CS-Connections

07/18/2018

Are you good at getting follow-up meetings with persons who you meet at networking events?

Let’s begin by using a real estate agent as an example. The real estate agent is at a networking event. She meets someone and it doesn’t take long before they ask “what do you do?” She responds by saying “I sell real estate” and then adds “I help buyers and sellers complete successful transactions”. Does that make the person she met jump up and down? No.

Then someone suggested to the real estate agent that she develop an elevator speech. She learned that an elevator pitch is a 10 to 30 second mini-commercial that highlights the major benefit that she provides that her competition does NOT. This would separate her from her competitors, grab the other persons’ attention and entice them to want to know more.

The real estate agent created an elevator pitch unlike most of her competitors: “We help homeowners sell their home and our commission is 3%. We provide the same service as other agents who charge 5 – 6%. This translates into saving at least $10,000 on a $500,000 sale”. Note that she used “we” rather than “I”, thereby conveying the message that she is not alone.
If asked how they are able to do this, she replied: “Our realtor firm is able to do this by keeping overhead costs low and the owner providing his agents with a larger portion of the commission than in traditional realty firms. He does very well, based on our volume of sales.”

More as it pertains to accountants at:

Let’s begin by using a real estate agent as an example. The real estate agent is at a networking event. She meets someone and it doesn’t take long before they ask “what do you do?” She responds by saying “I sell real estate” and then adds “I help buyers and sellers complete successful ...

07/16/2018

WHAT DO increasing your clientele AND increasing your transactions & gross margin per client HAVE IN COMMON?

Increasing your clientele involves:
1. Generating leads
2. Converting leads to become clients
a. Generating interest
b. Selling solutions

Increasing your transactions & gross margin per client involves:
a. Generating interest
b. Solution selling

While the context for “generating interest” and “solution selling” selling is different for increasing your clientele THAN FOR increasing your transactions & gross margin per client, THE PROCESS IS THE SAME.

GENERATING INTEREST involves:
• Asking questions, e.g., what is working well, what is not working well
• Listening
• Asking what they want most, re addressing what is not working well
• Getting them to agree to discuss ways of addressing their top priority items re what is not working well (assuming you can and want to help them) – it helps to have an effective elevator speech (the subject of a future blog)

SOLUTION SELLING does not involve “selling” but rather:
i. Asking questions that help you understand their pain and that result in the prospective clients verbalizing and confirming their pain
ii. Asking questions that help you understanding their expectations and that result in them verbalizing and confirming the impact or benefits of overcoming or resolving their pain
iii. Asking questions that result in them agreeing on a course of action that would overcome or resolve their pain
iv. Establishing a win-win agreement

Each of steps (i) – (iii) involves asking leading questions, beginning with general questions, then in-depth questions, and then questions to confirm agreement. It’s referred to as the “Solution Selling” process.

The exhibit (below) presents an overview of the Solution Selling process. It appears cumbersome but after applying it a few times, it’s very easy.

07/12/2018

What makes for a successful partnership?

I’ve talked with partners in many accounting firms with 1 – 15 partners about growing their business. I often receive comments like:
• I’d love to do that but my partners won’t go for it
• We would benefit from doing that but it’s not worth it given the amount of effort to get my partners to agree
• I’ll have to wait to do that until my partner retires

Aside from the attributes of a healthy and successful partnership as per the exhibit at the link below, it is important to ensure that:
1. The entrance criteria are applied and met
2. There is a partnership agreement
3. There are periodic reviews
4. The partnership agreement addresses how you will deal with:
a. Retirement
b. Departure prior to retirement
c. Non-voluntary departure

Sometimes life throws curveballs at us and we find ourselves in a tight spot. A well regarded workshop for dealing with issues and differences of opinion is offered by VitalSmarts, called Crucial Conversations (https://www.vitalsmarts.com/crucial-conversations-training/). The founders of VitalSmarts are former colleagues of the late Stephen Covey.

EXHIBIT at: https://cs-connections.com/uncategorized/what-makes-for-a-successful-partnership/

"Giving our new leaders the skills to effectively and comfortably handle crucial conversations has a tremendous positive impact on their ability to create relationships of trust."

07/09/2018

Ever considered providing your clients with non-typical business advisory services?

Many small to medium-sized business owners want to improve their wealth and lifestyle. Common ways of achieving this are:
1. Get more customers
2. Increase the transactions and gross margin per customer
3. Find ways to improve performance and reduce costs

To test your interest and that of your clients, you could host client appreciation events: invite your clients, ask them to bring a guest (preferably a business owner and not a client) and show them how to address (1), (2) and / or (3). You’d be:
• Providing value to your clients
• Introducing yourself and providing value to prospective clients
• Distinguishing yourself from your competition
• Getting feedback from current and prospective clients regarding their interest

What would you present? If you were to make such improvements for your own firm, you would be well positioned to explain it to others. And by the time you have prepared yourself to explain it to others, you’d realize how easy it would be to provide such services – especially if you target particular types of business. http://cs-connections.com

07/05/2018

Should you take leadership and teamwork to a higher level within your firm? If so, how and why?

