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Today’s Bissett Bullet: “How easy or difficult it is for an accountant to write a powerful proposal document is often dependent on how well the initial meeting with the prospective client went.”

By Martin Bissett

If I had a penny for every time somebody had reported a new business meeting they had attended and said to me, “Martin, you don’t understand, there was just no client need. I’m not sure why I was there, I could see no opportunity.” All these three phrases are code for “I did not find the need,” “I did not create strong empathy and rapport,” “I did not put together a compelling commercial argument for that business to work with our accounting firm.”

If this is true of your client meeting, you will find a proposal very difficult to write because you will be competing on the fronts of price, geography and likeability rather than a return on investment, which is the front we should be fighting on.

Today’s To-Do:

When reviewing your next quote or proposal document read it from the client’s perspective before you present it to them and see if YOU would buy from you. If not, can you identify an opportunity you missed to build rapport? Bear it in mind for the future.

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Today’s Bissett Bullet: “Imagine you’re a business owner and you’ve just had a meeting with an accounting firm. The meeting went really well; in fact they made a very positive first impression and you are seriously considering leaving your current accountant to work with them. You did forget to ask something, so you make a quick call to their office … and nobody knows who you are.”

By Martin Bissett

You could be forgiven for feeling a little deflated. Now imagine you called and instead were greeted by a member of their support team who not only knew exactly who you are but had been instructed to put you straight through should you happen to call.

This is a very easy and effective way to make prospective clients feel valued, prioritized and ingrained in your firm’s culture but simple though it is, your competitors will not do it. Stand out by making sure that clients are handled in this way by your firm.

Today’s To-Do:

Diarize time after a meeting or set aside time each week to brief support staff on all prospective clients.

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Today’s Bissett Bullet: “All it takes for an accounting practice to stagnate is capable, talented partners to take up a position of ‘my clients,’ ‘my fees.’”

By Martin Bissett

How often have we heard about a multipartner practice simply being a selection of sole practitioners operating under a common brand? So many accounting firms operate from silos, never really looking above to see what is going on anywhere else. So, as soon as it becomes “my clients and my fees” rather than “our clients, the firm’s fees,” then you can be sure the practice is on a slow steady decline.

Today’s To-Do:

If you ever catch yourself or one of your colleagues talking about “my clients, my fees,” remind them that they are a “partner in a practice” and that they are working for the good of the whole, not solely the good of the individual.

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Today’s Bissett Bullet: “When a prospective client already has an accountant, it is important to recognize that although they are demonstrating an interest in working with you by agreeing to meet, there will be a degree of loyalty to the current firm even if they’ve identified the need for change.”

By Martin Bissett

This is important because it places them out of their comfort zone. They may feel apprehensive about severing ties and it may not be that the accountant is doing a bad job, simply that their business has grown past the point that the existing firm can continue to support them. Whatever the case, you won’t win an emotional argument with logic. 

Today’s To-Do:

Look at the next prospect meeting in your diary. What do you know about them already that will help you to speak to them in emotional terms? Select a story about how you helped a similar client that may resonate and have it in your armory.

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Today’s Bissett Bullet: “I’m a small firm. How can I possibly be perceived as ‘superior’ to the much larger firms that my prospective client is meeting?”

By Martin Bissett

There is a mindset shift needed here. “Superior” is not “bigger” so turnover, office size and number of partners bear no relevance.

You are superior when you show a genuine interest in the business you have gone to see and take the time to understand their personal and professional motivations. When you take that understanding and use your experience and your service lines to bring the answers to their door, that is being superior. Win the advisory war by becoming the best relationship builder firm, not the biggest firm.

Today’s To-Do:

Previously, I asked you to identify three clients who had come to you having been dissatisfied with their experience with their previous accountant. Were any of those firms larger than yours? What about the previous firms of other clients whose situations you have improved? When imposter syndrome creeps in, remember those clients.

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Today’s Bissett Bullet: “Selling ‘pushes’ something to a prospective client. Attracting them to buy ‘pulls’ them toward your value. There’s a big difference.”

By Martin Bissett

The accounting profession is awash with marketing and business development gurus who have come from a retail environment. They believe that what works in retail, such as a certain percentage off your first year’s fee or a “buy now and save,” or indeed a deadline-style approach, is going to be effective in professional service selling. In reality, the professional service relationship requires a lot more maturity than that.

Our goal as a practice should always be to demonstrate irrefutably how good we are through third-party stories and case studies and let the tribe select themselves from there. If we “push” to everyone, we are going to end up with a lot of clients we did not really want. Not all business is good business.

Today’s To-Do:

Take a look at your current marketing content and ask yourself, am I pushing services upon an indifferent marketplace here or am I simply showcasing the results that I obtain for clients day in, day out? If it is the former, change it. If it is the latter, broadcast it even more loudly than you are now.

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