GrowCon’s second day was one full of insights for making an accounting business more efficient with lessons on how to use pricing to earn more money from fewer clients, how to close sales, and how to use templates to optimize written communication.
With more than 100 business owners in attendance at the Utah Valley Convention Center on May 6, leading minds in the accounting industry shared cutting edge strategies for making their firms more impactful.
“They don’t teach you how to run an accountancy business when you’re learning accounting,” said Reza Hooda, author, coach, and founder of the Profitable Accountants Community.
A major focus of the day was on shifting the mindset accounting business owners have in terms of how they think of their relationship with their clients.
“What’s the difference between a $2 gas station coffee, and an $8 Starbucks coffee?” asked Debra Kilsheimer, founder of Behind the Scenes Financial Inc. “At Starbucks, they write your name on the cup… We have to make [our clients] feel like the star of their show.”
At the conclusion of Day 2’s presentation, speakers, VIPs and sponsors of the event competed for raffle prizes at a Casino Night event hosted by Universal Accounting Center. If you missed out on any of the fun, be sure to sign up for GrowCon 2026, to be hosted in Salt Lake City. And be sure to catch up on all the insights from Day 1 here.
The insights shared at GrowCon were specifically designed to help the owners of bookkeeping, tax preparation, CFO/advisory and accounting businesses achieve the vision they have for their firm. Here are highlights from the presentations from Day 2:
Debra Kilsheimer, CPA, Co-owner, Behind the Scenes Financial, Inc.
“The Price is Right! Negotiating Your Worth with Confidence”
Kilsheimer began her presentation by posing a very interesting question to the more than 100 accounting business owners in attendance at GrowCon: “What if accountants priced their services like Disneyland does?”
When someone wants to go to Disneyland, they call ahead and agree on what they want to do, and then Disney gives them the price for the experience.
Disneyland doesn’t ask how many ice cream cones someone plans on eating at the park or how many riders they’ll go on. Disneyland prices are based on how Disney makes people feel.
And yet, in the accounting space, many still charge $2 per categorized transaction, or $50 per bank/credit card, etc. Why don’t accountants price like Disney does?
Well, Kilsheimer said, Disney has cultivated a tribe. They have built so much trust in their brand that they can charge $30,000 for entry into their premier club and another $15,000 each year after to stay in.
On the other hand, accountants use boring communication and often rely too much on jargon, she said. They use fear as their main motivator, telling clients they don’t want to get audited, but that message doesn’t land, Kilsheimer told the audience.
What truly moves the needle is how you make your clients feel. Kilsheimer recalled working with a client who made a ton of money, to the point where he purchased his own airplane to avoid waiting at the airport. She was nervous about how much to quote him on for his services, but decided to charge far above her usual price. The client was willing to pay because it was more important to him to have quick, quality service than to have affordable accounting services.
Accountants need to focus more on the value they’re bringing to the client, Kilsheimer told the attendees. Promise them financial clarity instead of history, strategic guidance instead of projections and budgets, and peace of mind instead of compliance.
Here are some other key takeaways from Kilsheimer’s presentation:
- Part of shifting toward the value mindset is reconsidering how you and your employees use their time. When Kilsheimer first started in the accounting industry, she recalled thinking how backwards it was that the laziest, dumbest guy in the office made the most money. The firm she worked at had a flat pricing model, so the longer a project took to complete, the more they could charge for it. Kilsheimer couldn’t believe it. When she started her own firm, she embraced a new, more open model for her employees. “You’re not paying for the butt in the chair. You’re paying for the brain between the ears.”
- You as the accountant should dictate the terms of your relationship with clients. For example, Kilsheimer will refuse to work with clients who don’t use QBO because she uses QBO. This extends to client communication, too. Most clients don’t need a monthly PnL, she said. They need to be informed of how their finances are going. YOU as the accountant get to choose how you inform them of that, and in many cases avoiding reports and jargon makes for a much better experience for the business owner you work with.
- Kilsheimer recommended a subscription pricing model with different tiers. Her minimum price is $850 a month, and her most expensive client pays $6,000 a month. She works with clients to determine what services they might need beyond her minimum price and settles on a monthly rate from there. “People pay for what they want. Price is a smokescreen,” she said. Finally, Kilsheimer reminded the audience that accounting is not a business to business relationship. It’s people to people.
Mike Milan, Owner, Author, Cash Flow Mike
“Clearing the Noise to Make More Sales”
In Mike Milan’s experience working previously as a state trooper and as an educator for adults, he’s found that people really don’t like being told what to do.
“You need to give people the power to make the choice,” Milan said during his presentation. “If you just try to force them to do something, they’ll naturally resist. You can set the terms of the relationship and do the talking, but you have to let it be their call.”
When it comes to closing sales, this principle reaches a new paramount of importance. No one likes pushy salespeople, right? Milan laid out his model for closing sales, without getting stuck in analysis mode as an accounting professional.
You can silo all of the problems business owners face into one these six categories, which Milan called “Burning Issues Buckets”: Education, Cash Flow, Profit, Debt, Operations, and Future.
Your role as an accounting professional is to help the client understand the true root cause of these problems and why they’ll impact their business.
