Here’s what you’re looking for: Martin Bissett

Today’s Bissett Bullet: “Your proposal document is what will differentiate you from the competition and show why that business should break away from their current accountant. To do so, it must speak to them on a level they understand.”

By Martin Bissett

Most proposal documents focus on one area. The accountancy firm, the services on offer and their associated cost. You must operate to a higher standard than that.

Your proposal must tell the prospective client’s story. What their obstacles have been, their major business goals and what the opportunities now are, as you see them.

It must demonstrate that you are a better option than they currently have, because you are invested in their goals and are in the business of achieving them by removing their obstacles and maximizing their opportunities.

Today’s To-Do:

Take a proposal of yours that has yet to be sent and review it. Does it fit the description above of a higher standard of proposal document? If not, there is still time. Reflect on the notes you took at the first meeting and use them to update it.

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Today’s Bissett Bullet: “Business owners are busy people. If they already have an accounting firm and have asked or agreed to spend time meeting with you, you can safely assume they’re open to change. Don’t lose momentum.”

By Martin Bissett

Picture this scenario. You’ve met with a potential client and it’s gone well. They may have given you a tour of their offices, you’ve talked through their issues and you know you can help them but the meeting has reached its natural conclusion and this is when you say goodbye and promise to send a proposal. Don’t do that.

Instead, tell them that you have identified several ways in which you can help them and need to put some thought into the best solution. Suggest the second meeting for a date that gives you sufficient time to prepare your proposal. If they are resistant to meeting again when they’ve been willing to invest time into speaking with you, then that should be a red flag that something has gone wrong during your meeting.

Today’s To-Do:

There is a very real possibility that the above approach will be met with a request for your proposal to be emailed. Practice doing the following so that it feels natural when you next have a conversation with a potential new client:

Ask who else in the business is involved in the decision to hire another accounting firm and when would be convenient to get everyone involved in the process in a room so you can share your thoughts with them all and give everyone a feel for what it would be like to work together.

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Today’s Bissett Bullet: Partner: “We tried this before and it didn’t work.”
MB: “Based on your analysis of that project, why didn’t it work?”
*silence*
Partner: “Dunno.”

By Martin Bissett

“We tried marketing and it did not work” is a refrain often heard from the managing partner’s office. This is because they neither understand marketing nor understand the failure or success thereof. To understand the subject, we first must master it, so bear in mind that to understand what makes a great marketing person or a great marketing campaign, we first must understand the discipline itself.

Today’s To-Do:

Take advice from a leader in their field about what works and what doesn’t in terms of professional services marketing so that you can delegate the task of marketing your firm in the future with the assurance and discernment that you know what works and what doesn’t.

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Today’s Bissett Bullet: “If a potential client is with a firm that has done a good job recording their past, let’s applaud that. We’re still the right choice for their future.”

By Martin Bissett

Just like in politics, it’s so easy to disparage the competition rather than provide solutions. We often ignore the fact that the business owner we are talking to is the one who chose the competition in the first place. By disparaging the competition, we are disparaging the client’s decision-making abilities and suggesting that they would not be clever by choosing us either.

When we find an accountant who has done a genuinely good job, let us congratulate our prospect for having partnered with a strong professional organization and not lose sight of why no matter how good they are, we are better.

Today’s To-Do:

Let’s understand before we ever get to a meeting with the prospect how we are likely to be superior as a commercial choice for this business. We should not be competing on price, we should not be competing on services, but we should always be competing on outcomes.

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Today’s Bissett Bullet: “Well, what you say is very interesting but it seems like a lot more money for no extra benefit.”

By Martin Bissett

Have you heard this objection? If the above claim is true, then unless you have presented a like-for-like proposal that is significantly more expensive than your prospective client is currently paying, they simply haven’t understood your offer.

Calmly re-explain how your proposal meets the needs of their business over and above what they currently receive and talk them through the outcomes that they can expect for this increase in fee. Ultimately, if they understand the benefit and aren’t prepared to invest then you’ll know to walk away.

Today’s To-Do:

Be prepared for this scenario by rehearsing with a colleague prior to your presentation. If this particular prospect were to need further explanation, which outcomes would you highlight and which of your success stories may resonate?

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Today’s Bissett Bullet: “Technology designed to set pricing should be used as an aid, to sense-check a proposal and ensure that you are receiving fair remuneration for the value that you provide, not as a crutch because you don’t understand the mechanism of pricing.”

By Martin Bissett

If you rely on technology to set your pricing then you will get caught out if your prospect would like to progress but wants to pick and choose from your preset solutions. Subordinating all of your thinking to the technology will leave you unable to adapt that package under pressure and puts you in danger of making a costly error.

Today’s To-Do:

If you are in the habit of relying on technology to calculate pricing, stop. Use it only as a sense check from now on. If you have any proposals yet to be delivered, make sure you fully understand the value of each solution so that you can alter the package to reflect any requests from your prospective client, without any impact on profitability.

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Today’s Bissett Bullet: “A real frustration for many accounting professionals is clients who ignore a suggestion from them but when someone else suggests it, they think it’s a great idea. Why does that happen?”

By Martin Bissett

Superior accounting firms deliver to their clients; increased self-esteem, saved businesses and saved relationships to name but a few. In order to be considered a trusted advisor, sometimes you need to be tough with a client to deliver the outcomes that they need as well as the ones they want. Then they will start to take you more seriously and value your suggestions rather than pay them lip service.

Today’s To-Do:

Identify a client for whom you know you can deliver a better outcome if they take the action you’ve previously suggested and make a note for your next meeting to revisit the conversation. Prepare your case in advance and stand firm.

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