“Raising Your Prices Really Helps You to Define the Value of Your Practice”
My name is Amy Vander Linden and I’m a PT and CEO of Moment of Truth Physical Therapy in Peoria, AZ.
I’ve been a physical therapist for 18 years now, focussing on my own practice for a little bit over 4 years. Like a lot of people in our community I emerged from home health into growing my practice. I moved into my own two treatment room private space two years ago and I have steadily grown to the stage where I have just began the hiring process to add to my one man band.
I have raised my rates twice, the first time last year just before Paul’s accelerator course. During my first price rise, my one hour session went up from $125 to $149 with my 90 minute session from $175 to $199. Most recently, I have began to sell new packages at my new raised rate. I am now offering an hour session at $199 and a 90 minute session at $275, both my biggest and most significant raise.
There are now only two other clinics in Phoenix that are as high as I am and this was perhaps the biggest factor that I wrestled with.
Last year, a lot of the majority of clinics around me were right around the $125 per hour region, so the jump to $149 was almost $25 higher than the average of the city. It seemed after I raised mine the first time, the city raised there’s to around $150, and it’s because of that, that I have decided to raise mine again with a bigger jump, to stay ahead of the game.
Right now there are only 2 or 3 of my clients – that are new patients – that are paying my new rate.
My new prices aren’t out there publicly yet and in fact I haven’t even told all of my existing clients that I am raising my rates. I’ve mentioned it to them but I have basically said to them: “You can stay at your current rate until September 1st, so that you can finish out your plan of care.”
So I pick a specific date as a goal to have my new prices universally applicable.
“Raising Rates Identifies the Patients that Aren’t Right for Your Clinic”
I’ve already had some pushback, from one client in particular, but I’m not concerned.
I know that the client who pushed back won’t be able to get the service I provide anywhere else in our area for a cheaper price, and if they do they will be put on a long waiting list.
My service and niche is unique and incredibly specific so if I have patients drop off because of price, I’m not concerned. That’s a great thing about raising your rates, it identifies the patients that aren’t right for your clinic. If this pushback patient does not continue her plan of care then she is obviously not the correct patient for my practice.
I knew I was going to get some pushback – Paul might disagree – but I decided to make a big jump in price because the whole experience is just nauseating.
My thought process behind a $75 raise is that I won’t have to raise my rates now for at least two years. It’s a terrifying process to go through and this leap has definitely been the hardest. I wrestled back and forth, told myself ‘you don’t have to jump $75, $50, you can do $25,’ but then I realized after discussions in our Facebook community that I’d only have to do it again sooner and it is physically and emotionally tough.
I have read that ‘price is just a number, just a perception’ and he couldn’t be more right in my experiences.
You’re the only one having a coronary about it. Your clients will stay and go, that’s just reality, but when you’re clear on who your perfect patient is and you’re clear on what you provide, the benefit to being able to raise your prices is huge.
Nobody just raises their rates without having sleepless nights and wrestling with themselves, but it is an essential part of running a successful business for profit.
Ultimately it is your business, this is what you offer, these are your rates, and if a patient doesn’t feel like you are worth the rates you’re offering, then they’re not the right patient for you.
If you can’t get to that place where you feel worth it then you’re going to undermine yourself at every opportunity.
Raising your prices really helps you to define the value of your practice.
I used my intentions of moving to a bigger office as inspiration and justification to raise my rates by so much this time around.
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