Episode 137

Advanced Pricing Strategies for Accounting Professionals

Published on: 14th January, 2021

Mark Stiving has studied, led and coached businesses through the lens of pricing for 25 years. His company Impact Pricing is dedicated to educating B2B companies about pricing and value. He has driven company-wide pricing initiatives worth hundreds of millions of dollars in incremental profit. He started and sold three companies, improving his championship pricing skills in each one. His book, Impact Pricing: Your Blueprint for Driving Profits, is a highly readable and practical manual (4.9 stars on Amazon). Selected shownotes:

  • The makings of a world-renowned pricing and value expert - how Mark Stiving became an international pricing educator
  • Why pricing matters in business and why accountants especially should care about pricing
  • The different kinds of pricing, starting with the billable hour and ending with subscription pricing
  • The problems accountants (and others in professional services) have that doesn't always apply to other sectors
  • What exactly value is and how it figures into different pricing models
  • Why accountants have problems with value-based pricing and fail to understand the nuances of pricing
  • The two decisions buyers make in assessing a purchase and deciding value for money
  • How the rigid structure of the billable hour and timesheets has stopped accountants from embracing more effective and profitable methods of pricing their services
  • Why the 'value conversation' is so important for accountants when talking to their clients, and how to use it to price services better
  • Shout out to Ron Baker, the 'godfather of pricing', and where Mark Stiving takes issue with his stance on timesheets
  • The importance for accountants of involving the client in the determination of value, ROI and pricing metrics
  • Whether it's possible to value price for anything, such as accounting audits or basic commodities
  • Why there is no such thing as a commodity and how sellers can charge differently for what seems to be a basic, standardised product
  • What an accountant can do when they don't know how long a job, project or particular outcome will take
  • The biggest risk accountants face in moving from hourly to value based pricing
  • The single best pricing technique that accountants can use to put together compelling packages, products and services for clients
  • How lifetime value factors into value pricing, particularly with longer term projects
  • When it's okay for an accountant to discount their prices or even offer services or advice for free
  • When a lower price might overcome a buyer's inertia to make a purchase
  • How accountants can get started with value pricing, both in negotiation and mindset terms
  • Tips to drive a better pricing culture and a more positive attitude to pricing in your accounting firm.

Mark Stiving on the Accounting Influencers podcast with BD Academy founder Rob Brown

Contact Mark here:

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About the Podcast

Accounting Voices Podcast
Accounting Voices helps people in the accounting world stay relevant visible and vocal. Host Rob Brown interprets trends reshaping the profession and gives listeners insight to build authority influence and a stronger voice in firms and markets.
Accounting Voices, hosted by Rob Brown, helps decision makers and leaders in accounting and finance stay relevant, visible and vocal in a profession being reshaped by technology, private equity, regulation and shifting client expectations. Each episode interprets the trends disrupting accounting and finance such as AI, automation, M&A, talent and the move to advisory and translates them into practical insight that strengthens authority and influence.
Accounting Voices is also a platform for the wider ecosystem of networks, associations, educators, consultants, software vendors and technology experts who serve accountants and finance professionals worldwide. It extends into regular Accounting Voices networking sessions that connect this audience and amplify ideas that move the profession forward. With its international reach and long shelf life the show delivers credibility and commercial value for listeners and sponsors alike. Search for "Accounting Voices" on YouTube for all episodes and connect with Rob Brown on LinkedIn to find out more: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therobbrown

About your host

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Rob Brown

ob Brown is the creator and host of the Accounting Voices Network, a media platform that includes the flagship solo podcast Accounting Voices and the panel shows Accounting M&A and Accounting Tech. He chairs conferences, panels and virtual events worldwide and is recognised as a leading advocate for the accounting profession.

He is an accomplished speaker and authority on trust, reputation, employer brand, talent, succession, executive presence and the forces shaping the future of accounting. Rob is the author of the bestselling book Build Your Reputation (Wiley) and his TEDx talk The Personal Brand of You has been viewed more than 400,000 times.

A former co-founder of the Accounting Influencers Roundtable, Rob now focuses on amplifying the voices of leaders, firms, networks, vendors and influencers across the global accounting ecosystem.

Outside of work he is a stroke survivor, lives with epilepsy, holds a black belt in kickboxing and is based in Nottingham, UK. He plays chess and backgammon, loves orange chocolate and is allergic to grapefruit.