There comes a time in every business owner’s life when current rates don’t work. More often than not, though, business owners will keep rates the same because they are afraid of offending the customer. The truth of the matter is that you can raise your rates without making people mad – it just requires some skill.
– Be honest: honesty is really scarce in the business world, but raising your rates can really be – that simple – just tell your clients why you need to raise prices. No matter what the reason is, your clients will understand if your work is good enough.
– But…don’t tell your clients that you simply want more money to increase your revenue. Find another reason to explain your needs – even something as simple as “I want to spend more time on these projects” works.
– Add a value: another way to raise your rates is to add something to your services. This extra thing should be of benefit to your clients, but you can justify a higher cost if you have added something that your clients will get a lot out of.
– Explain your costs: if you are selling a product, you may have found that the materials needed to create that product are now more expensive – that’s easy enough for anyone to understand.
– Give clients an option: tell your customers that your price is going up, but give them the chance to lock in on a deal before that price rises. Your clients will appreciate the choice.
– Wait the appropriate length of time: okay, you may have gotten locked into a project where you’re putting more time into the deal than you originally bargained for – and now you want to raise your rates. Unfortunately, you can’t do this right away. The general rule of thumb is to wait at least 80 days before raising your rates, so hang tight for a few months.
– Increase your game at all times. You should always be improving the service that you offer. While you are waiting to raise your rates, start adding in little things to what you do, so that you can easily justify the pay increase when the time comes.
– Pay attention to your competitors: if you are selling retail items, make sure that your rates are in line with what your competition offers. If your clients can go somewhere else and get the same quality, well, that loyalty will only go so far.
When Not to Raise Rates
Don’t surprise your clients at an upcoming trade show by unveiling higher rates at the time of the show – unless you have a new product or service that you want to introduce. Otherwise, find the money for your custom displays elsewhere. That said, it’s also important to keep track of when you begin working with certain clients. This way, you can decide when to raise rates for some clients, and when to keep those rates the same. You may have a few clients that you’ve had for more than a year or two, and you can certainly raise rates to pay for custom displays at that point.
If you are looking for custom trade show displays that speak directly to your market, Blazer Exhibits has what you need – and we can make anything that you are thinking about. Offering you customized options that are entirely geared towards your vision and your business, our custom trade show displays stand out, guaranteed.
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