Putting your prices up can feel uncomfortable… but for many groomers, it’s not actually about the numbers.

It’s about confidence.

In this episode, Bill talks about one of the biggest challenges in the grooming industry: raising your prices without feeling guilty, nervous or worried about losing clients.

Many groomers know their prices need to increase, but something holds them back. Often it comes down to mindset and how we value our own skills, time and expertise.

Bill explores:

• Why groomers feel anxious about increasing prices
• The psychological link between pricing and self-worth
• How branding and positioning affect what clients are willing to pay
• Why underpricing can quietly damage your business
• How clear communication makes price changes easier for clients to accept

Pricing is not just a financial decision – it’s a business confidence decision.

When you understand the value of your service and position your business properly, price increases become far less stressful and far more sustainable.

If you’ve been putting off reviewing your prices, this episode will help you rethink your approach and start charging in a way that supports both your business and your future.

As always, I'd like to thank the podcast sponsor, Lopay, the low-cost payment platform that helps you keep more of the money you earn.

You can find out more and sign up for Lopay here:

https://merchant.lopay.app/ref/PETPASSION2500

Listeners of this podcast get £2500 of fee-free transactions.

And if you’d like support building a stronger, more profitable grooming business, visit:

https://petpassiontoprofit.com/

If this episode made you think differently about your pricing, make sure you subscribe and share it with another groomer who might need the confidence boost.

Welcome to the Pet Grooming Business Podcast

with me, Bill Betts, where we give

practical business advice to help you grow your pet grooming business.

This podcast is sponsored by Low Pay, the low rate payment app that gives you more.

So, without further ado, let's get going.

Hello and welcome back to the podcast.

Just beneath me today way.

Aren't you lucky?

So today we are going to be talking about pricing, raising your dog grooming prices and why does it feel so hard?

So it's the beginning of the year.

I'm sure it's something a lot of you are thinking about is increasing your prices.

So we're going to have a little deep dive into what it's all about and some of the barriers to increasing our prices.

So increasing your prices then, not just how we do it, but why does it feel really uncomfortable and why do so many groomers really delay it?

Some of us increase our prices by one pound, but makes us still feel really anxious.

And what really is it about?

Why is pricing rarely about the numbers?

That's what we're going to look at.

So have you had these thoughts?

Are you thinking at the moment, I need to put my prices up?

And what sort of thoughts comes up for you?

Do you start thinking, what if I leave?

What if people leave my business?

A lot of people think that it's too expensive or maybe you'll just wait till next year.

Obviously this is going to help you.

Hopefully increasing your crisis is not about bravery, okay.

It's about your business structure.

We're going to be looking at your positioning and also your mindset.

So let's get going and unpack all these, these issues.

So I remember years ago when we had our salon A to Z animal Care, me and Emma were working on the business and I'd be helping out in the background and looking at the finances and we'd often put our prices up every February, and all we did was we'd add a pound to the prices.

That's it.

We had quite a big business at the time.

We had a lot of customers.

So actually putting a pound on the prices felt like.

Felt like an easy thing to do because if we were seeing, you know, 10 customers a day, there was an extra 10 pound a day and that sort of multiplied its way out.

But, you know, there was so much behind that, wasn't there?

Every single year we just put it out by a pound.

But there was still that internal, internal battle.

You know, it's only a pound.

People won't mind that, whatever they did.

But underneath that, there Was a lot of.

There was a lot of fear.

Fear of what the clients would say, fear that's on people would leave.

Fear.

Fear that there was a ceiling.

As we approached that, I definitely remember because we had VAT on our prices.

So already we were 20% more expensive than any pet groomer in the area.

20% more expensive than any pet groom in the area.

So I remember laying in bed one year and we were coming up to a price increase time.

I remember just thinking like, there must be a.

There must be an end to this.

There must be a point where people will just not pay and anymore for their dog.

There must be a ceiling.

And are we, are we about to hit that with our next price increase?

So we started to realize that, you know, the amounts that we're putting the prices up by actually didn't matter.

A lot of it was our mindset that needed changing.

So if you still feel guilty about charging more, you know, you're going to start to feel uncomfortable because the real issue is not the number, it's what the number represents.

And this is what we want to dig into.

This pricing is all about layers.

So let's be honest, then pricing triggers your identity.

And when you increase your prices, you're kind of saying to your customers, my time is more valuable, my skills are worth more, my business has grown.

And for many, many of us, that feels really confrontational or, you know, it's like charging your worth thing, isn't it?

How much am I worth?

Because underneath pricing resistance is often the fear of rejection, fear of being judged, being seen as greedy.

