A big, often overlooked skill needed of business owners is the ability to let go.

This takes many forms, such as knowing when to let go of clients, or let go of staff, but what about letting go of your workload?

Often, if there’s a specific service you’ve positioned yourself as the expert in, or a client has an issue you know you’re best experienced to fix, then you’ll just do it.

You’ll know you can do it 80% - 90% right. And delegating it would mean it would get done 70% right. That’s why it feels easier to keep hold of it and do it yourself.

The problem arises when you keep hold of everything, and find you’re at capacity and end up doing 0% right because you haven’t had time.

A more valuable use of your time, as the business owner, is to let your staff do it 70% right, then work with them to get it 71% right, then 72% right, and so on. 

That’s how you’ll successfully build your business overtime and have people doing things for you. 

Learn more about how you can banish the bottleneck in your team from this post from The Accountants Mastermind, Simon Chaplin... scroll to the end for the full webinar with myself and Simon.

Client Stories“GoProposal is the cheapest product you'll get for your accountancy firm. It's been worth £30,000 in revenue to me this year.”

Euan Brown | Founder of Total Accounting

Hear Euan's Full Story

READY TO GET STARTED?Take the guesswork out of pricing & control your profitabilitySign Up Now for Free

When I was a business consultant I worked with a skip broker company, who would provide a wrap-around removal service, but weren’t getting sales because customers would ring up and ask the price and because they thought they only wanted the cheapest skip, the call would end there.

But when I looked at their range of services, it was obvious they had a far wider range on offer than their competitors, with an incredible support service. So, what does this have to do with your accounting business?

Ask clients the right questions

I helped the team at the skip brokers change the questions they were asking clients, and this is something you need to be aware of in your business.

Let me explain…

Someone would ring them and ask for an eight yard skip. Straight away they’d give the price and the conversation would end. I coached them to say this instead:

“Absolutely fine, I will give you a price straight away but I just need to ask you three questions to start with to make sure I’m offering you the right thing, is that okay? 

Great.

Will it go on the drive or on the road?

What are you putting in it?

Are you filling it yourself?

Yes? What else would you be doing if you weren’t spending your weekend filling a skip?”

From these questions, they could instead offer them a man with a van who’d fill it and take the waste away the same day. The last question helped sell the client their weekend. It painted the picture of what they could be doing with their time instead, in exchange for the higher priced service.

Remember, YOU’RE the financial expert

You see, clients come to your accounting firm knowing what they know, and they ask for what they think they need and want. It’s our job to:

Learn what they’re really trying to achieve

Understand what obstacles are in their way

Educate them on what they need to do to reach their goals

They might still not sign up for the options we suggest, BUT we’ve presented them with a bespoke set of services that we know will get them where they want to be. You can still progress the relationship with a stripped down set of services, knowing you can re-communicate the value of extra options down the line.

How can I do the same in my accounting firm? 

A consultative sales framework can easily be incorporated into your accounting firm to empower your entire team to have better conversations with your clients.

They might feel scared initially, but you can show them that this isn’t a case of retraining completely… it’s just a case of asking better questions. To help you and your team with this, we developed The GLOSS Method®, to ensure you’re presenting your clients with the very best solution for them.

Ready to learn more? Access the FULL masterclass, 'The Art of Pricing & Selling to Serve,' on the GoProposal Academy.

The course is free to ALL active GoProposal members and available for purchase for all non members.

Client Stories“GoProposal is the cheapest product you'll get for your accountancy firm. It's been worth £30,000 in revenue to me this year.”

Euan Brown | Founder of Total Accounting

You only need one thing to combat the fear of repricing clients in your Accountancy business.

Before you go into a fee review meeting with a client, where you know you’ve got to increase their fee, before you come up with a whole plethora of excuses, all you need is need self-awareness.

Self-awareness is so, so important.

You’re afraid of having this conversation around repricing, so in order to become self aware you need to think about what it really is you’re worried about.

Then you need to chat through it, out loud, with somebody else.

