How To Set Your Dietitian Service Fees
Stacey Dunn-Emke, MS RDN
Dietitian Career Champion and Coach with a Job Board | Speaker | Resume and LinkedIn Support | NutritionJobs + DietitianSalaries
The value of a Registered Dietitian is high. A Registered Dietitian epitomizes THE nutrition expert for their knowledge and evidence-based education.
Many other industries charge their clients for their worth and market value. The dietetic industry can do the same and set strong standards of practice which involve consistent competitive market pricing.
For example, we all know how much lawyers charge for a 15-minute consultation. What should dietitians charge? What is our value? What is our worth?
United together we can set our prices and fee rates for dietitian services competitively to make money, increase our value, and validate our competency and training.
3 Tips to Set Your Fee Rates and Your Dietitian Value
Stay competitive and relevant. Dietetic services will vary state to state and city to city. However, understanding your value will keep you up-to-date and pay your bills. Once you set your rates, feel confident knowing that you are pricing your services based on the market value.
Tip #1: Price Your Competition
Research what other people in your area and field are charging. Compare what they offer and see how your services fit into the existing market.
Price yourself accordingly based on the industry and your expertise. For example, if most dietitians who consult with corporations in your area charge $150-$200 per hour, where do you place yourself based on your experience and knowledge? Contact at least 3-5 people for comparison.
Oftentimes, you can look online to see what others are charging.
You can also refer to Salary Surveys based on your location and dietitian Facebook Groups.
Tip #2: Calculate Your Costs
Understand what it actually costs you to provide your services. For example, how much time will it take to develop the handouts or presentation? Can you reuse these handouts/presentations for future clients to save time? Determine if there are any commuting or overhead costs involved. Incorporate the overhead costs and your time into the equation to determine your rate. You can either charge per the hour or on a project-basis.
Tip #3: Stay Competitive & Know Your Market Value
Pricing below the competition may seem ideal in order get more business. However, many times this concept backfires because you can attract people who may not want to pay for services in the first place. Confidence is everything and can elude to your value and worth. Make sure to determine what makes you unique and different from your competition and why your services add value. Use this confidence and uniqueness as your selling point.
Important Reminder: YOU are the expert in your field. Recognize your value and you will stay ahead of the game.
Price Setting Resources
Here is a resource from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics on how to set fees and what to consider when selecting a professional billing service:
Here are some pricing resources for dietitians who are interested in working in the media as bloggers, influencers, spokesperson work, and more.
- Abby Sharp’s 2020 Ultimate Guide to Media Rate Report
- 10 Tips to Break Into the Media by Master the Media with Amy Gorin and Erin Palinski-Wade
Your Money Mindset as a Dietitian
Christine Dyan, RDN, is known as "The Money Mindset Dietitian", and she has lots of resources, a podcast, and dietitian groups to "help you confidently increase your rates to match the value of your services, so you can make more money and be seen as the nutrition expert that you are". She is a great voice in this area.
Consultant Dietitian Case Study for Price Setting
As a consultant dietitian, Sarah has presented various pricing schedules to multiple clients ranging from doctors wanting to consult with their patients in the doctor’s office, corporations who wanted a series of presentations for their employees, companies who wanted media work via social media or print media, and more.
Throughout all this experience, Sarah stuck to her standardized pricing structure. She negotiates and flexes the pricing slightly depending on the project’s scope of work, never going below her minimum rate. I have been turned down and told I was too fancy and expensive. And that is OK. Other opportunities have risen and I never devalued my worth or felt undermined.
In the instances where Sarah is approached with a new type of project that doesn't have established pricing, Sarah calls upon other fellow dietitians to ask what to charge.
Collaborate
Use your resources. Connect with a few dietitians who do similar work who you can reach out to to discuss openly. Your colleagues can help validate your standards of pricing. You are the boss. You are the expert. Own it.
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About the Authors
Sarah Koszyk, MA, RDN, is a Registered Dietitian and Sports Nutritionist specializing in Weight Management and Sports Nutrition for youth and adults. She writes articles for multiple publications, provides customized nutrition coaching, and is a brand spokesperson. She is founder of MIJA, a superfood supplement company, and Haumea Health, a fertility wellness clinic. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or LinkedIn.
Stacey Dunn-Emke, MS, RDN, is the Founder Owner of NutritionJobs and an established dietetic career expert. She helps steer dietetic and nutrition professionals to a successful job search process with the top-ranked dietetic job board platform, NUTRITIONJOBS. Stacey is the author of The Dietetic Resume Guide and numerous dietetic career action-ables. She gives the tools to create a modern standout dietetic resume to land that job interview, help with job interview prep, and with creating All-Star LinkedIn profiles. Stacey has interviewed and hired many dietitians and in running NutritionJobs since 2000, she has reviewed thousands of dietetic resumes. She works closely with dietetic hiring managers and recruiters to know what standout resume elements land a job interview.