How to raise prices without losing current clients

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How To Raise Prices Without Losing Current
Clients By Rachel Rofe

• I recently asked on Facebook if anyone had any
  blog topic requests.
• One person suggested writing a blog post on how
  to raise prices without losing current clients. I
  thought that could be pretty helpful for lots of
  people, so here we go. )

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First of all, I know this post doesnt apply to
everyone. Not all of you have services. But if
youre wanting to earn money online, and you
havent yet I strongly recommend starting by
offering some services. Theyre the fastest way
to earn money and theyll help you bring in
revenue as you work on your longer-term income
goals.
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Some services you can offer Copywriting Article
writing Graphic design SEO services Virtual
assistance Offline marketing (working with small
business owners)
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Normally, I recommend starting your prices low.
That helps you get feedback, work on your craft,
and get testimonials. For example, when I
started copywriting my introductory rate was
1,000 for a letter. Now its at least 5k, plus
royalties. After you pay your dues, you can
move upwards.
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Heres an overall step-by-step strategy on how to
raise your rates Step 1 Start with the end in
mind. First figure out the monthly amount of
money youd like to be earning and how much time
youre willing to put in for it. For example,
maybe youre OK continuing to make 3k a month
but want to put in less hours every month
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Maybe you want to earn 1k extra a month and
dont want to change the amount of time youre
working. Figure that out FIRST. This way youre
not lusting for some arbitrary number youre
determining your target hourly (or project)
rate. Youll have solid reasoning for what you
want to earn and youll be able to feel more
confident asking for it.
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Step 2 Document why your services are worth more
than what people are paying. Start putting
together testimonials, results, case studies,
before/after pictures, whatever so that clients
(and your confidence) have a reference point as
to why you should be paid more. (Well go over
this more in a little bit.)
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Step 3 Think of perks you can add on to your
existing services. If youre going to ask people
for more money when theyve been paying less,
theyre going to feel a sense of loss. You cant
blame them for that you would too. Is there
something you can do that will make your client
feel like when you raise your rates, theyre
gaining something too?
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To get you thinking about this, think about
related things that your clients need when they
purchase from you. Here are a few examples If
youre a writer, your clients will likely need
their books designed. Or formatted and put onto
Kindle. Or ranked higher on Kindle. Or theyll
want blog posts to promote those books.
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If youre a designer, your clients will likely
need content to show off on their site. Or a
Facebook page design thats congruent with their
new look. If youre a virtual assistant, there
are probably tons of tasks your clients would
love to outsource to you but dont think they can
yet. Maybe its making phone calls for them, or
writing blog posts, or look at this page for
inspiration.
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Someone who does eyelash extensions once asked me
about this. My examples to her of perks she could
offer would be perhaps a complimentary hair
blowout, or eyeliner that works with the
eyelashes, or a more flexible schedule (where
people can come in without having to book so far
in advance). One thing most any client would
love, for nearly any service, would to be able to
have their service providers on call during
certain hours, so they dont have to wait around.
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You could also ask your client, What could I do
to make your life easier? Many of these perks
cost money. The idea is for you to work these
perks into your pricing so you end up still
hitting your target rate while inflating the
value to your client. (This is another reason
why its important to know your target rate.)
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Step 4 Identify your clients ROI of working
with you. This return on investment might be
monetary, like someone making 20k from a sales
letter you wrote them. It might be convenience.
Maybe you saved them x hours.
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Or perhaps its the convenience of having worked
with that person for a while, so now you know
their preferences. Maybe the ROI is they feel
more beautiful when they work with you, or your
techniques help their long-term well being
whereas other peoples dont. When you dug up
your documentation in 2 you should have gotten a
lot of ideas.
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Step 5 Think of taking precautionary
measures. After you do all this, your next step
is to ask. Theres major magic that comes from
acting a little outside of your comfort zone.
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But if you want a backup plan, here are a couple
thoughts a) If you can take on new clients,
take them on at your higher rate. This will give
you a stable of clients, plus youll be able to
to truthfully tell your clients youre worth X
and people are paying it. (Note If you do this,
make sure you change everywhere youve posted
your rates before.)
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b) If you cant take on new clients, start a
waiting list. If for some reason your clients say
no later on, youll have people you can go back
to. c) If you can save up some money before you
go for the big ask, all the better. Thats not
necessary but its amazing for your peace of
mind. I think it was John Carlton who mentioned
always having 6 months worth of living expenses
in the bank. Its a great rule of thumb to live
by.
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Step 6 Ask. At this point, youve done a lot of
homework. You know your target rate. You know why
people should work with you and the value you
bring to them. You know how you can add even more
value to your services so that youre approaching
things from a win/win perspective, not just a win
on your end.
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By the time youve done all this, you should feel
very confident your services are worth the price
increase. So ask. Say something like Id like
to discuss our working together. Ive loved
working with you so far, and judging by your
feedback, Im pretty sure you have too
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Mention feedback here. Youve told me I was the
best writer you ever hired. You made 30k from
my sales letter. You said Ive done the best
job anyone else ever has. Youve lost 20
pounds. You said I got your voice. I saved
you 10 hours. Since we started together, Ive
been restructuring my business so its even
better for you. Based on what you/what other
clients I work with have said, I decided to add
x services into my package. This helps you save
time/money/whatever, plus makes it easier for
you overall.
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I am also changing around my pricing structure.
My rates are going from x to x effective x,
and I am becoming much more selective about the
types of people I work with. I chose this rate
very carefully, making sure your ROI was still
high Mention ROI here. You make 20k each time
I write you a letter. You get x hours saved
with every x you pay me . Youve told me you
feel more confident than you have in years, which
is priceless.
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and then of course, youll also have the added
X benefit. Mention what you came up with in
paragraph 3. Like I said, Ive thought this out
carefully to make sure you have a positive return
on investment from working with me. And if for
some reason this doesnt work for you, Ill be
happy to refer you to someone who might be a
better fit.
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And as a side note, Ive been thinking about your
business, and I also think I can help with
mention something here. If you have any
questions, let me know. Im looking forward to an
even brighter relationship together. )
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Step 7 Be okay if they say no. If you state an
email well enough, from your clients
perspective, many people will understand. Others
might not. Some people only care about the
bottom line. (Theyre usually not as fun to work
with.)
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There are a couple things you can do a) You can
ask your client flat-out, What would make it
worth it for you to pay me x? (At this point
you have nothing to lose.) b) If you really need
the cash, you can do a close-out special and
offer prepaid blocks of time to your current
clients as you hustle to find new clients.
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c) Be prepared to stick to your desires even
when its tough. If youve already done the prep
work and you know your services are worth
charging more, then hold to that. Know your
worth. Youve found clients once. You can find
them again. Ive found that whenever Ive held
to my desires the universe has supplied me with
everything I needed to fulfill them.
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(When I wavered, not so much.) That doesnt mean
just stay put. Youd still take action towards
finding new clients updating your website,
asking for referrals, posting job ads But faith
and self-assuredness go a long way too. )