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Foreign welcome to Ask Allison. Y' all ask the questions about having a fun and thriving practice and I answer them. We have a worksheet for you today so you can bring this answer into your life. You can Access that@AbundancePracticeBuilding.com links where you'll also be able to ask any questions you have for Ask Allison. If you want more support, we've got some free trainings in there too. If you can't get enough Ask Allison, check out our YouTube channel for our entire Ask Allison library. Welcome back to Ask Allison. Here's today's question. Should you list your fees on your website? Short and Sweet before we delve in, I want to thank Therapy Notes for sponsoring Ask Allison. I've talked about them for years. You probably know their features by heart too. But here's what really sets them apart. First, they genuinely care about your experience. It's not just about troubleshooting. They actively implement user suggested features like Therapy search, secure messaging. They have the option for AI notes. Super smooth, super build process. Everybody at TherapyNotes really believes in the product and they want you to love it too. Plus they're independently owned, which means no venture capital, no pressure to prioritize their investors over their customers. And that independence allows them to keep their prices fair, to focus on innovation, and to prioritize customer experience. With over 100,000 therapists already on board, they've proven you don't have to compromise success for quality. If you're ready to see it for yourself, go to therapynotes.com and you can try it for two months for free with the coupon code Abundant. So this topic actually brings out some opinions in our field and I'm going to give you the rationale for both and include my opinion. So let's start with the anti fee posting side. Some people in this field will argue against posting your fees on the website. So here's like a real time example or not real time. It was in my past, but a real life example. A while ago I went to a retreat that was hosted by my business coach. At the time I knew the retreat was going to be pricey. I also knew there was probably going to be a pitch for their year long coaching program in it. But what I didn't know is how much it would cost. I had no idea what the price was and honestly, even before arriving I had told myself like I'm not going to be able to afford that. I'm not going to be able to make it happen. But then something really interesting happened during the retreat I was really blown away by the value of what I was getting. I realized that it gave me everything I needed to take my business to the next level so that when they pitched the coaching program, which would help me really implement everything that I was learning, help keep me accountable, also have people to bounce things off of, I just had to figure out how to make it work. I knew I did. I took a deep breath. I got a couple of 0% APR credit cards, promised myself I would pay them off before the interest kicked in, which I did. And it was absolutely worth it. My business revenue doubled the next year based on what I learned. So what's the takeaway here? The argument behind not posting your fees is that you want potential clients to first connect with you. The idea is to let them see the value in working with you rather than them just making a judgment based on the price. People who hold this view believe that once clients see the fee, they might be quick to write you off before they've even had a chance to hear what you have to offer. Additionally, not posting fees might help weed out bargain shoppers who are just kind of comparing prices, more so than looking for the right therapist for them. And instead, you get a chance to have a conversation with a potential client, let them experience your value firsthand, really assess fit, and then talk about price. But here's the catch. This approach works really well. If you're someone who's great at communicating your value, and if you're comfortable with your pricing, if you've worked through your own money mindset, you're confident with what you're offering, then this could be a good fit for you. But even with all that, there is a downside to this approach. What if the potential client can't afford your services? That's where this issue can come up. If you're not transparent about your fees up front, you could waste a lot of time in consultations with clients who are simply not in a position to pay even if they wanted to. And those conversations aren't fun for anybody involved, right? It can feel really awkward for the client to have to say, I can't afford that, and for you to navigate that uncomfortable space. Because we're definitely not here to convince somebody to make it work, right? All right, let's dive into the pro fee posting side of things. This is the camp I personally fall into, and I'll tell you why. Years ago, my family hired a sleep consultant to help us with our then 3 year old whose sleep completely fell off the rails when her sister was born. So we were up at least 10 times a night between the two kids. There was no sleep happening for anybody. I was so relieved that her feeds were posted on her website. I had no clue what a sleep consultant might charge. All I knew is that I'd heard really glowing reviews from a couple of trusted people who had worked with her, and I was willing to make it work because sleep deprivation is no joke. When I saw her fee, I won't lie, I did flinch. I was coming from the therapy session fee mindset, so it felt higher than I anticipated. But because I had already seen her fees before I called, I had some time to process it. I didn't feel caught off guard when I spoke to her, and it actually made me feel more confident in what I was about to invest in. And this is one of the many reasons that I believe in posting fees. When our clients can see our fees up front, they have some time to think about it. They don't have to feel that awkward pressure of asking you about pricing during the consultation. If your fees are posted clearly on your site, they can decide in advance if they're ready to make that investment. Let's also consider something really important. Some clients can afford your services, but they're not willing to prioritize them. They may think, yeah, I can pay this fee, but they'll choose not to because they don't see the value, or they'll decide they'd rather invest in something else. Others, however, may genuinely be in a financial situation where they truly can't afford your pop fees. So by posting those fees up front, they don't have to go through the awkwardness of asking, how much do you charge? And then having to admit they can't afford it. It's just a lot more comfortable for everybody involved. That's not to say everybody looks at your fee or reads all your website, but you're at least making that slightly smoother now. For me, posting fees is also about making things clear for everyone involved. My ideal clients know exactly what I offer, what the investment is. I don't want to waste anyone's time if they're not a good financial fit. I don't want to try to convince somebody that my work is worth the price. I'm really confident in what I provide, and I know the people who are meant to work with me will recognize that value. I know some of you may still be on the fence. That's okay. Ultimately, the decision comes down to what works best for you and your business. For me, having that transparency helps to streamline the entire process. Some people won't even call a therapist if their fees are not on their website because they imagine it to be even higher than it may be. So I actually have it set up where clients cannot email us from our website, contact form or potential clients until they've checked a box acknowledging that they know our fees. And that way it's less stressful. It allows us to focus on the clients who are already working with us. So I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. If you want to comment in the comment section. If you're on social if you want to dive deeper into how to structure your practice and attract your ideal clients, DM me the word sheets and I'll send you this week's free worksheet setting your fees. Plus I'll give you access to all the previous free worksheets in this series. You can start taking action today. Thank you so much for tuning in to Ask Allison. Remember, the more transparent and clear you are with your potential clients, the easier it might be to build a practice that really aligns with your goals. I will see you next time. If you're ready for a much easier practice, Therapy Notes is the way to go. Go to therapynotes.com and use the promo code abundant for two months free. I hope that helped. If you have questions for Ask Allison or you want to get your hands on the worksheet for this episode, go to abundancepracticebuilding.com Links if you're listening, you probably need some support building your practice. If you're a super newbie, grab our free checklist using the link in the Show Notes. I'd love for you to follow, rate and review, but I really want you to share this episode with a therapist friend. Let's help all our colleagues build what they want.