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Subject: An update on pricing, effective April 1.
That is the line most owners never send. They think about it for a year, mention it to a friend, dread it every January and then discount their way through another twelve months of rising costs.
It is January 3. If you have not changed your price in a long time, the delay is costing you, and it is costing the clients you most want to serve, because underpricing quietly starves the work. Here is how I would do it without drama.
How do you know it is time to raise prices?
The signals are usually obvious. We just do not like them.
Signs you are underpriced
- Your calendar is full and you are turning people away.
- Almost nobody pushes back on price on a sales call.
- You deliver more than your price covers, and it shows in your own energy.
- Your costs have moved. Meta's Q3 2024 numbers showed an 11% jump in what advertisers paid per ad (my Q3 read has the detail), so reaching a new client may simply cost more than it did last year.4
If most of those are true, you are not being generous. You are being quiet about a problem.
Price is half of a comparison
Eric Almquist, John Senior and Nicolas Bloch write in Harvard Business Review that customers weigh a product's perceived value against its asking price, and that marketers have focused mostly on the price side.2 The practical lesson for a coach: a raise is easiest to accept when the value side of the comparison is visible. If clients can name what they got from you (an offer audit helps), the new number is a smaller leap.
Alex Hormozi said in a video posted on December 16, 2024 that "changing or raising prices something that most business owners are terrified of it's one of the strongest levers on lifetime value."5 He is talking about business owners in general. In coaching, the fear usually arrives long before the evidence does.
Who gets the new price, and when?
Not everyone at the same time. Think in three groups.
- New clientsThe new price from your effective date
- Month-to-month clientsWritten notice first, then the new price
- Clients under a termHonor the term, new price at renewal
- Grandfathered clientsA stated end date, then the new price
New clients: immediately
A price is a promise about the future, not a debt to the past. Anyone who has not bought yet gets the new price from your chosen date. This is the cleanest change and the one to make first.
Month-to-month and ongoing clients: notice, then the new price
For clients who pay monthly or renew, give clear written notice. Many operators give 30 to 90 days, and what you promise should match your agreement and any rules where you operate. Say the new price, the date it starts and what is included. Do not bury it.
Clients under a term: honor it
If a client signed for a fixed term at a fixed price, honor it to the end. The new price applies at renewal. Keeping that promise is worth more to your reputation than the extra revenue you would get by breaking it.
Should you grandfather your best clients?
Often, for a defined period.
What grandfathering is
Grandfathering lets existing clients keep their current price for a set time, often a year or until the next renewal, while new clients pay the new price. It rewards loyalty, softens the change and gives you time to deliver the upgrade that justifies the new number.
How to do it without a permanent discount
The mistake is grandfathering forever. A rate frozen with no end date becomes a discount you can never remove. Instead, state the end date up front: "You keep your current rate through September, then move to the new rate." Clients can plan. You are not renegotiating every year.
What should you pair the raise with?
Something real that changes the offer.
The upgrade rule
A price increase with no change to the work invites the question, "Why am I paying more for the same thing?" So pair the raise with a true improvement: a stronger onboarding, a clearer structure, an extra review session, faster access or documented templates. Only promise what you will actually deliver and have already built.
Consider a tier
Rafi Mohammed argues in Harvard Business Review that companies often reduce profits by discounting to attract price-sensitive customers and by failing to give high-end customers reasons to spend more, and that a multitiered offering can address both.1 For you, that might mean a standard program at the new price, and a higher tier with more access for clients who want it, the structure I laid out in good-better-best pricing. Existing clients can choose to move up, stay or leave on good terms.
| Raise only | Raise with an upgrade |
|---|---|
| Same offer, higher number | Clear improvement tied to the new price |
| Clients ask what changed | Clients can name what they are getting |
| Feels like extraction | Feels like investment |
| One choice: pay or leave | Choices: stay, move up, or grandfathered period |
What does the notice actually say?
Short, specific and kind.
A plain structure
- What is changing: the new price and the date it starts.
- Why: one honest sentence. Rising costs of delivery, an improved program, or both.
- What is better: the upgrade, described concretely.
- What it means for them: their grandfathered date, if any, and their options.
- What to do next: reply with questions, or book a short call.
Avoid apology and avoid hype. Do not write three paragraphs justifying yourself. A calm tone signals that the decision is considered, not desperate. Read it out loud before you send it, as if you were the client opening it on a Monday morning.
What is the sequence?
A simple timeline keeps it calm.
- Today: decide the new price, the effective date and who gets grandfathered. Check your agreements.
- This week: update your sales page and proposals for new clients.
- Ninety to sixty days before the date: send clear written notice to ongoing clients, with the upgrade and the date.
- Thirty days before: a short personal reminder to your top clients, by message or call.
- On the date: the new price goes live everywhere. Retire all old pricing pages and links.
- Afterward: note who stayed, who moved up and who left, and why.
When someone pushes back
Listen first. If they are a strong fit and cannot do the new number, you may offer a smaller scope at a price that works, or a defined grandfathered period. If they simply prefer not to pay more, thank them and let them go warmly. Do not rebuild the whole pricing structure around one conversation.
Raising a price is not a favor you ask from clients. It is a statement about the value you intend to keep delivering.
A higher price is also a chance to decide where the extra margin goes, and part of that answer can be your own long-term plan; the Investing and Retirement section covers the basics without selling you anything.
Across sixteen years of setting my own prices, the pattern has been the same: the owners who reprice on a schedule, with clear notice and a real upgrade, keep their best clients. The owners who wait until they are resentful tend to do it badly. If you want help pressure-testing your new numbers, reach out.
Keep building.Ekai
Questions people ask
When is the best time to raise coaching prices?
At a natural boundary, such as the start of a year, a new cohort or a renewal. January works well because many clients are already planning and billing cycles reset, but the right time is whenever you can give fair notice and a clear reason.
What is grandfathering in pricing?
It means letting existing clients keep their current price for a defined period or term while new clients pay the new price. It rewards loyalty and lowers the risk of losing your best clients.
How much notice should I give before raising prices?
Enough to let a client decide calmly, and never less than your agreement requires. Many operators give 30 to 90 days. Check your contracts and any local rules before you announce.
Should I raise prices or add a higher tier?
Often both. Harvard Business Review's Rafi Mohammed argues a multitiered offering can address two problems at once: discounting to win price-sensitive buyers, and failing to give high-end customers a reason to spend more.
Sources
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