Is Lowering Prices A Good Idea?

So, I got on a coaching call with a very beloved person that I really appreciate, who definitely listens to this podcast. So shout-out to you, my friend. Um, got onto a call with me and, uh, they do extensions, and so of course, extensions are a little bit of a high-ticket situation. They also do color as well, of course, all the normal services.

And I know this person delivers an insane client experience. I know that this person takes very good care of their clients, does very good work, and I know that there's no reason why this person should not be super booked out and busy and successful, right? They- they do the damn thing behind the chair. But they are definitely not doing well as far as new client requests go and being as booked up as they would like to be, in their own definition, not by mine.

Mm-hmm. And so therefore, they got on my- a call with me and they were like, "Listen, I'm noticing that compared to other people in my area, I'm absolutely very highly priced." And I believe that this person, um, a while ago, uh, when they did, you know, set their prices, they either had like a different type of demand, uh, pre like health stuff, uh, or they just decided like, "I wanna make this much money so I'm gonna raise this- my price to this and that just is what it is" without following the important indicators that we really should be following whenever we're making pricing decisions. They're in a space in which they're not getting the requests or being as booked up as they would like, and they really blame the price.

And of course, it is the fucking price. That's always going to be the problem. It's always going to be one of two things. It's going to be money or time that your client leaves you, period.

Money or time, okay? Whether it be you are wasting somebody's time, whether they feel like they could be spending their time elsewhere in a more valuable way, whether that person moves very far away so then they don't see you anymore because it takes a shit ton of time to be able to come see you if they actually wanted to come see you, right? So it always comes back- back to time, no matter how you chop it up. And then of course, money.

I mean, money is absolutely the prominent reason why somebody... The number one reason when somebody's comparing this service to this service, they're looking at the price first. But we can, of course, overcome the objection of price with our perceived value that we are- Mm-hmm. and h- and how we're marketing ourselves, right?

And how we are making it so a client feels as if the price that we have is worth it. So, we were going through this entire call and she was asking me if she should lower her prices. And we were going through this call and I was- we were talking about like, "Okay, if we did lower the prices, what would we lower them to? How could we, you know, uh, test this?"

We were looking at the pros and the cons and I'm gonna talk about all of that with you today, right? I'm gonna talk about like sh- when do we decide to lower our prices? What are all the things that we need to consider and how can we go about it? Et cetera, et cetera.

But what I wanna say right off the bat is lowering your prices is always last resort. Okay? Always last resort. You must have exhausted all other options and other efforts before you get to that point.

Do I believe that it's a never do it? No, I don't believe that. Do I believe that it is pretty- a pretty detrimental decision as far as like the waves that it can make in your business? Mm-hmm.

Yes. Okay? So, it should be the very last thing that we consider. So, we're going through all this stuff and I'm like, "Hold up, wait.

Like, back it up." I was like, "Hold up, wait." I'm like- I'm like entertaining this idea, you know? Like I'm like, "Okay, like let's talk about all the things- the things that we would do if we were gonna lower these prices."

And I was like, "Hold up. What are you doing to try to get clients?" Mm-hmm. Right?

But then I look at the social media, I ask a couple questions about the efforts and I'm like, "You haven't even given yourself a shot. You haven't even given these prices a shot." Right. Because you aren't posting consistently, right?

"We're not trying to build up the GMB. We're not working on the SEO, right? Like, we aren't doing the things that we know that we need to do." And I feel like this could almost be like s- if you're listening to this, I'm not talking to you anymore.

I'm talking to everybody listening to this. It could be a cop-out. It could be like a like, this is something that I'm uncomfortable with, that I'm avoiding all that marketing stuff- Mm-hmm. in all the ways.

So therefore, I'm looking at this as a way to fix it, when this could be something that could very likely actually not fix your issue. Right. Because if you're in a space in which you aren't getting requests, right, for referrals, new clients, et cetera, et cetera, then most likely, you are not marketing. So let's say that you do lower your prices.

You're still not marketing. Nothing else changed besides your prices. So guess what? No, you're still not gonna get requests.

