Hot take: That 'just raise your rates' advice I got from a forum member backfired hard

Six months ago someone on here told me to bump my hourly rate from $50 to $100 overnight. Said it would weed out bad clients and double my income. I did it and lost about 70% of my regular leads in Houston. Turns out my market here is full of small landlords who need simple property listings not premium packages. I spent three weeks scrambling for work before I dropped back to $65. Has anyone else tried this and seen their pipeline dry up instead of improve?

4 comments

4 Comments

shane_wilson6d ago

Wow, that's rough. But I gotta ask - did the guy who gave you that advice actually know your market, or was he just shouting generic internet wisdom? Because Houston small landlords are a totally different animal than, say, coastal tech clients. Like, what kind of leads were you losing exactly - the ones who asked a ton of questions before booking or the ones who just wanted a basic listing and were gone in 15 minutes? Cause that "premium package" stuff doesn't work if your clients just need the basics and nothing else.

kevinw945d ago

Switched to a flat $50 per listing fee and stopped offering extras entirely. Landlords here just want their property on the MLS and nothing else.

mitchell.avery6d ago

Honestly, the flip side nobody mentions is that some clients actually get suspicious if you offer too much. Ngl, a bare bones package can build trust because it shows you're not trying to upsell them on stuff they don't need. Tbh, sometimes less really is more when your market values straightforward service over flashy extras.

xena_hernandez985d ago

Theres also the angle that a bare bones package actually filters out the high maintenance clients. If someone is okay with no frills, theyre usually the type to sign and ghost instead of blowing up your phone every week. Ever notice how the cheap clients are often the easiest to deal with?