May 7, 2025
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Here is something most business coaches will tell you from their own experience: raising your prices is far less dramatic than you expect. The conversation you have rehearsed in your head, the client who storms off, the wave of cancellations, almost never materialises. What usually happens is simpler. You raise the price. The client says yes. You wonder why you waited so long. This guide walks through exactly how to raise your prices, when to do it, how to communicate the change, and what to expect when the dust settles. The process is more straightforward than your anxiety is telling you.
Most service businesses are undercharging. Not slightly, and not because the market will not support higher prices. They are undercharging because the price was set when the business was new, when confidence was low, when the owner was doing whatever it took to get someone to say yes. That price became the norm. And now, several years and dozens of happy clients later, the price has barely moved.
The technical skills have improved. The client outcomes have improved. The delivery process has been refined. The price has stayed stubbornly close to where it started because raising it felt risky and difficult and possibly unnecessary. It was none of those things. It was just uncomfortable.
Robin's position is clear: most undercharging is a mindset problem, not a market problem. The clients exist. The market supports higher prices. The blocker is the business owner's own money story: the internal narrative about what it is acceptable to charge. Changing the number is the easy part. Deciding to do it is the work.
The honest answer is: now, or at the next natural opportunity. Both are valid. The best moment is whichever one you will actually act on.
If you are taking on a new client, their price is simply your new price. There is no awkward conversation with an existing client. You quote the new rate, and they either say yes or they do not. This is the simplest entry point and the one Robin recommends for most business owners who have never raised their prices before.
For existing clients, the cleanest moments are project renewals, annual review conversations, or the end of a current engagement. These are natural transition points where a change in terms is expected and unremarkable. A brief, confident message stating the new rate from a given date is all that is required. No apology. No lengthy justification. A simple statement of the new terms and the date they come into effect.
The one timing trap to avoid is raising prices mid-project without warning. Do not do this. Honour the terms you agreed for work in progress, then apply the new rate to the next engagement or renewal.
There are five practical steps to raising your prices well. They are in sequence because the order matters.
The conversation is simpler than most business owners expect. Here is a template that works:
"I am writing to let you know that my rates will be changing from [date]. From that date, the new rate for [service] will be [price]. I am grateful for your ongoing support and look forward to continuing to work together."
That is it. Three sentences. No apology. No lengthy backstory about rising costs or the economy. A clear statement of the new rate and the date it applies.
Most clients respond with "Thank you for letting me know" and nothing more. A minority will ask a question or raise a concern. An even smaller minority will decide not to continue. In Robin's experience across hundreds of coaching clients who have had this conversation, the last group is almost always the clients who were the most difficult to work with and the least profitable to retain.
For context on what the market currently pays for professional service work, the guide to business coaching costs in the UK shows the significant range between practitioners at different levels of positioning. The upper end of the range is accessible to most practitioners who are willing to position and price confidently.
Most business owners expect the worst. The reality is usually far more positive.
The clients who accept the new rate often say something like: "Of course, you are worth it." A small number do not renew. The freed-up capacity is filled almost immediately by better-fit clients at the new price, because the business owner is now showing up to sales conversations with more confidence and a clearer sense of their own value.
The quality of the client base improves. The stress of the business goes down. The revenue often goes up even if the number of clients goes down slightly, because the higher price more than compensates for any reduction in volume.
This is not theory. It is Robin's consistent observation across more than 20 years of working with service businesses at precisely this transition. The fear is almost always larger than the reality. The only way to verify that is to do it.
If you want a clear picture of where your pricing stands right now and what a realistic next step looks like, take the Fearless Business Pricing Scorecard. It produces a personalised report with specific recommendations. Or if you want support making the shift with accountability and coaching, explore Robin's pricing strategy coaching to see how the process works in practice.
The article suggests that the clients you might lose are typically the most price-sensitive and often the most difficult to work with. This creates an opportunity to attract better-fit clients who value your services at the new, higher rate.
You should introduce new pricing at natural transition points. The best moments are during project renewals, annual reviews, or when a current contract or engagement ends. Avoid changing prices unexpectedly in the middle of a project.
For most service-based businesses, providing at least 30 days' notice is considered fair and professional. This gives your clients adequate time to adjust to the new terms.
Your communication should be direct, confident, and brief. A simple message stating the new rate and the date it becomes effective is all you need. There is no need to apologise or provide a long explanation for the change.
Base your new price on the value you provide. A good rule of thumb is the 10:1 principle: your fee should be about 10% of the financial outcome or value your work creates for your client. Setting a price that feels slightly outside your comfort zone is often a sign you are on the right track.