Because in our own mind, these thoughts spiral out of control.

We think, what if they leave? And then the next logical thing is, what if they all leave? What if EVERY client leaves because of what we’re going to do here?

But just say to another member of the team, “I’m really afraid to do this.”

It’s just to reassure ourselves and say, “Well, is that really likely to happen? Let’s just reprice five clients first, let’s see what happens there. Then let’s judge to make that incremental change and move forward to the next part."

GoProposal can really help with this. It is the consistent pricing system you need.

As it’s client facing, it’ll enable you to be transparent with your clients, in the meeting, and show them why you’re charging those amounts.

Watch the full video and join in the conversation over on LinkedIn

Client Stories“GoProposal is the cheapest product you'll buy. It's been worth £30,000 to me this year.”

Euan Brown | Founder of Total Accounting

Hear Euan's Full Story

Are you ready to start charging what YOU'RE worth?

Let's Get Started

Let's Get Started

Let's Get Started

Discussing the importance of giving back and how your Accountancy firm can make an impact.

Imagine if, every time a new client signed the proposal, a set of clean pyjamas was automatically sent to a child in emergency care?

Then, that new client got an email to let them know about the impact they just made, all because of your firm.

and THEN.. Your team were notified automatically about the winning of the proposal AND the donation.

All because they signed up to be a client of your accountancy firm.

GoProposal member, Keith Lesser, Partner at Lesser & Co, made this all possible and more with the new Zapier x GoProposal integration, hooked up to B1G1...

It all started with Keith's post in the GoProposal Community...

Zapier has opened up a whole new world of connections which in turn has meant firms like Keith's are able to do some amazing things with companies like B1G1 to help charities around the world.

So, I arranged a call with Keith and Paul Dunn from B1G1 to discuss how and why other Accountancy firms can get involved with this great initiative.

Paul;

B1G1 is this extraordinary idea that we can turn simple business actions, for example, doing a proposal. Whatever that transaction is we can turn that into changing lives. So for example, every time you send an email a child gets access to E-learning. That changes the game for them.

There are some 500 plus projects around the world that people like Keith's company can give to. And before GoProposal and Zapier, you basically had to count how many emails have we sent today or how many proposals did we do? And then put that into B1G1. But now as you said, it just automates it thanks to Zapier.

Why is it important to make sure that you have budget for these things? Because I'd imagine especially during these crazy difficult times it could be one of the first things to go and to say, let's not put money into this. But why is it kind of important to you Keith that you keep doing that?

Keith;

I'm not saying we have a million quid in the bank but I'm just saying in general terms what is the point of capitalism and all this? There's got to be a bit more purpose involved. Hasn't there? If everyone just gave a bit you can imagine the power of it. But I think with all these things that's, that's the challenge. How do you make it easy for people and how, that's the thing with this. It's linking in to success. So, you know how many VAT returns have you done or whatever and it's all automatic. So you know, I think there's a really there's a lot potential with it.

As a business itself has B1G1 seen many people worry a bit more about spending the extra money on giving? I'd argue it's just more important now than ever.

Paul;

We used to think of giving, as when I'm successful, you know I'll just start giving because we associate it with someone with a great big fat cheque that says look at what we did. But B1G1 transforms that because you can give from one US cent. So, just one cent can literally give a child access to life saving water, literally.

Lesser & Co are growing and you just doing...

Present your prospects with ONE solution

It can be tempting to offer more than one option to your clients and prospects, maybe with different tiered prices and services.

Initially it might seem like the best way to bring them on board, we might think, using some sort of sales psychology, they’d go for the ‘mid-range’ fee or the ‘silver’ package.

But by doing this, you’re actually doing your clients a disservice.

We should only be offering ONE solution to prospects and clients of our accountancy business.

That’s the RIGHT solution. 

Free Download: How successful Accountancy Firms have the Fee Review conversation with their clients

The best way I can explain this is by comparing it to surgery.

You wouldn’t want a surgeon to offer you varying levels of packages, each containing different levels of anaesthetics and stitches, right?

