Despite a 15-year career in sales management and growing Bookkeeping For Painters to a $2M bookkeeping business serving more than 160 clients, I still remember how uncomfortable it can be talking about prices.
And talking about raising them? That can be downright scary — if you don’t have a solid process that keeps you prepared and your clients informed when it comes to pricing conversations.
Apprehension over raising prices is common. Money is a sensitive topic, with lots of baggage and anxiety attached.
If you’re like most people, that little voice inside is probably whispering: "But what if the client decides to walk away!?"
It’s a valid concern.
Yet, in my years of navigating price increases with hundreds of clients, only a handful have ever left. And those who did either weren’t the right fit anymore or were a result of my negligence in not following the defined process I’ve developed for handling this very thing.
It only took me a few instances to learn that raising prices willy-nilly is a surefire way to lose a client’s trust — and sometimes their business.
In fact, it once nearly cost me and my firm our largest client.
Numbers in order? Check.
Standard pricing clause in the contract? Yep.
The foundation was all there for a price raise. But the way I communicated about it nearly wiped out a client relationship that accounted for 15% of my firm’s gross profit.
Instead of the usual multi-month notice I provide when it comes to raising prices, I veered off script, deviating from my standard framework and external communication plan.
I hit the client with a price increase out of left field — a rookie move.
Without much forethought, I fired off an email letting them know we needed to raise prices based on the change in scope and their impressive growth.
Understandably, they weren’t thrilled in the meeting that followed. But after hashing it out, luckily, this loyal client chose to stick around.
It was an experience that taught me a valuable lesson: Most clients do understand the need for a price increase. It’s poor communication and a lack of notice that can send a whale swimming.
Most firms don’t spend enough time, if any, actually thinking about pricing.
The very obvious benefit of increasing prices is growing your bottom line. However, there’s more under the surface.
Taking a moment to consider your prices gives you an opportunity to reassess the scope of your services, how you contribute to your clients’ profitability, and how your fees align with the value you provide.
Once you’re able to communicate the value you add, you’ll be able to close the compensation gap.
By carefully planning, flexing your soft skill muscles, and taking few cover-you-a** precautions, you should be well on your way to building a price-raising program that pays off every time.
Build a Line of Communication with Room for Personalization
For those familiar with my course on increasing client prices, you know that a strategy, framework, and an external communication plan are essential.
At Bookkeeping For Painters, our team relies on an external communication plan for smooth price increases that don’t compromise customer satisfaction.
Because of our upfront and proactive communication, I save approximately $25,000 a year in meeting time. The extra time saved is also impactful for our clients who do not need an unnecessary meeting on something they are already aware of. But that does not mean I remove the personal touch or shut down the opportunity.
If my clients want to meet, I’m more than happy to speak with them in person or on a call. Last year I sent out 100 price-raising emails, and only four people wanted a meeting as a result. I always give people the option, but most are aware and okay with the email and price increase because of the diligence that my team does ahead of time.
Give Plenty of Warning
Raising prices is not unusual. What is unusual is surprising your clients with a sudden price hike after radio silence.
All of our clients receive at minimum a month's notice, if not multiple months, to digest any price increases. Email notices go out around October, but the planning and evaluation starts well in advance.
What planning? That’s next.
Base Increases on Demonstrable Data
I look at the numbers for each of our clients (revenue and gross profit) and track them against my staff’s production hours.
Knowing your own service line profitability and, equally crucial, understanding your clients' financials is an added layer of support when implementing a price increase.
When you can articulate not just the “what” but the “why” behind a price adjustment — backed by concrete data — you create a narrative of shared growth. This clarity not only reinforces your confidence but also empowers you to rationalize price increases as a strategic move aligned with the evolving value you bring to your clients.
Lean on Your Contract
We’re careful to include a price adjustment clause in all client contracts. And, as part of our commitment to clear communication, we also set the expectation from our initial engagement that price adjustments are part of our contract.
Always Be Straightforward
Directness and transparency pays off. I don't dance around the topic. I'm upfront about our approach to and communication around raising prices, and our clients appreciate it!
To this day, I still personally send every price increase email. If questions pop up, I prefer to address them myself. This helps keep my account managers focused on building relationships and removes any awkwardness caused by money discussions.
Ultimately, I want my account managers to be the "good cops" who are focused on building trust. I have no problem playing the "bad cop" part in order to make that work.
At minimum, I encourage firms to re-evaluate prices at least once a year. Currently, we re-evaluate prices twice a year for most clients. For certain clients, we do so even more frequently.
Once you start regularly reviewing pricing, scope of work, and the level of value you’re adding, you’ll be able to find the stride that works best for you.
I’m a strong believer in finding a niche and offering the best possible services or products to the customer in that particular field.
At Bookkeeping For Painters, it’s this very niching that has given my whole team strong expertise in the painting space, which makes it that much easier to raise prices and align with the high-value services we offer to our clients.
At the end of the day, growing your business is all about providing a deeply valuable service that aligns with your target market, knowing the hard numbers around your value, and being able to effectively and proactively communicate about that value when it comes to setting and raising prices.
This is how our team was able to achieve over $2M a year in revenue and provide bookkeeping, advisory, tax, and sales automation to 165 (and growing!) clients.
See how we serve our niche at the Bookkeeping For Painters website. And join my course on increasing client prices and walk away with not only strategy and confidence — but a handful of valuable engagement letter and email templates that will help you level up your business.
