Why You Need to Raise Your Price Today

When we started out as brand new, rookie wedding DJs, we set our base price at $700. We picked the price our DJ Godfather and mentor was charging, mainly because we had no idea how much we were supposed to charge.

A month later we got a call from DJ Godfather. “I’m not sure I’m comfortable sending you referrals at that price,” he said.

The idea of being cut off from what was our #1 referral source at the time was terrifying. It was true that he had decades of experience and way more leads than he could book, while we had a few months of experience and no leads to speak of…except the ones he was sending us.

 

We didn’t drop our price, but we didn’t raise it, either. For years we were afraid to increase our price, even as our reputation grew and the leads came pouring in.

Until one day we met with a couple in our living room. We had perfect rapport and I was certain they were going to book us.

The groom leaned back, crossed his arms and said,

“Everything looks good. You guys seem great. So why are you so cheap?”

We vowed that would be the last time we’d ever get that question.

We’ve raised our price again and again over the years. As our rate approached $1,000, our DJ Godfather called us again. “No DJ is worth $1,000,” he said, because he wasn’t charging that much.

Guess what? We raised our price again. And again. Until our couples were paying an average of over $1,800.

Did our clients think we were worth that much? Absolutely! In post-wedding surveys, they told us we were worth MORE.

The Uncomfortably High Price

I’m going to make a bold statement:

If you’re not at least slightly uncomfortable with what you’re charging, it’s time to raise your price.

Why do I say this? Because almost all of us undervalue what we do, which means we’re not charging enough.

I’m including myself in “all of us,” by the way. It’s a work in progress. 🙂

Every time we’ve raised our price, my heart pounds. My legs go weak. Still do.

What if I’m not worth it?

Here are a few of the lame reasons we tell ourselves we can’t raise our prices:

• “No one is going to pay that much for what I do.”
• “They’re going to hire someone cheaper.”
• “It’s not worth the price.”

It all boils down to FEAR and INSECURITY.

I’m not saying you should just raise your price and hope that you’re worth it. Raise your price and BE worth it.

We all suffer from insecurity and not valuing ourselves enough. It’s human nature to think that what you do is “easy” because you already know how to do it.

That’s just your brain playing tricks on you, telling you to play it safe.

Something really powerful happens when you raise your price to an uncomfortable level.

1. You feel tremendous pressure to be worth it.

2. You work harder, give more and exceed expectations. You stretch and improve.

3. You can choose to work only with your ideal clients and do the work you love because you can afford to take fewer jobs and make the same money, or even more.

Charging more makes you Harder. Better. Faster. Stronger.

Find Out What You’re Worth

If you’re scared to raise your price, try out this idea inspired by Sean D’Sousa of Psychotactics.

Create a brand new package at a higher price and put it out there. Just do it.

You’ll be shocked when someone goes for it, and you’ll know for a fact that you are worth the price because someone is paying it.

I once heard someone say, “Wanna know how much you’re really worth? Don’t show up for the wedding and see how much the couple sues you for.”

What do you think?

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