How to raise prices without losing current clients Are you in a spot where you know you need to raise your rates, but you’re terrified of losing your income? This episode goes over some ways where you can start charging what you’re worth WITHOUT losing all of your income stability. I also give a word for word script you can use while implementing this. http://rachelrofe.com/how-to-raise-prices-without-losing-current-clients-including-a-word-for-word-script Want More? If you liked this, there’s plenty more where it come from. Let’s stay in touch! We can connect in any of these places: Main website: http://www.RachelRofe.com A Better Life Podcast – where these transcripts are taken from: http://www.rachelrofe.com/podcast Rachel's books – Learn new ways to improve your life: http://www.rachelrofe.com/booklist Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/RachelRofe Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/AbetterlifeRR Instagram: http://www.Instagram.com/RachelRofe Instagram: http://www.Instagram.com/chooseabette... YouTube: http://www.YouTube.com/RachelRofe YouTube: http://www.YouTube.com/Chooseabetterlife

1. 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. :)

2. First of all, I know this post doesn’t apply to
everyone. Not all of you have services.
But if you’re wanting to earn money online, and
you haven’t yet… I strongly recommend starting
by offering some services. They’re the fastest
way to earn money and they’ll help you bring in
revenue as you work on your longer-term
income goals.

3. Some services you can offer:
Copywriting
Article writing
Graphic design
SEO services
Virtual assistance
Offline marketing (working with small business
owners)

4. 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
it’s at least $5k, plus royalties.
After you “pay your dues”, you can move
upwards.

5. Here’s 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
you’d like to be earning and how much time
you’re willing to put in for it.
For example, maybe you’re OK continuing to
make $3k a month but want to put in less hours
every month

6. Maybe you want to earn $1k extra a month and
don’t want to change the amount of time you’re
working.
Figure that out FIRST.
This way you’re not lusting for some arbitrary
number – you’re determining your target hourly
(or project) rate.
You’ll have solid reasoning for what you want to
earn and you’ll be able to feel more confident
asking for it.

7. 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.
(We’ll go over this more in a little bit.)

8. Step 3: Think of perks you can add on to
your existing services.
If you’re going to ask people for more money
when they’ve been paying less, they’re going to
feel a sense of loss. You can’t 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,
they’re gaining something too?

9. 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 you’re a writer, your clients will likely need
their books designed. Or formatted and put onto
Kindle. Or ranked higher on Kindle. Or they’ll
want blog posts to promote those books.

10. If you’re a designer, your clients will likely need
content to show off on their site. Or a Facebook
page design that’s congruent with their new
look.
If you’re a virtual assistant, there are probably
tons of tasks your clients would love to
outsource to you but don’t think they can yet.
Maybe it’s making phone calls for them, or
writing blog posts, or… look at this page for
inspiration.

11. 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 don’t have to wait around.

12. 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 it’s important to
know your target rate.)

13. Step 4: Identify your client’s 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.

14. Or perhaps it’s 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’ don’t.
When you dug up your documentation in #2 you
should have gotten a lot of ideas.

15. Step 5: Think of taking precautionary
measures.
After you do all this, your next step is to ask.
There’s major magic that comes from acting a
little outside of your comfort zone.

16. 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 you’ll be able to to truthfully tell
your clients you’re worth “X” and people are
paying it.
(Note: If you do this, make sure you change
everywhere you’ve posted your rates before.)

17. b) If you can’t take on new clients, start a
waiting list. If for some reason your clients say
“no” later on, you’ll 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. That’s not
necessary but it’s 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. It’s a great rule of thumb
to live by.

18. Step 6: Ask.
At this point, you’ve 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 you’re
approaching things from a win/win perspective,
not just a win on your end.

19. By the time you’ve done all this, you should feel
very confident your services are worth the price
increase.
So ask. Say something like:
“I’d like to discuss our working together. I’ve
loved working with you so far, and judging by
your feedback, I’m pretty sure you have too:

20. Mention feedback here. [“You’ve told me I was
the best writer you ever hired.” “You made $30k
from my sales letter.” “You said I’ve done the
best job anyone else ever has.” “You’ve lost 20
pounds.” “You said I got your voice.” “I saved
you 10 hours.”]
Since we started together, I’ve been
restructuring my business so it’s 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.

21. 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 . You’ve told me you feel
more confident than you have in years, which is
priceless.]

22. …and then of course, you’ll also have the
added “X” benefit. [Mention what you came up
with in paragraph 3.]
Like I said, I’ve thought this out carefully to
make sure you have a positive return on
investment from working with me. And if for
some reason this doesn’t work for you, I’ll be
happy to refer you to someone who might be a
better fit.

23. And as a side note, I’ve been thinking about
your business, and I also think I can help with…
[mention something here].
If you have any questions, let me know. I’m
looking forward to an even brighter relationship
together. :)

24. Step 7: Be okay if they say no.
If you state an email well enough, from your
client’s perspective, many people will
understand.
Others might not.
Some people only care about the bottom line.
(They’re usually not as fun to work with.)

25. 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.

26. c) Be prepared to stick to your desires – even
when it’s tough.
If you’ve already done the prep work and you
know your services are worth charging more,
then hold to that. Know your worth.
You’ve found clients once. You can find them
again.
I’ve found that whenever I’ve held to my desires
the universe has supplied me with everything I
needed to fulfill them.

27. (When I wavered, not so much.)
That doesn’t mean just stay put. You’d 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. :)