As a bookkeeper, you have had a lot of training over the years. You have learned new skills that you have automatically started including in the value you are providing your clients. However, you most likely are not charging your clients more for this extra value. If you want to continue leveling up in your business, you must start charging for this increased value.
To determine your current value, you must look at the information you provide your clients, as well as how you relay that information to them. You may be considering the trends you see in the numbers for certain clients and sharing what those numbers are telling you. Or you might notice that a client is continuously struggling with cash flow and talk to them about making proactive choices.
An excellent way to stand out from other bookkeepers, and add value for your clients, is to record a video of you screen sharing what you do as you go through their financials each month. In this video, you can share what you have discovered and whether it is something you should be discussing together.
I understand that it takes time to create these videos. However, when it comes time to show your clients that you can provide them with even more extras, they will remember you have already been doing something no one else has done for them before.
If you truly want to increase the value you provide to your clients, I recommend looking at the pain points your clients have. Once you know what your clients are struggling with the most, you can take the steps to include solutions to those issues as part of your value-add packages.
You may still be unsure of what extras you offer to your clients. I recommend you make a list of all of your compliance work, as well as the extra tasks you do for each of your clients. To help you with this, you can easily follow the guidelines I shared in this post, “Determining Value in Your Firm – What Items are Included in Your Fees?”.
Once you have your list, I recommend creating a video that is directed towards your clients and will be solely focused on their needs. In this email, you can share how your firm is restructuring how you work with your clients. Instead of simply focusing on the numbers, you will be partnering with all of your clients. While historical numbers are excellent indicators, your understanding of the current numbers will allow you to help them plan better for the future.
It is best to close this video by telling your clients that you will be scheduling a meeting with them to discuss their specific pain points, stresses, and goals. This will allow you to create strategies and offer guidance to them, so they no longer have those issues in the future.
While the email will have a link to this video, it should also have a link to your calendar, so your clients can schedule a meeting with you. It is important that you track who has reached out to schedule a meeting, so you can follow up with those clients who did not.
When you have your scheduled call with the client, you will be asking questions, but you must also be prepared to listen carefully. Learn the “why”. Why are they struggling? Why do they have cash flow problems?
Write down everything your client is telling you, so you can refer back to your notes later. At the end of the call, you do not want to make promises to your client. Instead, you want to tell them it was a great conversation and that you will start working on potential solutions for moving forward. Before you end the call, I recommend scheduling the follow-up meeting.
Prior to your second meeting, you will want to create a strategy for your client. This is the time to look at your value-adds and create a new proposal. During your second meeting, you can share your strategy with your client and screen share your new proposal. If this is an older client, you will want to inform them that this is everything you do for all of your newer clients. And that if they were just signing the contract now, this is what they would be charged.
Most of your clients will be thrilled to see all of the value-adds you offer, while a few might have sticker shock. This is an excellent way to see which clients truly value your work and what you can do for them.
Not every client will sign a contract for your value-adds, but most will once they see the value you can bring to them.
Are you ready to increase the value you provide to your clients? If you want to learn more about how you can do that, you can check out my free Facebook group here. I share tons of information in this group and even have live informational sessions you can attend.