Blog

Pricing

Irrational Decisions

[MM_Member_Decision isMember='false'] As humans we like to think that we’re in control of the decisions we make.  Whether they are important or every day decisions we want to know that we’re actually making them.  The truth is, though, we’re not.  We find decisions very hard to make so use a lot of other information to try to make the task easier. This resource is only available to members. To read more, login or join now as a free member [/MM_Member_Decision]

[MM_Member_Decision membershipId='1…

Read more…

What Can Pick and Mix Teach Us?

Only a few years ago, the thought of buying pick and mix sweets was a real mix of emotions for most of us. We’d take the paper bag in one hand and the scoop in the other. Filling the bag was a joy. Fired eggs, smarties and fudge filled the bags. All the favourites were available to choose from.

Then came the time when the feeling changed. Joy and pleasure quickly departed and was replaced with fear and pain as, for the very first time, you got some idea what this bag of goodies was likely to cost…

Read more…

It's Nothing To Do With You!

[MM_Member_Decision isMember='false']

I see this all the time for bookkeepers. They want to charge 'the market rate', or what others in their area are charging.  Let's just get this out there right away.

What others charge is nothing to do with you! This resource is only available to members. To read more, login or join now as a free member [/MM_Member_Decision]

[MM_Member_Decision membershipId='1|2|3|4']

I see this all the time for bookkeepers. They want to charge 'the market rate', or what others …

Read more…

Rethink Your Pricing Strategy

[MM_Member_Decision isMember='false'] Change is difficult for most of us.  We get settled in our comfort zone and don’t want to leave it.  That’s just human nature.  Sometimes this creates a fear in increasing prices.  In order to create a more profitable services we’ll look at some important strategies you can employ other than simply increasing the headline prices. This resource is only available to members. To read more, login or join now as a free member [/MM_Member_Decision]

[MM_Member_Deci…

Read more…

What else can pick and mix teach us?

[MM_Member_Decision isMember='false']

A while back I wrote an article on what pick and mix could teach us about pricing. It focused on the recent move towards fixed price cups and drew a comparison to our bookkeeping services. You can read the article here.

While on a family break at the weekend I discovered another lesson from pick and mix. When I was younger it wasn’t called pick and mix. It was simply loose sweets in large jars. The shopkeeper would weigh them out and put them into a paper bag.…

Read more…

Increase Your Prices

twenty

Every bookkeeper knows that from time to time we must increase our prices.  So why does this simple but essential task fill us with fear? When I started my bookkeeping practice so terrified was I to increase my prices that I never did it for the first few years.   What if all my clients abandoned me at once? What if I wasn't worth the increased price? Looking back on it these fears were irrational but felt so real at the time.  By not regularly increasing my prices I was setting myself up for h…

Read more…

My area is really price sensitive

notes

Quite often, when I talk about pricing, bookkeepers tell me “my area is quite price sensitive. I can't charge that much.”

In the last few years I've heard this about Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cornwall, Wales, Scotland, Midlands and almost every other part of the UK. I'm never really sure where this idea comes from, but it's demonstrably untrue. Clients are not price sensitive, they're value sensitive.

 

If we look at the reality of this comment we can see how untrue it is. Go to any part of th…

Read more…

Selling is a Rollercoaster

rollercoaster

Sometimes the best inspiration comes from somewhere totally different from our profession. By looking at what other sectors do well, we can take their ideas and adapt them to suit our business.

One of the businesses I've been noticing recently that can teach us a lot about pricing is Merlin. Their pricing strategies are amazing and employ every trick in the book.

If you've not heard of Merlin, they are the people who own the attractions like Alton Towers, Thorpe Park and the London Eye.

Want …

Read more…