Issue link: https://www.ascpskindeepdigital.com/i/148952
Is It Time For a Change? The big fear with raising your prices is that your clients are going to leave you and go somewhere else. In truth, if you've been working at developing strong relationships with your clients, there will likely be no appreciable drop in client volume if you raise your rates. Don't let the fear of losing a client stop you from making sure each service is profitable. If this fear is stopping you from raising your prices, here's something to try. Take a dozen client files at random. Look at each one and ask yourself: Will this person stop seeing me if I increase my prices 5 percent? 10 percent? 15 percent? 20 percent? My guess is that when you look at the reality of a fee increase with specific clients, you will see that most would tolerate an increase. You may even have some clients say they're surprised you didn't raise your prices sooner. Profit Margin and Perception A price increase immediately boosts your income because virtually every cent of the increase goes directly into your pocket. For example, let's assume that your gross sales are $40,000 per year and your net income after expenses is $25,000. A 10 percent price increase immediately adds $4,000 to your bottom line without any additional work or expenses. The price of your services has a big impact on how people perceive the quality and value of your work. If you don't revere the value of your offering and price it accordingly, don't be surprised when your clients don't value it either. Announcing a Price Increase Oftentimes, it seems as though estheticians care more about their clients' wallets than the clients do. Making a big deal about notifying everyone of price changes draws too much attention to what you charge, instead of how clients benefit from seeing you. It's really not necessary to officially announce a price increase. Have you ever gotten a special notice from your dentist or hairstylist announcing a price increase? It almost never happens. Clients don't like it when prices go up, but it is expected and tolerated. At one point, we decided to raise rates at my massage therapy clinic by about 10 percent, implementing the increase three weeks after the decision. No written notice was sent. Clients with bookings were informed by phone and anyone making new appointments was informed of the price. We didn't have complaints, and the number of visits wasn't affected. Get connected to your peers @ www.skincareprofessionals.com 25