No. You want a surgeon to tell you exactly what’s going to happen and when.

Because you trust that they’ve chosen the right option for you, based on a consultative process.

Accounting is no different.

Accountancy services are so critical to a business that it’s your ethical obligation to present the RIGHT solution for your clients.

Even if the price is more than they were expecting.

This is exactly the same when repricing existing clients. 

Watch the full video to find out more.

Ready to learn more? Watch our FULL masterclass, 'Feel the fear and reprice anyway'  for FREE (just scroll down to 'Academy)

We ran this 45 minute session with James Ashford and Paul Barnes, directors of Manchester accountancy firm MAP, and ran live to over 100 accountancy firms.

The video above is taken from The Art of Pricing & Selling to Serve, my brand new course on the GoProposal Academy.

The course is free to ALL active GoProposal members and available for purchase for all non members. Click here to begin.

Client Stories“GoProposal is the cheapest product you'll get for your accountancy firm. It's been worth £30,000 in revenue to me this year.”

Euan Brown | Founder of Total Accounting

Hear Euan's Full Story

READY TO GET STARTED?Take the guesswork out of pricing & control your profitability

Don't just raise your prices across the board

It might seem like a great idea initially. Raise all of your clients fees by 30% and THEN you'll be making a profit. Right?

This would be the case, if all of your clients were the same. But fact is, they aren't.

When you're repricing clients, they should be split into three distinct sections:

* Profitable clients

* Clients who you break even with.

* Clients who are losing you money.

If you increased your prices by 30% across the board, you will just annoy the first group, who were profitable anyway. You should start to see a profit on the second group. But chances are you'll still be losing money on the third.

Splitting them into these three sections, means you can meet them with three different approaches.

Free Download: How successful Accountancy Firms have the Fee Review conversation with their clients

Where should I start?

We should start with the repricing of the third group, those who are losing you money.

Their fees need to be raised significantly.

This might involve a difficult conversation. It may seem daunting. But the fact is, they are already losing you money. So even if you lost all those clients, you would still be better off.

In fact, you would now be free to take the time you spent on those clients and reinvest it into your other clients. But, by coming to them with the right conversation and by showing them how much value you will bring, you aren't likely to lose most of them.

With the second set of clients, those who you are breaking even with, you won't get much friction repricing their fees by about 20/30%. So long as you show them how much value you can offer.

Finally, the first group, those who were already profitable. They might seem like a great stopping point, they were already making you profit anyway. So why go to the trouble of repricing them?

In fact, you should be repricing clients who are profitable too. But with a different approach.

Ensure that you're using the 1-3-12 Rule to keep on top of the scope of work, or run them through the GLOSS Method and start to solve BIGGER problems for them and their business.

After all, our value in this world is directly proportional to the size of the problems we can solve.

Ready to learn more? Watch our FULL masterclass, 'Feel the fear and reprice anyway'  for FREE (just scroll down to 'Academy)

We ran this 45 minute session with James Ashford and Paul Barnes, directors of Manchester accountancy firm MAP, and ran live to over 100 accountancy firms.

The video above is taken from The Art of Pricing & Selling to Serve, my brand new course on the GoProposal Academy.

The course is free to ALL active GoProposal members and available for purchase for all non members. Click here to begin.

Don't just raise your prices across the board

It might seem like a great idea initially. Raise all of your clients fees by 30% and THEN you'll be making a profit. Right?

This would be the case, if all of your clients were the same. But fact is, they aren't.

When you're repricing clients, they should be split into three distinct sections:

* Profitable clients

* Clients who you break even with.

* Clients who are losing you money.

If you increased your prices by 30% across the board, you will just annoy the first group, who were profitable anyway. You should start to see a profit on the second group. But chances are you'll still be losing money on the third.

Splitting them into these three sections, means you can meet them with three different approaches.

Where should I start?

We should start with the repricing the third group, those who are losing you money.

Their fees need to be raised significantly.

