3 common objections clients have to accounting services, and how to address them

You’ve done your research and taken the time to provide a well-thought-out proposal to your prospect. But they’ve declined your services.

Chances are you’re feeling frustrated because you’ve provided them with a strong proposal that will specifically address each of their needs.

But you might be missing one critical step that underscores most excuses clients give you: convincing them of the value you'll bring their business.

Here are three common objections clients have to your services and how you can address them, according to James Ashford.

3 common objections to accounting services

1. "It's too expensive"

Pricing accounting services isn't always easy. But if you’ve priced correctly and clients or prospects object to your proposal based on it being too expensive, generally, it has nothing to do with price at all.

According to James, a business should be investing between 2-4% of its revenue into the finance functions of the business. And typically, people underinvest.

So when you provide pricing to clients and they say it’s too expensive—it’s likely because they’ve been underinvesting from the start.

But if they are comfortable with, and are certain in, the outcome your services will provide, the money will fall into place.

This is why you need to articulate your value and the outcome of your proposal. You need to provide certainty.

2. "I don’t see the value of that"

Your clients or prospects won’t understand the impact your proposal will have on them and their business if you don’t explain it to them.

You need to clearly articulate this value, set expectations, and provide certainty.

“Clients won’t necessarily see the value in what you’re offering, unless you present the full value of everything they really need from you,” explains James.

People need to trust in the process, and they trust a process when they know exactly what to expect.

Be clear about what you can do for them and what value you can bring to them. You’re not selling accountancy services, you’re selling certainty.

Once they’re confident in what they can expect, they’ll recognize the value.

3. "We can do it ourselves"

Some clients will try to reduce costs by taking tasks in-house. What they don’t realize—often until it’s too late—is that this isn’t a cost saving. In fact, it’s the opposite.

Bookkeeping, for example, involves incredibly complex tasks. If clients decide to take their bookkeeping services in-house, the costs associated with trying to unpick errors if anything goes wrong will far outweigh the cost of your firm providing the service in the first place.

Before meeting with your clients or prospects, consider how you would respond if they decide to take services in-house. Arm yourself with reasons for and against so you can help them make the right decision.

Remember, the more detail you can give about what a particular service or task requires, the less they’ll want to do it themselves.

The common thread behind clients objecting to your services

The underlying reason behind clients and prospects turning down your services comes down to certainty.

No matter what the objection is—"it’s too expensive," "we can do it ourselves," etc.—they’re not truly seeing the value of what you’re offering.

The best way to combat this is to strengthen your communication with them.

Break things down and explain, step-by-step, how your services will ease each of their pain points.

Of course, it’s critical that you have a thorough understanding of your clients and prospects in order to do this.

The moment you’re able to convey your value and sell certainty, they will trust the outcome. And when they trust the outcome, their objections will melt away.