“You are in the dream fulfillment business,” Milan said. “Your clients are putting everything on the line. You need to make sure they always have enough money to pursue their dream.”
So, step 1, before looking at any problems, Milan asks the client to talk about what their dream is and in doing so, they acknowledge that it will take a lot of time and investment to make it come true.
Above all, Milan recommended allowing the client to state the problem, because they’re much more likely to believe themselves than if you’re telling them what’s wrong in your sales pitch.
How do you get them to do that? Milan has found that asking the right questions helps clear the noise as entrepreneurs deal with the overwhelming amount of things that need to be addressed at their business. A go to for Milan is “What’s been going on in your world lately?” Give them a platform to discuss their burning issue.
Once the client identifies the problem, you can empathize with them and start to transition to the solution and value you provide.
Let’s explore some more of the insights Milan shared at GrowCon:
- Many business owners order supplies and materials as if they’re walking into a deli or a Costco. They’ll start grabbing what they think they need and figure out where it all fits into the finances later. If you find that this is their approach, you can easily promise them cash savings because you can help them avoid purchasing unnecessary inventory.
- Milan recommended using the line “Would you like my help?” after you outline how you can help them with their burning issue bucket problem to close the sale. If they say yes, send them a link, and when they’re ready, they can click it to get started. Once again, it’s important to give the client the platform to make their choice, not pressure them to do something right away.
- Milan outlined a tool called the “You vs Your Goals Graph.” In this graph, the accountant identifies inventory turnover, AR turnover, operating costs, gross profit etc. and compares them to what the entrepreneur has laid out as their goal for the business. This graph can be useful for identifying which bucket to focus on, and allows the accountant to show the dollar value impact they’ll make with their interventions.
Geni Whitehouse, Founder, The Impactful Advisor and Even a Nerd Can Be Heard
“Accounting Beyond the Numbers”
Ultimately, the accountant’s purpose is to take “all of this financial information that we care about and give it to clients in a way that they can work with,” Geni Whitehouse told the audience at GrowCon.
Most business owners blame someone in the business for the problems they might be experiencing. They’ll say, “Sally is making this a problem.” But accountants really need to determine: is this a people problem or a process problem?
Businesses measure their success through key performance indicators, or KPIs. However, these KPIs are often set by managers who misunderstand the challenges that employees face day in and day out.
That is where an advisor can come in make a big impact. They have the ability to take a step back and assess the situation from a more neutral perspective, and make recommendations that will align the desires of upper management with the realities of the lives of lower level employees.
Let’s dive more into the lessons that Whitehouse shared at GrowCon 2025.
- Business owners can often carry quite a bit of shame when they’re coming into a discussion with an accountant, especially with a new accountant. They’re scared you’re going to find all of their mistakes and holes in the business and tear them up. Whitehouse recommends starting with what’s working in the business during that evaluation: They’re making payroll. They’ve got good customers. They have good POS operations. Focus on what’s working first.
- You need to hear the client explain their “Why” because people go into business for all kinds of reasons. Some want more time at home. Others want to simply make as much of a profit as possible for as long possible. Perhaps a business owner intends to build a legacy company to pass down to their kids. Do they want to serve a nationwide audience, or just a local one? Once they’ve identified that, you as the accountant can reshape the KPIs to align with that vision.
- Changes don’t stick at businesses if the only ones who care about them are the managers. Whitehouse recommended bringing lower level employees into the fray early on with financial discussions. They can often offer insights into more practical solutions that could drive revenue or more efficient operations for the business. Plus, involving them in these discussions almost guarantees their buy in to actually implementing the changes.
Brittany Malidore, Owner, Legerly Consulting
Intentional Client Conversations: Exceeding Expectations without Breaking Your Boundaries
When Brittany Malidore first started Legerly Consulting, she felt like she was trying to be everything for her clients. She offered year round service, answered every phone call, and felt like she was overextending herself.
A serious car accident set Malidore on a new course. She was feeling the fatigue physically more and more. Her time had become more important to her than ever.
The first major realization that came to Malidore is that “Your clients don’t own your calendar.” She learned how to set goals and expectations with her clients that kept her from breaking her back all year long, and shared her key insights with the GrowCon audience in May.
“We are not delivering babies. We are not an emergency service,” Malidore said.
In order to develop boundaries, you need to control the engagements you have with your clients. Be specific, and use time-bound and outcome-based communication, like giving them deadlines and explaining what outcomes you’re achieving for them.
Above all, Malidore said that you have to know yourself as a business owner. Malidore is a morning person, and her business partner is a night owl, so Malidore handles meetings during the day and her partner manages more of the back end tasks at night.
Malidore also recommends allocating time each day to “guard uninterrupted focus.” She requires clients and employees set meetings a day in advance (no same day meetings) and has also stopped answering emails with quick questions.
“Never have I ever had a quick question,” Malidore said. She’s happy to answer questions during meetings, but the constant barrage of questions just won’t work. Legerly also does not chase its clients. If they don’t show up to the meeting or answer the email, they don’t get Malidore’s help.
