10. How to raise your prices without losing your best customers

Most people know they need to put their prices up. They've known for months. The problem isn't knowing - it's the fear of what happens when you actually do it. Claire shares what really happens when you send that email, and why it's almost never as bad as you think.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:35

Welcome to the Girls Mean Business Podcast, where we share business and marketing tips, advice and trade secrets to help you raise your game and build your brilliant business. Get more clarity, more customers, and more sales. Here to show you how.

SPEAKER_00 0:57

Hello, it's Claire from the Girls Mean Business. Right, today we're going to talk about pricing because this is something that comes up all the time, like all the time. And that is, I know I need to put my prices up, but, and then nothing happens. And weeks go by and months go by, and sometimes years go by, and everything else goes up in price, from fuel to electricity to gas to groceries, everything else is going up except your prices. They've just stayed the same. And let's not pretend that it's because you don't know. Of course, you know. You know that everything else is going up apart from your prices. You know that it's getting harder and harder to make money because you're not making as much profit as you did. You know this, you've done the maths, and you know that you're worth more. So it's not the fact that you don't know, it's the fact that you're scared of doing it because you're worried about what people will think and what will happen to your business. And that's where loads of people get stuck. It's not just you, you know that the second you change your price, it turns into a big thing. So people are going to see it, they might react, and then you start thinking about specific customers. What about Betty? What if Jenny thinks this? What if they stop coming? And there you go, round and round in your own head, the mind monkeys are out in force, telling you all the reasons why it's a terrible idea, and people are gonna leave, and you have no business. And in the meantime, nothing changes, your price just stays the same because it feels like too much of a thing to actually change it. Now, I was talking to somebody about this not long ago actually, and she said she'd been meaning to put up a price for about two years. Two years! And then when she said it to me out loud, she was like, Oh, when I say it like that, it sounds ridiculous. But she still hadn't done it. And every time she got close and set a date in the diary, she'd think about the same few people, her loyal customers, the ones who'd been with her from the start, the ones that she liked, the ones who recommended her to their friends, and she didn't want to rock the boat or seem ungrateful or greedy, so she just didn't. She she left it, she didn't put her prices up, and that just kept happening again and again and again until the point where she talked to me when she was getting really fed up with herself, and I think that was a turning point for her, actually. She just was like, Oh, for goodness sake, I just have to do it. So she did. She sat down, wrote the email, and sent it. She didn't rewrite it ten times, she just wrote it out like she she would say it to them in person, and she sent it. And then the mind monkeys attacked and she started overthinking because once it's done, that's when your brain kicks in and starts telling you all the what-ifs. What if this happens? What if that happens? What if this happens? What if I don't have a business after this? What if they all leave? You know what I mean? And what actually happened was probably what you'd expect, actually. A couple of people said thanks for letting me know, and just carried on as normal. One person booked in more sessions before the price went up. Again, totally normal, that's what I do. And one person didn't come back. That was it. That was the big scary thing that she'd been putting off for two years. And the one who didn't come back was the one that she was actually not bothered about. She was quite hard work, she always made it harder work than it needed to be, and she was gone. And so the lady I was talking to was fine, absolutely fine. And this is a bit that you need to get in your head, okay? People who value what you do will stay. They understand that costs go up, they understand, they will stay because they just will, and they're they're not there with you because you're the cheapest option, they're there because they like you and they trust you and they like how you work, and they don't want to find somebody new who's a few pounds cheaper just because your price has gone up with inflation, they're really happy with you. But if somebody is only there because of the price, then they weren't the right customer to begin with. And also, just so you know, you are allowed to be paid properly, you are allowed to charge properly for your time and your experience and your knowledge. You are not here to cash flow anybody else's life or business, you're not here to undercharge forever just to keep everybody else comfortable. That is not how business works. And that email that she sent, everybody who does this overthinks it. It does not need to be some massive thing, it's not a masterpiece, you don't need to explain yourself in three paragraphs, you don't need to justify it, you're not asking permission, you are telling people what's changing, that's it. So if you are like my client thinking I need to put my prices up, then stop overthinking it, stop dithering, stop waiting for the perfect moment, just write the blumming email. Just write it. You don't even need to send it yet if you don't want to, but get it out of your head and onto your screen. Because once you've written it, that's part of the scary thing done. Okay? Just write it as you would say it. It's so much easier than this big thing that you've been playing out in your head, okay? And once it's gone, it's gone. And what will be will be, and the people who are meant for you will stay with you. And then you'll be sitting there thinking, gosh, I wish I'd done this two years ago. See you next time. Lots of love. Bye for now.

SPEAKER_01 6:37

That's it from the Girls Mean Business Podcast. Join us for even more fab tips, advice, interviews, and trade secrets to help you get more confidence, more clarity, more customers, and more sales. Connect with us on Facebook and Facebook.com forward slash the girls mean business. And check out our website at www.thegirlsmeanbusiness.com. See you next time.