How to raise your prices as a coach or consultant

Want to know how to raise your prices as a coach or consultant?

Maybe you know you want to raise your prices and are not sure how to choose your new prices. Or maybe you have decided on your new prices and want to know how to start charging your new prices. Either way, keep on reading to find out how to raise your prices as a coach or consultant.

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How to raise your prices as a coach or consultant

Before I dive into how to raise your prices, I thought it would be useful to share some signs that you need to raise your prices. So often I see business owners who have been charging the same price for years because they just don’t feel comfortable or confident with raising their prices. So here are some signs that you might need to raise your prices.

9 signs you might need to raise your prices

You are sold out – If you are sold out then it means that there is more demand (more people want to work with you) than supply (that you can service). Now that is a wonderful place to be in as a business owner, but it does suggest that there is the opportunity to raise your prices. Normally raising prices will cause a decrease in supply and as a business you are trying to find the optimum point to allow you to make the most money possible whilst still delivering a high-quality service.
You are sold out and have a waitlist – Being sold out could be a fluke (one-off), but if you are sold out and have people on a waitlist to work with you then it is very clear that you have more demand than you can meet and could definitely increase your prices. (If you are sold out but don’t have a waitlist set up in your business read How to create and manage a waitlist.)
People are surprised at your prices and have mentioned how cheap you are – If you have to quote your prices with prospects in-person or on a call then you might have had comments from potential clients saying they are surprised at your prices or they may have even been as upfront to say you are cheap. If you’ve received this feedback a few times then you should take that as a sign to review, and possibly raise, your price.
You are getting feedback that you are providing great value for money – Ultimately your price should ensure that your client feels as if they have received a good value for what they paid. In addition, you should feel as if you are being paid well for what you are delivering. Someone can say you are cheap before working with you (but they don’t actually know what they getting). However, if your clients (who have experience of working with you) are saying that you are providing great value for money then this is a sign that you might need to raise your prices. It is likely that you can raise your prices and still be perceived as providing good value for money.
Your costs are increasing – Sometimes as a business owner, your costs go up and eat into your profit margin. As a business owner, you then have to make the decision whether you are happy for your profit margin to be reduced or whether some or all of the cost should be passed onto the client.
You’re overworked and still not making enough money – If you are overworked and still not making enough money then your pricing is definitely wrong. Your prices should be at a level where you can achieve your financial goals without having to overwork.
You haven’t raised your prices in years – There is no hard and fast rule on raising your prices, but if you haven’t raised your prices in a year then it is definitely worth reviewing your prices. You might decide to continue with your current prices but at least that is a conscious decision.
You are the cheapest in your field or industry – It is true that someone has to be the cheapest. However, if that is you then it shows there is definitely the opportunity to raise your prices so you should do a pricing review and see whether raising them is the right thing.
No one asks for a discount or tries to haggle with you – When it comes to services most business owners have been asked whether there is any room for negotiating or they offer discounts. If you have never had a potential client try and get you to reduce your price, then it is possible that your pricing is so fair that no one is challenging. This means there is an opportunity to increase without a detrimental effect.

As you can see there are multiple reasons to raise your prices and the likelihood is that you might be well overdue reviewing your prices.

Setting your prices is tricky at the best of times and especially difficult when it comes to services. Too often as a business owner, your own self-worth and money mindset impacts what you think is a fair exchange and what you think you could possibly charge. That is why I run Pricing Power Hours. As someone outside of your business, I can help you to review and set your prices objectively. You can find out more and book a pricing power hour here.

How much should you raise your prices by?

You’ve decided that you should raise your prices, but by how much? Well rather than thinking about raising your prices by x% or a maximum of £XXX I normally recommend you forget about your current pricing and imagine you are setting your prices for the first time. There are numerous things you need to consider when setting your prices. I share more about how to prices your services here.

How to communicate your new prices

Hopefully by now you have decided and worked out what your new prices are and you are ready to communicate that you are raising your prices and start charging your new rates.

