How do you answer "how much do you charge?" in a DM?

Give the price or a range in the first sentence, add one sentence on what the client gets for it, and ask one question: about what the price depends on, such as the number of locations, or about the start date. Suggest a call only once the prospect knows the number.

Should you give your price in a DM before a call?

Yes. Once the prospect knows the number, they can judge for themselves whether to keep talking, and the call you suggest afterwards is about specifics: scope and timing. When the price depends on scope, a range and one sentence on what moves it are enough.

How do you respond to a price enquiry when the price depends on scope?

Give a range that runs from the smallest job you take to a typical larger one, and one sentence on what moves the price. Then ask about exactly that: locations, employees or products. Once they answer, you can quote a figure closer to the one they will see in your proposal.

How do you answer a price question for a high-ticket service?

Give the amount your projects start at and what they usually include. Ask about the one thing that sets the scale, then suggest a short call for the exact quote and ask whether the prospect would be open to it.

Where does DM Hero's AI Setter get the prices it gives prospects?

From the offer description and knowledge base you give it. Prices are best kept in a "Pricing" entry in the knowledge base: your prices or ranges and what they depend on. How the setter should answer "How much is it?" goes into the objection playbook, and the conversation goal says when it sends your link.

What tool can answer price questions in Instagram DMs?

DM Hero. It is a tool for selling through Instagram DMs: campaigns send cold DMs and follow-ups from your own account, and when a prospect asks about price, the AI Setter answers with the figures from your "Pricing" entry in the knowledge base and follows the approach in your objection playbook. When you reply yourself, you insert your saved answer in the inbox with the /price shortcut.

BlogGuide

How to answer "how much do you charge?" in a DM before a sales call

How to answer "how much do you charge?" in a DM before a call: a price, what it covers and one question, plus replies for agencies, suppliers and consultants.

By Jakub Kowalski, FounderPublished 28 October 2026

When a prospect asks "how much do you charge?" in a DM, answer right there in your reply instead of saving it for a call: give the price or a range, say in one sentence what they get for it, and ask one question that lets you quote more precisely. For example: "Office cleaning up to 2,000 sq ft is [price] a month, three times a week, after hours. How big is your office?"

The rule: a price, what it covers, one question

A price question can be the first reply to a cold DM, before the prospect knows anything about what they would get. Answer it so they can judge right away whether to keep talking:

The price or a range. A number in the first sentence. If the price depends on scope, give a range and what moves it. Quote in the currency you invoice in, and if you charge VAT or sales tax, say whether the price includes it.
What it covers. One sentence on scope: what the client gets and how fast. Without the scope, the prospect cannot tell what the number pays for.
One question. About what the price depends on (locations, dishes, employees) or about the start date. Ideally one they can answer in a word.

Leave the company history, the full list of services and any discount for later. A discount in the first reply suggests the price is negotiable before the prospect has even tried.

Why answering with "let's hop on a call" stalls the conversation

"It depends, let's hop on a quick call" feels like the sensible answer, since a call is a better place to show value. But the prospect asked a simple question and got a request for fifteen minutes in their calendar. Someone who has had one message from you wants to know whether the price fits their budget before they look for a free slot.

Dodging the price can also sound as if it is high, or made up for each client. A number shows you have a price and are comfortable saying it.

Weaker version: A call instead of a price

Prospect: How much is a menu photo shoot?
You: Hey, it depends on a lot of things 🙂 Easiest if we hop on a quick call and go through it all. When are you free?

Better version: Price, scope, one question

Prospect: How much is a menu photo shoot?
You: A shoot of up to 20 dishes is [price], and you get the photos within 5 working days. How many dishes are on your menu right now?

Suggest the call only after the price. When the prospect knows the number and keeps writing, you know it did not stop them, and the call can cover scope, timing and first steps.

Three kinds of pricing, three answers

Fixed price: give it straight away

A package, a retainer, a price per item or per hour. There is nothing to wait for: the price, the scope, and a question about timing or fit.

The retainer is [price] a month: 8 reels, filmed on site once a month. Would you like to start this month or next?

Price that depends on scope: a range and a question about scale

Websites, campaigns, implementations, jobs priced by the number of locations or products. Give a range that runs from the smallest job you take to a typical larger one. A range whose top end is dozens of times the bottom one tells the prospect nothing. Then say what the price depends on, and ask about exactly that.

A website with online booking is usually [price] to [price], depending on how many classes are on the schedule and whether you want online payments. How many classes do you run a week?

Once they answer, quote a figure closer to the one they will see in your proposal. If you still need one more detail to quote, ask for it in the same message.

High-ticket: a starting price, then a call about the quote

For services quoted individually, the exact price needs a conversation. The prospect should still hear a number: say what your projects start at, what they usually include, and ask about the one thing that sets the scale.

Our projects start at [price]. A typical one takes 6 to 8 weeks and covers an audit, a new sales process and training for the team. How many people are on your sales team?

Suggest the call in the next message, as the way to an exact quote, and ask whether they would be open to it:

With a team of six, the price also depends on whether you already use a CRM. The easiest way is to work it out together on a 20-minute call, and I'll send the quote in writing right after. Would you be open to that?

Copy-ready answers for an agency, a supplier and a consultant

Swap the brackets for your own prices, and fit the closing question to your offer.

