You charge $150 per hour. Your competitor charges $125 per hour. You lose the job because the customer is shopping on price. Sound familiar? You’re stuck in the hourly rate trap, and it’s killing your profitability.
When you sell services by the hour, customers automatically compare you to every other hourly rate in the market. It becomes a race to the bottom. You’re forced to justify every hour, defend every line item, and compete against someone who’s willing to work cheaper. You’re selling time instead of value.
Even when you win the hourly rate battle, you lose. The customer is watching the clock. Every phone call feels like it’s costing them money. Every question feels like an expense. The relationship becomes transactional instead of collaborative. You end up underquoting hours to win the work, then losing money when the project takes longer than you estimated.
Bundled pricing changes everything. Instead of selling hours, you sell outcomes packaged together. Instead of competing on hourly rates, you compete on value delivered. Customers stop watching the clock and start focusing on results. Your average transaction size increases 30% to 40% without raising your underlying hourly rate at all.
You have just a few days left to restructure your 2026 pricing before January proposals start going out. This is your window.
Why You Should Listen to Me About Bundled Pricing
I’m Ryan Herrst with Media Ace Advisors. I’m a Certified Profit Advisor and author of “Profit Foundation.” I help service business owners earning $250K to $5M annually discover hidden profit opportunities. Bundled pricing is part of Module 3 in my 90-Day Fast Cash program, and it’s one of the fastest ways to increase transaction size without the fear and customer resistance that comes with raising prices.
My father taught me “All because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” That applies to hourly pricing. Just because you CAN sell your time by the hour doesn’t mean you SHOULD. Hourly pricing commoditizes expertise. It turns you into interchangeable labor instead of a trusted advisor.
The 7-Step Pathway to Profit examines seven profit levers. Transaction size, which is how much customers spend per purchase, is one of the fastest levers to move. You can increase transaction size two ways. Raise prices or bundle more value into each sale. Bundled pricing lets you increase what customers spend without the psychological resistance of “you raised your prices.”
Here’s the psychology that makes this work. When you present bundled pricing, customers compare packages to each other, not your rate to your competitor’s rate. They ask “Which package is right for me?” instead of “Can I get this cheaper somewhere else?” The conversation shifts from cost to value. That’s where you want to live.
Service businesses have natural bundling opportunities most owners never explore. The diagnostic work, the implementation work, the follow-up support, the training, the warranty. Right now you’re selling these separately or throwing them in for free. Bundled pricing packages them strategically so customers see the complete value and pay for the complete solution. Your expertise is worth more than an hourly rate suggests.
From $3,200 to $4,800: A Real Bundled Pricing Example
Let me share a real example from a business owner I spoke with recently. I’ll call her Jennifer. Jennifer owns a bookkeeping firm serving small businesses. She was charging $85 per hour for bookkeeping services. A typical client engagement was about 38 hours annually, which meant her average client was worth $3,230 per year.
Jennifer was constantly losing proposals to cheaper bookkeepers charging $65 to $75 per hour. Every proposal conversation became a negotiation about her hourly rate. Potential clients would say things like “Your rate seems high” or “I found someone who charges $70.” She felt stuck between lowering her rate to compete or losing work to cheaper providers.
We restructured her pricing using bundled pricing instead of hourly rates. Instead of selling bookkeeping by the hour, we created three packages: Essential, Professional, and Premium.
The Essential package included monthly bookkeeping, quarterly financial statements, and year-end tax prep support for $3,600 annually. The Professional package added monthly financial review calls, cash flow forecasting, and priority support for $4,800 annually. The Premium package included everything plus strategic planning sessions and quarterly tax planning for $6,400 annually.
Here’s what happened. About 60% of her clients chose Professional, 30% chose Essential, and 10% chose Premium. Her average client value jumped from $3,230 with the hourly model to $4,896 with the bundled model. That’s a 51% increase in transaction size without changing her underlying work or raising her hourly rate. She just packaged the value differently.
The proposals stopped being about hourly rates entirely. Clients asked “Which package fits my business?” instead of “Can you match this other quote?” Jennifer competed on value and won. She deserved to be paid for her expertise, not just her time.
How to Create Your Bundled Pricing Structure
Creating bundled pricing for your service business is simpler than you think. Start by listing everything you currently do for clients. Not just the obvious deliverables, but all the value you provide. The phone calls where you answer questions. The advice you give. The expertise you bring. The peace of mind you create. The problems you prevent. Most service businesses give away 30% to 40% of their value without charging for it.
