Name your offer and price it
Turn a vague direction into one sellable thing with a price you can defend
After this, you'll be able to use Claude to turn a direction into one specific offer (who it's for, the problem it solves, the result) with three packaged versions and a realistic price for each.
Before you start
Complete Proof you can point to first; you price an offer with far less flinching when you walk in holding a list of real things you've done, so the receipts you built there are what let you name a fair number here.
The idea
"I could do social media for small businesses" is not an offer, it is a category, and nobody buys a category. People buy a specific result for a specific person at a specific price. The vague version feels safer because it keeps every option open, but open options are exactly why it never sells: a prospect cannot picture what they get, so they buy nothing. The move that turns a direction into income is narrowing it down until it is almost uncomfortably specific.
There is a real reason this is hard to do alone, beyond nerves. Pricing your own work means you have to know what the work actually sells for, and most people guessing in a vacuum either lowball out of fear or pluck a number from the air. Claude closes that gap. It can sharpen a fuzzy direction into one clear sentence, package it into a small, a main, and a premium version, and price each against what this kind of work really goes for, with the reasoning shown so you can defend the number when someone asks "why that much?"
Here is the before and after: Before, you have a direction ("help small businesses with their operations") and a knot in your stomach about what to charge. After this, you have one sentence ("I help [who] do [what] so they can [result]"), three priced packages, the exact AI workflow you would use to deliver it, and one honest risk. You go from "I think I could sell something" to "here is the thing, and here is the price."
Now try it: paste the prompt below with the direction you picked and your top skills. Claude interviews you to sharpen it, then writes the offer, the three packages, the prices with reasoning, and the delivery workflow. Price it for someone just starting out. You can raise it later.
You cannot sell a category. You sell one specific result, to one specific person, at one specific price you can say out loud without flinching.
Try it (15 min)
Watch out for
- Keeping the offer vague to feel safe. 'I help businesses with operations' keeps every option open and sells nothing, because the prospect cannot picture what they get. Narrow it until it is almost uncomfortably specific. That is when it starts selling.
- Lowballing the price out of fear. Pricing for a beginner does not mean pricing for free. If Claude says your guess is too low and explains why, believe it. Underpricing attracts the wrong clients and quietly tells people the work is worth little.
- Accepting a price with no reasoning attached. If Claude just hands you a number, ask 'why that much, what is it based on?' You need the reason so you can hold the price when a client pushes back, instead of caving on the spot.
- Packaging three versions that are really the same thing at three prices. The starter, main, and premium must differ in actual scope, or the choice is fake and the client feels it. Make each one a genuinely different amount of work and result.
- Treating the offer as final before anyone has bought it. It is a strong first draft. The next lesson turns it into outreach messages, and real buyers will teach you fast which parts to sharpen.
Paste this into Claude
You are my pricing and offer coach. Help me turn a vague direction into one specific thing I can sell this week. Be honest about pricing, not optimistic. I would rather start now and raise my prices later than scare off my first client. Here is my direction: [paste the income direction you picked, plus your top skills from the earlier interviews]. Interview me one question at a time to sharpen it. Wait for each answer. Ask about: - Exactly who I want to help (be specific, not "everyone") - The one painful problem I would solve for them - What "done" looks like for that person (the concrete result they get) - How much time it would take me, with AI helping Then give me: 1. A clear, one-sentence offer in this shape: "I help [who] do [what] so they can [result]." 2. Three ways to package it: a small starter version, a main version, and a premium version, with what each one includes 3. A realistic price for each, based on what this kind of work actually sells for, with your reasoning for the number (so I can defend it when someone asks "why that much?") 4. The exact AI workflow I would use to deliver it, step by step, so I know I can really do the work 5. One honest risk, and how to handle it Price it for someone just starting out, not an established expert. If a price I would assume is too high or too low for a beginner, correct me and tell me why. I want a number I can say out loud without flinching and still get paid fairly.
