The print book is officially available!

You were one of the early supporters, so I’m giving you 33% off as a thank you. Use code JACKIE33 at checkout. Order here: https://cpa.click/jackie

If you are tired of spending hours per prospect on quotes, having no control over the deal, and constantly reinventing your scope and pricing, tiered service packages are your escape hatch. Packages make your value obvious, your pricing predictable, and your delivery easier to scale. Clients gain clarity. You get control.

At Meyer Tax, packages changed everything. Our tiers were Elite, Pro, and Basic. The names Concierge, Comprehensive, and Essential are template labels you can use if you prefer something more generic. If I were to redo them today, I’d simply call them Unlimited, Quarterly, and Annual. You can also have a little fun with names. Think Mustang, Shire, or Unicorn for your top tier if that fits your brand voice. Your top tier should feel aspirational and unmistakably premium.

From day one, keep naming consistent so your team remembers it easily and your clients repeat it accurately. If you want playful, go for it, but make sure your internal definitions and scope stay clear. Always list your top tier first. This sets the anchor in the client’s mind and frames everything else that follows.

I worked with my business coach, Chuck Bauer, for months on the psychology, naming, and structure of my advisory packages. The repetition, the flow, the order of presentation, and the language that helps clients decide quickly were all stress-tested with real prospects. Chuck became my mentor, then my partner, as we went on to coach more than 200 accountants through these exact concepts in our Certified Concierge Accountant (CCA) masterminds. That season changed my practice and how I teach others to transform theirs.

Chuck had many famous sayings, meant to (sometimes shockingly) stop you in your tracks and change a fundamental belief, but one particularly applicable here was “What happens in vagueness stays in vagueness!” It’s catchy, but it’s also a strong warning to us. Under communication is one of the fastest ways to destroy trust. Never assume clients know what you know. Document everything and share it clearly, otherwise you are setting yourself up for misunderstandings, conflict, and broken relationships.

This is not just about client meetings. Under communication and lack of transparency are some of the greatest threats to human collaboration. From bedrooms to boardrooms and governments, science shows that when we fail to share clearly, we create gaps that get filled with assumptions, mistrust, and conflict. As the old saying goes, when you “assume”, it makes a donkey’s *** out of you and me (My daughter is still working on the perfect PG version to tell her classmates).

Packages create multiple advantages: clarity for clients because each tier spells out what is included, predictable pricing your team can quote with confidence, higher value delivery since bundled services encourage clients to choose complete solutions, streamlined operations because standard scope becomes standard process, scalability through training your team by tier, and a natural upgrade path since the next level is already defined.

Every year at renewal, show ROI achieved and offer the option to graduate to the next tier if they want expanded strategy. In 2022, Amy Vetter later consulted with us on package design for TaxPlanIQ. Software packaging is different from service packaging, yet the mindset is the same: be transparent, be clear about what is included, and make it simple for a prospect to say yes. That full-circle moment reinforced how powerful clean packaging can be across very different business models.

Before you can design compelling packages, you need to be crystal clear about what sets your firm apart. Your competitive advantages should shine through in the language, scope, and delivery of every tier you offer — especially the higher ones. These are the reasons a client chooses you over anyone else.

At Meyer Tax, our competitive advantages included:

Proactive, ROI-Driven Advice: We aimed for 200%–300%+ ROI for clients, making it clear that we don’t just do taxes — we actively find ways to put money back in their pocket.

Specialization: We focused exclusively on executives, from corporate to startups, so we deeply understood stock options, executive comp, and the complexities of their financial lives.

Transparent, All-Inclusive Pricing: No surprise bills; our packages were all-inclusive, with personalized pricing quoted upfront. Clients appreciated the clarity and predictability.

Flexible Engagements and Collaboration: Certain tiers included sessions with estate attorneys or financial planners, meaning we could deliver a holistic offering without the client having to manage multiple advisors.

Certified Expertise and Tools: Led by a Certified Concierge Tax Advisor (CCTA) and using our TaxPlanIQ™ system to ensure measurable ROI. This combination of credentials and technology instilled confidence.

Make your own list. If you’re known for rapid turnaround, creative deal structuring, or a proprietary tool, include those. These points become the features and benefits in your package descriptions, and they justify your pricing at every level.

