I don’t enjoy being sold to, and most small business owners don’t either. So the way WERKET sells is designed to make the decision easy rather than to create pressure. I’m writing it down in full because clients deserve to know how they’re being sold to, and because other designers ask.

Nothing here is a secret technique. It works because it’s honest, and it filters out projects that wouldn’t go well anyway.

Publish the prices

Every package has a starting price on the website, plus GST, along with the care plans and the hourly rate for extra work.

What this does:

  • Saves everyone time. People who can’t afford the work don’t book a call to find out.
  • Builds trust before we talk. A business owner who has already seen the numbers arrives with a real project, not a fishing expedition.
  • Anchors the conversation in scope. The question becomes “which package fits?” rather than “how much will you charge me?”

The fear is that competitors will undercut you. Some will. They were going to anyway, and the clients who choose purely on price were never your best clients.

Three packages, the middle one marked

Get Online, Launch and Signature. Three is enough to show a range without causing decision paralysis. The middle package is marked as the most chosen, and it’s the one most new businesses actually need: brand essentials and a website built on them.

Each package is described by who it’s for first (“For new businesses, or ones that have outgrown a DIY look”), then what’s included. People recognise themselves faster than they compare feature lists.

A comparison table sits below for the people who do want to compare.

Every package includes a care plan

This is the most important commercial decision in the business. Every website comes with a monthly care plan, with a 12-month minimum.

For the client: hosting, updates, backups, monitoring and edit time handled for a known monthly cost. No surprise invoices when something breaks.

For the studio: recurring revenue. That’s what makes it possible to price builds fairly, to say no to bad-fit work, and to still be around in three years when the client needs a change.

I explain it exactly like that on the call. Being open about why it benefits me as well makes the benefit to the client more believable.

Paid discovery for anything custom

Portals and custom tools start with a paid discovery session, credited to the build if the client goes ahead. Discovery produces a scope, a plan and a fixed quote.

Paid discovery filters out people collecting free consulting, gives the client something useful even if they don’t proceed, and makes the final quote far more accurate. Crediting it removes the objection that it’s an extra cost.

Fixed quotes and simple payment terms

After the first conversation, the client gets a defined scope and a fixed quote. Payment terms are written on the website: 50% to start and 50% at launch for most packages, or 40/40/20 at milestones for larger work.

Clear terms prevent the two worst moments in a project: arguing about what was included, and chasing the final payment.

Reply personally, quickly

Every enquiry gets a personal reply from me, not an autoresponder sequence. Speed matters more than polish: a short, helpful reply the same day beats a perfect proposal next week. Often the best reply recommends something smaller, or a free tool, or says we’re not the right fit. That honesty is remembered, and it gets referrals.

Offer a low-commitment first step

Not everyone is ready to fill in a project form. A free 15-minute website and booking check gives them a reason to start a conversation: I look at what they have, and tell them the two or three changes that would make the biggest difference, whether or not they hire me.

Let the work and the evidence sell

Case studies show the brief, how we approached it and what was delivered, with notes saying exactly what each image is: live, staged or sample data. A potential client can verify the work themselves by visiting the live sites.

I’d rather undersell a case study than have a client discover later that a screenshot wasn’t what it seemed.

Be findable where people look

Most small business owners start with a search, so the rest of the selling happens before we ever speak:

  • Pages for specific problems, such as online booking for dog walkers, rather than one generic services page.
  • Articles like this one, answering questions people ask before they buy.
  • A complete Google Business Profile with real reviews.
  • A credit link on client sites, so good work leads back to the studio.

For designers: what to copy

  1. Put starting prices on your site. Make them “from” prices and mean them.
  2. Offer three packages described by who they’re for.
  3. Include a care plan in every package and explain honestly why.
  4. Charge for discovery and credit it to the build.
  5. Write your payment terms on the website.
  6. Reply personally and fast, and recommend less when less is right.
  7. Make your case studies verifiable.

None of this needs a sales personality. It needs clarity, and the confidence to let the right clients choose you.