I mean, we see that quite a bit in the groups, don't we?

When people put their prices in the Facebook groups and other pet groomers say, oh, that's being really greedy.

Fear of not being good enough as well, you know, being found out.

You're not scared of charging more.

You're scared of someone disagreeing with your value.

You're scared of someone challenging your identity and challenging your value.

And if someone leaves after a price increase, it feels really personal.

And the thing about this is when you do your price increase, you're really sensitive to what's going on around you and you're really sensitive to comments and customers and what they're doing.

So, yeah, you might actually get some people leaving your business, business due to a price increase, but that feels even worse because you're feeling so sensitive about it, but the shift, there's a shift here.

The clients that are leaving, it doesn't actually mean that you're wrong.

It just means that your business is changing and your position is changing.

Not every client, you don't need every client, okay?

Not every client is going to grow with you as well.

You might hit a new price bracket where you start to appeal to new, different clients.

So, you know, not, you don't need everyone, you just need the ones that are going to pay your, your prices.

And if you put your prices up and people leave, you're going to fill those spaces with higher paying clients.

If you get your marketing right.

So this is where a lot of groomers sort of oversimplify their pricing.

They think, tell me what to charge.

You know, it makes it nice and easy, isn't it?

But pricing isn't a calculator problem.

It's layered.

Like I said earlier, if you want to confidently increase your prices, then your foundations must support it.

And that's.

So I'm going to break that down for you.

So let's have a look at your branding.

You know, what does your branding look like?

Do you even know what branding is?

Have you heard of branding?

Hopefully you've heard the term and listened to the podcasts over the years around branding.

What does your business like from the look like from the outside?

Would you use your business if you looked at your business on Facebook or on social media or on in your website?

If you look at your website, would you actually pick up the phone and call your business?

Does it appeal to you?

Does it look good?

What do you think your customers think of it?

Ask your friends, what do they think about it?

Hopefully they went, hopefully you can take a bit of honesty and hopefully they'll give you a bit of feedback.

But what do they say about it?

Is your branding aligned with like premium pricing or is it looking a bit budget?

You cannot charge premium prices with budget presentation.

And this stuff really matters.

This is the fine detail.

This is the foundations of your business that we need to get right.

Look at your marketing.

You know, what do your clients see?

What do they consistently see?

And that's really important.

Consistency.

Are they actually seeing you?

Are you getting out there?

Is your marketing showing them the befores and afters?

This is what you could have.

Is it showing off your expertise and your personality?

People buy from people, so it's really important that you get some of your personality into your social media so they understand who you are, what your values are, why you're doing it, what's Your mission, how do you look after the pets?

How do you make it so good at your business?

What kind of education are you taking on?

Tell them about the first aid courses you've done.

Get them interested in your life and get them interested in your business.

This really helps you to build that trust with those clients and the trust with any potential new ones.

And when you've got that trust, it starts to reduce any price resistance because they trust you and they just don't want to go anywhere else because you're you and that's what they want.

They want you.

If your clients rarely see your value, price will become the main focus because they'll be thinking, am I getting value for money?

What kind of reviews do you have for your business?

Are you using Google my business?

Are you getting those Google reviews in?

If someone sees like 100, 150 glowing reviews, they're far less likely to question that price.

It gives you that authority in the industry, gives you that authority of those amongst those around you and that starts to reduce friction.

Share your reviews onto your social media.

That's social proof.

We are pack animals.

You know, humans like to be together, so we like to, we all ask for recommendations.

We like to know that other people are doing well and they like the products.

You probably go out and ask for recommendations yourself because you want to know what other people think.

So share your reviews, be proud of them.

Make sure you respond to your Google reviews so that people can see that you're an adult, that you're a grown up, that you respect what people are saying, that you understand what people are saying and that you're thankful for what people are saying.

That really helps with the social proof.

Knowing your numbers, this one is the real fundamentals of business, okay?

And this one is really non negotiable.

And I know so many people struggle, but you've got to really understand your numbers.

Like how much does your business cost you to open?

If you run a salon, I want you to know how much does it cost you to turn the lights on and open that door or on a Monday morning so that you know, you can look at your diary and you can say, I have got enough work in that diary today, plus a bit for profit to, to run my business.

Work out your wages, look at your tax, set out a reinvestment budget about a business buffer.

Money is the lifeblood of your business.

And if you don't know your costs, you don't know your what's coming in, you don't know how much it costs you to to run your business, how can you actually get your price increases correct?

It's just going to be feel like guesswork and when you're guessing, it makes you feel like uneasy and nervous.