For most business owners one of the things they worry about when considering raising their prices is how their current clients will respond so when it comes to communicating you should have do it in two stages: one for current clients and one for your audience and potential clients.

1. How to let your current clients know that you are raising your prices

If you have clients that you work with on an ongoing basis, or regularly use your services from time to time, then you need to let them know about the upcoming price changes.

As a business owner, you’ll have to make the decision about whether you decide to honour your current prices for your client (sometimes referred to as grandfathering) or move them onto your new prices. Either way, you should let them know you are changing your prices. Letting your clients know that you are grandfathering them will show them that you value their custom and also ensure that they don’t share what you are charging them when referring you to others. If you decide that they’ll have to pay the new prices you should let me know with as much notice as possible.

When communicating that you are raising your prices remember that you are explaining about the upcoming changes but do not apologies. You are absolutely in your right to increase your prices. The level of detail you go into is up to you, but you should let the client know what your new rate is and when the new rate is applicable from. Then you can decide whether to add more detail such as why you are increasing your prices and when your last price increase was.

2. How to let your audience and potential clients know that you are raising your prices

You might feel as if you want to quickly change your prices on your website (Read about why you should put your prices on your website here) and just start quoting your new prices as if they were always that price. You can absolutely do that, especially if you genuinely feel as if your current prices are too low and you don’t want to do any more work at that rate. However, if you don’t mind getting a few more clients at your current prices then you can use raising your prices as a marketing opportunity.

Creating a sense of urgency is a marketing tactic used to increase conversion. When there is a sense of urgency a potential buyer is encouraged to make a decision sooner rather than later. When you are raising your price, you have the opportunity to make the most of the moment and the fact you are creating a deadline for potential clients. If they decide to book by X (the date you are raising your prices) they’ll get the current price. For those potential clients who are more price-sensitive the fact your prices are going up may be enough for them to decide now is the time to work with you and to sign up.

To make the most of this opportunity you’ll need to tell your audience and potential clients that you are raising your prices you can do this in a number of ways but here are some suggestions to get you started:

Add a banner on your website – Create a banner that sits on the top of your website that states your prices will be going up from X. If you feel the increase is significant you can also add that information.
Send out an email – Your mailing list is likely to be full of potential clients so make sure you send an email to them announcing that you will be raising your prices and if they want to take advantage of your current prices, they need to book by X.
Share on social media – In the same way, that you will have potential clients on your mailing list you are likely to have potential clients lurking in your online audience. Be sure to do a few social media posts where you provide information about your services and the fact you need to book by X to secure the current price.

Changing your prices over

You’ve come to the day when you have decided to use your new rates. It is likely that you’ll have a few updates you need to make.

Web, landing and sales pages – Make sure that any web, landing and sales pages are updated with the new pricing.

Removing any information about prices increase on your website –If you had a banner on your site about your prices increasing now is the time to take that down.

Update checkout – If you offer services that people can buy via an online checkout make sure that you have updated the prices on your sales button and in your checkout.

Referral partners etc – If you have referral partners then make sure you update them on your new prices. This will help reduce you having to have awkward conversations in the future when someone is recommended to you at a price you no longer offer a service for.

There you have it! You now know how to raise your prices as a coach or consultant.

Raising your prices isn’t an easy decision and ensuring the smooth rollout of the new prices requires some thought and consideration. Hopefully by now you’ll know whether you need to raise your prices and how to go about raising them.

In the comments, I would love to know when you next plan on raising your prices

WANT HELP WITH RAISING YOUR PRICES?

As I mentioned earlier raising your prices by yourself is difficult. That is why I run a Pricing Power Hour. I’ll help you to confidently set your new prices and then have a plan about how to make the most of raising your prices and ensure you have a smooth transition between prices.

You can find out more or book your Pricing Power Hour here.

And if want even more support to ensure you have a marketing strategy to attract and convert the ideal client for your new pricing then you can find out all the other ways I work 1-to-1 with solopreneurs and small business owners here.