The Value Pricing Podcast

Do you have a clear pricing strategy? If the answer is yes, AWESOME, you can skip this episode – you are clearly high above the majority of accounting professionals.If the answer is no… do you ever find yourself working ridiculously hard and not making enough money to show for it? Or do you very often hear your clients say ‘that’s too expensive’. Coincidence? In fact, let me revise that question… Forget a ‘clear’ strategy, do you have a pricing strategy at all? Or is it all basically guesswork, plucking a random number from the air and saying ‘ah yes, this will be my hourly rate’. The thing is, having worked with the accounting profession for over 2 decades there is something I know for absolute certain: “Accountants and Bookkeepers are too cheap.”Most of the accounting professionals I talk to are overworking and underpricing.They don’t have a pricing strategy at all because - let’s face it – no one ever actually taught us how to price! Sure, we are the ‘numbers’ people, but that doesn’t mean we inherently know how to price!But PRICE is the fastest way to change PROFITS – so having a great pricing strategy is ESSENTIAL.So, that’s what I’m teaching you today.In today’s episode you will learn: ✅ Why having no pricing strategy nearly brought me to bankruptcy ✅ 3 different pricing strategies you could use✅ Why a clear marketing strategy will lead to a clear pricing strategy✅ How to fill your business will high paying clients that are great to work with Having a pricing strategy will give you more control and confidence over your prices. It will remove the stress of the pricing conversation, and you will never have to worry about making a loss on unexpected projects or scope creep.

Value is a slippery fish. It’s hard to get hold of. It’s hard to grasp.That is… until you can put a number to it. Once you can put a number to value, it suddenly becomes clearer.When you can quantify value for the client, they will appreciate what you do much more, and be far more willing to pay you the high price that you deserve. The thing is, everyone values things differently. Value is subjective – (that’s why it’s so difficult to put a number to it). So, how are we supposed to come up with a number that represents value to each individual client. The simple answer… just ask them! If you use the right questions (and then use the right techniques to explain the price), not only will you be getting pretty close to the client’s MAXIMUM willingness to buy, they will also be super happy to pay you that price. In this episode you will learn:  ✅ The contrast principle – and why it’s the most important communication technique✅ What can you quantify? ✅ How to quantify the unmeasurable✅ Why numbers are only part of the value story✅ Taking it to another level with extrapolation If you can put a number on value, you can easily come up with a value-based price, and your clients will be desperate to buy from you. 

You may have heard me say there is no magic formula for value pricing.That’s true. There isn’t.Value pricing is without a doubt the best way to price your services – but it takes time to implement, especially when you’re stuck up on using hourly rates. But, we CAN break it down into baby steps. And the first step towards value pricing is to give a fixed price up front.Now for that… there IS a magic formula. It’s called Regression Analysis. It’s a way of using your current time-based pricing model to generate a fixed price upfront that will ensure you a profit every time.  All you need is a spreadsheet.Ready to get started?The latest episode of the Value Pricing Podcast is now available: Calculating a Pricing Formula Using Regression Analysis In today’s episode you will learn:  ✅ Why value pricing is hard (but the best pricing method out there)✅ How to systematically calculate a profitable fixed price every time✅ How to systematically adjust your prices to cover scope ✅ How to make the first step towards value pricing Once you can confidently generate a fixed price up front, value pricing becomes FAR easier. Fixed pricing is not value pricing, but it’s the first step on the journey towards it. 

First impressions matter!  For business owners, finding a great accounting professional is hard. There’s so much choice, and it can be difficult to tell who is going to be good and who is going to be awful.So, set your standards high right from the outset. A bad first impression will scare your clients off in seconds. You need to make sure every first experience within your business is smooth, easy and delivers lots of value. That sets the tone for what it might be like to work with you (and you’ll easily convert more clients).Then when you do sign that client up – don’t stop there! Continue showing them how great it’s going to be working together by making sure all your onboarding processes are quick, consistent and streamlined.Your clients are going to love you for that.And clients that love you will rave about you to everyone they know.That’s the best marketing anyone could ask for.The latest episode of the Value Pricing Podcast is now available: Your System for Onboarding New Clients In today’s episode you will learn:  ✅ The 7 key elements of a great onboarding system✅ 9 essential things to include in your onboarding emails✅ How to streamline your onboarding process with software✅ Top tips on onboarding from the guys behind JetPack Workflow and Practice Ignition Make your clients love you right from the outset of your relationship and you’ll never have to worry about them leaving you, complaining about price, or causing you trouble. They are also sure to refer you to other great clients.

Ever been to McDonald’s? Ever bought a ‘Happy Meal’ for your kids?It’s the perfect package meal – they get some chicken nuggets, chips, maybe some carrot sticks, a juice drink and a small toy, all wrapped up in a cute box with puzzles. It’s totally perfect for the little ones!Now, if McDonald’s marketed the ‘Happy Meal’ to adults, would you buy that happy meal for yourself?I’m guessing not… You probably aren’t bothered about the toy or the box with puzzles, and you might want a larger portion, or a burger instead of chicken nuggets.This package does not appeal to you.Can you see where I’m going with this?When you create package offerings for your clients, you can’t just throw random stuff together and hope someone wants that assorted collection of services.  You need to think about what your ideal client wants and then create a package that is perfect for them.When you offer a package that is designed specifically to meet their needs and serve them the best possible solution, they will pay you a high price for that.The latest episode of the Value Pricing Podcast is now available: How to Create Effective Packages That SellIn today’s episode you will learn:  ✅ The 3 biggest mistakes accountants and bookkeepers make when creating their packages✅ The 2 critical questions you must ask before creating your service offering✅ What to put in your packages to make them more appealing ✅ Why taking things out of your package is more powerful that putting stuff in them When you create your package with the client in mind you will end up creating the perfect solution for them – that’s valuable, and that’s what will get you a high price. 