Here are some other topics Malidore covered during her presentation:
- Malidore recommends blocking out one day a week where you don’t conduct any meetings. Fridays and Mondays are good options. Accounting business owners have to protect their time and their focus.
- Malidore has developed a number of scripts that she and her employees use to streamline communication. She templatizes as much as she can so that her company can keep a universal tone, and it makes life easier for employees who are trying to figure out how to word their email requesting the documentation they need from a client. They just simply paste in the template and hit send.
- Accountants need to close the communication loop. Most times, business owners don’t need all of their receipts categorized on the same day they give them to you, but they do want to know when you’ll be finished. Communication is not a courtesy, Malidore said. It’s the foundation of an efficient, scalable business.
Reza Hooda, Founder, Profitable Accountants Community
“Win Higher Paying Clients WITHOUT Relying on Referrals!”
Reza Hooda could not have picked a worse time to make his transition from a “cozy” job at PwC to the struggle of running his own firm.
It was right before the 2008 financial crisis. Hooda took a 70% pay cut in his earnings. Hooda made “every mistake under the sun” in his first few years running the firm.
Hooda learned how to run a firm the hard way. The principles he saw at PwC, like timesheets and micromanaging, were only attracting poor quality clients and employees.
But eventually, Hooda corrected course and built the firm to staggering heights. The number one source of that change? Hooda focused on positioning himself as an expert.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hooda decided to spend some money on marketing campaigns on Facebook with the focus of generating Zoom appointments. His timing of taking over the firm couldn’t have been worse, but the timing of this campaign caught the wind of massive societal shift. His client base spread across the U.K. after he had only served local businesses. Now that we live in a world where you can quite literally talk to everybody on the Internet, it’s more important than ever to get clear on who you serve and laser focus your messaging on them, Hooda said.
“When you try to appeal to everyone, you end up appealing to no one,” Hooda said.
Hooda decided he needed to identify a niche for his message to resonate with his ideal clients. He focused in on property and real estate acquisitions, and wrote about the financial aspects of acquiring properties. It wasn’t “groundbreaking stuff by any means,” Hooda said, but it differentiated himself from other accountants. When he started selling the book on Amazon, his firm started landing huge contracts.
Let’s explore more the lessons that Hooda shared at GrowCon 2025:
- Niching starts with positioning, and positioning starts with education. It’s great to have an accountant that handles the numbers for you, but to win big contracts and retain your ideal clients, you have to be able to do the “grow the business” side of things as well, Hooda said. Clients want one contact they can go to. They’re willing to pay a premium price for that.
- Hooda recommends that bookkeepers don’t call what they do “bookkeeping.” Instead, position your firm as a virtual finance office. You do so much more than bookkeeping right? There are really only two pricing models, he said. You can either try to offer the cheapest services possible and try to serve as many clients as possible, or offer more of a depth to your services and charge more for them to fewer clients. He cautioned against the first model because, “People who come to you on price will also leave you on price.” If they find someone who does bookkeeping for cheaper, they’ll leave.
- Pricing based on value makes more sense for your clients and your operation. The context of where and when something is sold completely changes how the person feels about the product. Hooda said it’s like an iceberg. The client will only see what’s above the surface: the layout of your office, how your employees treat them during their initial meeting, etc. But they’re willing to pay for what’s happening beneath the surface.
Dr. Patience Jackson Rose, CEO, RED Worldwide, Inc.
“From Struggles to Success: Dr. Rose’s Blueprint for Breaking Barriers and Building Legacy in Accounting”
In Dr. Patience Jackson Rose’s experience, most people are a lot harder on themselves than they treat other people. This, she said, is especially true when it comes to potential.
“Most of us have a level of potential that we do not understand,” Rose said. “Potential can not be quantified by your life so far.”
Rose admonished the audience to believe fully in themselves. That’s how confidence is cultivated, Rose said. It’s belief on repeat.
“You are not a product of your past. You’re a product of your paradigm,” Rose said.
Let’s explore more of Rose’s roadmap for breaking barriers and building legacy in accounting:
- A major part of any journey is the arrival, but most people don’t really think about that part. Rose recommended considering your freedom point from time to time. When will you feel like this project is truly finished? When will be the right moment to move on?
- Legacy is not optional. Rose reminded the audience that no matter what they do, they’ll be remembered by the people they cared for. “Legacy is not about what you leave behind,” she said. “It’s about what flows forward from your time into the future.” Don’t leave that up to chance. Set a course for yourself, and install guardrails along the way to ensure you’ll reach your goal.
- Many of us keep ourselves locked up in a prison of self-doubt. We think we’re unable to take on a new challenge, or that it will take too much time. That is where the shift in paradigm must occur. You must truly believe in yourself and your potential, and never let any parent, partner, authority or doubter put a lid on it.
Looking Ahead to 2026
Thank you to all of the speakers who shared their incredible insights at GrowCon 2025 in Provo, Utah. We are extremely excited to announce that GrowCon 2026 will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah. Learn more and grab your ticket here.
To learn more about how you can start your own accounting business, improve your services, or train your employees, call Universal Accounting at 435-344-2060, or schedule a time to discuss your future online using this calendar:
