Why some clients happily pay 10x more, and how to design your offers so they can.

Last week, in “Find your positively irrational clients”, we explored why a handful of clients see extraordinary value in what you do.

They're not irrational in the reckless sense; they're irrationally positive. They feel the subtleties, the edge, the craftsmanship in your work that others overlook. And they're willing to invest far more because they sense that difference instinctively.

This week is about how to design your offers like a well throughout vineyard, so those clients can find exactly what they're looking for.

The Pomerol Principle

In the same Bordeaux region, you can buy three very different bottles:

A standard Pomerol for £15: excellent wine that 80% of people would happily buy again.

A prestigious second wine for £150: more complexity, more refinement, more story.

A bottle of Pétrus for £1,500+: one of the world's finest wines, from a tiny vineyard that produces just 2,500 cases a year.

To most people, that price difference seems irrational. But to the wine enthusiast, it's obvious.

They're not just buying a bottle of wine. They're buying:

Subtlety: the texture, the balance, the story behind the vineyard.

Scarcity: knowing few others can experience it.

Significance: the sense that they're enjoying the very best.

To the average drinker, those nuances are invisible; to the enthusiast, they're everything.

Designing your vineyard

Most consultants haven't designed their offers like a well-thought-out vineyard. They're either making bespoke wine to order, pouring the same house wine for everyone, or offering a confusing mixture of varieties without a clear story for their ideal clients.

But your positively irrational clients are already searching for your equivalent of Pétrus.

They want more depth, more clarity, more of you. They want to feel the difference between what you do and what everyone else does, and they'll happily pay multiples more for it.

If your offer structure doesn't make that distinction visible, they can't see it. Which means they'll either buy the cheaper "£15 version" or walk away entirely.

A well-designed offer ladder solves this. It provides clients with a clear path from getting started to your finest work, and it allows them to self-select based on what they value.

The principle in other industries

Once you’ve spotted this principle, you’ll see it shows up everywhere:

🎸 Guitars: A Squier Stratocaster costs £155. A Fender Stratocaster? £2,000+. To a casual player, the difference seems absurd. To the guitarist who hears tone, weight, and responsiveness, it's worth every penny.

💻 Apple: A MacBook starts around £1,000. A fully loaded MacBook Pro can top £7,000. To most, the upgrade looks irrational, but to a designer running multiple high-resolution workflows, the extra performance is priceless.

In both cases, the buyer's sophistication determines what they value, and the same applies to your consultancy.

Applying the Pomerol Principle

Map out your offers

List your current services and ask:

"Which of these is my £15 bottle - and which could be my Pétrus?"

Look for where clients already experience disproportionate value and build from there.

Your £15 bottle might be a half-day workshop. Your £150 second wine could be a 3-month implementation programme. Your Pétrus? That's the year-long transformation with full access to you.

Design for discovery

Create entry-level offers that help potential Pétrus clients see the difference between what you do and the market norm. A short diagnostic, workshop, or audit often works best.

Facilitate the self-selection

Your best clients will recognise themselves in your higher-tier offers. When you design the right offers, it means you don't need to sell harder because you’ve designed a clear pathway that makes it easy for clients to ascend.

The takeaway

The Pomerol Principle isn't about charging more for the same thing. It's about designing your vineyard so the subtle differences your best clients already feel become visible and building a structure that lets them invest at the level they value.

When you do, your positively irrational clients don't need convincing. They just need to see where they belong on your shelf.

Want the step-by-step system?

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