Watch Your Language

Today, as I was packing up the Christmas tree, I realized how much I hate the task of taking the tree downstairs because it’s such a huge pain. If you’ve seen my videos before, you know I drop curse words here and there but when I’m taking the Christmas tree downstairs, there’s a lot of cursing. That got me thinking about how important it is to watch your language with your accounting clients.

 

Price is What You Pay

Obviously, I’m not talking about swearing in front of your clients…that goes without saying. I’m talking about the way you talk with your clients about pricing. When it comes to pricing, I adamantly believe in the concept that Warren Buffet came up with, “price is what you pay, value is what you receive.”

When you get a speeding ticket, you get a fine. If you bring your books late back to the library, you get a late fee. What I see more and more accountants do when they’re talking to their clients, is use the dreaded swear words. They talk about the cost of their services or they say here’s our fee or here’s your invoice. This is where you really need to watch your language. You don’t want to say those things when you’re with your client.

 

Talk About Value

Pay attention to your language and make a commitment to no longer going to use inappropriate language with my clients. I’m going to from now on when I talk about my services with my clients. When I’m working with my clients  I talk to them about my services. I only talk about price in terms of the value my clients will receive. Talk about how the price equals value but don’t use the word fee. Don’t use the words cost or invoice either. Instead, always talk about the value that they’re going to receive from your services. Remember, you want to position yourself as your client’s #1 trusted advisor (see my in-depth post about what this means here).

This is one of the fundamental principles I talk about in the Accountant Success Formula – how to move into the value-based pricing system using a subscription model. If you’re interested in learning more, reach out and give me a call. I can help you learn how to easily and effortlessly make this shift in your accounting business. If you’re not ready for that, no problem, you can stick with your billable hour but even then, please don’t talk about fees. Don’t talk about costs, talk about price, and make sure to watch your language. 

I’m Erik Solbakken, reminding you that when you take back control of your business model, you can take back control of your life. Stay tuned for more success tips.