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MARKETING & SALES

Bissett Bullet: Keeping Up Appearances

Today’s Bissett Bullet: “So many judgments are made of us as accountants by prospective clients, sometimes even before we open our mouths.”

By Martin Bissett

Conclusions made about you by a potential client may be drawn from nothing more than the car you arrive in, for example, and that can be tricky. If the car is deemed too basic, the assumption will be that you’re not as successful as you say. Too flashy a car, however, and the inference will be that you’re splashing your client’s cash – “No wonder she charges us so much, we’re funding her lifestyle!” It’s a hard one to get right but as a rule, the aim is to project prosperity, not opulence.

It is important to present as professional an image as possible. In addition to clean, well pressed clothes and fresh breath, taking out an up-to-date laptop, using the latest phone and taking notes with a good quality pen are all external indicators of who and what you are and what it would be like to work with you.

Today’s To-Do:

Make sure that everything about your appearance is as professional as it could possibly be in order to create the right first impression with any potential clients.

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MARKETING & SALES

Bissett Bullet: Cash Reserves Kill Anxiety

Today’s Bissett Bullet: “The best thing you can do for your business is to build a six-month reserve for your personal and business finances.”

By Martin Bissett

Building a three- or six-month cash reserve removes anxiety. It creates calm and confidence and avoids lowballing just to win work. It frees creativity and allows you to think clearly about new ways to help your clients or to communicate your message to potential future clients.

Today’s To-Do:

Calculate your monthly expenses. Not income but what it costs you to keep the lights on for a month. Budget to save a small percentage of that each month until you have built enough of a reserve to keep going for six months without income.

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PRO Member Exclusive

Four Reasons That Managers Struggle with Relationships

The seven levels of communication management we engage in.

By Martin Bissett
Passport to Partnership

Ultimately, when we have to interact with clients, subordinates, superiors or peers, the questions are always the same: Who do I need to deliver this information to and what approach would they respond most favorably to?

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In arriving at “Communication” we come to the most intangible of all the components to obtain a “passport to partnership.”
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Bissett Bullet: What Are Your Clients Working On?

Today’s Bissett Bullet: “There is arguably as big an opportunity for many firms to generate more revenue from their existing client base as there is in seeking new business, although it should not be exclusive or at the expense of the firm’s new client growth.”

By Martin Bissett

How many of your Grade B and C clients have the potential to become Grade A clients? By examining which services your existing clients currently use you for and maintaining dialogue with those existing clients to identify other needs that are not currently being addressed, you may find yourself in a position to introduce additional support.

The key to this approach is investing time and effort into strengthening client relationships and making sure you know what it is those clients are working on at any given time.

Today’s To-Do:

Identify three Grade B or C clients who you believe have the potential to become Grade A clients, given the opportunity. Do you know what they’re working on at the moment? Time to pick up the phone and find out.

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