I call this Veiled Value. And it’s dangerous, because veiled value is no value at all if you can’t request a price for it. One of the greatest strategies firm owners or business owners can do is unearth the value they are delivering, display it before their customers, and effectively communicate that value with an adequate price. Read more
A friend emailed me the other day asking what I thought about his idea to create a new online ‘Accountant Marketplace.’ Sort of like 99Designs for accountants. In effect, it would be a place where those needing accountants could search for the best accountant, and pick the one they want. Maybe the price would come from a bid type system, or something similar.
This is definitely one type of business model. And it works too. Teaspiller was one such example. Teaspiller was purchased by Intuit, and now the url www.teaspiller.com redirects to this site: Read more
We want to see our customers treated fairly — it’s in our CPA DNA. Somewhere between learning debits and credits, independence, objectivity, and integrity seep into our subconcious. I’m not quite sure how it happens, but I think it’s what leads to CPA’s being consistently ranked among the most trusted advisors, ahead of doctors, lawyers, and bankers. To be honest, it’s one of the things that attracted me to the profession.
That desire for upright honesty and fairness surfaces in a variety of different ways: the services we provide, the counsel we give, the interactions we have with third-parties on behalf of our customers…and, in our approach to pricing.
I was on a swim team of one sort or another from 1980 to 1990, but I never competed in the breaststroke because the name made me uncomfortable. In 1989 I made it to state as an alternate for the 4-by-100 freestyle relay. Yeah. That’s right. The highlight of my swimming career was warming up at the state meet. I pretty much sucked, and not even shaving my legs helped.
But I have two BFFs who were big-time collegiate swimmers. One of them, Ron Lockwood, is now the head coach of the Wasatch Front Fish Market, the most successful swim club in Utah. He built the team from scratch, going from 8 kids to 265 kids in four years because that’s how Mormons do it.
Are you ready to take the dive into firm ownership? Or do you need a kick in the pants on moving your firm to serve globally, make new innovations a mainstay in your firm or taking your firm into the clouds? Are you tired of the same way our stodgy profession has progressed in the past? Do you know how to market to new clients online? Are you still using time sheets (and losing money)?
I had a great live call the other day with the Blumer CPAs Creative Coaching Course I run online. We were discussing the book Start With Why by Simon Sinek, and eventually found ourselves smack dab in the middle of a discussion about ‘Value Experiences.’
One of my clients began sharing the virtues of wine. I perked up.
If you don’t know anything about wine, then you may not be willing to pay for the $10 glass at dinner. You’ll settle for the $3 glass of wine. But, if some friend invites you out to a fun wine tasting, then you may actually learn a thing or two about tannins, bouquet and petillant.