X’s & O’s vs. Intangibles February 24, 2020 After a 14-40 start to the season, John Beilein resigned as coach of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. He didn’t even last his entire first season as an NBA head coach, even though he came into the league with a stellar record as a collegiate coach. There’s a message for us professional services providers in this story, furnished from an analysis of the situation with Beilein and his Cavaliers team posted by The…
Not Just Important, But Immensely Valuable February 18, 2020 Recently I sat with an older business owner who is a 50-50 partner with a relative. They’re getting closer to that inevitable time when they are transitioning out of the business, and there are problems. The relative’s behavior is erratic, and the business has some unique characteristics which will make a sale challenging. This owner was wondering how he would navigate all this, a situation which could turn into a quagmire…
The Red Flags of Inadequate Pricing February 17, 2020 Recently I was on a discovery call with a videographer. This man has been in business for five years, and he felt like he needed to make some major changes to his business if he was going to achieve goals he’d set for himself. About 15 or 20 minutes into the conversation, I told him, “I can tell your pricing is too low.” “How do you know that?,” he asked. “I…
How a Higher Price Makes You More Competitive February 7, 2020 I was with a videographer the other day who I’ve had multiple visits with on his pricing. “I raised my prices again,” he said. He went on to talk about the benefits he received from that move, including weeding out clients who aren’t a great fit. “It’s made me more competitive, too.” That comment raised my eyebrows, as most entrepreneurs think higher prices make you less competitive, not more.…
It’s Not Your Content That’s Proprietary . . . It’s YOU January 21, 2020 I’ve been working with a few solo professional services providers—all of them fit in the general category of coaches–who are worried. They think that other competitors are trolling them and stealing their content. I’m sure they’re probably right. However, in this age of Google search, cell phones which seem better at taking pictures and videos than making calls, and massive amounts of information available at your…
Finding the Ain’t January 7, 2020 In the work I do as an outside CFO and business advisor, I rely on CPAs to handle tax work for my clients, as compliance work such as taxation is not my expertise. Recently I had a series of different meetings with a client and a few prospective CPAs. After we’d completed our interviews, I asked my client which one he preferred. He told me his favorite. “Why did you like him?,” I asked.…
Quoting Rates and a Failure to Learn January 6, 2020 Do you want to be a commodity or a problem solver? If you want to work with clients who are a better fit for you and earn higher prices for your engagements, then the answer is clear, right? If, however, when someone asks the “what are your rates” question and you respond by quoting figures and sending out a price list, you are in the “red zone” of positioning yourself…
“Should I Increase My Prices?” on the “Decision Vision” Podcast January 4, 2020 Normally I’m behind the board producing “Decision Vision” in my role running the North Fulton studio for Business RadioX®. I was honored to be asked to come around to the other side of the mic to discuss pricing with host Michael Blake, CFA, ASA, ABAR. We covered the importance of pricing in a business, how to negotiate prices, why hourly billing is the wrong way to price,…
Flowers for Mom and the Power of Offering Choices to Clients December 17, 2019 My mom’s birthday is today. Yesterday, I went on the website of the flower shop near where she lives, one I’ve ordered from before, to have an arrangement delivered to her today. I chose an arrangement I thought she’d like, clicked through, and here’s a snippet of the next screen: I suddenly had options I didn’t expect. I could go with what was “shown.” For $10…
Warren Buffett on Pricing Power and Your Idiot Nephew December 13, 2019 I’ve written previously about Warren Buffett and his comments on pricing power. Buffett made a comment on the importance of pricing in evaluating a business which is frequently quoted by investors and folks like me who do work in pricing: The single most important decision in evaluating a business is pricing power. If you’ve got the power to raise prices without losing business to a competitor, you’ve got…
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