Value pricing is the superior way of pricing your services, hands down. But…“How do I come up with a value-based price when I don’t know what my client values?”The thing about value is – it’s subjective. You can’t see it, feel it, or measure it… and everyone values things differently.  “So, how do I work out what each client values?”You need a system. When you turn up to a client meeting armed with your system for uncovering value, you can sit back whilst they tell you all of the things they need and want (and will pay a high price for). You then build those things into your package and give the client EXACTLY what they want. And because you’ve built a package that is so amazing perfect for them, you can charge a high price.They will CHOOSE to pay you that high price because you can offer them IMMENSE VALUE. So, how do you go about uncovering the value in the first place…We will cover that in today’s episode.The latest episode of the Value Pricing Podcast is now available: How to Find Out What Your Clients ValueIn today’s episode you will learn: ✅ 4 strategies for systematically uncovering what your clients value✅ The Value Equation✅ How to change your client’s perception of value✅ A BONUS technique for getting the maximum price (and the most value for the client) When you understand what your client values, you can ensure your solution is PERFECT for them. They will happily pay a higher price when they know they are getting EXACTLY what they want. 

Narrowing your expertise might seem risky, but it actually attracts the right clients and repels the challenging ones. Discover the six compelling reasons to develop a niche and unlock your potential to command higher fees. Learn about the three types of niches to focus on: sector, stage, and service. Get strategies to establish your authority, from building testimonials to creating impactful content. Specialization not only enhances client relationships but also boosts your profitability!

Do you ever find people tell you, “that’s expensive!” when you reveal your price?One of the biggest reasons for this is they simply don’t understand the value you offer. The words “that’s expensive” are an automatic response people often give when they are shown a price. It does not mean you are too expensive.It means you have not communicated your value effectively enough.In fact – most of the accountants and bookkeepers I know are FAR TOO CHEAP. The thing is, you get what you pay for. If you have a low price, people will see your service as low value – even though it is a highly valuable service.A lot of accounting professionals will keep their prices low to avoid hearing this phrase. We hate that rejection and that confrontation. We just want them to say ‘yes’ and buy from us straight away.But you deserve to charge a high price, and with the right communication, you can be sure that people will buy from you with that high price point. In today’s episode you will learn:✅ 5 strategies to effectively communicate the value of what you do ✅ How to get people to buy from you ✅ How to avoid price objections✅ How to have a confident price conversation Low prices attract the wrong sorts of clients – the kinds of clients that will complain about your price and not appreciate the value of your work. Lowering the price to win clients is only going to win you clients that will be a pain in the ass from the get go.

Increasing the prices of your existing customers is the quickest way to increase your profits.And it’s easier than spending money, time and effort bringing in completely new clients that you then have to onboard, spend time getting to know their business and doing all that initial work. Your current clients already know you, like you and trust you. It’s far easier to sell to them.So, how do I re-price existing clients?This is one of the most common questions I get asked. And the related question is “How do you move people on to value pricing?" We know from research that clients hate the old-fashioned, redundant way of pricing based on time because they don't know what the cost will be until the job's finished. Customers actually welcome the certainty of an upfront price. And value pricing means that our goals are aligned with the clients. We both want the same outcome. We both want to deliver as much value as possible to make as big a difference to the life of the client as possible. The more value, the higher the price. Both parties win. So, how do you go about re-pricing our clients with value pricing? Here’s what you will learn in today’s episode: ✅ Why you should be charging higher prices✅ How to reframe your price so clients can’t compare to last year✅ How often you should be changing the price✅ Success stories from 2 star students

So, you’ve moved away from hourly rates and you’ve given a fixed price up front – great! But then your workload unexpectedly increases because:📈 Your client’s business grows🤦‍♂️You were missing information🙏 The clients asks for a little extra job🤷‍♀️ Something unpredictable happensWhen these things happen, it’s called scope creep (the scope of the work is increasing). And as you already gave your price up front – you make a loss.Now don’t rush to change back to hourly rates – that’s not the solution to this problem.The solution is to build the scope into the price so that you are covered for every eventuality. I’m teaching you how to do exactly that in today’s podcast.The latest episode of the Value Pricing Podcast is now available: How to Build Scope into the Price So You Never Make a LossHere’s what you will learn in today’s episode:  ✅ The BIG MYTH – why fixed pricing is not value pricing✅ The system for building scope into your price✅ 3 working examples ✅ Why clients will appreciate you adding scope to the priceScope creep happens. It’s unavoidable. But once you can recognize the signs of scope creep, you can prepare for it and adjust your prices accordingly (in a way that the client will find totally reasonable).