There’s a good chance your inbox has been bombarded by desperate pleas for your attention and money these past few days.

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The phenomenons that are Black Friday and Cyber Monday have continually expanded their scope.

For a while, I was removed from the madness up here in Canada.

It was just a US experience in the beginning.

I’d hear about Black Friday sales.

I would feel jealous about the amazing discounts on offer.

The jealousy would quickly fade as I watched people fighting each other to save $200 on a TV they probably didn’t even want.

It was some Mad Max scene, as though they were rushing for the last bucket of clean water.

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Now, these sales are everywhere.

Although they are linked to the US Thanksgiving, Canadians are just as likely to spend the fourth Friday of November loading up their credit cards.

Don’t get me wrong. As someone who loves studying business, this is brilliant.

It’s a month before many people gather for the holidays.

The holidays are notoriously expensive, especially if you have a lot of people to buy gifts for.

So, creating a sales event that capitalizes on the holiday panic has to be one of the greatest marketing achievements in the history of capitalism.

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Discounting your services

Don’t do it!

Ok, there are some caveats, which I’ll get to soon.

In general, though, I don’t think it’s a good idea to offer sales on your bookkeeping, especially as a way to get new clients.

Why shouldn’t I?

Bookkeeping already has a bad association with pricing.

Uninformed small business owners see bookkeeping as a necessary evil.

They have to pay for it, but they don’t see any value beyond its necessity.

So, they shop around for the cheapest bookkeeper they can find.

As long as they have a set of books to hand over at tax time, and they didn’t have to spend the time doing it themselves, mission accomplished.

That means a lot of small business owners will shop for a bookkeeper as they do for a new set of headphones.

They’ll go to an online marketplace, sort by price (lowest to highest), and look for someone with a decent rating.

This type of transactional relationship is one you want to avoid if possible.

While you may be the best bookkeeper around, you will be replaced next year by someone who charges $5/hr less.

Or, more likely, by the accounting firm where you delivered this year’s books.

I have seen many examples of firms I’ve worked with openly offering to bundle bookkeeping with their tax prep services in an attempt to poach my client.

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Value > Cost

What you need to focus on is the value you provide, not the amount you cost.

That value is unique to you.

I don’t provide the same value as you.

Maybe you’re the best bookkeeper for Etsy shop owners.

Or you’re an expert at the tax nuances of working in Nova Scotia or Alabama.

Or you’re both.

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Just imagine a big Etsy shop based in Halifax.

They’re in the market for a bookkeeper, and they come across someone who specializes in their exact business.

They’d be willing to pay extra for someone with that domain expertise, right?

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Starting with lower rates ≠ discounts.

Offering a lower rate in the beginning isn’t the same as offering a discount.

Let’s say you want to charge $50/hr eventually, but you have no experience.

At first, you might only charge $20/hr.

Don’t think of that as a $30/hr discount.

You’re just paying for a real-world education as you gain experience.

So think of it as charging $50/hr but paying $30/hr to improve your skills.

As you improve, you’re simply reducing the amount you’re paying for skill acquisition.

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Every rule has exceptions.

The first exception is simple.

Just ignore me if this is working for you.

If you’re offering 30% off your bookkeeping in November and it leads to high-quality, long-term clients, then don’t listen to me.

Actually, reply and let me know.

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Offer deals for paying in advance.

As we know, cash flow is everything for a small business.

Our businesses are no exception.

If you can get a client to pay for 3, 6, or 12 months in advance, that’s worth a discount.

You’ll save time chasing down payments later.

And you can leverage those funds by prepaying for some of your recurring expenses, too.

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Discount your products.

If you offer guides, courses, or t-shirts, go ahead and run sales.

If I ever get my butt in gear and create the course I have in my head, I will definitely have Black Friday discounts.

This also works for upgrades or one-off services.

What a great way to test out new services you’ve never offered before.

Give an existing client 25% off your new advisory services for the first year.

Tweak your offering based on their feedback.

It’s like getting paid to do market research.

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Offer referral discounts.

Your existing clients can be your best marketing channel.

Word of mouth is better than any paid ads.

Why not reward and incentivize the behaviour?

Every time an existing client sends you a referral, send them a small gift.

If that referral signs up and stays with you for at least three months, give them both a credit on their next invoice.

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The goal is to reward loyalty, not bargain shoppers.

Giving someone a discount when they start means it’s only going to get more expensive from here.

It encourages them to switch bookkeepers as soon as the deals run out.

By being more strategic with your offers, you reward long-term clients and gain new clients.

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Your turn.

Tell me about your experiences with offering discounts.

Has it worked? What didn’t?

I’m always curious to hear how other bookkeepers approach this.

No experience with discounts? That’s ok.

Tell me a sweet deal you got over the weekend.

The more boring, the better.

I bet some of you bought a course or some office supplies that nobody in your family wants to hear about.

Something only another bookkeeper would find interesting.

Hit reply and share the details.

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Until next time, I hope you have an amazing week.

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