Despite all the talk about value pricing, many accounting firms are still not getting paid even close to what they are really worth. They may have raised their prices a bit, but most still trade hours for dollars, getting stuck in the same day-to-day grind of pushing out the work and not making the living or enjoying the lifestyle they truly want.

In my work, I’ve come to see exactly what it is that stops accountants from getting paid exceedingly well. You do not own your real value.

Instead, you give in to fee pressure from clients who see you as an interchangeable commodity because, unfortunately, if you are like most accountants, you tend to see yourself in the same way. Until you fully understand and embrace your real value, until you fully own it, you will never be properly paid for it.

Owning your real value means standing in the truth that your skills, knowledge, and experience empower you to help business owners improve their profits and success. Those are results that really matter to clients, and is what many will pay handsomely for. This requires you to realize and accept that your analytical accounting mind, understanding of the numbers, and years of experience, if properly directed, fills a gap that business owners are missing, and their business is suffering without it.

You already impact the profits and success of your clients. The problem is, because you do not fully own it, it is undervalued and you give it away for nothing. You sell the lower priced compliance type services and give away the real value of what you bring. By taking your stand as a valued advisor, you lead with your value, and the compliance work follows.

Being that valued advisor opens the possibility for premium pricing which means getting paid for results, not hours. Rather than hoping for marginal increases in hourly rates, you can step into a new realm of possibilities where prices can be three to ten times what you might charge now.

It is well worth it for business owners because the results you are helping them achieve impact their business, and often their lives. Such work is incredibly rewarding, and on top of that you get to enjoy huge increases in income, can drop less profitable work, and have a lot more time and freedom to enjoy life away from the office.

The key to setting and receiving premium pricing is having a process to conduct a conversation wherein clients get to experience you as that valued advisor, and not the bean counter. If you can get them to “feel” your value, they will feel compelled to engage.