Can I Raise Rates in an Economic Downturn?

Q: The economy seems uncertain and clients are talking about tightening budgets. Is this the wrong time to raise rates, or does economic context matter less than I think it does?

Economic context matters less than you think it does, and what matters more is the specific evidence from your own practice.

The broader economy provides the background conditions for all practitioners. When those conditions are uncertain, all practitioners face the same general environment — the ones at $150 and the ones at $350. What determines whether a rate increase holds is not primarily the macroeconomic context; it is the quality of the practitioner’s inner preparation and the specific signals coming from their own practice.

What actually governs whether a rate increase holds: a rate increase holds because the practitioner is genuinely settled in the new number and holds it through the resistance, silence, and exceptions requests that come during the holding period. Economic conditions influence the background, but the holding of the rate is determined by the practitioner’s inner preparation — not by what interest rates are doing or what the consumer confidence index shows.

What to actually look at:

Is your practice full or consistently near capacity? If yes, demand at the current rate is exceeding supply. This is a practice-level signal that the current rate may be below the equilibrium point — regardless of the broader economy.

Are clients completing their work with you and being replaced relatively quickly? If yes, the practice has momentum that is independent of the macroeconomic background.

Are clients who are currently inquiring citing budget concerns or stepping back before the rate increase has even occurred? If yes — specifically attributable to your rate, not to general uncertainty — that is a practice-level signal worth taking seriously.

How market conditions affect rate decisions: the market rate for coaching and healing services is not determined by a single economic cycle. Significant, transformational personal and professional development is often sought more actively in uncertain times, not less. Clients who are facing significant life or career disruption — exactly the conditions that economic uncertainty creates — are often the most motivated to invest in work that helps them navigate it.

How to read practice-level signals versus macro-level signals: the practice-level signals — full schedule, consistent inquiry, low price resistance in discovery conversations — are more relevant to a rate increase decision than macro-level signals like unemployment rates or consumer spending data. A full practice in a challenging economy is strong evidence of demand that the rate has not yet fully calibrated to.

The argument for being especially attentive to rate integrity in uncertain times:

When the broader economy is under stress, there is often more pressure on practitioners to hold rates — more clients who will raise budget concerns, more conversations that feel like they warrant exceptions. A practitioner who has done the inner preparation before a rate increase is in a better position to hold through these conversations than a practitioner who announced without preparation. In uncertain economic conditions, the preparation is more important, not less.

How rate sensitivity applies in economic uncertainty: rate sensitivity — the degree to which clients are responsive to rate changes — does increase in difficult economic conditions. More clients will reach the edge of their capacity at a given rate. This means a rate increase in a difficult economy may produce somewhat more attrition than the same increase in a robust economy. But “somewhat more attrition” in a practice with strong market signals is still manageable, and the income per remaining client is higher.

Why financial sustainability matters even more in uncertain times: a practitioner who is undercharging in an uncertain economy is in a doubly vulnerable position — working at high volume to generate insufficient income, without the financial reserves that would provide stability during a period of reduced demand. A rate increase that is warranted by practice signals is, in uncertain times, partly a move toward the financial resilience that the broader conditions make more important.

The Abundance GPS Skool community helps practitioners make rate decisions grounded in their actual practice conditions rather than in macro-level anxiety. Join us here.