Are you about to do any of these? Is it worth it?
By Ed Mendlowitz
The CPA Trendlines Practice Doctor
QUESTION: I believe I have a very high degree of client trust. But somehow I feel it is not 100 percent. Any comments?
ANSWER: This person has a common problem. The trust is very high – probably higher than any other profession – but not complete. It is rare for trust to be 100 percent. But here are seven ways to lose a client’s trust:
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Take this quiz to see whether you’re phoning it in.
Do you seek out opportunities to learn new things that will help your clients overcome their most difficult challenges?
Selling value-creation advisory services is truly a slam dunk with most modern business owners, according MentorPlus. The bad news is that, although most CPAs would say they are their clients’ most trusted advisor, few could answer the following questions in the affirmative.
Accountants relieve their worst headaches.
CPA Trendlines sources are reporting on how much time and money small businesses spend each year on accounting and tax preparation and each month on payroll administration.
The data should support practitioners’ value proposition to small business owners: Some 40 percent say bookkeeping and taxes are the worst part of being in business.
Owners were also surveyed on their opinions of the most burdensome small business management tasks. Next time you talk to your clients — or prospective clients — these pain points might be worth including in the conversation…
We’ve found at least 50 items. What would you add?
By Ed Mendlowitz
The CPA Trendlines Practice Doctor
QUESTION: What type of information should be kept in, or as, permanent files?
RESPONSE: A permanent file should be maintained for each of your clients. This would include the following:
Use these busy days to get to know your clients better. With a few quick questions, every client meeting can turn into a new relationship-building opportunity. Ask how the firm is doing as a whole to assess satisfaction. Ask some … Continued
Try these 6 ideas to stop losing business to competitors.
By Sandi Smith Leyva
It’s rare that I lose business to competitors, and it’s also not an accident.
MORE: Stuck at Home Right Now? Here’s 100 Good Ideas to Relieve the Stress | How to Lead in a Crisis | How to Think Straight through the Coronavirus Crisis | 16 Tech Tools for Working through the Coronavirus | 7 Tips to Keep the Clients You Have | Do You Know Your Opportunity Number? | 7 Tips to Boost Your Firm’s Performance | 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Seeking New Clients
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If you are losing business to your competitors, here are some strategies you can use to “become a category of one,” as they say in marketing.
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By Ed Mendlowitz
The CPA Trendlines Practice Doctor
QUESTION: I performed some additional services for a client and gave her a bill that she questioned and wanted to know how much time I had spent. I billed more than the time charges, but this client never gets time bills – everything I do is on a fixed fee so I never account for my time with her. What should I say now?
MORE PRACTICE DOCTOR Q&A: 18 Ways to Blow a Partnership Opportunity | When Experience Doesn’t Add Up | 8 Times When Hourly Billing Trumps Value Pricing | 6 Simple Steps to Impress a Prospect | Making Meetings More Productive | 5 Time Management Tips for an Overworked Accountant | Running an Accounting Business | 14 Ways to Switch to Value Pricing | Pricing, Billing, Costing: Don’t Blame Clients
RESPONSE: If a client is on a strict time basis, they are entitled to a breakdown of the hours and person performing the services.
Otherwise, when clients ask me how I arrived at a bill I tell them something similar to this:
With client retention the top issue for firms, we go looking for the “secret sauce” for landing new business.
Join the survey; get the results
By Rick Telberg
CPA Trendlines
If you want some real answers for how to avoid losing clients, just start asking CPAs how they’ve managed to pick up new clients.
That’s exactly what we’ve been doing lately. Some of the answers are startling. All of them are instructional. Most of the time, accountants can blame the CPA that their new clients were abandoned. READ MORE →