In my opinion: yes, you should. Once you see why, you may agree with me.

The explanation of the how and the why is too long for a Facebook paste – they are explained at:

https://cs-connections.com/uncategorized/should-you-take-leadership-and-teamwork-to-a-higher-level-within-your-firm-if-so-how-and-why/

The explanation includes reference to the exhibit below.

07/03/2018

Thinking of retirement but your accounting firm is not ready for you to retire?

Your situation may be as follows:
• You currently do not have or know of anyone within or outside of your firm who is suitable, ready or wants to take over from you
• You are not sure if and/or how maximize the value of your firm

Key considerations regarding how to proceed are:
• Whether to enhance the value of you firm before selling it
• How, when and to whom you sell your firm

How much you want or need from the sale of your firm may be a key factor in deciding whether or not to enhance the value of your firm. Ways of enhancing the value of your firm are:
• Increasing the clientele
• Increasing the number of transactions and gross margin per client
• Having effective people, systems and procedures to market and deliver services
• Reducing cost (if possible) in order to optimize your net income
• Involving person(s) who will buy your firm for several years prior to you actually selling and retiring (i.e., a transition period) – in order to minimize the attrition rate of clients

Having a transition period requires identifying and developing an agreement, in advance, with person(s) or another firm.

Your best immediate next move is to engage an adviser & coach who you trust to help you objectively assess your situation and decide on your next steps, before it is too late.

More>> www.cs-connections.com

06/25/2018

Make your accounting firm more profitable

Start with the lowest hanging fruit and then work your way up. To do this, assess each of the following areas and establish priorities:
 Increase your clientele
 Increase your number of transactions and gross margin per client
 Leverage your acquisitions
 Improve your performance, capacity and capability

If you want help doing the assessment, we can help you using our “exchange” which is a no-cost 45-55 minute online session -- for more information go to http://growur.business/learn2/

The exhibit below provides a template for using the results of the assessment to establish priorities for improving profits.

06/21/2018

Have you figured out if and how to use social media for developing your business?
Suggestions:
1. Understand how doing business has and continues to change (Read Ctl Alt Delete by Mitch Joel)
2. Acquire a basic understanding of how to use social media technology to develop your business so that you can at least ask your social media expert the right questions (Read Social Media 101 by Chris Brogan)
3. Develop an overall strategic marketing campaign
4. Apply a 4 step social media action plan -- as part of the campaign in (3):
a. Optimize your web-based tool box , e.g., web site, blog site, landing page, …
b. Optimize your social media tool box, e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn, …
c. Social media campaign – part 1 (attract)
d. Social media campaign – part 2 (reach out)
More>>

05/28/2018

Do you know how to increase your transactions and fees per client?

Suggestions:
1. Learn what more you could do to provide more value and results for your clients
2. Look and listen for pain or opportunity
3. Conduct discussion with prospect or client, using “Solution - Selling” (see photo)
More>> http://growur.business/learn2/

05/17/2018

Smallish accounting firms face many challenges including recruiting & retaining staff, workflow & efficiency, adopting new technology, meeting client expectations, attracting new clients, being overworked, increased competition, ….. Their overriding challenge is pushing back on change. It’s all about mindset. Once the partners have embraced change, they establish a longer term vision, a 12 month goal, a step-by-step strategic business map and then move into action (constantly and strategically innovating). http://growur.business/learn2/

04/05/2018

Looking for ways to increase your services and fees per client is one way of growing your accounting practice. A more progressive approach is to increase your number of clients. This requires generating leads by advertising, pay per click to get visitors to your web site, sending out emails or brochures, …. Most small businesses including accountants find that this results in disappointment and frustration. The reason is that persons who see your ad, brochure, email, etc., are not looking for an accountant, sort of thinking of getting a new accountant, …. or urgently need an accountant. Even if they urgently need an accountant, today’s prospective buyer will usually search the web to check out your competitors and look to see who has reviews. All your ad, brochure, email, … does, at best, is generate leads (possible clients). What you need to do is develop and implement a strategy (comprised of tactics) for maximizing the number of leads who become clients? More>>

03/12/2018

You can try growing your business by doing what many bookkeepers and accountants do (often with disappointing results), e.g., improve their web site.

It’s best to start with a fresh perspective and look for strategies and tactics to increase leads, increase conversions to clients, increase transactions per client, increase revenue per client and increase profits.

More>>