WHY YOU NEED TO RAISE YOUR PRICE
You've been working hard and it's paying off. You have a bunch of great clients and enjoying what you do. Even though you’re booked solid, your clients are your besties and you feel lucky to be able to make money spending time with them every few weeks. Guess what need to happen when things are going this good?
RAISE YOUR PRICES
This is something many artists are afraid to do because they thing they’re going to lose most or all of their clients. Another reason why artists are hesitant to raise their price is because they don’t value themselves enough. But in this article, I going to share why you NEED to raise your prices and how to do it. Before I get into that, here are the most common myths artists use to avoid raising their prices:
“I don’t have enough experience or time under my belt to ask for more money.”
“No one my age makes that much. I’m too young.”
“If I raise my prices, clients will go to someone else that’s cheaper.”
“I can’t charge more than the average going rate in my area.”
“People in my area don’t make a lot of money so they won’t pay more.”
Ive heard all of these statements and none of them matter when it comes to raising your price. Here are some truths on why you should raise your price and charge more.
People spend money on things they love all the time.
When you raise your price, you attract better clients.
It takes the same amount of effort to sell a cheap service than an expensive service
Charging more frees up your time and allows you to focus on offering more value/higher quality
I hope that you can why not to buy into the myths that have been put out there. Sure you may lose some clients and that’s ok. The clients you keep will be paying a higher price and that extra money you’re making should cover the difference for the clients that decided to leave. In many cases, people will stay and pay your higher rate so it could easily make you more money overall without any losses.
In general, you should be raising your prices at a minimum of 10-25% every 6 months. Some of you need to increase your price by up to 50%. Remember, it’s not about the price. It’s all about the value you provide. People pay top dollar when you add value to their lives.
Now that you understand why you need to raise your price, I want to share two simple ways I implement price increases.
START WITH NEW CLIENTS
Starting with the most simple way to raise your price without worrying about losing your existing clients, you can update your website and online booking to reflect your new price. So new clients coming in automatically pay the new price while your existing clients temporarily pay the older pricing. New clients don’t know any different so they’ll pay the new price regardless. While you’re gaining new clients at the higher price, you can send notice to your existing clients letting them know within 30-60 days your price is going up.
This is the best method to ease any worry for you because you can start making more money in advance to cover the possibility of any existing clients leaving.
Communicate in advance with existing clients
When your clients come in for their appointment, let them know that within 60 days, your pricing is going up. You can let them know on the spot what your new pricing will be if you feel comfortable. Otherwise, let them know that you will send them announcement via text or email with more details soon so be on the lookout for it.
If you don’t want to take the chance of possible objections in person, simply send out an email to everyone. That way you know the communication is the same for everyone.
There are some do’s and don’ts that you want to be aware of before you communicate a price increase.
DO’s
Always thank your client for their support and let them know how much you appreciate their business
Let the client know the additional value they’re going to receive once your price goes up
Explain why price must go up (to stay in business, your costs have increased, etc)
Prepare responses to possible objections so you can be in control and respond professionally
Practice how you’ll communicate the increase to your clients
DONT’s
Make exceptions for clients based on personal circumstances. This decision isn’t personal, it’s strictly business
Back down from the change in price as it makes you look unprofessional and clients will lose respect for you
Create different pricing for different clients. Keep it consistent for everyone.
Most importantly… don’t shy away from raisin your prices!
Once you’ve raised your price, you’ll find that you can take more time for each client or save that extra time for yourself. You’ll have more energy if you stop working long, hard hours. Most importantly, you’ll be making more money and have a more profitable lash business.
How about you? Have you raised your prices recently? Have you been thinking about raising your prices but hadn’t gotten around to it yet? Let me know in the comments below.