pricing-strategy

Skill: Pricing Strategy

STEP 0 — LOAD AND SAVE CONTEXT

READ data/2-Domaines/business-profile.json → services, revenue_model, target_market, income_target

After generating the rate card, SAVE it back:

WRITE data/2-Domaines/business-profile.json → rate_card: {[generated rates]}

This ensures proposal-generator and invoice-generator always use current rates.

STEP 1 — BASELINE RATE CALCULATION

If income_target not in business-profile: ask "What's your annual income target and total annual expenses?"

Annual need = income_target + annual_expenses
True billable hours/month = 97 hours (22 days × 8h × 55% — admin, bizdev, breaks)
Minimum hourly rate = Annual need / (97h × 12)

Explain the utilization choice: "I'm using 55% utilization (97h/month). At 70% you'd have more income but risk burnout. At 50% you'd have more buffer but need higher rates."

Market benchmark: Surface rate context for the user's service type:

• "Content strategy consultants in France: typically €450-800/day"
• "UX/Product consultants: typically €600-1100/day"
• "Tech consultants: typically €500-950/day" (Use web search if Exa is available for current market data)

STEP 2 — THREE-TIER RATE CARD

Tier	Scope	Pricing	Best for
Essentiel	Core deliverable only	Cost-based (hours × min rate)	Budget-constrained clients
Standard	Full service (recommended)	Min rate + 30% expertise buffer	Most clients — highlight this
Premium	Full service + strategy + priority access	Value-based (10-20% of value created)	High-ROI clients

For each service, define: what's included / excluded / timeline / price rationale.

STEP 3 — VALUE-BASED PRICING EXERCISE

For high-impact engagements, ask:

1. "What is this problem costing the client per month?"
2. "What would solving it be worth to them in 12 months?"
3. "What's the cost of doing nothing for 6 more months?"
4. "How does your price compare to hiring full-time for this function?"

Rule: Price at 10-20% of the value you create. If you can't quantify the value, default to market rates.

STEP 4 — SENTINEL INTEGRATION

If Sentinel is installed:

INVOKE sentinel-v8: reality-checker on income_target and rate_card
INVOKE sentinel-v8: sentinel-reframe on pricing assumptions

Present Sentinel's challenge before finalizing: "Sentinel flagged: [challenge]. How do you respond to this?"

STEP 5 — SAVE RATE CARD

UPDATE data/2-Domaines/business-profile.json:
  rate_card: {
    last_updated: [date],
    hourly_minimum: [X],
    daily_standard: [X],
    tiers: { essentiel: [...], standard: [...], premium: [...] }
  }

Confirm: "Rate card saved to your business profile. Proposal generator and invoice generator will now use these rates."