Why “Just Show Your Pricing” is Bad Advice
The number takes over the conversation before there’s context.
Show pricing when the work is defined.
Hide pricing when the value depends on context, but make your filters painfully clear.
Key takeaways
Pricing upfront works when the buyer can understand the outcome without talking to you.
It backfires when the first job is diagnosis and judgment, not execution.
Most “show pricing” debates are really about filtering bad calls.
If you don’t show a number, show who it’s for, what problems it’s for, and what changes after.
Your site should qualify the conversation before you ever get on a call.
This question comes up a lot.
Usually from people rebuilding a landing page and trying to “get it right” this time.
Show prices and scare people off?
Hide prices and waste time on bad calls?
The answer isn’t about confidence or transparency.
It’s about what you’re actually selling.
When pricing upfront works
Pricing works when the work is already defined.
The buyer can tell, without talking to you:
what the thing is
what problem it solves
what changes after it’s done
That’s why pricing works for:
courses
audits with a fixed scope
repeatable retainers
productized services
In those cases, pricing reduces friction.
Hiding it just slows things down.
When pricing upfront backfires
A lot of senior work doesn’t start with a clear brief.
It starts with:
“Something feels off.”
“We’re busy but stuck.”
“This should be working better than it is.”
The value isn’t execution yet.
It’s figuring out what actually matters.
When you put a number on that too early, the number takes over the conversation.
You end up talking about cost before context.
And the work gets treated like it’s fixed, even when it isn’t.
That’s not a trust problem.
It’s a sequencing problem.
What this debate is really about
Most pricing debates are really about this:
“How do I stop taking calls that go nowhere?”
Pricing is one way to filter.
It’s not the only one.
What to show instead of a number
If you can’t price upfront, you still need to filter.
That means being clear about three things.
1) Who you work with
Not “startups” or “founders.”
Be specific about stage, revenue, or situation.
Example:
Pre seed to Series A teams with traction, but no clear product or design owner.
2) The situations you help with
Not capabilities like “strategy” or “UX.”
Describe the stuck moment.
Examples:
The product works, but nobody can explain why customers choose it.
The team ships features, but everything feels interchangeable.
You have data, but decisions still stall.
The roadmap is full, but confidence is low.
3) What changes after
Not abstract outcomes.
Concrete shifts.
Examples:
A positioning decision the team can build against.
A smaller set of bets with a clear test plan.
Systems that don’t fall apart when you step out of the room.
The tighter this is, the fewer bad calls you take.
No public pricing required.
Copy you can put on your site
If you want to filter without listing a price, add something like this near your CTA:
Best fit
You’ve built real traction, but the positioning isn’t working.
The team is shipping, but the story isn’t clear.
You want a senior partner to help you make decisions, not just complete tasks.
Not a fit
You want a quote before we talk about the situation.
You’re hiring for output only.
You’re looking for a free brainstorm.
First step
Tell me what decision you need to make in the next 30 days. If it makes sense, I’ll suggest a small next step.
That one question filters better than a price tag.
The rule of thumb
If someone can understand your value without talking to you, show the price.
If your value only makes sense after context, don’t force it.
Let the site earn the conversation.
Let the conversation set the price.
Thanks for reading,
Gev