So the whole point of you lowering the price is for you to have more butts in your chair, right? Mm-hmm. It's for you to have more volume. So, if we were to consider a price lowering, right, you would have to, in order to justify it, you'd have to get more clients because of that.

Mm-hmm. So what I would wanna see first is that we have done the damn work as far as understanding our ideal client, posting, showing up where they are consistently, trying different platforms where they are likely to show up, right? Mm-hmm. Doing that hard work before we dig ourselves into a hole that may screw ourselves over even more, because now you don't have more bookings and the clients that you do have are now paying less, so now you are making less money for no reason.

Yeah. But let's say that this was successful, like let's say that you were in a space in which you were posting your ass off. Like you did the work, like you were niched down, like you went into MSM and you sent- you put in like a marketing funnel review for me to do, and I shared with you like, "Your website looks awesome. The social media looks really good."

Like, "There's really nothing else that we can do here." Mm-hmm.Right. That is when I say, "Okay, maybe we need to look at the price."

But even then some, I approach that with caution, right? So if the first plan of attack is to make sure you're communicating perceived value before lowering your price, what are some way, what are some things that you can look at in terms of communicating that? I mean, it just goes back to all the marketing fundamentals that I always preach. But honestly, I'm even gonna go beyond that.

I mean, it's just normally, it comes down to consistency. Mm-hmm. I mean, with this particular story, like it's just no consistency. I actually believe that this person knows exactly what they need to do.

Right. I think the majority of people know exactly what you need to do. I think the m- majority of people, I mean, you list- you're listening to this podcast, so if you're listening to this podcast, you probably know what you need to do. Mm-hmm.

But you're just not doing it. Right. Right? So I mean, I, a- again, like, a- and so then this goes back an even, a- another step.

Okay, you are showing up consistently. Why am I not getting clients? Okay, because the strategy in how you're showing up, where you're showing up, although it is consistent, is not the right strategy. Right?

Right. So you're doing the right thing, you're just not doing it the right way. Right? Right.

There is like this quadrants that I learned at one, one time, and it's like, you can do the focus on the right thing the right way, the focus on the right thing the wrong way, or you could focus on the wrong thing the right way, or the wrong thing the wrong way. Right. Right? And so, and that's what I go back to with this.

It's like, okay, you know that you need to show up in your marketing, right? So you are showing up in your marketing consistently. Great. We check off the c- the consistency with that.

Right? Right. We check off you are focusing on the right thing for what your business needs right now. Right.

But then if you're doing that, it's not working, then we look at, okay, is the strategy in how you're going about it actually a- aligned with marketing theory- Right. and who you're trying to target? Because that's how we create this entire formula to know if you're doing the right thing. Right.

We look at who you're trying to attract, and if it's these high-ticket people, then that looks a little bit different, you know? Like depending on who your market is, like you should be doing things in a different way depending on what this person is and who you're trying to attract, right? I think that the particular story that I'm sharing, I think it just comes down to consistency. You know?

Mm-hmm. I think it just comes down to, uh, uh, focusing on the wrong thing the right way. You know? Focusing on incr- and this happens very often.

I mean, people focus on the client experience. You know? They'll be like, "I need to make the cl- client experience better because people aren't coming back to, to, to pay me," or whatever, um, or, "I'm not getting or- organic referrals," or whatever it may be. And it's like, okay, well, like, what else is the missing piece?

Like what aren't you doing? What other departments do you need to be focusing on? Yeah. So, in this particular circumstance, it comes down to the consistency.

But to answer your question, it's like, okay, did you do the homework of having the marketing fundamentals? Do you have a strategy? Do you know who you're targeting? Are you showing up where that person is and are you saying what you need to say to make them feel like they are understood, that you are the expert in the subject matter, and that you are worth going to because you see them and you're offering a solution in a way that not a lot of other people in your area are?

Right. Right. Okay. So, now that you've exhausted all those possibilities, say you are doing the right thing the right way, you are consistently showing up using a good strategy, it's still not working.

You decide maybe you do really need to consider lowering that price. What are the pros and cons of e- of doing so? Okay. So, Jody is alluding to the...

