Why do clients push back on my pricing and how do I raise my prices without losing them?

Jun 8

Okay, I’m going to tell you something that might sting a little, but stick with me.

You can have the right price and still lose the project.

I know. I know. I said it.

Here’s what I see all the time on coaching calls. A designer raises her prices. The math is right. The markup is fair. She presents the number to a new client, and… nothing. Crickets. Or worse, the client starts pushing back, and pretty soon she’s negotiating against herself before they’ve even said no.

So she goes, “Okay, the price must be wrong, let me lower it.” And friend, that is almost never the actual problem.

Pricing is an art and a science. The science is the math — your markup, your cost of goods, your monthly burn rate, all of it. The art is the confidence you have when you say the number out loud.

And here’s the thing about confidence. It’s not a personality trait. It’s a byproduct of knowing how you got to that number. When you don’t know, when the number was pulled from what a competitor charges, or what a Facebook group said was reasonable, or what just felt about right, your client can feel it. I’ve said this for years and I’m gonna keep saying it: it’s like blood in the water to a shark. They smell the uncertainty, and they push, because you’ve given them permission to.

So before you ever sit down with a new client and quote a number, you need to be able to answer three things for yourself:

What does it actually cost me to be in business? This is your monthly burn rate. If it costs you $30,000 a month to keep the lights on and you’re open this many hours, you can back into what you need to make per hour, per project, per markup. Without that number, friend, every price you quote is a guess in a costume.
Why this markup, and not a different one? “I mark up 30% because I’ve always marked up 30%” is not an answer. The real answer connects markup to your overhead, your revenue goals, the lifestyle this business is supposed to fund. When you can connect those dots, you can defend the number all day. When you can’t, you fold the second somebody pushes.
What expectations is this price attached to? Price never travels alone. It’s tied to scope, quality, timeline, service level. If a client agrees to your number but disagrees with what comes with it, that deal is going to fall apart in month three. We’ve gotta agree on the value first, then we agree on the price.

Now here’s the other piece nobody talks about. You can have great pricing and the wrong client. You can also have imperfect pricing and the right client. Both happen.

If you’ve raised your prices and you’re getting a string of nos, the question isn’t always “is the price wrong?” Sometimes the answer is — the price is right, but the marketing is still attracting the audience that fit your old price. You cannot market down here and price up here. The two have to move together, or you’re just going to run yourself ragged.

And when you finally do present the new pricing? Two rules:

Speak it as if it has always been this way. Not, “I’m trying a new structure on you.” Not, “My rates have gone up.” Just, very matter-of-factly: “This is the investment. This is how it works.” The way a doctor quotes a procedure. No flinching.

And get agreement on the value before you ever say the number. What they need, what you do, what success looks like. Then the price lands as the natural next step, not a surprise.

The alternative is another quarter of negotiating against yourself, taking projects out of desperation, and watching your margins shrink while your calendar fills up. And we both know how that story ends.

There’s a different way. It starts with knowing your numbers cold and trusting them when you say them out loud.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if I’m charging enough as an interior designer?

Start with your monthly burn rate. If you don’t know what it costs you to be in business — including paying yourself fairly — you don’t actually know if your pricing is working. From there, every hourly rate, every markup, every flat fee should connect back to that number. If the math doesn’t cover the burn rate plus profit, you’re not charging enough. It really is that simple.

How do I tell existing clients that my pricing has changed?

For existing projects already underway, you honor the original agreement. For new projects with returning clients, you treat it the same way you’d treat a new client — matter-of-factly. “This is our current investment for this scope.” No long explanations. No apologies. Most returning clients won’t bat an eye, because they came back for you, not the price.

What do I do if a great client says my new pricing is too high?

First, get curious — not defensive. Sometimes “too high” means the price is too high. But more often, it means the value, scope, or expectations weren’t fully aligned before the number landed. Walk back through what you’re actually delivering. If the project is right and the client is right, there’s usually a path forward through scope adjustment, not discounting. And if there isn’t? It might just be the wrong client for this price point.

Should I post my prices on my website?

Depends on the business model and the buyer. For some workrooms and product-driven firms, transparent starting points help filter out the wrong-fit leads. For full-service design firms, posting a starting investment range can do the same thing without locking you in. The point isn’t whether to share — it’s whether sharing pre-qualifies your inquiries the way you want them pre-qualified.

How often should I raise my prices?

At minimum, once a year. Your costs go up every single year — vendor pricing, overhead, payroll, your own life. If your pricing isn’t moving with them, your margins are quietly shrinking, even when revenue looks fine on paper. A small annual adjustment is so much easier on you and your clients than a big jump every three or four years.

What’s the difference between pricing fairly and underpricing?

Fair pricing covers your real costs, pays you a real wage, builds in profit, and reflects the value you deliver. Underpricing skips one or more of those. The tricky part? Underpricing often feels like generosity in the moment. It isn’t. It’s a slow leak that costs you the business you’re trying to build.

Want help building the financial backbone behind confident pricing? That’s the work we do inside the Inner Circle and 1:1 advising.

Michele Williams