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Are You Undercharging or Are You Overcharging? So I decided to talk about this because some of you are telling me that you are either thinking about raising your fees because you feel like you are undercharging right now and you’re spending all this time with seeing, in terms of seeing patients and chart noting and then.
With time that you spend outside of that to either reflect on recommendations or for some of you who are also doing functional medicine work, then you’re also spending additional time outside of just the visit itself. So you have this inkling that you are undercharging and you would love to be charging more, but then you’re also afraid of raising your fees.
And then some of you are. In a place where you feel like I, I’m not sure what I should be charging because if I were to call different or look around at other acupuncturists who are charging feet, like other acupuncturists in my area and what they’re charging maybe I shouldn’t charge as high as.
People are the highest people are charging. And then I should just find somewhere in between, right? So this is Chen Yen, your 6 and 7 Figure Practice Makeover Mentor at Introverted Visionary, and your host for the AAC Facebook Live show today. Love to, to have this conversation with you about what what to actually consider when you’re thinking about charging so that you feel good and you’re in alignment with your, what you’re charging.
So I’d love for you to comment below right now, or this if you’re watching, so I know you’re seeing this right now and let me know what your thoughts are. Do you have an inkling that you might be undercharging or you. You have an inkling that you might be overcharging. So cuz some of you would like to raise your fees, but you don’t wanna be overcharging.
So there’s one thing, the first thing I’m gonna talk about today are three factors that determine what you can charge and get. And then I’ll also get into. What to do if you adjust your fees, especially if you do raise your fees. And that way you’re able to attract those patients who are willing to pay those fees.
So there are three factors that determine what you can charge and get, cuz we could be concerned about what other people are charging. But the truth is that there are people who are willing to pay a whole range of prices out there where you’re. Whether you have a brick and mortar practice, whether you have a virtual practice, there are people who are.
Feeling like they only wanna pave certain kinds of fees and you might perceive it to be low. And then there are some people who are willing to pay the fees that, that you perceive to be average. And then there are also people it right in your neighborhood, in your area, who are totally willing to pay what you perceive as high fees.
So then what are the factors that determine what you could charge and get? Number one is your confidence level in what you have to offer. So if you are not really confident, then even this is where. If you ever have considered raising your fees, or if you have raised your fees before and then you weren’t feeling really confident in it, you might have noticed that people you told about your fees would’ve been like, oh, that’s too much.
So part of it is about you really owning your sense of confidence around what you’re charging. And then the second factor that determines what you charge and get is whether, how are you communicating it in such a way that people get it, they appreciate the value of what you’re offering. So when they can see that value and they perceive it to be of that value, then they will pay for it at that fee.
And then the third key factor that determines what you could charge and get. , are you in front of people who really need what you have to offer or are you still having trouble with attracting patients and you’re not really in front of those people who really need what you have to offer?
And again, really appreci. What you can offer. So when those three factors are in place, then you could charge what you would like and get it. And so there are a couple of key tips about. From a practical perspective. And then I also want to share let’s first talk about what is something that sometimes tends to happen when fees are raised and what can you do about it if you end up encountering this situation?
And then we’ll go into strategy wise, something. To think about so that you could set things up well for fees and and being able to command those fees and actually get it without a dip in patience or income. Before I get into the what I was going to share about what do you do if you were to raise your fees and then you start feeling like, oh no, people aren’t booking, and what do I do about that?
One thing about it is that this is where you, if you feel concerned about this, that maybe people either aren’t booking newly, they’re not coming in or that people aren’t coming in for their treatments that you’ve recommended in their treatment plan. because you feel like it’s because they’re now feeling like they can’t afford it.
And so there’s often this can happen is where that there’s a timeframe between you choosing to raise your fees and then. When you might actually feel like you’re not seeing the people booking like you were before seeing this. And so what can happen in this timeframe is starting to get worried, wondering, should I have done this?
