Your Clients Are Not Buying What You DO
Clients are only interested in the end result
Today I’d like to share a really important pricing tip I gained from marketing.
One of the most important lessons you can ever learn is that your clients aren’t buying what you do. They're not interested in it. What they are interested in is the end result.
People buy benefits, not features
The problem is, when we talk about what we do we often describe it in terms of its features. What we can learn from marketing, from top marketers, is that people don't buy features. They buy benefits. Which means that in all our written and verbal communications we need to make sure we're constantly talking about those benefits.
To illustrate, I’ll give you a practical example. I’d like you to imagine that you’re discussing annual financial statements with a potential client, and that your brochure or proposal says something like: “As part of your annual accounts, we'll also carry out a tax-planning...
The First Referral System
Referrals don’t just happen – you need a system
As regular readers of my blog will know, I’m a great believer that referrals are one of the best ways you can find to grow your accounting or bookkeeping firm. However, you can’t just sit back and expect them to happen. It’s vital that you have systems in place to make sure you get referrals systematically.
That’s why I’d like to share a really powerful system for doing just that. It’s based on something I learned many years ago about the best time to ask for referrals. When I put it in place in my own firm – way back in 1999 – I saw the results immediately.
The best time to ask for referrals
The best time to ask for referrals is right at the start of a relationship. Why? Because when the owner of a business first employs you, they’re incredibly grateful. They get to breathe a huge sigh of relief. We tend to forget that finding a great accountant, bookkeeper or tax...
The Best System to Win New Clients
Why referrals are the best system to win new clients
Do you want to grow your business? If so, there are many marketing tactics for doing just that. But there is one that is still the best for the accounting profession.
It’s the power of referrals.
Although there may be many exciting new tools at our disposal – social media for one – referrals continue to be one of the most powerful. I believe it’s the best way to win new clients. And I know that many of you will agree.
If you prefer to watch rather than read you can watch the video here.
There’s a but…
Whilst you may agree, how many systems do you have in place to systematically win more clients and win more referrals?
I suspect the answer is, “None“. It usually is.
Yet if we believe in the power of referrals so much then why are we leaving it to chance? Why are we just hoping that our clients are saying good things about us, and recommending...
Don't Answer the Price Question with the Price
Why you should never answer the price question… with the price
When someone asks you the price question I have one piece of advice for you.
Never answer it with the price.
Ok, so that may sound a little weird but bear with me.
The trouble is that when you’re sitting in your meeting with your existing or prospective client and you’ve revealed your solution then that’s the question they will ask. It’s obvious. But your answer, your price, will always sound expensive.
So you have to do things a little differently.
If you prefer to watch rather than read you can watch the video here.
Communicate the value
Instead of revealing that price early in the conversation, you have to first build up the value. That means properly communicating both the value of what you do, the benefit to the consumer and the end result. You need to set that all up before you even think about revealing the price.
Go for contrast
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What is your Pricing Strategy?
3 key pricing strategies you could adopt in your business
To grow a successful, profitable business you have to figure out your strategy. It’s the foundation of your business so you have to figure it out pretty quickly. Fail to do so and you are relying on just one thing.
Luck.
And luck doesn’t always go your way.
Of course, an essential part of that strategy has to be around pricing. So how do you define your pricing strategy? There are essentially three different pricing strategies that you could follow:
Find out more about the 3 types of pricing strategies you could adopt in the video here.
Option 1 - Low cost leadership
At its heart, this strategy is actually about being the cheapest. But it’s being the cheapest with a difference. It’s cheapest because we create something within the structure of the business that’s unique. It’s about enabling a different cost structure that isn’t able to be...
The Very First Step in your Marketing Strategy
Why identifying your ideal client should be step 1 of your marketing strategy
When you want to really grow a business then a marketing strategy is key to attract new clients and more work. But it’s an involved process that can get complicated.
Instead, first, there is a basic, and what I believe, most important step to take. You need to identify your ideal client.
When I started my accounting firm back in 1996 I was simply focused on growing the size of my firm by getting as many clients as I could. Two and a half years in and my business was a mess. I didn’t make any money. I had cash flow problems and I had way too many clients to manage effectively.
And, as well as having too many, those I did have were a mixed bag. Some were good, some were bad and some were downright awful. I had taken on lots of poor quality clients simply because I thought growing my business was about numbers – about scale.
And I wasn’t alone.
Even today I speak to many...
Why Your Customers Want to Pay You in Advance
Why your clients want to pay you in advance
Historically the accounting profession has always given clients credit. It may be 30 days. It may be two months. But we give credit.
I don’t know why. Perhaps it’s that we are in the service industry and feel we should.
But guess what? Behavioural economics says it’s not what customers want. They actually want to pay upfront. And it makes sense for you too.
If you prefer to watch rather than read you can watch the video here.
The benefits for you
There are numerous benefits when your clients pre-pay.
1. It improves your cash flow
When you get the money upfront you have more money in your bank account and so your cash flow is instantly improved.
2. It can eliminate cash collection
How much time do you spend chasing money after you’ve done the work? Too much.
3. ...
Why Putting Prices on your Website Creates the Wrong Anchor
Do you put prices on your website? I don’t. Here’s why.
In this post, I’m going to explain why you absolutely shouldn’t put prices on your website.
To illustrate what I mean, I’d like to talk about one UK firm of Chartered Accountants who does display its – shockingly low – prices on its website. In fact, one of their case studies even boasts about how much they can save you: “Their existing accountant charged them £650. We charged £390 – a 40% saving.”
With examples like that, is it any wonder most accountants and bookkeepers are working far too many hours, for far too little money? Or that they’re far too stressed?
If you prefer to watch rather than read you can watch the video here.
You get what you pay for
So, what's the problem? Well, generally, whenever firms put their prices on a website, it’s because they want to win more business. And, because they want to win more...
What's Wrong with Quoting an Hourly Rate?
Why quoting an hourly rate can be fatal for your business
In this post I want to share why it's crazy – even fatal – to quote an hourly rate. And, to prove it, I’ll give you three very good reasons.
If you prefer to watch rather than read you can watch the video here.
#1 There’s no value in hourly rates
Quoting an hourly rate doesn't convey any value. Think about it: your clients don't buy time. They don't wake up in the morning, remember they've got a meeting with you, and think, “Fantastic! I'm off to buy an hour of my accountant’s time.”
No one does! There’s no value in time, so it makes no sense to quote an hourly rate.
#2 Hourly rates increase payment pain
This is to do with what behavioural economists call saliency – or payment pain.
A good example is from the taxicab industry. In the old days, when we jumped in a taxi – a black cab in London, or a yellow taxi in New York...
Why You Should Never Send a Proposal Through the Post
Never, ever send a proposal if you want to win clients
I’d like to share why you should never, ever send a proposal through the post.
If you prefer to watch rather than read you can watch the video here.
How to lose clients. Or, what NOT to do …
Probably the best way to illustrate this is by telling you about the mistakes I made when I started my accounting firm, back in 1996.
For the first two and a half years, even though I grew very quickly, I had no idea about pricing. This meant, for example, that although I did a lot of marketing and saw a lot of potential clients, often impressing the heck out of them with my background in tax planning and all the ideas I came up with, at the end of the meeting, having done all the hard work, I’d blow it. They'd say, “Mark, this sounds brilliant. We want to work with you. How much will it cost?” And I’d reply – and this is the big mistake I want you to avoid –...