Business Coaching Tips to Banish Fear of Raising Your Fees

If you've been thinking it's time to raise your fees I bet you've felt what I call, the "gulp factor."

The gulp factor is when part of you suddenly turns to jelly, quivering at the thought of actually stating your new fees out loud. Fear takes over, cloaked in the disguise of all the reasons you "should" keep your fees the same. That voice inside is probably telling you:

"What if my new fees are too much?"

"Who am I to charge so much more?"

"If I charge more I'll have to do more. I don't want to work harder."

And my success coaching favorite: "What if they say 'no' and I lose clients?"

Sound familiar? I thought so.

Now, you and I both know that the voice is the sound of fear, not truth. The job of fear is to keep you in the SAME PLACE you are right now. Fear is, well, fearful of growth, fearful of change and certainly fearful of you claiming your brilliance.

Let's take a look at three simple tips for women entrepreneurs to banish the fear so they CAN raise their fees with confidence:

Business Coaching Tip #1: Tally the results your clients have achieved in the past six months.

What changes have your clients experienced? Did they ask for a raise, quit their job, gain new clients or solve important problems? Write down their specific, measurable results. What emotional achievements did they experience? Write those down, too.

(If you haven't been tracking your clients’ measurable results, then this is your wake-up call to start! Your future in-come is riding on your commitment to produce extraordinary out-comes!)

Business Coaching Tip #2: Don't decide for your clients what they can or cannot afford.

Truthfully? It's none of your business to decide what fits or doesn't fit within someone else’s budget. I hear from countless women entrepreneurs that they "worry" that their clients won't be able to afford their services.

Excuse me if what I'm about to say sounds harsh. I honestly believe that worrying that your clients can't afford your services is really an issue of self-worth, cleverly disguised as sympathy.

When I find myself slipping into that trap I snap out of it by reminding myself that when something is important enough, everyone finds a way to make it work financially.

Women entrepreneurs do their clients a much greater, authentic, soulful service by holding them fully capable of stepping up and making decisions. And by standing in her own power around mo-ney, a woman small business owner makes it possible for her clients to do the same.

Business Coaching Tip #3: When clients pay more they typically get better results.

People respect mo-ney and tend to care more for the things for which they pay more. For example, do you usually see fancy cars or homes in disrepair? Of course not! Their owners value and care for their investments.

You'll find that the same is true when your clients pay more for your services. In fact, just the act of stepping up and paying a premium for a service will often trigger change at a deep, soul level. All of a sudden, clients take themselves more seriously, which is why you'll see them get better results.

For me, raising my fees pulls me towards being an even better, more authentic success coach for my clients. The higher fees give me permission to coach with more power and to hold my clients accountable to achieve not only what they say they want, but also to achieve that which I see they are capable.

My success coaching request for you is to raise your fees with your next client. You’ll be propelled to more powerfully and passionately serve. AND your client will be inspired to create greater impact for what’s most important for her.