Three Tips For Raising Your Rates With Integrity

By: Sami Wunder

As an international dating and relationship coach for high-achieving women, my company makes over $2 million a year, and I serve women in over 55 countries. But it hasn’t always been this way; money didn’t always flow and I haven’t been a success overnight.

Back in 2015, I made the difficult decision to give up a promising career in economics to follow my dream of becoming a certified relationship coach, much to the surprise of my traditional Indian family. As a first-time entrepreneur, I grappled with the age old questions:

How much do I charge? Should I set my prices low to attract customers? Will I lose clients if I charge the market rates as a coach who’s just starting out?

Back then, I tackled this paralyzing conundrum by deciding to move my attention away from pricing for a few months and only focusing on fine-tuning my process to help my clients get results. I made it my mission to serve fifteen women in their love lives and help them attract their soulmate. To be able to do this, I charged just $25 per hour.

Going through this process was a game-changer. The results my clients got were astounding, and based on their feedback, I made some tweaks in my process. And importantly, these women brought their friends to work with me. I gathered glowing testimonials, helped people, and ensured that the process I was selling in the market delivered the transformation it was promising.

By my fifth month in business, however, I was on the verge of burnout and not able to spend time with my family anymore. I knew I had only so many hours in a day and as a mother I simply couldn’t afford to keep selling my time for such low prices or being fully booked out.

It was clear to me that I had to raise my prices, and so I did. It was a gradual process, though. In the middle of it, I battled guilt around not being able to help people who couldn’t afford my rates and self-doubt around, “Who am I to charge this?” And yet the truth was that my clients were getting the results they wanted and were happy to pay me well for my time.

Today, six years into running my company, my clients pay anywhere between $2000 to $2800 per hour to work with me and no, charging well for my time and expertise hasn’t made me redundant in the market as my fears would have had me believe. If you’re good at what you do, there will be plenty of people willing to pay you for the experience, knowledge, and expertise to help them solve their challenges.

Despite raising my prices, my business continues to grow year on year. I also still get to serve the masses through my downloadable online programs that cost less than $40. In this way, I am able to serve a broad spectrum of clients without burning out.

Here are my top three ways to raise your rates with integrity.

1) Get good at what you do.

You can’t expect somebody to pay for your services if they do not deliver value. Your aim at the start should not be to make money, but to get feedback from your customers so you can better yourself and your offerings.

Fine-tuning your process means you’ll be able to offer the best of the best. If you’re not getting results or transformations, you can’t sell your products at a premium. They absolutely need to be worth their price tag.

It is a nightmare to charge tons of money and then not be able to help people. Hence, at the start, focus on gathering experience and really helping people, even if you charge low to start with.

[Related: Three Ways to Promote Your Business Online Without Money]

2) Believe in your products and services.

In order to be able to sell your services or products well, it’s really important that you believe in their value. If you don’t believe in their value, nobody else will.

Remove the fear that you will become uncompetitive in the market because you are charging a higher price than others, remove the fear that your competitors are doing better than you. It serves you more in the long run to raise your prices, believe in their value, and to trust that the right customers will find you.

Your services or products positively change the lives of the people you sell them to, so keep that in mind – it’ll give you the confidence you need to raise your prices with integrity.

[Related: Plotting a New Course]

3) Offer a range of price points.

Having offers across a range of price points enables customers from all financial backgrounds to be able to purchase something from you which is of value, regardless of their budget.

Adopting this pricing strategy means you’ll have the leverage to be able to charge a premium for more exclusive services. At a lower price, a client may only be able to access your services within a group setting, but if they are willing to pay more, they will be able to access you one-on-one.

Remember, only you have the agency to be able to change your rates. Start today by giving yourself permission to feel worthy of charging what you truly think your service or product is worth. You deserve to make good money while helping the world.

[Related: Hard-Won Success Secrets to Advance Your Career]

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Sami Wunder is an internationally-recognized dating and relationship coach who specializes in working with high-achieving women leaders and entrepreneurs, helping them to attract their dream partner and create a deeply intimate and connected relationship. For more, visit her Wunder Divas Facebook group.