What happened was, y'all, Jody is saying that I jumped the gun and I need to, like- ... I need to, I need to rewind. So, so with, as far as, like, with, again, with lowering your prices, it ha- it has to make sense. If you're gonna consider lowering your prices, what needs to happen for it to be justified is for, if you lowered the price, you would get more clients in your chair.

Right? Yeah. So, that's the l- the, the more volume and utilization you have of you actually being booked and busy will outweigh the lesser amount of money each ticket is bringing you. Right.

So, you could lower your price from $110 to $100, right? But if you don't have more clients in result of you lowering that, you are actually just going to make less money at the end of the day. In your experience, so you've worked with, you know, a ton of stylists now across all different price points. Do you think that something like a reduction of $10 would offset that in most cases?

Like is that the kind of thing that would move the needle, or would they be better served to focus on other areas? Again, it's a no. And I have not seen any stylist who has, like, lowered their prices and, like, seen, like, a life-changing result, you know? So it's like, I, I ju- a- a- and you know what?

And that's the same for, like, a lot of the things that we, like, think are the fixes. The main thing that we think are the fixes are oftentimes just distractions from the real work that you need to do that you're avoiding. And I guess that that, that's, like, my entire fucking mic drop here. Like, it's like, it's like, that's the point here.

You know? Like, we're looking for these easy fixes where, like, oh, like, it's because of this, and it's just, like, that's something that you could just turn off- Yeah. or turn on or turn up or turn down. Mm-hmm.

Versus, like, you're just avoiding, like, the extra work that you have to do to make this happen. Right. And, like, if you wanna be at a certain price point, you are signing up for that work. Right.

So then if you don't want to do that work, okay, great. Lower your price, but you're gonna make less money. Mm-hmm. Right.

Like, that's okay. Mm-hmm. You know? If you're cool with that, then fantastic.

Yeah. But you are going to make less money in exchange for the fact that you don't want to do the work. Right. Like, you are absolutely entitled to make however much money you wanna make.

Absolutely cool. Like, you should be in charge of that. There's no judgment there whatsoever. Right?

And that means less work for you to have to do. But if you wanna make more money, work comes with that, you know? The posting consistently, all of the bullshit, all of the stuff that we don't feel like doing, all the stuff that really pushes us out of our comfort zones-You are signing up for that work. And it's, a lot of the time, although it does take a minute, it is short-term sacrifice.

It gets easier and easier and easier. You just have to put in that really heavy work up front that'll benefit you in the long run sustainably for a long time, you know? Yeah. So yeah, to answer your question, no.

I mean, I think that, listen, friend, like you just gotta get into the shit that you're not doing. You gotta look in the mirror, you know? Yeah. Okay, so I-I just wanna ask because I think this is something that, you know, listeners are maybe thinking, like, are there any situations where you think, like, yes, you should absolutely consider reducing your price?

Like I said, if you are doing all things, everything, uh, uh, if you're doing all things, everything, like if I've seen every single fucking thing exhausted, uh, and- and- and- and I look at the strategy and it's like you are genuinely doing the right, quote-unquote, right, "right thing." Mm-hmm. Not to quote the Hormozis, but like you wanna do so much shit that it's like unreasonable for you not to be successful. It should be, you should feel as if it is unreasonable for you to not be getting results.

Mm-hmm. I know for my- myself, every single time I don't get results that I want or that don't feel good to me, I know there's more I could've done, right? Totally. I've never been in a circumstance where it's like, I don't know what else I could've done.

I've, that's literally never happened to me. Yeah. No, me neither. So it's like, I don't have an excuse, you know?

Mm-hmm. I really, I truly don't. So like, uh, so that's- that's the point in which I'd be like, okay, maybe it is the price. Like this, I- I, even when I look at it, I'm like, this is unreasonable.

I literally did have this circumstance recently. Like I, somebody submitted for a final review at MSM, I do this on a monthly basis, and I went through this entire thing and I was like, I was like, this is all really good. Mm-hmm. I was like, damn, this is like really, really solid marketing.

Right. And I was honestly, like at this point, I was like, maybe this person, like should lower the price, right? But again, exhaust all things. And so I actually offered this person to like get on like a deeper call with me, like a longer, deeper call with me.

