For nearly twenty years I delivered Selling Value face to face to accountancy firms. That meant 40,000 miles of driving and 150 nights in hotels a year. Eventually I stepped away from the miles, but never from the subject.
What brought me back was hearing from former delegates, some more than ten years on, about what the course had done for their careers and their firms.
And the pressure on fees has never been greater. Clients want their share of AI savings. Fewer people are making partner. Yet most accountants are still never taught how to recognise their value, let alone put it across.
So every week, Value Matters will share what I’ve learned: a thought for the week, a top tip you can use straight away, and a piece on what value really is.
Thought for the week
“Give me three reasons why a client would use your firm”
On courses across the country, in firms of every size, I used to open one session with a simple question:
“Give me three reasons why a client would use your firm.”
It was always revealing. Very few people had ever thought about it. It took a long time to get answers. And when they came, they were usually lines from the website: “All our client engagements are partner-led.”
That sounds good. So I’d ask: “And what value does the client get from that?”
Usually I was met with a blank stare.
That blank stare is exactly what’s being tested now, when clients ask “Why can’t I just get AI to do it?” They’re asking the same question I asked in the training room. If your people can’t answer it, the client is left with one thing to compare: the fee.
“Partner-led” is a feature. It only becomes value when you can tell the client what it means for them: a decision-maker who knows their business, advice they can act on the same day, problems spotted before they become expensive.
Top tip
Ask yourself the second question
Before your next client meeting, try my question on yourself. Write down three reasons a client would use your firm. Then, for each one, ask: “And what does the client get from that?”
If you can’t answer the second question, you don’t have a good understanding of your value. And if you don’t, how on earth can you help your client understand it?
And if your client doesn’t understand your value, they will usually challenge your price.
All about value
The P/V Formula: price against perceived value
Every client weighs your fee against the value they perceive. Not the value you deliver: the value they can see.
When perceived value is lower than the price, the fee feels expensive, however good the work. When perceived value is higher, the same fee feels like a bargain.
Most firms try to fix the gap by cutting the price. But cutting the price also cuts the value. The better answer is to raise the value the client can see, and that starts with knowing what it is.
Price is the client’s language. Value is yours.
Next week: “Seek first to understand.” Why the first meeting should never end with a price.
Terry Dunbar
Selling Value 4 Professionals