The Pricing Guilt That’s Holding You Back

Have you ever increased your prices and then immediately felt uncomfortable, like you've gone too far, you're being too greedy, or you might be ripping your clients off? If that thought has ever crossed your mind, then this is the video for you, because in today's video we're going to be looking at why charging properly is not unethical and how structuring your pricing the right way completely removes that feeling of guilt. So let's start with the fear itself. When you think, am I ripping my clients off? What you're really saying is, am I charging more than this is worth? And here's the truth about that. If you are underpricing right now, then likely what you're feeling is you're overworked, you're rushed, you're overwhelmed, you're burnt out, and and you're stretched too thin. And when you are all of those things, you're stretched too thin, you miss things. You don't go, uh, you don't spot every potential opportunity for your clients. You don't go as deep as you could with their service. You don't proactively advise them as much as you like, not because you're incapable of doing that, but because you don't have the capacity for it because you're overworked. So now imagine the reverse. You charge properly, you charge high, You work with fewer clients and you now have more space in your diary to be able to review their work more thoroughly, spot extra tax planning opportunities for them, identify trends, have meaningful conversations, just go above and beyond for them. Who benefits from that? The client. So charging more is not about taking more from the client, it's about creating the conditions to allow you to deliver more to them. So let's now talk about something that removes a huge amount of that pricing guilt that we feel— packaging. So when you move to value pricing and you structure your services into clear packaging, you're creating structured choice. So instead of pricing every single element and item of your service individually and making the client feel like you're being charged for every small piece of it, you present clear options. So for example, you might have 3 different packages. The first one is the bare essentials that they need to be compliant. The second package is the— all of that compliance stuff plus a little bit of extra support. And then package 3 is compliance plus all of the advisory and proactive planning and strategy that you can throw in there. So you have 3 different packages. Each one is complete. It's a complete service that gives them what they absolutely need to have. Each one works, but each one meets a different level of need and a different level of service and value that they're after. Having those 3 packages is powerful because the client isn't being forced into one single price. They now have options. It's also It's more personal, it's more tailored. The packages give them more clarity, more direction, and it removes confusion. And most importantly, it removes pressure because now it's not a question of, do you want this, yes or no, where yes means you win the client and no means you completely lose the client. Now instead, there is an assumption that they will be working with you, but they just need to choose the level of support that suits them. It's a different question. So the question is now, 'Which of these will suit you best?' And if they don't want to go for the top ones, they have the lower ones that they can still go for. And because each package, when you create it, is going to be built to cover you properly, you also don't need to be pushing them towards any specific package. You're genuinely just trying to find the best option for them, and if that is the lowest package, then you can guide them towards that. So you have to start with an understanding of what they value so that you can guide them to that best option. And then if the best package for them is the middle package rather than the top, then you should be encouraging them towards that one that will genuinely help them and that will fit within their budget. It's less salesy and it's more honest and transparent. And if they want those extras, they— you can say, these are available, this is what's available, and you explain it to them, but then you allow them to make the choice. Now, when you get more advanced with pricing, you might start using a system like a spreadsheet, or if you want to go a step beyond, you could use the Effective Pricing software that is available to our Value Pricing Academy members. With this approach, whether that's a spreadsheet or the full system, the full Effective Pricing system, you are mentally and physically sat on the same side of the table as your client when it comes to pricing. You physically sit next to them and you look at the screen together. So you go through, you build the structure of that pricing, and then you go through and you define each service clearly, and you then hand them the mouse. They choose, they go through, they select the level of support that is appropriate for them, they add in the elements that, that matter to them and remove the things that don't, and they see the investment update in real time so they can see the price transparently growing, and it's very clear. And they are the one manipulating and moving that price by putting things into their basket. So you're not pushing them, you're not steering them towards anything, and you're not trying to upsell them. They are the ones in control, and having that control changes everything for them. Because when people feel pressured, that, that's when they become defensive. And they'll push back on price. When they feel manipulated, like they're being forced into something, then they resist. That's when pricing starts to feel salesy, and that's when we can start feeling a bit uncomfortable and a bit guilty, like we're pushing them towards something. You don't know what that person is willing to spend, and because accounting professionals typically are very much undercharging their services, once you see them putting things into their basket and the price is going up and up and up, that may seem scary to you, and it may get to a point where you would have backed down on the price. But this time, with this kind of system, they are the ones that are choosing to pay that amount. They are choosing to add those things to their package. So when they are choosing freely and clearly, and there is transparency about the price and how that builds up, it becomes their decision. And when it's their decision, you cannot be ripping them off. They understand what they're getting, they see the value, and they're actively opting into that. This is actually alignment. Value pricing aligns your goals with theirs because now you want to deliver the highest level of value and they want the best possible outcome for their business. So Steve Pipe has an amazing saying which goes profits are a consequence of doing the right thing. So when your focus shifts from how much can I bill, how many hours is this going to be, into how much value can I deliver, the profit naturally follows because you're doing the right thing. And guilt disappears completely when there is clarity. You have clear packages, you have transparent pricing, and the client has control. If they're choosing it and they understand, and if it helps them then you can't be ripping them off because you're doing the right thing and they are choosing to pay you that amount of money. If you have any questions regarding today's video, you can leave them in the comments and we will get back to you on those as soon as we can. Alternatively, if you would like to join our community to ask those questions more directly, then you'll find the information about that below this video. Please, if you found this video helpful, leave a like, and if you want to see more like this, then you can hit the subscribe button, and we'll see you again soon on another video.