Pricing Strategies with Rory Spence (Part 1) artwork
The Agency Accelerator

Pricing Strategies with Rory Spence (Part 1)

  • S3E102
  • 31:52
  • January 27th 2022

In this week's episode of The Agency Accelerator Podcast, I am joined by Rory Spence from The Wow Company.

If you are in the agency world, there’s no doubt you have heard of The Wow Company and particularly the BenchPress market research reports they produce.

Rory started out his career in the company as an accountant, and progressed to a client manager, and currently works as an account manager.

He loves helping ambitious agency owners who want to grow more profitably and sustainably.

He’s helped thousands of agencies across the UK, advising them on their pricing strategy, project management, and financial processes - all focused on helping them increase their profit.

In this part 1 of a 2-part special, Rory shares his top tips on how to increase your prices.  

Many agencies think it is difficult to increase their prices (especially in a pandemic) so Rory shares his advice as well as what he is seeing across the industry.

So grab a pen and get ready to take notes in the action-packed episode.

Time Stamp

[1:04] How the pandemic has affected agencies: Rory’s overview

[3:27] Should we increase pricing every year?

[5:18] The best time of the year to review your prices

[5:33] Rory’s tip on how to avoid losing current clients when you increase your prices

[7:00] 3 possible outcomes from increasing prices

[9:21] Pricing is a confidence game

[10:34] Value-based pricing: what is it?

[13:04] Value-based pricing vs time & materials

[14:54] How to implement value pricing as an agency owner

[17:04] The 3-pricing-options approach: how to beat your competitors

[21:44] The importance of anchoring prices

[23:01] Rory’s view on tracking time within your agency

[24:36] How to measure efficiency and capacity of your team 

[25:40] How to track your gross profit correctly

[27:01] Target margins: what you should aim for

[28:32] The importance of having a clear niche

[29:28] Rory’s number one tip on pricing

Quotations

  • “87% of agencies still use a fixed-fee pricing model... 60% of agencies still use time and materials.” - Rory Spence
  • “If you're just selling time for money, it's gonna be tough. It's gonna be really difficult for you.” - Rory Spence
  • “When we talk about selling time and materials, we’re selling inputs and outputs. When we're selling using a value-based approach, we're selling outcomes and impacts, and that's what the clients are buying.” - Rob Da Costa
  • “Pricing is an art, not a science.” - Rory Spence

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Useful links mentioned in this episode:

The Agency Accelerator

Busy agency owners can have a hard time balancing delivering exceptional work with finding ideal new clients - all the while, ensuring the smooth running of their agency.

Every Thursday, join Rob Da Costa, agency owner and coach, as he explores the key topics that affect you and your agency. I share tools and ideas to aid your profitable growth as well as interview industry expert guests, who share their experiences of working in or with agencies just like yours.

Whether you are just starting out or running an established growing agency, whether you run an online or bricks & mortar agency, this is the podcast for you.

To learn more about Rob, his coaching and training, visit the website