What a good response looks like
Good, that is specific enough to sell now. Here is your offer, packaged and priced for someone just starting, with the reasoning so you can defend every number. YOUR ONE-SENTENCE OFFER: "I help small service businesses untangle their messy scheduling and intake so they stop losing hours (and clients) to admin chaos." THE THREE PACKAGES: STARTER, "The Cleanup" (about $300 to $450) What's included: I audit your current scheduling and intake, then deliver one cleaned-up system with templates you can use immediately. Why this price: it is a small, fast, low-risk way for a nervous first client to try you. Cheap enough to say yes without a meeting, real enough to prove your value. MAIN, "The Setup" (about $900 to $1,400) What's included: the cleanup, plus I build and document the full system, set up the automations, and train you to run it. Why this price: this is real operations work that would cost far more from an agency. It is your bread and butter, priced for a beginner but not for free. PREMIUM, "The Setup + Tune-Up" (about $1,400 setup, then $250 to $400 a month) What's included: everything in Main, plus a monthly check-in where I keep the system healthy and adjust as the business grows. Why this price: the monthly piece is your stable income. Owners happily pay to never think about this again. HOW YOU'D DELIVER IT WITH AI: 1. Interview the client about their current chaos (15 min). 2. Have Claude draft the new system structure from your notes. 3. Build the templates and intake forms, with Claude writing the first versions. 4. Have Claude write the plain-language documentation so the client can actually use it. 5. Walk them through it once, recorded, so they have a reference. ONE HONEST RISK: scope creep. "Can you also fix our email, and our invoicing, and..." Handle it by writing exactly what each package includes, in the offer, so additions become a clear paid add-on, not a free favor that eats your week. START HERE: lead with the Starter to get a fast first yes, and mention the Main as the natural next step once they see the cleanup work.
What good looks like
- You have ONE offer in the 'I help [who] do [what] so they can [result]' shape, specific enough that a stranger would instantly know if it is for them
- There are three real packages (starter, main, premium) that differ in scope, not just three prices stapled to the same thing
- Each price comes with a reason you could actually say to a client, not a number Claude pulled from nowhere
- The delivery workflow is concrete enough that you believe you could do the work with AI's help, instead of hoping you'll figure it out later
- The offer carries one honest risk with a way to handle it, so you are not blindsided by the obvious objection
| Starter | Main | Premium | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A small, fast cleanup | The full build, documented | The build plus a monthly tune-up |
| Who it is for | A nervous first client | Your bread-and-butter client | A client who wants it handled for good |
| Roughly | $300 to $450 | $900 to $1,400 | $1,400 setup, then $250 to $400 a month |
| Why this price | Cheap enough to say yes fast | Real work, beginner-priced not free | The monthly piece is your stable income |
Three real packages give the buyer a genuine choice. Three prices on the same thing is a fake one, and they can feel it.
When this breaks
- Breaks when you ask Claude to 'make my offer sound good' instead of making it specific, because polish on a vague offer is still vague, and vague does not sell. Force the narrowing first: exact buyer, exact problem, exact result, then worry about wording.
- Breaks when you let it price in a vacuum with no reasoning, because a number you cannot justify is a number you will cave on the moment a client hesitates. Insist on the 'why' behind each price so you can defend it under mild pressure.
- Breaks when you wait to launch until the offer is perfect, because an offer only gets real feedback from buyers, not from more tweaking, so endless polishing is just a comfortable way to avoid the scary part. Ship a good-enough offer, then let real yeses and no's refine it.
AI can help with this
Paste your direction and skills, then answer the sharpening questions. Claude writes the offer, the packages, the prices with reasoning, and the delivery steps. Your job is to be specific about who and what, and to make it justify every number.
You can now
State your offer in the 'I help [who] do [what] so they can [result]' shape, specific enough a stranger gets it.
- Name the price of your starter and the one-line reason it is fair.
- Check the three packages differ in real scope, not just three prices on the same thing.
- If a price came with no reasoning, ask 'why that much, based on what?' until you can defend it.
Key takeaways
Income comes from one specific offer with a defensible price, never from a vague category. Claude turns a direction into a named offer, three real packages, and prices you can justify, so you stop almost-selling and start actually selling.
- Nobody buys a category. 'Social media for small businesses' is a direction, not an offer. People buy a specific result for a specific person at a specific price.
- Vague feels safe but sells nothing, because the prospect cannot picture what they get. The move that creates income is narrowing until the offer is almost uncomfortably specific.
- Every price needs a reason you can say out loud. A number you cannot justify is one you will cave on; the 'why' is what lets you hold the price under pushback.
- Three packages must differ in real scope, not just price. A genuine starter, main, and premium gives the buyer a real choice instead of a fake one they can feel.
- Price for a beginner, but not for free. Start lower to win the first yes, raise it later. Underpricing attracts the wrong clients and signals the work is worth little.