You Are the Value

11 Advanced Applications for Your Value Ladder™

In the preface to this book, I told you about a practitioner I know who insists that CPAs are the greatest salespeople out there, or at least they should be, given the value they provide to their clients. Well, if you weren’t deeply in touch with your own unique value before you started this book, you certainly should be now! Now that you better understand how to articulate that value, let’s put your new understanding to work. In the next three chapters, we’ll talk about practical ways to apply the Value Ladder™, integrate it into your firm culture, and use it to make key strategic decisions. Let’s get started talking about practical applications.

Getting to Real Value

Given all you’ve learned, the challenge now is applying your new skills to the real world. To reach its highest level of validation, this application must achieve results. In your case, it might be new clients or more engagements for existing clients.

Sound familiar? Sound like real value? You have to be able to apply the theory in order to achieve results. Remember your Unique Value Proposition™ (UVP™), your proposition of value? Remember your effort to find your real value? Now’s the time to apply your UVP™ to achieve those goals, both qualitative and quantitative.

Numerous applications make your Value Ladder™ come alive. We will talk about six specific examples and illustrate unique applications to give you a greater sense of the flexibility of the entire model. ...