Raising a price without losing the client

Lead with what changed in your trade, not with your number. Explain what it now costs to put an insured, employed person in their house, show that the rise is the consequence, and cap what you ask for so nobody is hit with the whole correction at once.

Never open with the price

A price that arrives first is a demand and gets negotiated. A price that arrives after two minutes of something the client did not know is a consequence, and gets accepted.

Spend four fifths of the conversation on the change in your trade. Spend one fifth on the ask.

Make it their gain, honestly

There is a real benefit to the client and it is worth saying out loud: if someone is hurt in their home, an insured and employed crew is your problem rather than theirs. If someone calls in sick, there is a bench.

Do not overstate it. The point is that they are buying something different, not that they are being rescued.

Cap the first year

An account that has been under-charged for years cannot be corrected in one step without the conversation turning into a negotiation about whether you were wrong before.

Hold every client to the same maximum rise this year and let the rest follow a year later. It costs you something — work out exactly how much, so you are choosing it rather than drifting into it — and it makes every call easy.

Answer the objection once

Say the reason once, well, then ask a question. The person asking the questions is running the conversation. Defending a price twice turns it into a thing to argue about.