This might involve a difficult conversation. It may seem daunting. But the fact is, they are already losing you money. So even if you lost all those clients, you would still be better off.

In fact, you would now be free to take the time you spent on those clients and reinvest it into your other clients. But, by coming to them with the right conversation and by showing them how much value you will bring, you aren't likely to lose most of them.

With the second set of clients, those who you are breaking even with, you won't get much friction repricing their fees by about 20/30%. So long as you show them how much value you can offer.

Finally, the first group, those who were already profitable. They might seem like a great stopping point, they were already making you profit anyway. So why go to the trouble of repricing them?

In fact, you should be repricing clients who are profitable too. But with a different approach.

Ensure that you're using the 1-3-12 Rule to keep on top of the scope of work, or run them through the GLOSS Method and start to solve BIGGER problems for them and their business.

After all, our value in this world is directly proportional to the size of the problems we can solve.

This video is taken from The Art of Pricing & Selling to Serve, my brand new course on the GoProposal Academy.

The course is free to ALL active GoProposal members and available for purchase for all non members. Click here to begin.

Are you ready to start charging what you're REALLY worth?

Book your demo

Book your demo

Book your demo

There are other MARGINS that exist in your accounting business, other than PROFIT margins. These margins remain largely invisible but decision by decision, they get squeezed, taking you closer to the edge.

You then only need something like the Corona Virus to push you up to, or over the edge.

Now hindsight is a wonderful thing, but as we rebuild and prepare for the new world, I think it’s important that we bring these ‘margins’ into view, so we can be more intentional about protecting them moving forward.

(This video was heavily inspired by my friend Paul Scanlon who’s a pastor and incredible speaker. Search YourTube for "Paul Scanlon - Simplify Your Life)

ven if you’re one of the few firms which has figured out how to correctly charge your clients in the first place, the complexity of the services you provide and the constantly changing nature of your client’s businesses, means that the scope of work can quickly become out of alignment with what they’re paying you.

So unless you have a system which flexes throughout the year which is driven by your team , you’ll end up over-servicing and undercharge your clients.

This then leads to a lot of accountancy firms not making enough money to be able to deliver the level of service your clients are happy to pay for and one of two things tend to happen:

- You over-service and undercharge your clients (nightmare for you.)

- You attempt to hit them with an ‘ambush invoice’ at the end of the year... IF..... you can figure out what they actually owe you (nightmare for you AND them.) Neither work.

All you want is to be paid for the hard work you do right?

There are several ways firms attempt to solve this, but over the years, we’ve refined a process which is being successfully used by accountancy firms around the world, which we call the 1-3-12 Rule™.

In this online masterclass you will learn…

- How to start any new client engagement off in the right way (which includes the first fee review after month three)

- The best way to position the 1-3-12 Rule™ to your clients so that client’s actually welcome the call

- The key bottleneck that will prevent this from working and the unexpected way firms are removing it

ven if you’re one of the few firms which has figured out how to correctly charge your clients in the first place, the complexity of the services you provide and the constantly changing nature of your client’s businesses, means that the scope of work can quickly become out of alignment with what they’re paying you.

So unless you have a system which flexes throughout the year which is driven by your team , you’ll end up over-servicing and undercharge your clients.

This then leads to a lot of accountancy firms not making enough money to be able to deliver the level of service your clients are happy to pay for and one of two things tend to happen:

- You over-service and undercharge your clients (nightmare for you.)

- You attempt to hit them with an ‘ambush invoice’ at the end of the year... IF..... you can figure out what they actually owe you (nightmare for you AND them.) Neither work.

All you want is to be paid for the hard work you do right?

There are several ways firms attempt to solve this, but over the years, we’ve refined a process which is being successfully used by accountancy firms around the world, which we call the 1-3-12 Rule™.

In this online masterclass you will learn…

- How to start any new client engagement off in the right way (which includes the first fee review after month three)

- The best way to position the 1-3-12 Rule™ to your clients so that client’s actually welcome the call

- The key bottleneck that will prevent this from working and the unexpected way firms are removing it