So when you actually give giving that price to your customer, they're going to see that chink in your armor and then they're going to start questioning it and then you're going to feel uncomfortable and then that's when your mindset starts to really break down.

So clarity creates confidence and that's really important that you can go out there to your customers and say, this is my price and I need, I need you to pay that because I'm running a business and this is, I know how much it costs me to run a business.

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Another thing I see with pet groomers is drift.

And what I mean by that is like they, they're drifting through life.

They're just accepting what they're being given.

They don't have a goal, don't have a financial goal for what they want to achieve.

And that way that means there's no pressure on their pricing, there's no reason to put their prices up, there's no reason to charge more.

So, you know, get some goals going.

And that will also help you to avoid that, that need to compare yourself to other competitions, other grooms around you.

They don't have the same goals as you, they don't have the same expenses as you, they don't want the same income as you.

So copying their prices might lead you down a very bad hole where they might be about to go bust.

They might not be making any money.

They might be my next sales call because they're desperate to put their prices up and run their business differently.

Okay, what do you actually want to take home from your business?

The whole point of business is to sustain a lifestyle that you want.

So we need that lifeblood in your business to help you with that.

Reverse engineer it.

Start with the big numbers and then work it way down.

Monthly, weekly, daily, so you know how much you need to earn each day.

Pricing should fund your life, not just match the salon down the road.

Premium prices also requires a premium experience and I don't want you to be scared of that.

So you want your whole experience with your customers to be really good.

And I refer you back to a podcast I did a few few months ago which was like, does your, does your business leave your customers feeling me?

You know, we want like money is money.

We want value for money, don't we?

We customers want to pay money and get value for it.

So they're always looking for, for this from your business.

So think about from the moment that customer sees your business to the moment that they leave that door having paid you some money.

What is that experience like?

Is it smooth?

Is it professional?

Is it consistent?

Do you reinforce value with every touch point?

Leaflets, brochures, websites, social media, bows on their collars, follow up emails asking for reviews?

There's so much.

And you might be screaming at me right now going, bill, I don't have time for this.

And you know what my reply is going to be?

You know what my reply is going to be?

If you haven't got time, it's because your prices aren't correct.

Because we need to build this time into our business.

It's an upward cycle, not a downward spiral.

If you're pricing your services cheap, you can't offer that service that you desperately want to offer because you're constantly chasing your tail and running around after your customers.

Professionalism.

You know, years and years ago there was just, wasn't that many groomers out there and you could open a groomers word of mouth card in the local post office yellow pages, sign on your door and be busy and earn the money that you want.

That ended quite some time ago.

Now there is competition everywhere.

Every town and village has got groomers in it.

You need to be able to start sticking out from the others and you need to do that with your professionalism, your website, your social media, your communication.

Every first sort of contact with your business is so important.

Are you turning them on or you turn them away with what you're putting out there is so, so busy, is so, so important to do that.

All right, People need to decide straight away, really quickly, is it worth contacting that business before they even meet you, before they even get into your salon?

Okay, consistency with what you do, social media consistency, customer service consistency, but also consistency with your haircuts and the grooms that you put out there.

I don't believe they need to be fantastic and pleasable.

Awesome grooms, pet grooming will make you a very good income.

But we need to make sure that every time that customer comes in, what they get is consistent from the last time.

Every nail is cut, every ear is clean, the bum's all nice and clean and squeaky.

You know, the ears are all nice and even the hair is all well presented.

And all the little tufts when they sit down are snipped out.

So the customer knows that they get value every time they walk through that door because their pet is consistently groomed.

That really protects your pricing, is that person's loyalty.

We're going to make it heaven if they stay with you or hell if they go elsewhere.

This is probably one of the fundamental biggest issues with pricing, and that is mindset.

You feel guilty about charging more, you apologize for charging more, you over explain for charging more, you soften your message every time.

Confidence has got to be part of your pricing strategy.

And that might mean really, really digging in to your pricing mindset and your money fears and your money mindset.

It could be some difficult conversations to have with yourself about why you feel so guilty or why you feel fear around money and why you feel about pricing.

Because if we don't get this right, and I knew this when I started my business program, if I just went out there and said, put your prices up, put your prices up, put your prices up, I wouldn't get the results that I get with my clients.

Because the, the path of least resistance, the thing that is so easy to do is to do the same thing and resist having to change.

So that's why we really hammer down in the mindset on the program.

Because if we can change your mindset around your money, around your beliefs, around your values, around your confidence, around your fear, that's when you can start pricing more confidently and going out there as a business owner and charging what you want to charge.

