Hard-Hitting Pricing Advice for Accounting Professionals

Rhondalynn Korolak

Rhondalynn Korolak help accountants attract better and higher-paying clients by making the shift to value-priced advisory engagements. She teaches them how to put strategies in place to grow their practices, deliver value and impact for their entrepreneurial clients.

She is the leading expert on neuroscience and neuroplasticity as they apply to cash flow, advisory services and value pricing. This involves harnessing the insights from neuroscience and the power of mindset to gain leverage with clients and influence them to take action. Shownotes:

• Now is not the first time the accounting industry has faced disruption – think back to when desktops first came on the scene and clients now wanted to own their data
• Because disruption is technology focused in the accounting world, it’s easy for accountants to get too caught up in the tech
• The solution for accountants facing disruption is ‘high touch’ not ‘high tech’ and that’s where the opportunities lie
• Accounting’s margins are being squeezed from 25% to 14% because tech can do things faster than humans, so there are less billable hours an accountant can charge for
• Many accountants feel it’s all about marketing and branding when it comes to generating more revenues, but the problem is actually the pricing
• Pricing is the point where you exert pressure in your business to gain leverage on your clients
• Accountants, there’s no point marketing yourself to get more clients who don’t pay you for the value you create
• The difference between value pricing and pricing value
• As Ron Baker says, value is perception, an emotion and not an number
• You can sell more widgets at $39 than $20 because of the psychology of the number 9
• Because pricing is to do with numbers, accountants naturally think they’re good at it
• A big mistake accountants make in pricing is ‘premature quotation’ – they should ask better questions to uncover what’s important to clients
• Clients will only pay pennies for features and benefits, but any price for the solution to their problems
• 90% of businesses have cashflow issues and that’s the pain that accountants can speak into with value
• The skills that have made accountants successful (sharing knowledge, giving answers) are the polar opposite of what makes a great business advisor – asking questions and collaborating with clients
• If an accountant’s clients are price sensitive and cost-conscious about accounting services, it’s probably because the accountant has educated them that way
• Fixed pricing gives certainty but we live in uncertainty and it’s a big mistake for accountants
• Pricing apps may look good but they can’t simulate a conversation with clients, so they’re not helpful for anything but presenting a proposal
• The two biggest obstacle for accountants in not pricing properly is fear and the knowledge or process of a proper conversational structure
• Clients are already in pain – the accountant’s job is to explore what that pain is costing the client
• Timesheets keep accountants stuck in time based pricing, which is a big mistake
• Why profitability is not the right measure for an accounting firm – there are much better metrics
• How to get a signed copy of Pricing Value and the accompanying workbook
• You can’t learn to swim by reading a book in swimming – you just have to take the plunge
• Trusted advisor is a trigger word for accountants that doesn’t work for some people
• If you’re doing all the work, you’re not an advisor – you should be inspiring clients to take action
• For accountants, leverage comes from helping clients understand the cost of continuing to ignore a problem they need help with
• Accountants don’t need to know how to sell – they just need to be more comfortable with creating leverage and value
• What differentiates an accountant from an advisor – the skills are almost black and white
• The brains of accountants and entrepreneurs are wired differently, but both can rewired to work differently
• What it means to be an accountant is not the same now as it was 20 years ago
• The damage that ‘app fatigue’ – there are 45 advisory apps already and it’s growing every week
• The power of niching for accountants, particularly in delivering app advisory
• Advisory is not selling reports – the client only cares about results
• Accountants are not comfortable with selling but very tuned into helping and even coaching
• The one thing accountants are missing out on when their clients don’t take action on the advice they’re given
• A dashboard is not advisory – it’s just a tool to help accountants bring results to clients
• Accountants are not born advisors, but they can learn the skill set to serve clients better
• The initial steps for an accountant to become a trusted advisor – it needs a pathway
• How accountants can sell advisory internally, particularly where culture is an obstacle
• Most clients are financially illiterate and can’t read dashboards, so accountants need to get better at telling the stories behind the numbers
• Financial Foreplay by Rhondalynn Korolak teaches cashflow and working capital by telling stories
• Non accounting business coaches and consultants are making money doing things that accountants should be doing
• Tips for accountants who want to adopt more of an advisory role to their clients

'A big mistake accountants make in pricing is 'premature quotation' - they should ask better questions to uncover what's important to clients' says value pricing expert @rhondalynn on the #Accounting Influencers Podcast #accountex…

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