Raising Your Prices as a Bookkeeper

Co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan talk about what to consider when it comes to raising your prices as a bookkeeper – and how to actually be successful at it. [1:34] Melissa invites bookkeepers to raise their prices of 10 to 20% because she believes that they’re probably not charging enough. [2:49] Despite this, she’s nervous about raising her prices – and she’s nervous every single time she does it. [3:40] Melissa started sending out emails about her price increase to clients she knew were going to say they weren’t ok with it. An important mistake she points out, and one she wants to make sure you avoid making, is to reply to every single email that comes in related to this matter. [4:48] This is how Melissa went about informing clients about the price increase: she informed them of what the new price would be, she informed them of why she believed they should pay and the value they would get from it. She added that if a client didn’t think she was worth that value, then it was time for them to part ways. [5:52] Hannah believes that people have a lot of fear about asking for a price increase for two reasons: they’re afraid of losing their clients, and they’re afraid of the backlash and criticism that could come their way as a result. [6:15] Melissa discusses a NPR article she recently read on why women don’t ask for more money. According to the article, women worry that pushing for more money will damage their image. [7:31] Hannah shares what she went through when it was time to raise her prices. She believes that half the battle is you believing that your value is increasing. [8:59] Hannah doesn’t think you should worry about clients leaving you because you’re too expensive and that you should put your value first. [9:34] Melissa talks about a recent experience she had with a client who didn’t agree with her raising her prices. [15:33] Melissa brings up a recommendation that stood out from the NPR article Why Women Don’t Ask for More Money? – and that is: when you’re negotiating a price increase, think of other people your salary is supporting, so that the negotiation doesn’t seem all about you. [18:18] Melissa goes over how she addressed and overcame the fear of raising her prices. [19:35] Another recommendation from the NPR article was to stop looking at negotiation as adversarial, but rather as solving a problem: your gross profit is low, your costs are high, etc. [21:47] Hannah shares one of the biggest things she had to do for herself – practicing confidence. [24:23] Melissa talks about a girl she has found on social media who recorded herself, every day, telling herself that she loved herself. [26:35] There have been times when Melissa felt as if she couldn’t support herself. She reached out to her friends who were able to uplift her when she wasn’t able to.     Mentioned in this episode: article: Why Women Don’t Ask for More Money? [email protected]