Most people wait until they are resentful to raise prices, then do it in one anxious jump. Raising deliberately, in smaller steps, on a schedule, is easier on everyone and far less frightening.
The safe sequence
- Raise for new leads only, first. Nothing changes for anyone you already work with.
- Watch the close rate for a month or two. If nobody blinks, you were underpriced.
- Then move existing clients at a natural boundary: renewal, new project, new year.
- Give real notice — 30 to 60 days — and say it once, plainly, without apologizing.
The notice
Starting January 1, my rate for this work moves to $X.
Everything about how we work together stays the same.
Happy to talk it through if it creates a problem on your side.
Expect to lose someone, and plan for it as a normal cost rather than a failure. If nobody ever leaves after an increase, the increase was too small.
The signals it is overdue: you are booked out for weeks, you win almost every quote, or you feel a flicker of dread when a particular client’s name appears. That dread is usually a pricing problem wearing a personality costume.
Try it
Set your new rate for new leads today and put a calendar reminder 60 days out to review existing clients. Deciding the date in advance is what turns this from a someday into a decision.