--- title: "How to Raise Agency Retainers Without Making It Weird" description: "Review an existing client retainer, explain a fee change clearly, and handle pushback with real scope choices instead of panicked discounting." url: https://timkilroy.com/blog/raise-agency-retainers date: 2026-09-14 updated: 2026-09-25T01:57:11Z category: "Agency Pricing" image: https://cdn.sanity.io/images/7lzb16lr/production/772e55c3a3634ab64a7bfa1b01097aee64270ac4-1200x630.png?w=1200 author: Tim Kilroy --- # How to Raise Agency Retainers Without Making It Weird _Review an existing client retainer, explain a fee change clearly, and handle pushback with real scope choices instead of panicked discounting._ ![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/7lzb16lr/production/772e55c3a3634ab64a7bfa1b01097aee64270ac4-1200x630.png?w=1200) You haven't raised that client's retainer in three years. The work has changed six times. Now you are rehearsing an apology for mentioning money. Before you write the email, work out what needs to change and why. A fee conversation goes better when you can explain the engagement you are willing to deliver at the new price. ## Find out which problem you are trying to solve Open the current agreement and compare it with the work your team actually performs. Has scope expanded? Has the level of senior attention changed? Are revisions eating the account? Has the client become more complicated, or has your delivery process become less efficient? Those are different problems. If your team is redoing work because your own process is broken, a price increase may hide the problem for a while. It won't fix it. Build a current account picture: fee, agreed scope, actual scope, direct delivery costs, account management, specialist involvement, and recurring exceptions. Use real records where possible and label estimates. Then decide whether you need a higher fee for the same service, a revised scope, or a different engagement altogether. ## Set the commercial boundary before the conversation Know what you are proposing and what alternatives you can support. Here's an illustrative account calculation. A client pays $8,000 a month. Your consistently measured direct delivery cost is $6,000, leaving $2,000, or 25%, before shared overhead and other expenses. At a $10,000 fee with the same direct cost, that contribution becomes $4,000, or 40%. It isn't automatically a 40% net profit margin. Don't confuse an account calculation with the whole agency's profitability. Those figures might support a discussion, but they don't establish what the buyer will pay or what the work is worth to them. You still need to understand the client's priorities and alternatives. Work out your smaller-scope option too. If the budget can't change, which activities, service levels, or responsibilities can change while preserving a useful engagement? Make sure delivery can run the option. "We'll do a little less" is an argument waiting to happen. ## Give them notice and a clear proposal Check the current agreement's terms before choosing timing. Use the notice and change process that applies to the account, and get specialist advice if the terms are unclear. Raise the conversation early enough for the client to evaluate it. A surprise on the invoice is a terrible opening move. Your explanation should cover the current engagement, the proposed fee and scope, the effective date, and the choices available. Include the business context they care about. Don't send a defensive autobiography of your costs. Here's adaptable wording for a scope-driven change: > When we started, the engagement covered [original scope]. It now includes [specific additional responsibilities]. We'd like to align the agreement with the work the team is delivering. Our proposal is [fee] from [date] for [defined scope]. If the current budget needs to stay in place, we can discuss [specific smaller scope] and the tradeoffs. Can we review those options together before [decision date]? The bracketed items are fields to customize for the real account. Use the actual reason for the increase. If your rates are changing for the same service, say that instead of inventing scope growth. ## Let them explain the objection "That's too much" can mean the budget is fixed, the value isn't clear, the timing is bad, or the person in the conversation needs someone else's approval. Ask which part creates the difficulty before you start negotiating with yourself. If the problem is timing, consider whether a phased change works for your agency. If the problem is budget, discuss the smaller scope. If the problem is confidence in the work, review that directly rather than talking louder about your costs. Any concession needs a clear boundary. A temporary arrangement should have an end date and an agreed next step. Otherwise congratulations, you've negotiated a permanent exception while calling it temporary. ## Be prepared for a real choice Some clients won't accept the proposed change. You need to know what that means before entering the conversation. Can you sustain a smaller engagement? Does a transition make more sense? Are there commitments you need to complete? Handle the decision professionally and document whatever you agree. Don't keep delivering a new scope against an old agreement because everyone was relieved when the meeting ended. ## Make the next review less dramatic Build commercial reviews into how you manage the account. It's the same discipline behind [net revenue retention](https://timkilroy.com/blog/agency-net-revenue-retention), where the accounts you keep have to keep growing too. Review scope, priorities, delivery economics, and the work ahead at sensible intervals and before renewal decisions. The [account growth playbook](https://timkilroy.com/agency-account-growth-playbook) helps you connect those conversations to the client's business. [Book a WTF Call](https://timkilroy.com/agency-growth-booking) if your roster is full of accounts whose scope and fees stopped talking to each other years ago. You can care about a client and still require an agreement that works for your agency. You don't need to apologize for both businesses being in the room. --- Canonical URL: https://timkilroy.com/blog/raise-agency-retainers