And we went through, we found out like a bunch of things that we could do- Right. before doing that. And actually, I do think that they are gonna greatly benefit them, you know? Right.

Mm-hmm. So it's like, again, like there's always probably, there's probably always something more that you could be doing, right? Yeah. So that's my tea there.

And uh, uh, the problem with lowering your prices is that you dig yourself into a hole, because like now you have to deal with your existing clients who now you're like rolling back on value, right? Mm-hmm. Like, you're rolling back on, uh, uh, what your price was set at. So like let's say that a client gets used to that price that you rolled back on, and then what happens when you have to increase it again?

Right. It's like a little bit awkward and weird, it's like- Yeah. what are you doing putting me through this like, roller coaster of paying lower and higher? It's like, I wanna know what the fuck I'm gonna pay.

I, when I moved two hours away from where I grew up, grew my large clientele, right? Mm-hmm. I remember clients would come to see me after trying other hairstylists and I oftentimes got the feedback, I decide to come here because I, one of the things is I felt like I was paying a different price every single time. Right.

And I was like confused. Right. Right? Where when they come to me, it's like one all-inclusive session package price, you know what the fuck you're getting into, and I explain to you, like why you're getting that, right?

And so it's like that consistency that you offer to your clients, I think is important. And that does not necessarily mean that we don't increase our prices, but it, that's one thing. Going down and up and then down and up, I just think that that causes a lot of instability for everybody. All in all, make sure that you are exhausting every other option, and then also being realistic about whether or not this lowering of your price is even gonna solve the problem that you have.

Period. And my last thing that I'll say, let's say that you have gotten to the point where like, lowering the prices is the tea, okay? First off, and this is something that we were kind of talking about on this call, 'cause again, I was like entertaining the idea at first, then I was like, no, try this first. You know, like try like marketing yourself first.

Mm-hmm. Um, but when I was entertaining the idea, I was thinking about testing, because like one thing that we can do is like we can like change our prices on our service menu, but then like charge our existing clients like a different price, you know? And I think it's something interesting to try or think about, but of course, you'd have to deal with the risk of like existing clients feeling slighted. And like one of the things that you could do if you wanted to is like frame it as a discount, you know?

So like you could frame it as like a new client first visit discount, and I think honestly, like discounts just in general are a great way that you can maybe test out this theory. Mm-hmm. Again though, discounting starts to get us into this weird hole that we dig ourselves into. Mm-hmm.

And normally, the people that we get with the frame of a discount, sometimes, not all the time, I think this is a, a little bit of a misconception, but a lot of the time when they come because of the discount, because of the lower price, I mean, they're just not gonna be ideal sustainable clients that are gonna stick with you for a long time. If you build your clientele with these people who just aren't going to stick with you anyway when you re-increase your price, you know, or you do start to charge the normal, then is it even worth it at the end of the day? Yeah. But, maybe if we are in this place, it's worth testing.

You really don't have anything else to lose at this point, right? Mm-hmm. I mean, it's like, it's kinda like do or die at that point, right? Yeah.

So, you know, we test out discounting, we test out, uh, we test out, uh, maybe like changing the price for new clients versus existing clients, all of that stuff. Um, and then with tests, you get to see what your results are, you know? Like, give your tests like a good like three months, if nothing changes, you know that like, that's not the answer, you know? Yeah.

You know you just need to fucking show up more, you know? Which is, again, probably the answer. Yeah, for sure. I love that.

So, that's all I have to say about the matter. Jodi, do you have any other questions for me, for the people? No, I feel like this has been like a really, really thorough discussion on this, and I think that the- the answer is pretty clear. I am not completely detesting this idea, as I've stated.

You know, maybe, sometimes it may be worth. My old barber, who I fucking love...I love all my barbers. I love all the people.

I genuinely, like, I have a really good relationship with all the, all the people who have ever done my hair. So shout-out to all of y'all. But one of them that I really loved, uh, who I actually went to beauty school with, she opened up her own barber shop and she was in a place where she hired two new barbers at the same time. Mm-hmm.