Maybe I should go back to what I used to charge and then be in this mode. Wondering if you made the right decision, right? How many of you have ever experienced that before? Go ahead and like this now or comment below . So this is, the reason for this is because you used to be sending radio signal waves at 89.5.
And that was like the old radio signal wave in terms of your certain level of confidence about what you’re about, people paying you those fees and also about the way you’re communicating that and the value of it. So the people used to track used were at like 89.5 radio signal, right? But now you’ve decided to be at 95.8 radio signal and they haven’t matched up to it yet.
So that this is why in, in that timeframe, if you do choose to raise your fees, it’s about you showing up at a higher level frequency to be able to track those people. That in terms of you. , you really owning your confidence at this level and then also being able to do the marketing that attracts people who are willing to pay that.
So that’s something that’s also. Helpful to get in place, which is do you have things in place that support patients, existing patients, getting it about why your fees are raised and then it, that it makes sense and then also depending on how much you raise it by, , can you also showcase your credibility and value at a higher, like in an upleveled way?
For example, some of our clients who have decided to raise their fees or even gone the route of going a more cash based practice and raised their cash fees more too. What they’ve noticed is that. . One thing that helps is getting things visually that, that support people feeling this is a good decision that I’m still coming here.
And certainly it’s the relationship and what you’ve done for your patient that can also affect this. But it is also in a patient’s mind’s eye of okay, I’m paying more now, but I still. , I find it to be very valuable because I can’t get it just by going to another acupuncturist like I, because I like this person, or I just really like my treatments.
So being able to communicate that both in a visual way and in a way you’re sharing it in such a way that it lands for people. The other thing is to. Do you have have you looked ahead at when you’re going to be raising your fees and then be putting things in place that support attracting new patients into the practice?
Do you have systems in place that support attracting PE patients at the like 90, 98 0.5 level or the new frequency? Not that 89. Point nine, kind of 89.8 and 89.9 kind of radio frequency, but at the new frequency level. So sometimes it, that could mean looking at other avenues of marketing that you haven’t yet before, especially if you have a desire to attract cash paying patients.
So those are some of the hot tips related. And then in terms of the undercharging and overcharging, really there is no such thing as that it’s really just about your own alignment with what you feel is the best. To be charging based on your practice philosophy, and then also making sure that you take care of your own needs so that you end up with being financially sustainable to continue to help more and more people.
And when you are looking at, if you’re looking at your whole experience of. Of sustainability in the practice, your expenses and everything and what you’re charging. If it’s not really matching up, then you may want to be Considering increasing your fees or sometimes you could also increase your fees because you might actually notice that the kinds of people you attract aren’t really valuing your services as much.
know, It was interesting, there’s an acupuncturist who brought this up to me that she said that she was charging a certain price and then it seemed like people just weren’t really she thought it was very affordable. She thought she was making it a price where it would be really affordable for people.
But then, on some level it was like so way affordable to the point where people just didn’t value it, right? So then once she started charging higher fees, it was actually easier to attract patients. And that, that might seem weird if you’re at a place where you’re like, no, I don’t know, it’s gotta be more affordable, right?
But again, remember what I mentioned about the three factors that determine what you can charge and get, and one of them being. Your confidence level, you really owning that this could really help people at this level. So instead of. Choosing to charge what you what to charge by doing quote unquote market research, , go a different rate, a route of charging.
So you can charge a from a whole range of what you would, you could charge in what you’d like and get it. It’s just a matter of finding alignment. And then also being able to have a way of attracting new patients who are at that radiofrequency wave that lines up with. This goes beyond just pricing.
It also goes when it also applies when you’re choosing to perhaps shift direction in your practice to attract a different kind of a person to work in your practice, someone you would love to work with more. And that, those are some hot tips there. And if you’re in a place where. You’re feeling like your practice is at a plateau or, and you just know you’re capable of so much more, or that you are, would love to raise your fees and be able to attract a consistent flow of patients and really have a practice that you’re proud of.
Then feel free to go to introverted visionary.com and look forward to seeing how we can help you further and till next time, so look forward to seeing you next.