VeraSage

Chris Brooks

Ron/Ed

Thanks for the podcast (a first for me, listening to a podcast).

As always you make great points very succinctly.

Having first contacted Ron in 2001 we (Rabjohns, a firm of chartered certified accountants) have finally taken the first steps to burying the billable hour, as from 1 June this year.

We have abandoned time sheets for our tax compliance work and set up a pricing committee (we call it the BAT - Billing Action Team) that covers all the work we do.

Regards

Chris Brooks

Ron Baker

Hi Chris,

Thank you for the feedback.  We do plan to publish more podcasts from our other fellows as well.

I certainly remember you and Rabjohns.  Congratulations on burying the billable hour and getting rid of timesheets! 

If you’d like to submit a case study for our Trailblazers section, please do.  We love to publish the success of our colleagues.

Congratulations,
Ron

ps, just because, as we said in the podcast, we are persnickety about the words we use, we’d prefer PAT--Pricing Action Team, as “billing” is done in arrears and pricing is done upfront.  But we won’t quibble with your progress!

Philip Arnfield

Ron,

I listened to the podcast yesterday afternoon. Thankyou. Ron, you are so generous with the information you provide. The more I read (and now hear) about your pricing theories and strategies the more comfortable and confident I am when I pass on the knowledge to my clients.

When I first attended a Ron Baker presentation (Adelaide 2000)you said that if accountants talk with their clients about pricing it will be one of the most rewarding areas of their consulting work. You were absolutely correct.

I encourage anyone that comes across this website and the other works and presentations of Ron Baker to absorb as much as you can and transfer the knowledge you gain to clients. They will love you for it.

Ron Baker

Hi Phillip,

Thank you so much for your kind words.  I remember that 2000 tour of OZ well; Paul Dunn and I did a seven city tour in your wonderful country, and it was from that tour that we develop our book, The Firm of the Future.

We plan to share much more intellectual capital in the future, so I hope you stay tuned.

Eric Fetterolf

Some quick thoughts

The sound quality was poor.  I had my speakers as loud as they could be and still had some trouble understanding what was being said - especially from Ron.

The points I did hear were well delivered, but we need to start building examples in the PKW industry and really stop relying on the fixed goods industries.  Our firms look toward the relationship service rather than transactional service.  It is easier to value price a fixed good from a risk standpoint as once the transaction is done the project, and often the relationship, is over. That is not our business model.

A good first start, but future podcasts should have more focus on a specific issue or problem that can be brainstormed.  No - not how-to questions and answers, but perhaps a specific question that can be expounded upon to help build the references in our minds to attach new lessons learned.

Ron Baker

Hi Eric,

Thank you for the feedback.  We know the sound quality needs to improve, we are working on it.

We also agree that future podcasts need to be very specific on one issue, and we plan do that as well.  This was just a general introduction to what we meant by Value Pricing.

I do have one quibble with you:  we use pricing examples from all sectors.  I don’t draw a distinction between “fixed goods” and PKFs because economics (and price theory) applies to human behavior.  There’s no distinct law of supply and demand for PKFs.  We can learn a lot from airlines, Procter & Gamble, Coke, hotels, rental cars, etc., when it comes to pricing (especially price discrimination).

Also, these brands are just as concerned with relationships as you are.  That’s really not the point, though I agree with you that it changes the discussion of risk (though think about the risk an airline has, certainly more than a professional firm).  It does not, however, change the discussion of the underlying economic principles.

We’re looking forward to the next one and getting more of everyone’s feedback.

Chad Bordeaux

Thanks.  The podcast was great.  Thanks for providing all of this great information.

The one problem I did have was with the sound.  It was clear for me, but I had to turn my volume all the way up to barely hear it.  Usually, these things are way loud on my computer.  I am not sure why this one was not. I did see that you already acknowledged the sound issue. 

I can’t wait to hear the next Podcast(s).

Ed Kless

Hi all,

Ron and I have scheduled the recording of the next podcast. Look for it right after the Fourth of July. (That’s American Independence Day for all you Brits, Aussies and Kiwis.)

Good news, I think I have traced the sound quality issue back to my phone headset. We believe the next edition will be dramatically better than the first.