So is there a ceiling with pricing?

I do hear that a lot.

There must be a ceiling in my area.

People won't pay that.

I live in a poor area.

There isn't a ceiling.

There just isn't a ceiling.

There are tiers, definitely there are tiers in almost every town.

There's a budget for everyone.

There's a groomer for everyone.

There's a budget groomer, a mid range groomer and a premium groomer.

And they all have clients.

Okay?

The difference isn't in the postcode.

It really isn't.

It's all about the positioning.

So the question isn't, can I charge more?

The question for you is, how have I built the foundations to support the extra money that I'm asking for?

So how do we change our prices?

How do we increase our prices?

Let's get some practical steps in here for you.

Are you going to do your price increases this year?

And if you are, are you going to do it properly?

Firstly, know your numbers.

Calculate your costs.

Look at how much it costs you.

If you've got an accountant, go to the accountant and say, can you help me work out my costs so that I can make my price increase correct?

Strengthen those areas that you're a bit weak in.

If your branding feels inconsistent, get that fixed.

If your booking process is clunky and all over the place, look at ways of improving it.

Don't just increase your prices, increase your value with it.

Okay?

Decide on your positioning, stop drifting, get some goals and then choose whether you're going for the budget market, the mid market or the premium market.

And then build your business around that.

Communicate clearly with your clients.

Try not to hide behind a Facebook post or an email.

I understand that's why you do it, because you're fearful about it.

But if you can have that face to face conversation with that client, it's so much harder for them to push back at you as it would be on a social media post or an email.

They can see the, the, the integrity that you have for putting up your prices when you're explaining to them.

But don't over complicate it and don't over explain it.

Okay, simple.

When you, when you come in next time, your price will be going up and it will be X and that's all you have to do.

If they say that it's expensive, don't worry about it.

Just stay still, say silent, agree and let them realize that they've just made a very silly comment.

Okay?

You don't have to make an essay out of it.

Manage your expectations right.

Some people will leave.

That's not a problem.

You don't need everyone in your business.

But if you are considering a price increase, maybe consider doing a bit more marketing so that your, your Facebook page is getting revved up.

Maybe consider getting some more Google reviews in so that they've got more social proof.

You know, get a waiting list together so you, so that you got people to turn to if people do leave.

All right, but honestly, I've seen it with my program members.

Some have put their prices up by 40%.

They're still in business, they're still going and they're earning a lot more.

Okay, so the fear is real, but it's often wrong.

So you may lose some.

Don't worry about that.

And quite often, and you see it again, quite often they come back because they want to use you.

But usually you don't lose as many as you think you're going to be.

Okay, let's think about alternatives.

If you're not going to put your prices up.

When you're undercharging, we see the burnout, we see you're rushing, we see resentment in clients.

You can't invest in your, in your business, in training, in, in, in marketing.

You're starting to stunt your growth and then other people around you start to accelerate.

And I want you to run your business for as long as you want to run it for.

And that's why it's really important, because business becomes really exhausting.

Pricing isn't about greedy.

And I really want to make this obvious and straight.

Pricing is about sustainability.

You cannot build a long term career on undercharging your business.

So here's the question that I really want you to reflect on.

Is your pricing problem actually a numbers problem or is it a confidence problem?

Because most of the time I see it, it's the second one.

Okay?

So if this episode, if you've enjoyed this episode, it's made you thought, think, made you thought, made you think, then you know, drop me a message.

I want to hear your feedback.

Make sure you're planning your price increases.

Think about the points that I've raised in this and you know, it's time to increase your prices properly.

It's not emotional.

Don't be reactive.

Be strategic, okay?

Be strategic about it.

Know it, Plan it.

Know your numbers.

And this is exactly what we do inside our business program.

We look at your numbers, we look at your positioning, we look at your, like, onboarding, your clients, your service, your customer service.

And most of all, we work on your mindset.

Because pricing shouldn't feel like a yearly panic for you.

You should feel aligned, it should feel purposeful and it should be meeting your goals.

Okay?

So I hope you've enjoyed this episode by all the time.

I'm always open to feedback, comments, Give us a like, give us a review.

But most of all, if you've really liked it, please, please, please share it with other groomers that need to hear it.

There's so many people out there that need to get over this fear of putting their prices up.

But for now, I wish you a good day and I'll see you on another on the next episode.

Take care, everyone.

I hope you have enjoyed this podcast.

Please make sure you give us a

like or a review to help people find it.

The podcast is sponsored by Low Pay.

Head over to www.lowpay.com to find out more about their payment solution.

Sam.