Vignette A
Firm owner: off hourly, into retainers & productized work
Label: A firm owner shifting from operator to reviewer / seller
Focus: Value pricing / tiered pricing, ops discipline, moving the owner out of every client touch.
What changed
- Converted two clients from hourly to a $6,000/year retainer (quarterly meeting model) — a real step up from roughly ~$1k/year in prior billings on that pattern
- Started productizing one-off work (e.g. flat-fee letter responses, elections) so “quick asks” stop leaking into free time
- Worked TaxDome / ops so the owner can review and sell instead of living inside every file
Memorable line: Early in the firm’s life, clients literally chased the owner to bill them — “I haven’t gotten a bill… you need to be billing me for this.” That wake-up call became the coaching contrast: stop giving time away, then stop underpricing the work once systems catch up.
Vignette B
Firm owner: clean the book, raise the floor
Label: A firm owner resetting pricing and client standards
Focus: Pricing overhaul, team accountability scripts, high-risk / unresponsive client boundaries.
What changed
- Sent 62 disengagement letters to unresponsive clients
- Of the first 30, 3 immediately accepted higher prices to stay
- New firm rule: upfront payment for filings / engagements (written into the engagement letter) so cash flow and non-payment stop running the calendar
- Scripts and policies for scope, responsiveness, and professional expectations so the growing team isn’t inventing boundaries mid-call
Vignette C
Firm owner: expansion conversations with existing clients
Label: A firm owner who advanced expansion with current clients
Focus: Outreach to existing clients, 3-option proposals, “sell to potential” instead of pricing to current capacity.
What changed
- Closed an expansion upgrade of +$1,733/month with an existing client
- Signed a new client at $500/month in the same window
- Combined near-term lift: ~$2,233/month
- Coaching emphasis: three-option proposals (aspirational / recommended / basic), expansion touches as a weekly habit, selling the next level of advisory — not discounting the current one
