Free kit for salons and barbershops
The Price Raise Kit
When to raise, how to tell clients, and the words for every reaction, with an announcement you can copy.
Your costs go up every year. If your prices don't, your pay goes down. Most owners wait too long because they're afraid of losing clients. Clients who value you expect a raise now and then, and how you announce it matters as much as the number.
Want it as a PDF? 7 pages, to print or keep. Enter your email and it downloads.
How to use this kit
- One play at a time. Start with play 1. Each one is a small change to how you already work, not a new system.
- Swap in your words. Words in braces, like {first} and {time}, are yours to fill in: the customer's first name, your open times, your link.
- Track one number. Every play ends with the one number to watch. Check it before you start and again a month later.
- Text people who said yes. Only text customers who agreed to get texts from you, and give them an easy way to stop. Email is fine for the rest.
What's inside
Play 1
Know your numbers first
A raise based on your real costs is easy to explain and easy to stand behind.
Do this
- Add up what each service costs you: product, time, rent and pay.
- Look at what similar shops nearby charge for the same service.
- Set the new price service by service, not one blanket percentage.
Track: What you keep from each service, before and after.
Play 2
Raise prices for new clients first
New clients have no old price to compare with. Starting with them tests the new price with no risk to your regulars.
Do this
- Put the new prices on your booking site for new clients now.
- Keep current clients at their price until your announced date.
- Watch new bookings for a few weeks.
Track: New-client bookings each week, before and after.
Play 3
Give your regulars notice
Nobody likes a surprise at checkout. A few weeks' notice feels respectful and gives clients time to plan.
Do this
- Pick a start date about 4 to 6 weeks out.
- Tell clients by text or email, with a sign at your desk and in person.
- Keep the message short and sure of itself.
What to say
Hi {first}! A heads-up from {shop}: our prices change on {date}. Anything you book before then stays at today's price. Thank you for being a regular!
A small update from {shop}
Track: Regulars who book before the start date.
Play 4
Offer a thank-you window
Letting regulars book one more visit at the old price turns the news into a perk, and fills your book before the change.
Do this
- Anyone who books before {date} keeps today's price for that visit.
- Say so in the announcement.
- Make booking one tap.
Track: Bookings made during the window.
Play 5
Say it at the chair
Most clients take it best from their stylist, in person.
Do this
- Mention it near the end of the service, not the start.
- Keep it simple: what's changing and when.
- Thank them, then move on.
What to say
Just so you know, our prices go up a little on {date}. Anything you book before then stays at today's price. I really appreciate you.
Track: Questions or pushback at the chair.
Play 6
Answer pushback without discounting
A few clients will ask. A calm, kind answer keeps most of them, and a discount teaches everyone to ask.
Do this
- Thank them for asking.
- Explain it in one sentence: your costs went up and you want to keep your quality.
- Offer a lower-cost option if you have one, not a discount.
Text to send
Totally fair question. Our costs have gone up and we want to keep doing great work for you. If you'd like something lighter, {option} is {price}.
Track: Clients who leave after the change.
Play 7
Make it a habit
Small, regular raises are easier on everyone than a big jump every few years.
Do this
- Review your prices once a year, at the same time.
- Raise a little when your costs rise.
- Put next year's review on your calendar now.
Track: Your yearly price review, done.
Copy this
Your price change announcement
Send it by email, post it at your desk, and put it on your booking site. Swap in your shop's details.
A small update from {shop}
Starting {date}, some of our prices will go up a little. Our costs have risen, and we want to keep doing the work you come to us for.
Book before {date} and that visit stays at today's price.
Thank you for being part of {shop}. We love having you in our chairs.
{owner}
Your first week
Four things to do this week.
- Work out your cost per service.
- Put new prices live for new clients.
- Pick your start date and write the announcement.
- Tell your team what to say at the chair.
Want it as a PDF? 7 pages, to print or keep. Enter your email and it downloads.
Free to use and share. The plays are advice on what to do and what to track, not a promise of results, and the templates aren't legal advice. Example names and times in the texts are fill-ins.
