3 Ways to Raise Your Prices (Almost Painlessly)
Last week, I shared 3 questions to ask yourself if you’re thinking about raising your prices.
If you decided that now is indeed the time, how do you do it? Just thinking about it is enough to make some therapists a little queasy.
Here are 3 ways to raise your prices, almost painlessly.
See which one works best for you, and then leave a comment below about when you’re going to increase YOUR fees.
You can do it!
Just raise them.
This is the most straightforward (but can be the most difficult) way to increase your fees. You simply raise the price of your sessions, period. Boom, it’s done.
The next time a client comes in, you charge her $80, instead of the $70 you had been charging. You may need to explain that your fees increased, or you may not.
Raising prices in this way is quick, easy, and direct. If that’s your style, this approach is for you.
Tell your clients you’re about to raise prices.
In this approach, you give your clients some warning, either verbally, or in writing.
I’ve seen therapists put a sign on their office door that says something like, “Effective January 1, the new fees are…”
The advantage of increasing your fees this way is that your clients can plan accordingly. The downside is that it can be jarring for your clients, and you may get some blowback from people who were “unaware” of the change (maybe they didn’t see the sign?)
Again, this is direct and to-the-point. If it resonates with you, get that sign up on your office door!
Give your clients plenty of notice AND get a bump in your holiday revenue.
This is the approach I use.
Every 2 years, I increase my fees in January. The October before, I send a snail mail letter announcing my new fees, and letting people know that they can stock up on gift certificates and packages at the current rates, and use these sessions throughout the next year. (A template of the letter I use is available here.)
The letter gives people plenty of time to plan their finances, and often my clients will buy packages and GCs at the current rates, giving me a boost during the usual holiday revenue slump that most bodyworkers experience. (I’m careful to save the money that comes in from packages until the next year, when clients will be coming in for their sessions.)
No matter which approach is the best fit for you, please know that you can do this! Raising your prices might not be the most fun thing you do in your practice all year, but you do great work in the world, and you deserve to make a great living doing it.
You’ve got this!