And she herself is so overwhelmed and booked and busy with men's cuts, which is, like, difficult to do when it's just, like, 30-minute spots, you know? I mean, you fucking fill up those spots. Overlapped times, yeah. Like, uh, y- you know, it takes, it takes a while for you to fill up all those hours because they're- Mm-hmm.

such a short amount of time, you know? Mm-hmm. And so she hires two new barbers and suddenly she has a little bit more gappiness than she would've liked. Mm-hmm.

And she's like, "Oh," like, "this is an indicator that, like, the economy is flopping and we're charging too much." So she does this whole announcement post, which I actually think was kinda badass. Like, this is how I would go about it if I was gonna coach through like a, uh, or if I was gonna lower my prices, I'd be like, "Right now, the economy is really shitty and we wanna watch out for people. We wanna do people a favor and take care of you."

Mm-hmm. "So that's why we're doing this," right? So make it like a heroic, like, situation, right? Mm-hmm.

Um, as far as, like, the PR and marketing of it goes. She did that, I looked at the post and I was like ... I was just like, "This is just not the tea." And nothing changed.

I mean, I, I was so fascinated by this. I, by the way, th- th- you know, like I said, this is my old barber. I didn't see her anymore. Mm-hmm.

And s- but I saw it and I was like, I was like, "I'm gonna check their booking link on, like, a weekly basis." Yeah. "I wanna see, like, what happens," you know? Yeah.

And nothing really changed. And actually, it's funny how, like, it's like, I think two years later now and she is now raising her price again, you know? Um, and now she's, like, feeling really good about the circumstances and stuff like that, but she gave some time for those other barbers to get their books filled. It's like, of course, you just raised your supply.

You tripled- Right. your supply. Right. You tripled your supply.

Of course- It's economics. you're gonna have fucking gaps, right? Yeah. Like, like, of cour- like you're, like, you're spreading, like, you know?

So it's like, it's like ... It's probably the, not, it's probably not the tea. It's probably not the way to go. And also, I think that that's, like, another reminder that sometimes the indicator is not, like, I think sometimes we get so brainwashed in this, like, booked and busy, booked and busy that we raise our prices to lessen demand sometimes or increase the supply or whatever that may be.

Mm-hmm. And maybe, like, we're looking at the wrong metrics and maybe it's actually about looking at the bottom line, not whether or not you have a couple gaps in your schedule. Oh my God. Y- uh, literally, yes.

Like, this happens in Mastermind actually often, because they have to get used to the fact that, like, they're making so much more money- Right. per client. And so when you look at the schedule and you don't see as many people as the- these people are so used to being, like, so solid, right? Mm-hmm.

It is, like, a triggering thing, right? But you look at how much money, I mean, we literally have somebody who's, like, doubling their income this year and they are, they had some gaps and we just looked at their schedule and they're, like, fully booked now. Right. But they were, like, freaking out for a second and then, and I was like, "Well, how much money are you making?"

And then- Yeah. she was like, "A shit ton more." And I was like, "Okay, well..." And, and that's great to be in that place because that just means that there's opportunity to make more money.

Like, I just think that's, like- Yeah. so fucking cool. I think that's- Totally. so badass that you have more supply to be able to make more money.

Mm-hmm. But you're still making great money without fulfilling it. Like, that is a badass place to be. Got it.

So, people will start to panic because we, like, I love that point, thank you for bringing it up. Like, we'll look at the gaps and, like, we are taught and kind of programmed to think, like, that's bad. Mm-hmm. When in reality, it's like, again, look at the bottom line.

And that's actually what she did, and she was like, "Yeah, I'm just freaking out." Yeah. So - ... for no reason.

Enjoy your cappuccino. Like, relax. Period. Enjoy the fucking time you have to breathe- Yeah.

and, like, work on the business, you know? Like, you deserve that. Like, that's what you wanted, that's why we are here, you know? So thank you- Love it.

for bringing that up. All right. Rant over. Thank you for tuning in to the Modern Hairstyles Podcast.

Peace out, girl scout. Bye-bye.

End of transcript. © 2026 Hunter Donia LLC.