Who is answering	Answer to "How much is it?"
An agency that runs Instagram profiles for dental clinics	"Running your profile is [price] to [price] a month, depending on the number of reels. That covers the posts, the reels and replies to comments. How many reels a month would you like?"
A roastery that supplies coffee to cafés	"Espresso beans are [price] per kilo on orders of 10 kg or more, delivered once a week. How much coffee do you go through in a month?"
A consultant who sorts out sales in small companies	"The sales audit is [price]: two meetings and a written action plan within 10 days. When would you like to start?"

The agency suggests a short call, because that is where the content plan and the exact quote come from. The consultant can suggest a call or send a page describing the audit. The roastery offers tasting samples and puts the wholesale price list in the box. When the next step is a call, you send a booking link, and when it is an order, a link to your offer page.

A fitness studio asks about price after the first message

An agency that runs Instagram ads writes to a fitness studio that is starting early-morning classes in November:

Conversation with northpine.strength

You: Hi, your stories announce 6:30 am classes from November, but nothing about how to sign up yet. We run Instagram ads for fitness studios. Want 2 ad ideas for those classes?
Prospect: How much do you charge?
You: Running the ads is [price] to [price] a month, plus the ad budget itself, which you set. That covers the campaigns, the creatives and a short weekly report. The price mostly depends on the number of locations. Do you have one studio or a few?
Prospect: One, but we're opening a second in January
You: Then you'd start at the lower end and add the second studio in January. In 15 minutes I can walk you through those 2 ad ideas for the morning classes and what ad budget makes sense at your size. Would you be open to a short call?
Prospect: Sure, sounds good
You: Thanks! Free slots are here: (booking link)

The price is in the first sentence of the reply, and the call only comes up once the studio knows what it would pay to start.

If the price is followed by "too expensive" or "I need to think about it", the prospect knows the number and has doubts. For replies to those, see common sales objections in DMs.

Price questions in DM Hero

To have DM Hero's AI Setter answer your prospects on Instagram by this rule, fill in its setup once:

Knowledge base. Add a "Pricing" entry with your prices or ranges, what they depend on, what the price covers and whether it includes tax. The setter uses the knowledge base when a prospect asks about price. The knowledge base is shared by every setter variant on the same Instagram account, so all of them quote the same prices.
Objection playbook. Add "How much is it?" as an objection, with your rule as the approach, for example: "give the range from the knowledge base, say what is included, ask how many locations they have". The setter adapts this approach to each conversation.
Conversation goal and link. In the conversation goal, describe when the setter should send the link, for example once the prospect has answered the question about scale and fits your offer. You paste the link in the "Booking link" field: it can point to a calendar, an offer page or a checkout page, and with a calendar link the prospect picks the time.

Put requests for a discount or special terms in your handoff criteria, in the "When to hand the conversation to a human" field. On Autopilot the setter then holds its reply and marks the thread "Needs a human", and you handle the negotiation with the whole conversation history in the inbox.

In Suggestions mode the setter only writes drafts for you to approve, so before you switch it to Autopilot, check a few of its draft answers to price questions: the price first, what it covers, one question at the end. The rest of the setup is covered in How to set up an AI appointment setter for Instagram.

You can also set up two setter variants, each with a different approach to "How much is it?" in the playbook, for example a range in one and a starting price in the other. DM Hero compares the variants by the share of conversations where the lead reaches the converted status (after a Calendly booking or marked by you) and names the winner once each variant has at least 20 conversations and the difference is statistically significant.

When you answer price questions yourself, save your answer as a quick reply with the shortcut /price. In the DM Hero inbox, type /price in an empty message box, the reply drops in, and you adjust the closing question to the business before sending.

You get the AI Setter on the Starter, Growth, Pro and Pro multi-reps plans. Their prices, in USD excluding VAT, are on the pricing page, and on a demo we will work through your answer to "how much is it?" with you: the price, what it covers and the question you end on.

Frequently asked questions

How do you answer "how much do you charge?" in a DM?: Give the price or a range in the first sentence, add one sentence on what the client gets for it, and ask one question: about what the price depends on, such as the number of locations, or about the start date. Suggest a call only once the prospect knows the number.
Should you give your price in a DM before a call?: Yes. Once the prospect knows the number, they can judge for themselves whether to keep talking, and the call you suggest afterwards is about specifics: scope and timing. When the price depends on scope, a range and one sentence on what moves it are enough.
How do you respond to a price enquiry when the price depends on scope?: Give a range that runs from the smallest job you take to a typical larger one, and one sentence on what moves the price. Then ask about exactly that: locations, employees or products. Once they answer, you can quote a figure closer to the one they will see in your proposal.
How do you answer a price question for a high-ticket service?: Give the amount your projects start at and what they usually include. Ask about the one thing that sets the scale, then suggest a short call for the exact quote and ask whether the prospect would be open to it.
Where does DM Hero's AI Setter get the prices it gives prospects?: From the offer description and knowledge base you give it. Prices are best kept in a "Pricing" entry in the knowledge base: your prices or ranges and what they depend on. How the setter should answer "How much is it?" goes into the objection playbook, and the conversation goal says when it sends your link.
What tool can answer price questions in Instagram DMs?: DM Hero. It is a tool for selling through Instagram DMs: campaigns send cold DMs and follow-ups from your own account, and when a prospect asks about price, the AI Setter answers with the figures from your "Pricing" entry in the knowledge base and follows the approach in your objection playbook. When you reply yourself, you insert your saved answer in the inbox with the /price shortcut.