Bissett Bullet: Make It a ‘No Brainer’
Today’s Bissett Bullet: “The best way to talk about price is in terms of what they’re paying already.”
By Martin Bissett
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Bissett Bullet: How Are We Doing?
Today’s Bissett Bullet: “How often do you ask your current clients for feedback?”
By Martin Bissett
Building great client relationships is a fundamental part of gaining worthwhile referrals for your firm, and understanding which of your clients are the most satisfied will give you an indication of your most passionate advocates.
How do you find out? Ask them! Ask how satisfied they are, how likely they would be to recommend you to a business and whether they would be willing to provide a short testimonial for marketing purposes.
Today’s To-Do:
How you gather that feedback is entirely up to you. Whether you pick up the phone or send a short feedback survey, keep it simple.
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Bissett Bullet: Keep Your Distance
Today’s Bissett Bullet: “First impressions last. When you meet with a prospective client for the first time, how do you want them to remember you?”
By Martin Bissett
It is important that you demonstrate enthusiasm for that prospect and their business but it is also important to remember that there is a fine line between “upbeat” and “overbearing” and the latter can be construed as “pushy,” which will do you no favors.
In your eagerness to build rapport, be sure to avoid overfamiliarity. Demonstrate that working with you would be a better experience than they currently have, but do so by showing that you care and are excited by the opportunity, without invading their personal space or finishing their sentences for them.
Today’s To-Do:
Be aware of how well intentioned attempts to build rapport and put a prospect at ease could achieve quite the opposite.
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Bissett Bullet: Make Good Use of the Time You Save
Today’s Bissett Bullet: “The cost of cloud-based software or automation tools is no longer prohibitive for smaller firms so if everybody is using them, how do you stand out?”
By Martin Bissett
If technology is readily available and at a cost that makes it viable for firms of any size, then what sets you and your practice apart from your competitors is the way in which you use the time that the technology saves you, to better support your clients.
Today’s To-Do:
Estimate the amount of time you save in a week in comparison to before you upgraded to your current software. How much of that time do you spend reaching out to clients just to check on them or add value?
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Bissett Bullet: What Does It Cost to Undertake?
Today’s Bissett Bullet: “It is important to know the cost price of any given job.”
By Martin Bissett
It is not an exact science. You can calculate that cost with any given hourly recovery rate and however you see fit, but you need to know what it is. This is NOT to inform your pricing, but to inform what your break-even is. When you set your fees, they must never equate to less than cost or you are loss making, and unless there is significant long-term benefit to doing so on a short-term basis, you don’t want that.
Sounds obvious, right? So how come so many accounting firms don’t get acquired because they don’t make any money?
Today’s To-Do:
If you were to be honest with yourself, how many prospective clients really do not want to change their accountant, and how many just did not see the reason to? Now, on that basis with that reality confronted, be stronger in your next meeting with a prospective client.
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Bissett Bullet: Who are Your Centers of Influence?
Today’s Bissett Bullet: “Who is sending new business your way and who isn’t but really ought to be?”
By Martin Bissett
A “center of influence” is someone who is well known and respected within their community or industry and as a result is a valued and trusted source of referral.
This may be a restaurant owner who knows everybody in the local area because they come through their door on a regular basis, or the head of your local chamber of commerce or networking group.
Today’s To-Do:
List two or three people who are influential in your local area that you don’t have a relationship with but you should, and get to know them. Identify a mutual contact who could make an introduction or a local networking event where you might have an opportunity to speak with them.
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Bissett Bullet: Are You Their Most Trusted Advisor?
Today’s Bissett Bullet: “Be your client’s first, last and ultimate line of defense in making sure that their business and personal aspirations come to fruition.”
By Martin Bissett
The best hope of a business owner’s successful startup, project or even eventual exit remains in the hands of the most caring and proactive accountants.
Very often you will be their only support. They carry the burden of ultimate responsibility for the financial security of their business, their team or their own family. Show them that you understand, are invested in their success and are there to make that burden lighter. Come to them with solutions that save them time, money and stress and you will cement your position as their most trusted advisor.
If your clients can sleep at night because you are there to guide them, to act as a sounding board, to offer a friendly ear and to help them make the most difficult decisions, why would they ever leave?
Today’s To-Do:
In what ways do you demonstrate you are caring and proactive to your clients? Are there any improvements you can make to ensure that your clients feel fully supported at all times by you and your team?
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Make Audits Matter: Live CPE with Alan Anderson
Making Audit Matter Again: The Future of Assurance
Feb. 28, 12 PM
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