Next, group these services into logical bundles based on what different customer segments need. Think about your clients. Some want basic service at the lowest price. Some want comprehensive support and are willing to pay for it. Most fall somewhere in the middle. Your bundles should match these three segments: Good, Better, Best. Or Essential, Professional, Premium. The naming matters less than the structure.
Your Good package should be your baseline offering. Everything a client truly needs to get results, nothing extra. Price this at roughly what you charge now for basic service. This is your entry point for price-sensitive clients.
Your Better package should be where you want most clients to land. It includes everything in Good plus the additional services that make your work easier and create better outcomes. Price this 30% to 50% higher than Good. This is where your profit margins improve significantly because you’re bundling services that don’t cost you proportionally more to deliver.
Your Best package should be comprehensive. Everything you can possibly do for a client packaged together. Price this 80% to 120% higher than Good. Only 10% to 20% of clients will choose this, but they’re highly profitable and low-maintenance because they value expertise over cost.
The magic happens when you present all three options together. Customers compare packages to each other, not your prices to competitor prices. Most choose the middle option, which is exactly where you want them. You already deliver this value. Now you’re just packaging it properly so customers can see and pay for the complete solution.
The Three Psychological Advantages of Bundled Pricing
Bundled pricing works because of three psychological principles most service businesses never understand.
First is anchoring. When you present three options, the most expensive option anchors the customer’s perception of value. Even if they don’t choose your Best package, it makes your Better package feel reasonable by comparison. If you only offered the Better package at that price, it might feel expensive. But next to the Best package, it feels like a smart middle choice. You’re not manipulating customers, you’re giving them context to make informed decisions.
Second is choice architecture. Humans don’t like too few options or too many options. One option feels like take it or leave it. Ten options create decision paralysis. Three options is the sweet spot. It gives customers agency without overwhelming them. They feel in control of the decision because they’re choosing which package fits their needs, not whether to hire you or not.
Third is value perception. When services are bundled together, customers perceive higher value than when the same services are listed separately. A bundle feels complete and comprehensive. Separate line items feel fragmented and à la carte. It’s the same reason restaurants sell combo meals instead of listing every item individually. The bundle creates perceived value beyond the sum of its parts.
These psychological principles work whether you’re selling legal services, accounting services, consulting, home services, professional services, or anything else. The human brain processes bundled pricing the same way regardless of industry. You’re not being manipulative, you’re being strategic about how you present value. Strategic pricing honors your expertise and helps clients see complete value they might otherwise overlook.
The December Window for 2026 Pricing
You have just a few days left in 2025 to restructure your pricing for January 2026. This matters more than you think. Your first proposals in January will set the tone for your entire year. If you go into January still selling hours, you’ll spend all of 2026 competing on hourly rates and losing 30% to 40% of potential transaction value.
If you restructure now using bundled pricing, your January proposals position you as a strategic partner selling solutions, not a vendor selling time. The clients you attract will be different. The conversations you have will be different. The profit you generate will be significantly higher.
Most service businesses tell themselves they’ll restructure their pricing “later when things slow down.” Things never slow down. January becomes February, February becomes March, and suddenly it’s December again and you’ve spent another year leaving money on the table. December is your window. You have just a few days to make this change before 2026 proposals start. This is your moment to compete on value instead of hourly rates.
Want to See How Your Industry Structures Bundles?
I’m currently interviewing service business owners for the second edition of “Profit Foundation,” my book on profit strategies for small businesses. One of the areas I’m researching is how different industries structure bundled pricing and what packaging strategies work best for various service business models.
During our 45-minute conversation, I’ll share what I’m learning about bundled pricing structures across industries and you’ll see how your current pricing compares to the patterns I’m seeing in your sector. It’s a research conversation, not a business evaluation, but most people walk away with two or three specific ideas about restructuring their packages for 2026.
If you’d like to participate and receive a complimentary copy of the book when it’s published in 2026, you can schedule here: https://mediaaceadvisors.com/contact/
There’s no cost and no sales pitch. These are genuine research conversations where I’m gathering insights for the book while sharing what I’m learning about bundled pricing strategies across different service industries. The December slots are filling up quickly, so if this interests you, schedule before the end of the month.
About the Author:
I’m Ryan Herrst with Media Ace Advisors. I help service business owners (annual revenue $250K to $5M, 10 or fewer employees) identify hidden profit opportunities and create clear pathways to growth. My approach focuses on systematic improvements across all seven profit levers, with special emphasis on pricing strategy and transaction size optimization through bundled pricing and value packaging.