What Accounting Firms Need to Learn from Personal Financial Planning Specialists

Is the traditional business model holding back the profession?

by Bruce W. Marcus
Author of Professional Services Marketing 3.0

It’s not a race, nor are there prizes for the winner. But it has been suggested that personal financial planners trading in college, retirement and estate planning are light years ahead of the accounting profession in marketing.

More for CPA Trendlines PRO members:   The Delicate Art of Positioning Your Firm in the Mind of the Prospect  •  Who’s Better at Marketing?    •   Lawyers or CPAs?  • Even a Random Disaster Can Be Controlled with Risk Management  •  Managing Risk in Client Relations   •  Your Clients Love You? What If You’re Wrong?   •    The Three Degrees of Risk • Four Essential Habits for Building Client Trust • The Nine Hallmarks of a Marketing Culture • The Four Cornerstones to Building A Marketing Culture • Getting the Client is Only Half the Battle • Practice Development: It’s Not Rocket Science • Nine Fundamentals for a Healthy Marketing Culture in an Accounting Firm •

As veteran consultant Terry Lloyd, a CPA and financial advisor, points out, “Even though the lines continue to blur between the services, there are still differences in the way CPAs and financial planners are perceived.”