FAQ: Once I have raised my rates, how do I raise my confidence in those rates?

A fundamental question about internal growth

In September, I announced that Author Accelerator would be raising our rates and gave some of the why behind it. (You can read the post here — it’s part of a whole series on pricing.) Around that same time, I ran a pricing workshop for certified book coaches, and out of 22 participants, 20 of them decided that they needed to raise their rates.

The decision to raise your rates and the choice about what to raise them to is complicated. It’s tied into the entire business ecosystem you are building, your mission, your ideal client, and your income needs. It also often requires courage — a leap of faith.

In contrast, the actual steps you undertake to raise your rates are quite simple and clear: change the price on your website and program list, change the price you give when you speak to people about your services, and send invoices with higher numbers. Boom. Done.

One coach in the pricing course asked the best question. She asked, “Once I have raised my rates, how do I raise my confidence in those rates?”

I recently wrote a piece about how to step in your power as a book coach but in re-reading it, I realized I didn’t give any action steps. I was writing there about bringing awareness to the ways you are undermining your own power — seeing the ways in which you are playing small. That strikes me as Step #1 to raising your confidence in your price increase.

Today, I brainstormed a fully fleshed-out series of steps, with thanks to Dr. Diana Hill, a therapist whose book I have been coaching. I have been steeped in her teaching about Wise Effort. I’ve also been listening to James Clear on the Design Matters podcast so I’ve had a recent dose of Atomic Habits teaching.

1. See the ways in which you are playing small.

Become a student of your own behavior — what you are saying and doing in your business? Where are you shrinking, equivocating, believing a story about your business or your skills or talents or capacities that isn’t true? Rather than turning away from these realities, put them under the spotlight.

2. Get curious about why you might be saying and doing these things.

There may be historical reasons, cultural reasons, familial reasons, reasons having to do with the way you are wired or the way you were raised. The point in doing this is to remind yourself that playing small is not a moral failing, or something to be ashamed about, or something to be judge-y about. You don’t run your business in a vacuum. There are reasons you may feel a lack of confidence that have nothing to do with you.

3. Take consistent small steps in the direction you want to go.

So you want to feel more confident in your new pricing? All the experts say that confidence is not something you acquire and then get to “spend.” Confidence is something you get by taking action — by changing your behavior. This is James Clear’s now-famous quote, “Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.” Consider the following actions:

• Find opportunities to talk about your pricing. Literally say the number out loud to friends and family, or fellow book coaches. Find opportunities to say it out loud to potential clients. Get comfortable saying the words.

• Write a script for how you will answer the haters. Haters are gonna hate. And some of those haters are going to be your friends and family and potential clients. Write down what you will say if someone dares to challenge you on your pricing, or expresses shock, or talks about another coach who charges way less. If you can’t come up with something to say, ask a fellow coach or colleague to brainstorm with you and role-play saying the answers out loud.

• When you put the prices on your website, highlight them. Make them bold. Then write some killer copy on the benefits you are providing at that price point, making sure you talk about the outcome of your book coaching packages (what the writer is going achieve in their writing by working with you), as well as the process of coaching (what the writer is going to experience — the editorial feedback they are going to get, the accountability, the strategic insight), and most importantly, the emotion of the experience (what the writer is going to feel about their work when working with you — the pride, the belief that they have invested in doing the best work they can, the relief of not being alone in their creative dreams.) This exercise is obviously useful for the writer, but it’s useful for you, as well. You will be building confidence in what you are offering.

• Update your About Page. Paint a fuller picture of what you bring to the table. I recently talked to a brand new coach-in-training who has read every Agatha Christie novel multiple times, over multiple years. She knows these books inside-out. And she wants to coach writers who are working on historical novels with mystery elements. Her knowledge of the Christie books is so relevant — and yet she hadn’t seen it as an asset worth mentioning. I also spoke to someone who has a deep love of horror, because she sees it as a direct commentary on the fears we feel in society. Her reasons for loving horror were not part of her messaging — and they should be! People don’t hire a book coach only for their technical know-how. They hire you because of everything you bring to the table. Being more specific about those things is another way to convince yourself of the value you are offering.

• Write a post or do a video or podcast about your pricing. That’s what I did in the post I linked to, above. It’s a way of making a public declaration, which isn’t only about the people who read your message; it’s about the fact that you raised your voice. You are owning the new price point. (Note that this is a different step from letting your existing clients and followers know about your price increase — a process I speak about in the pricing series. This is a public declaration.)

4. Change the story you’re telling yourself.

Once you are taking consistent small steps in the direction you want to go, you can tell yourself a new story. This idea comes from Dr. Michael Gervais, who is a sports psychologist whose focus is on peak performance. This is one of his Facebook posts:

Confidence comes from one place and one place only - what you say to yourself.

Credible self-talk. Key word: credible. It’s earned.

I love what Olympian volleyball player, Nicole Davis, had to say about this 👇

“Our self-talk becomes credible by doing things often that require courage, openness and vulnerability.

In doing so, we build trust in ourselves over time to potentially get our ass kicked in the arena and know that we’ll be okay.

One of the most basic ways we can build that trust in self is to show up and be our most authentic selves in any environment, whether we lean into the razor’s edge, whether we say “I love you first,” try something new for the first time, or allow a moment to get uncomfortable and grow to pass us by because we are not sure of the outcome.

Winning and outcomes are something that we can influence, not control. The setbacks and losses were sure worth taking because I earned the right to say to myself `I can adjust when things don’t go my way.’ That’s confidence right there. That’s freedom.”

How good is that?

You can listen to Dr. Michael Gervais talk about this concept here and on his podcast, which I love.

5. Double down on marketing your higher-priced offers.

Rather than crossing your fingers that you will get new clients at the new price, double down on your efforts to go out and find them. Connect with potential business partners who serve your ideal clients (what Tad Hargrave calls Hub Marketing), pitch yourself to do a webinar or a talk or a guest post or a podcast. Do something to be helpful and generous to your ideal clients.

6. Celebrate the wins.

When you sign a new client at the new price point, celebrate! Let your friends and colleagues know and take a moment to feel the excitement and pride.

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Author Accelerator’s Book Coach Certification Program price goes up to $9,000 in January. The last date to get the current pricing is December 10th, 2024. Go to bookcoaches.com/coaches to learn more.

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