WHEN'S THE RIGHT TIME TO INCREASE YOUR PRICES?
When you started your business as a social media manager, I bet you had a vision of how your life was going to be.
4 hour work days. Weekends at the beach. Sunset cocktails. Spontaneous trips to a new city or country. All whilst supporting dreamy clients and making a helluva lot more than your 9 to 5.
That was my vision.
Whether you share the same aspirations as me or your dream life looks more like being there for the school run and spending more time with your kids before they leave for uni, my guess is, it didn’t quite work out that way.
Perhaps, like me, you ended up hustling 10-12 hour days because you wanted to prove to yourself, your family and your clients that you were committed to being a success.
Perhaps, like me, you struggled with what to charge so ended up offering the full social media shebang for barely any money.
Perhaps, like me, you’ve found yourself overwhelmed with client work and still not hitting those income goals you set for yourself every quarter.
It’s possible for things to change for you, just like they did for me. But in order to get closer to that dream life of freedom, you need to increase your prices.
So many social media managers put off increasing their prices because:
They don't feel experienced enough
They’re scared of rejection
They don't know how much they should increase them by
The work feels easy so they feel they shouldn't charge a lot for it
They’re not fully booked with clients so haven't earned the 'right' to an increase
But as you grow in your business, you deserve to charge for your increased experience, increased knowledge and the better results you're able to get for your clients (because of said experience + knowledge).
In this video you’ll learn 4 common signs it's time for you to raise your rates:
1. If you've been in biz for longer than 6 months/it's been more than 6 months since your last increase
Your financial situation will constantly be changing. Whether your personal expenses have gone up or you’re investing more in your business, your income goal will change month to month. When your income goal changes, you need to look at your prices.
At the very bare minimum, you need to adjust them once a year but preferably, every 6 months. That’s not to say you’ll need to increase them every time you look at them.
It’s important for you to ensure your prices are connected with your income goal or you’ll be back in hustle, overwhelm and not receiving enough money.
2. If you're charging an hourly rate
If you’ve been in my community for a while now, you’ll know my thoughts on pricing by the hour. A few months into being a social media manager, I came across a video on Facebook that talked about why you shouldn’t charge by the hour. It explained that the better you get at your job, the LESS you get paid. Since then I’ve avoided any hourly pricing unless it’s for extra work outside of an original agreement.
If you’re charging by the hour, it’s time to increase your prices and switch to creating packages. And yes, people will still sign up with you.
3. If you feel undervalued by your clients
If you find yourself resenting your clients and the work you’re doing for them, it’s probably because you’re not being paid enough (which you totally have to take responsibility for).
When you feel undervalued, you won’t feel like putting in as much effort for your clients. And if you do still go all in for them, you can end up resenting them for not appreciating how much you’re doing for them. Take responsibility for how you’re feeling and adjust your prices.
4. If you're fully booked with clients + feeling overwhelmed with work
Once upon a time, I had a client who was overbooked. They were working with 37 clients. 37! They were overwhelmed with client work but still needed to make more money to hit their income goals.
The problem wasn’t that their income goal was too big, it was that their prices were too LOW. At £50 a client, they weren’t even hitting £2k a month. If you’re working with all the clients, feeling overwhelmed with work and not making the money you want, raise those rates.
To recap:
Your income goal will regularly change which is why you need to adapt your pricing at least once a year (every 6 months preferably)
When you increase your prices, you can hit your income goal with less clients meaning more freedom for you
It’s time to increase your prices if
You’ve been in business for 6 months/you haven’t raised your rates for 6 months
You’re charging an hourly rate
You feel undervalued by your clients
You’re overwhelmed with clients/ fully booked
If this was helpful, leave me a comment below, telling me your key takeaway.