If it feels like price shoppers keep showing up in your inbox, it is not bad luck.

It is not the market. It is not the economy.

And it is definitely not because “clients are just cheap these days.”

Price shoppers are not random.

They are responding exactly to what your firm is signaling.

And once you see why, it becomes very clear how to make them disappear.

The uncomfortable truth about price shoppers

Here is the part most CPAs do not want to hear.

Price shoppers do not hunt for cheap CPAs. They are attracted to unclear CPAs.

When a firm leads with vague services like tax prep, tax planning, bookkeeping, or free consultations, the only thing a prospect can compare is price.

Think about it like this...

If you walk into a restaurant and the menu just says...

“Food. Cooked well.”

You are going to ask one question...

“How much?”

That is exactly what happens when your messaging sounds like every other CPA firm.

No clear outcome. No defined client. No visible transformation.

So prospects default to the only variable left. Cost.

Why good clients never ask about price first

Serious business owners do not start with price.

They start with risk.

They are asking questions like:

• Do you understand my situation?

• Have you solved this before?

• Is this going to cost me more if I get it wrong?

When those questions are answered clearly, price becomes secondary.

When they are not answered, price becomes the entire conversation.

This is why two firms can offer similar work and get completely different clients.

One firm sounds like a vendor. The other sounds like a guide.

Vendors get price shopped. Guides get chosen.

The hidden signal that invites price shoppers in

Most CPA firms unknowingly send one powerful signal.

“We help everyone.”

That signal tells the market:

• The work is interchangeable

• The firm is flexible

• The firm competes on availability and cost

Price shoppers love that.

It tells them they can negotiate. It tells them they can compare. It tells them there is no downside to shopping around.

This is not about being wrong. It is about being invisible.

When you try to speak to everyone, the only people who clearly hear you are the ones shopping on price.

Why raising fees does not fix the problem

Many CPAs try to solve this by raising prices.

Sometimes it works. Often it does not.

Here is why...

If the positioning stays vague, higher prices just attract angry price shoppers instead of cheap ones.

Same client behavior. More friction. More awkward conversations.

Pricing is not a filter by itself.

Positioning is the filter. Pricing simply enforces it.

When the message is clear, higher fees feel logical.

When the message is unclear, higher fees feel offensive.

How price shoppers actually disappear

Price shoppers do not need to be rejected.

They need to self select out.

That only happens when your firm clearly communicates three things.

First, who you are for. Specific beats broad every time.

Second, what outcome you lead with.

Not tasks. Not services. Results.

Third, how your process works.

Structure signals seriousness.

When those are clear, something interesting happens.

Price shoppers stop booking calls. They stop replying. They quietly move on.

And in their place, a different type of client shows up.

• Clients who want clarity.

• Clients who want guidance.

• Clients who want a partner, not a bargain.

The after picture most CPAs want but never design for

Imagine opening your calendar and not wondering who you are about to talk to.

No guessing. No pre call anxiety. No mental math about whether this will be worth your time.

Just conversations with people who already understand:

• This is advisory

• This is structured

• This is not cheap

• This is worth it

That outcome is not accidental.

It is designed.

And it starts long before pricing ever comes up.

Final thought

Price shoppers are not a client problem.

They are a positioning signal.

Fix the signal, and the noise disappears.