5 Things to Do Before You Announce Your Rate Increase

The announcement of a rate increase is not where the rate increase begins. It is where it becomes visible. The actual work of a successful rate increase happens in the preparation — the inner and outer steps that give the new number its foundation before it meets the world.

What nobody explains about rate increase preparation is that an unprepared announcement is an announcement in search of an anchor. Without preparation, the rate is vulnerable from the first conversation. With preparation, it has something to rest on.

Here are five things to do before the announcement is made.

1. Build the inner case, not just the outer one.
Before announcing the rate to clients, the practitioner needs to be clear internally about why the rate is what it is. This is not a justification to rehearse in client conversations — it is an internal anchor. Building the case before the announcement: document what the work has produced. Review outcomes from the past year. Identify how the work has developed. Write down — for yourself — the reasons the rate is what it is. When the rate is challenged, this internal record is what you draw on.

2. Settle the number internally before it becomes external.
The new rate should be a decision, not a wish. Sit with the number. State it out loud in private — in front of a mirror, in a voice note to yourself — until it stops producing a visceral reaction. The number that you can say calmly and clearly in private will be far easier to say calmly in front of a client. Inner preparation as strength: the practitioner who has genuinely inhabited the number before announcing it enters the announcement from a fundamentally different position than one who is hoping the number will become comfortable after the announcement.

3. Update all touchpoints before the announcement goes out.
Before existing clients are notified, ensure the website, intake forms, scheduling links, and any other client-facing materials reflect the new rate. The most common awkward moment in rate increase processes is a client who receives the rate change communication and then finds a different number somewhere else. Audit the full client experience before the announcement goes live. What the announcement looks like when preparation is done: it is clean, consistent, and there are no contradictions to reconcile after it is sent.

4. Decide on grandfathering and exceptions — in advance.
The two most common exceptions that erode rate increases are made in the moment: the practitioner makes a call on the spot about whether a particular client gets the old rate, based on how the conversation feels in that instant. Pre-decide the policy. Who, if anyone, is grandfathered? Under what specific circumstances would an exception be appropriate? Having this decided in advance means the first client conversation doesn’t require a real-time judgment call under pressure.

5. Do a readiness check.
Readiness check before the announcement: before announcing, review whether the core readiness signals are genuinely present — full or near-full practice, documented outcomes, developed expertise, consistent demand. If none of the signals are present, the announcement may be premature. If several are present, the preparation that remains is largely internal.

These five steps are not a guarantee that the rate increase will be easy. But they change the odds significantly. The announcement that comes from genuine preparation has a different quality than one that comes from hope. What the announcement looks like when preparation is done: clear, grounded, and not braced for the worst.

The Abundance GPS Skool community supports practitioners in doing the preparation work that gives rate increases their best chance of holding. Join us here.