Is It Too Soon to Raise Rates If I Just Did It a Year Ago?

Q: I raised my rates about twelve months ago. My practice filled quickly and I’m seeing strong signals that the rate might still be too low. Is it too soon to raise rates again?

Twelve months is not too soon if the practice is full, the market signals are clear, and you have done the inner preparation.

There is no universal minimum interval between rate increases. The interval is determined by the practitioner’s inner readiness and the market signals, not by a rule about how much time must pass. Some practices raise rates annually. Some practices go years between increases. The interval that is right for a specific practice depends on the actual conditions, not on an external rule about propriety.

How frequently rate increases can happen: the question of whether a rate increase is “too soon” is often really a question about whether the market will accept it and whether the practitioner is internally settled in the new number. Both of those questions can be answered in the affirmative at twelve months from the last increase if the conditions are right.

The conditions that make a second annual increase appropriate:

The practice filled quickly after the last increase — suggesting the market absorbed the previous rate change without difficulty. The practice is currently full or consistently near capacity. You are seeing market signals that the current rate is not at the ceiling: consistent inquiry, low price resistance in conversations, referrals arriving without clients mentioning the rate. You have done the inner preparation for the new number — reviewed outcomes, sat with the rate, developed genuine settlement.

The conditions that suggest waiting:

The practice has not yet filled since the last increase — meaning the last increase has not fully resolved and a second increase on top of an unsettled first one may compound the instability. The last rate increase is still generating a holding-period challenge — you are still navigating clients who are questioning or adjusting. The inner preparation has not been done — you feel the pull to increase again but have not reviewed outcomes or sat with the new number.

How rate reviews inform the timing of increases: a scheduled rate review — conducted at a regular interval, ideally twice a year — is the structure that informs whether a rate increase is warranted and when. A rate review is not the same as a rate increase; it is an examination of the practice conditions that determines whether an increase is appropriate at this time. If you have been conducting regular rate reviews, the twelve-month mark is a natural review point.

The market signals that indicate another increase may be warranted: a full practice, consistent inquiry, low price resistance in discovery conversations, and referrals that arrive pre-sold on the rate are all signals that the current rate is not at the ceiling. These signals apply regardless of how recently the last increase occurred.

On client experience with frequent increases:

Some practitioners worry that a second increase within twelve months will feel excessive to existing clients. This is worth considering. If the previous increase was significant and the clients have not fully adjusted to it, a second increase in rapid succession may strain the relationship. If the previous increase was modest and the clients received it well, a second increase a year later is simply evidence of a practice that is calibrated and evolving.

In the communication, there is no need to reference the interval since the last increase. The announcement is simply the current announcement — the new rate, the effective date, the orientation. Clients who have been with you through a previous increase already know that you review and update rates. A second increase within twelve months is information about the practice trajectory, not an apology.

The inner preparation that determines readiness: the same preparation that applied to the first increase applies to the second. Sit with the new number. Review outcomes. Pre-decide the exception policy. The interval since the last increase does not change what preparation is required.

The Abundance GPS Skool community supports practitioners in building regular rate review practices and making grounded decisions about timing. Join us here.