Biggest Threat as an Accountant or Bookkeeper

Let me ask you,?When you get fuel for your car, how do you choose which fuel station to buy from?

Do you base it on how convenient it is to get to? Proximity to the interstate? By what’s familiar? The cleanest restrooms? By what’s cheapest?

I bet?how?you choose has?almost nothing?to do with the?quality?of the fuel.

Why? Because most motorists are not equipped to judge the quality of fuel.?Therefore, fuel is seen as a commodity. And, as you know, a commodity is a good or service that is perceived, in the eyes of its consumers, as?interchangeable.

They also know what they’re ultimately buying (fuel) is a necessity for what they really want:?to drive their car.

Motorists?need?fuel – they don’t necessarily?want?fuel. They’d prefer to drive their vehicles?without?the need for buying fuel.

Now, fuel stations know this. They know that what they ultimately sell (fuel) is a commodity. And they know that what they sell is a necessary evil.

What happens when something is seen as a commodity and is a necessity?

The competition goes?up?and the price goes?down.

This means fuel stations must make up for this fact in the form of volume.

They need as many people as possible to come to their fuel station. This is why fuel stations market themselves as anything other than providing fuel:?clean restrooms, coffee stations, snack bars, friendly employees, car washes, etc.

How does this apply to us?

Well, whether you’re an accountant, bookkeeper, or CPA – what we ultimately sell, like fuel, is seen as a?commodity.

Why? Because our clients are not equipped to judge the quality of our deliverables (taxes, bookkeeping…).

In other words, they don’t know the difference between a good accountant and a bad one. They don’t know the difference between a good bookkeeper and a bad one.

Also, what we sell is a?necessity. Business owners need taxes prepared; they need their books kept.

They don’t necessarily want these things. They’d prefer to run their businesses without the need for doing taxes or keeping their books.

And, so, what happens when something is seen as a commodity and is a necessity?

The competition goes?up?and the price goes?down