is ALWAYS 2–10x higher than what I would charge if I billed hourly. This protects me from scope creep and ensures the client is serious about the project and values their own time. I don’t want to work with people who will spend $10,000 to save $5,000.

If it’s a fit, then I book them for a 4-hour strategy workshop, which is a fixed price. This way, if we decide to work together, we have a great platform to start with. If not, I’ll recommend them to someone else, but they’ll still be a step ahead. Either way, I get paid and they feel safe not having to drop a huge deposit on someone they don’t know.