It's the season to post about gratitude for clients and others who have helped you in your business. When you sell your expertise, however, I think gratitude needs to move beyond what can sound like a greeting card and into how you run your business, especially how you price. Here are four kinds of gratitude I see expert service providers miss.

"You do not lose business because your price is too high. You lose it because you never asked what else mattered." The number of value drivers motivating clients to hire you is countless. They matter much more than your price.

Larry Levine, author of Selling in a Post-Trust World, joins me on The Price and Value Journey podcast to discuss selling in the "trust recession" we find ourselves in.

The real reason for most price objections? It's not because all clients are price sensitive. It's usually because of inadequate value conversations.

Disney Cruise Lines doesn't just sell cruises. They sell delight. The same is true for professional service providers.

In reality, your competition takes such forms as internal resistance, false solutions, belief barriers, and relational dynamics.

Recent episodes of The Price and Value Journey podcast have focused on a crucial question: how do expert service providers build sustainable, valuable businesses in a rapidly changing environment? These conversations revealed practical wisdom from seasoned professionals who've navigated everything from personal reinvention to AI disruption. In this post, I highlight a few guest perspectives that stood out.

Jessie Broussard, Chief Marketing Officer of top 50 accounting firm Frazier & Deeter, warns against the use of a phrase that's often a cliché in the marketing lingo of some firms: "trusted advisor."

I've seen it too many times: service providers, particularly early in their business, creating a false choice between being virtuous and being profitable. Between serving others and serving themselves. Between being honorable and increasing their value. These dichotomies are false.

As a service provider, you often face a challenge similar to Caitlyn Clark. Your impact is substantial, yet often invisible unless you frame it through your conversations with clients.

Reflections on the business lessons a successful Christmas tree farm has for those of us in professional services.

Relax, professional service provider. Not everyone needs to be your client for you to succeed.

Be wary of dependence on social media for marketing your expertise. Recent news from Paramount and MTV News illustrates why.

Several recommendations for your professional and personal development.

One week from today, on May 29th, 2024, I'll be at the Gwinnett Entrepreneur Center discussing my book, The Generosity Mindset. In this...

Do you really understand the competition? It's invariably not other service providers in your same discipline or industry.

What should you do when you get asked, "how much for an hour of your time?"

Your competitors are not those who start something, but 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜.

Personal branding is vital, but there's a fallacy to it that many miss. It's not about you, per se.

Book covers are a major determinant of whether potential customers buy the book. There's a lesson for service providers here.