Isn't it about time you raised your prices? You've squeezed the middle to control costs. You've held your prices at their current levels for some time because customers recoiled at the thought of rising prices with low inflation. Now it's time to look at the top line for profit growth. You won't be overcharging your customers with the increase because you've been under-charging them for some time now.

What percent of your customers value what you do by a factor of 5, 10 or 15 percent more than they are paying right now—but you have not captured that additional profit out of fear that you might lose the business? Have your customers so intimidated you that they, not you, hold the power over your profit? It's time for a change. Raise your prices. Capture that additional margin.

There isn't a week that goes by that someone fails to complain to me about the poor shape of their profitability. My answer is always the same: Do something about it. Take a bold step forward out of the mess you are in. Most companies have gotten rusty when it comes to price increases.

Look at the numbers: If you're a $10 million company, operating at a 3 percent net profit, a 1 percent increase yields a 33 percent increase on your bottom line. Can you not push through a 1 percent increase? Who does your sales training? If your sales staff can't push through a measly 1 percent increase, you've got more problems than pricing.

Raising prices begins with courage.

Make a decision and stick to it. All of your competitors are waiting for someone to step out there. Will some buyers complain? Yes, that's what they do. But some buyers expect price increases. Most of these buyers' companies are figuring out ways to raise their prices. Courage is not the absence of fear—it's the management of fear. It wouldn't be courage if it didn't involve an element of fear. All behavior begins with an attitude.

If you're a manager, begin by convincing your salespeople that now is the time to raise your prices. I recently spoke to a group that raised its prices and the owner said to me at break time, "The mistake we made is that we did not sell the increase internally before we went to the market. Our salespeople were not convinced that we needed to raise prices and did a poor job of selling it to our customers."

It's okay for your company to make money. What's not okay is for your company not to make money. Raise your prices. Increase your value to the customer. Capture that value for your bottom line.