The Psychology of Price Messaging: Shaping Expectations

_{[Read time: 3 minutes]}

When someone expects a $100K solution, they don’t flinch at a $10K price.

They flinch when you let them set their own expectations.

Resistance to price isn’t only a number problem — it’s about what they expected before the price was ever mentioned. And if you don’t control that expectation, their brain will.

This is where price messaging comes in.

And, it’s different from attraction or positioning messaging that most of us see on LinkedIn or other social platforms.

Don’t get me wrong these two are super valuable and are necessary.

• Attraction messaging → getting eyeballs & talking about the problem

• Positioning messaging → differentiating yourself as the expert & best choice.

But price messaging is just different. And has it’s time and place, because it’s more about:

• Setting price expectations before the price reveal

• Framing price as logical, valuable, and justifiable

• Avoiding the need to overexplain

Price messaging starts before the price is ever stated.

It’s subtly built into attraction and positioning messaging, but it fully "turns on" the moment a prospect shifts from passive interest to active evaluation.

Once a potential buyer starts considering your offer, they’re formulating numbers in their head. This is why it’s important to shift to price messaging.

This type of messaging is most commonly connected to anchoring.

Anchoring is when people compare your price to the first (or most influential) number that comes to mind, which shapes whether it feels high, low, or fair.

Here’s what bad/good anchored responses can look like:

• Bad response → “$10K? That’s more than I paid for [something unrelated].”

• Bad response → “$10K? That’s way more than you led me to believe.”

• Anchored response → “$10K? That makes sense given our objective is a $100K return.”

To be crystal clear, I’m not saying you should arbitrarily throw around big numbers just to make your price seem “smaller.”

That backfires. When prospects feel like you’re manipulating the anchor, they lose trust.

Please anchor it to the right thing — something real, tangible, and justifiable.

Here are a a few simple ways to anchor before revealing the price (during the fit, discovery or sales conversations):

• Start with financial goals early — so the value is tied to real numbers. Example: “What are the financial objectives for this project?”

• Pre-frame your pricing by contrasting it with something higher. Example: “Most businesses in this space spend $50K+ on a solution like this — but we’ve streamlined the process to make it more affordable.”

• Ask about budget or mention pricing ranges — without giving an exact number. Example: “The businesses we work with typically invest between $X and $Y, depending on complexity (and get $Z results).”

However, price messaging isn’t just about anchoring, it’s also about framing.

Framing in pricing shapes how buyers perceive value by setting context such as:

• Language framing → Do you say “cost” or “investment”? Do you explain ROI upfront or leave it implied?

• Value framing → Do you emphasize deliverables or outcomes? Are you positioning your offer as a line item or a revenue driver?

• (Value-based) proof framing → Are you showing proof that clients are already paying for this level of value?

If these elements aren’t intentional, clients will fill in the blanks for themselves.

You get to choose how you want to anchor and frame pricing, but whatever you do, avoid the word vomit and over-explaining.

It can make it seem like you’re justifying the number — rather than stating it with confidence.

Price should feel like an obvious conclusion (even if they truly can’t afford it).

And if you do reveal prices before ever talking to them, read this post on the decoy effect.

See you next week.

— Peter

P.S. If your potential buyers keep flinching at your price, let’s fix that.

Start with a price audit: A 1-day sprint to pinpoint where your price messaging is breaking down, quantify your signature offer’s value (more tangibly), and reframe price expectations, plus more — start here to (finally) get pricing right.

…or if you want a more holistic view on price and it’s impact on your business model, start here with a the ‘$10K in 1 day’ business audit.