Below are 5 tips for writing and sending the perfect rate increase email for your pet sitting and dog walking clients:
1) Keep it short and simple when composing a rate increase email. Also, do not apologize about raising your rates.
Here’s a sample of the rate increase email I sent out to my own pet sitting and dog walking clients year after year (and thousands of pet business owners have used this template so it’s a proven letter with very little ‘pushback’ from clients):
Dear Wonderful Dog Walking Clients (or Pet Sitting Clients or your client’s name),
It’s been a pleasure to work with you and your pets this year. Thanks so much for the opportunity of letting us care for them!
Due to the rising cost of doing business we will be raising our rates starting on (choose a date a month from date you send email), our rates will go up $2/per walk and $2/per pet sitting visit. Our overnight sitting rates will go up $5/per night.
As always, we are committed to providing you with excellent pet care service and we look forward to doing that for you this year.
Thanks for letting us serve you and your pets,
Your Name
Your Business Name
2) When and how to send your rate increase email: If you regularly email your dog walking, dog training or pet sitting invoices, simply include the rate increase letter in their next invoice.
Or, to make sure everyone is aware of your rate increase you can gather the email addresses of all your clients and send out a mass email to that email list.
Do remember to give each client at least a month’s notice before the increase takes effect.
3) If you are afraid that your client won’t want to work with you anymore after you raise your rates, read this. I bet that they won’t leave you if you raise your rates a dollar or two.
Why?
They are used to working with you. They like you. You like them. Their pets like you. You know the house. They trust you with access to their house and the care of their pets.
Just one of those would keep them wanting to continue to use you even if you raise your rates! Here’s a little secret about human behavior: few people like change.
And how that applies to raising your rates is that most people don’t want to go out looking for a new pet sitter or dog walker when they can just keep you (someone they feel comfortable and familiar with) and pay you a little bit more.
Finding a new pet sitter or dog walker is a hassle. Staying with you is easy. And they like working with you.
And remember they probably don’t like change (and nor do you, which is why it’s hard to let your clients know you are raising your fees – even positive change can be hard for us humans!)
4) If they do leave.
I know, I just said above that they probably wouldn’t leave but be prepared that one or two might. But, hey, out of your 30 or 50 or 100+ clients, one or two isn’t bad. And really: do you want to work with clients who are unhappy that you are simply charging what your time is worth? I don’t think so. My experience has been that the clients who left me when I’ve raised my rates have been clients I’ve been ready to let go of anyway. Maybe that’s true for you too.
Here’s another secret I’ve learned in my years of running a large pet sitting and dog walking business: After a client has left due to my raising rates, soon after I’ve often had well-paying and enjoyable clients to fill their slot. Having had this experience happen over and over during the nearly two decades I owned my pet business has helped me believe in the power of raising rates! I now let those who do want to leave, leave. And I let them go gracefully and gratefully because I know that having them leave makes room for clients to show up who will respect me and respect my rates.
5) Write your own rate increase email.
Right now. It’s great to read about this but you won’t make any more money unless you write and send your own rate increase email. I encourage you to do this today and send it out to your clients tonight or tomorrow. If you love what you are doing, then you are meant to thrive financially. Raising rates is one simple way you can easily and effortlessly make more money this year.
So, what are you waiting for? Stop reading this and begin writing your own rate increase email now (and you can copy and paste the one above to make it VERY simple). That short and sweet rate increase letter above has worked great for me, as well as so many pet business owners from around the world.