The prompt
Score 10 of 10, Excellent
Use it when You need prices that cover costs, fit the market, and that you can explain to customers.
- {{what_i_sell}}
- {{costs}}
- {{income_goal}}
- {{capacity}}
- {{market_prices}}
- {{customers_and_value}}
- {{current_prices}}
Full prompt and why it works
Prompt
Help me set prices for {{what_i_sell}}. I need prices that cover my costs and pay me properly, that make sense next to what customers can buy elsewhere, and that I can explain in one sentence when a customer asks why. My costs: """ {{costs}} """ What I want to earn: {{income_goal}} How many hours or units I can realistically sell in a month: {{capacity}} What competitors or alternatives charge, from what I have seen: {{market_prices}} My customers and why they choose me: {{customers_and_value}} My current prices, if any: {{current_prices}} Work it out in three steps, showing the arithmetic in plain lines so I can check every number: 1. Floor price: the lowest price that covers the direct cost of each sale, a share of monthly overhead, and my income goal at my real capacity. Count only the hours I can bill, not every hour I work, for example "25 billable hours a week, not 40". 2. Market range: where my floor sits against the prices I listed. 3. Recommended price for each product or service, with one sentence on the reason. Then give: - A table with the columns Item, Floor, Market range, Recommended price, Margin at that price. - Packaging ideas if they fit, such as tiers, bundles or a minimum order, each with its price. - One or two sentences I can use to explain the price to a customer. They should sound confident and plain, without apologizing or listing my costs. Keep it under 500 words. Use only my figures. Do not invent competitor prices, industry averages or "typical" rates; if I have none, say what to collect and where, such as three competitors' published price lists. Do not recommend a price below the floor to win customers unless you state plainly what it costs me on each sale. If a cost seems to be missing (for example taxes, payment fees, travel, software, or unpaid time spent on quotes and admin), list it under "Costs you may have left out" and show how the floor changes if it is added. The final prices are my decision, and I should check anything tax-related with my accountant.
Variables
- {{what_i_sell}}
- Your products or services, for example "bookkeeping for sole traders" or "handmade candles in three sizes".
- {{costs}}
- Direct costs per sale or job (materials, supplies, subcontractors) and monthly overhead (rent, software, insurance, phone, vehicle).
- {{income_goal}}
- What you want to pay yourself, per month or per year, before tax.
- {{capacity}}
- How many billable hours, jobs or units you can actually handle in a month.
- {{market_prices}}
- Prices you have actually seen, with where you saw them. Write "none" if you have not checked.
- {{customers_and_value}}
- Who buys from you and what they value, for example speed, specialist skill or convenience.
- {{current_prices}}
- What you charge now, or "none" if you are just starting.
Why it works
- Background facts. The floor price is built from your own costs and your real billable hours, the number most owners overstate when they price by gut feel.
- What to avoid. No invented competitor prices or industry averages, so every number in the table is one you can stand behind.
- If unsure. Commonly forgotten costs are listed with their effect on the floor price, so you can see what leaving them out would cost you.