When we first implemented this model, our pricing was roughly half of what it would later become. As we refined our scope, processes, and outcomes, and as our market shifted toward more complex, high-net-worth family office work, our pricing increased to match the value. Eventually, we retired the Basic tier because the demand, outcomes, and effort required made the entry level a poor fit for our strategy.

* Plus a custom one-time implementation fee priced by ROI and complexity. Payment schedule is for convenience. Service cadence follows the scope listed above. Annual prepay discount: prepay the annual flat fee and receive a 5% discount. Monthly payments: annual flat fee may be paid monthly for convenience, with service cadence unchanged.

Every tier has two parts: a minimum flat annual fee that covers ongoing compliance and maintenance of the strategies you and the client agree to implement, and a custom one-time implementation fee that prices the initial strategy design, buildout, and rollout. This is where ROI pricing begins, because this is where the heavy lift happens.

In year one, ROI calculations include the one-time implementation fee. In year two and beyond, that fee is gone, so ROI often increases significantly. The annual package fee itself should still provide a meaningful ROI for the client on an ongoing basis.

Never email a proposal and wait. Present live on Zoom or in person. Live wins because you control the pacing, anchor value before price, read reactions and answer in real time, and close with a clear next step.

I do not offer two options upfront. I recommend the single package that is the best fit. If the client expresses concern or says they do not need that level, then I present the backup. Prepare two different ROI reports in advance, one for your top recommendation and one for the backup. When you present live, visualize the ROI while you explain the estimated annual savings and the quote. This often gets the client to say, “Why would I not do this?”

For example, imagine you have identified $200K/year in potential savings. This is your sales meeting while showing the ROI and proposal on the screen:

“We have identified about $200K/year in potential annual savings based on your situation today. To deliver and maintain those results, I recommend our Elite package. The investment is $32K for the one-time onboarding and $25K/year for the annual flat fee. Elite includes strategy leadership and implementation, quarterly reviews, coordination with your attorney and planner, audit defense, all compliance, and certified expertise and tools through our CCTA-led process using the TaxPlanIQ™ system.”

If they push back, you can offer Pro: “We can look at Pro. That option focuses on fewer strategies and offers more limited outside coordination. The investment there is $23K for onboarding and $15K/year for the flat fee.”

Close cleanly: “I can honor this pricing through [date] because we accept a limited number of new Elite clients each month. Are you ready to move forward?”

Never discount or waive fees to win the work. Price integrity protects your positioning, margins, and referrals. Discounting trains clients to negotiate and dilutes your perceived value. If budget is the issue, adjust scope, offer the same annual prepay discount available to all, or honor the quoted price through a specific date because Elite capacity is limited.

Go to Jackie.CPA to complete this step online plus bonuses.

Action Items:

Define and document your packages, including scope and exclusions per tier.

Determine your minimum annual flat fee for each level and your one-time implementation fee logic.

Write and practice your live presentation script for walking a prospect through your recommended package.

Ensure you have a signed engagement letter template and easy, online ACH collection ready for immediate client onboarding when they say yes.

By structuring and packaging your services, you have now productized an otherwise intangible offering. This makes marketing easier (you can market packages), sales easier (clear choices), and delivery smoother. It’s a vital step in converting your practice from “a job you own” to “a business that can run and scale.”

With solid packages in place, let’s move on to Part 3, where we build the internal systems and team to deliver all this efficiently and free up more of your time. But take a moment to appreciate what you’ve accomplished: you’ve now laid out a vision, niche, service transformation, pricing strategy, and service packaging. These are the core building blocks of your seven-figure advisory firm.

Coming up: how to actually streamline operations (Chapter 7), leverage technology (Chapter 8), and build a team (Chapter 9) to support this growth. You’re doing great; let’s keep going!

Amy Vetter, Integrative Advisory Services (Wiley, 2024)

Chuck Bauer, Selling Professional Services the Sandler Way (Sandler Training, 2013) — reference for coaching/mentorship in package development.

Harvard Business Review, “The Good-Better-Best Approach to Pricing,” HBR, September 2019. https://hbr.org/2018/09/the-good-better-best-approach-to-pricing

Jackie Meyer, “Tiered Packaging for Advisory Firms,” TaxPlanIQ Training Module, 2022. https://taxplaniq.com/bookbot