In this piece, sales strategist Laura Canham explains why you should be loud, proud, and unapologetic about raising your prices.
When it comes to increasing prices, most small business owners do this in secret – quietly tweaking their price behind the scenes, hoping no-one notices and praying it doesn’t scare off potential clients.
However, staying silent is a missed opportunity. When we boldly declare our new rates publicly instead, we’re able to create a strategic sales push for the business.
In my experience, a public price increase is actually one of the smartest ways to get more eyeballs on your business, reposition yourself as the go-to in your industry and of course, boost sales. I’ve seen clients double their income in a month by simply announcing a deadline for their current rates.
As the end of the financial year approaches, there’s no better time for business owners to review their pricing and start announcing it out loud.
Here are four benefits of publicly increasing your prices:
It positions you as someone who’s in demand
When you can show that the business is evolving, there have been new innovations, enhancements to customer service or staff qualifications it immediately boosts your authority. Customers are constantly looking at which companies are innovating and growing, so new pricing cements you as someone worth investing in.
It creates natural urgency and encourages people to take action.
A public price increase is perfect for business owners worried about ‘sleazy’ sales because it creates natural, authentic urgency. Having a deadline in place for when your new rates begin encourages people to get off the fence and make a purchase without you feeling pushy.
It builds trust with your clients by being transparent with your rates.
Customers value openness of communication. When you present an opportunity to purchase before the pricing increases, potential clients are more likely to trust you. There’s nothing worse than a price changing without warning or quotes becoming invalid because you haven’t been transparent about upcoming rate increases.
It increases the overall visibility of your business
Whilst you will get an income boost before the end of the financial year as a result of your strategic sales push, your business will also reap the benefits throughout July and beyond thanks to all your extra marketing efforts.
How to raise prices right
I have coached hundreds of women through a public price increase, here are my top tips for ensuring yours is a success:
1. Get confident with your new price first
The reason most new pricing falls flat is the business owners lack of belief. Before you announce your new rates, always ensure you’re able to confidently own them and speak them out loud with conviction. When you’re seen as unapologetically owning your new prices, it’s much more likely to resonate and land with your audience.
If you can’t say your prices without feeling flustered, you’re not ready to market the price increase yet.
2. Get the timing right
If you tease the price increase too far in advance it loses potency and momentum. Similarly if you drop it with just one week to go, people feel too rushed and it will miss the mark.
Ideally give people approximately two to three weeks notice to see your marketing, understand the new pricing and deadline, then take action.
3. Don’t overjustify or blame
Nothing screams ‘I don’t believe in this price’ more than overcompensating. Whilst I recommend sharing some of the ‘why’ behind the shift, this should come from a place of business evolution, customer service and demand.
One of the biggest mistakes I see business owners making is blaming external factors for their price increase, such as the ‘cost of living’ or ‘I’ve got bills to pay’ etc. Your customers don’t care about this stuff, and the blame game feels unprofessional and icky.
4. Speak about it often
Don’t just send one email or share one social media post and think that will have the desired impact. To do this well you need to treat it like an actual marketing campaign with regular strategic emails and social media content consistently in the lead up to June 30.
This is also a great opportunity to ensure it’s clear on your website – consider adding some information to your homepage or a banner/pop-up across your site. Including details to your LinkedIn profile and Instagram bio will also remind people of the deadline.
5. Ensure you’re following up
It’s important to keep in contact with any open leads so they have a chance to purchase before the deadline. Ensure you continue to follow up and send reminders, as people are busy and often need the check-in. This retains client trust and avoids any difficult conversations on July 1 with those who have outstanding quotes that are no longer valid.
A public price increase isn’t just about charging more, it’s actually one of the smartest ways to build authority, get your business seen and boost sales. I highly recommend deploying this in your business so you can finish the financial year strong and set yourself up for success from July onwards.
