here’s what you’re looking for: martin bissett

today’s bissett bullet: “your clients will have needs that you are unable to fulfill. signposting to ‘best in class’ not only serves your client beyond the scope of the firm’s work with them, but also elevates your expertise in the eyes of your clients.”

by martin bissett

the most advanced stage of advisory services is signposting other support that your clients may need. be it recruitment, marketing, investing or something else entirely, if their requirements go beyond the skillset of your firm then you should at least be in a position to advise them on who they should listen to.

making introductions to your network of contacts and the professionals you trust helps your clients to achieve the outcomes you have agreed together and further establishes you as a trusted advisor.

today’s to-do:

go one step further. use your knowledge of your client’s business to foresee other needs. what recommendations are you about to make for which introductions may be useful? have them ready.

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today’s bissett bullet: “‘businesses like what we have to say, they just don’t want to change their accountant.’ really? then why were they talking to you?”

by martin bissett

so often we make excuses for why we did not win work and why we did not have the guts to go through with actually asking for the business. i get told so often that a prospect does not want to change their accountant.

there are only two possibilities here:

1. either they were wasting your time, unlikely, or

2. they did not have a strong enough case for changing, likely.

if that is the case, revisit exactly what is involved in your conversation with the prospective client because you were not there for the sake of their health. you were there to discuss them coming to work with you. if they do not want to change, ask yourself why not?

today’s to-do:

if you were to be honest with yourself, how many prospective clients really do not want to change their accountant, and how many just did not see the reason to? now, on that basis with that reality confronted, be stronger in your next meeting with a prospective client.

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today’s bissett bullet: “we talk a lot about what we could do for clients. we talk a lot about what we should do for clients and what we would do for prospects. what we don’t often talk about is what they need right now.”

by martin bissett

what if you found out what challenges they face now, what they want to achieve now and how you could help immediately to help them really accelerate their business? the “now” accountant is one who deals with fast fixes that make a huge impact for that client.

today’s to-do:

do you know of anything your clients are facing right now for which you could offer a quick and effective solution? let them know about it. if you do not already offer a solution, what new value could be created to meet that immediate need?

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today’s bissett bullet: “we all use the same technology and the offer is very consistent so what sets us apart is our people.”

by martin bissett

if the tech is the same as our competitors, then it is our identity, the culture in our firm that sets us apart. you can have the best strategy in the world, but without the culture that engages people to deliver on your vision, it won’t work.

take a look at the culture of your business. does it reflect your vision and values? do your people know what the vision and value are and how do they reflect them? have you created an environment where they are happy to spend up to half of their waking life?

a happy, engaged, loyal team who understand what you want to be known for and are motivated to deliver that will result in greater retention, reduced recruitment cost and outstanding client experiences.

today’s to-do:

ask a team member at random what it is they think you most want your firm to be known for. do they know? do you know?

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today’s bissett bullet: “some of us are compliance providers only and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that if that’s what you want to do, but beware of what is happening elsewhere.”

by martin bissett

there are no two ways about it, tech is coming for your job if your job is compliance-based. software companies want you to upload data to the cloud so that they can see what it is you do and create ai solutions for your clients. will there still be compliance work out there? of course, but whether or not it will be at a rate you are happy working for is yet to be seen.

this is solely a threat in terms of those clients who only have compliance needs. if you are a firm that is reliant on that work, now is the time to build a pipeline that brings you bigger and better clients. if you are already at the advisory stage then you cannot be replaced by tech. in fact, many firms that already go beyond compliance have written themselves into their clients’ strategic plans for years to come, because they are recognized as critical to that plan and an integral part of the business operation.

today’s to-do:

take a look at your current client base. if you took your compliance-only clients out of the equation, what would you be left with?

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today’s bissett bullet: “identify your major form of marketing but beware of overdependence.”

by martin bissett

the key to developing an effective marketing strategy is understanding who your customers are and how to reach them. often, one form of marketing will yield by far the best results for your business and it is absolutely right to treat that as a priority but by focusing all of your efforts on that method alone, you are limiting yourself in terms of opportunity.

today’s to-do:

decide on a secondary marketing activity. what resources do you need to execute it correctly and what level of assistance will you need from your team in terms of “selling skills” in order to capitalize on the opportunities it will create?

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today’s bissett bullet: “can you really call yourself an advisor if you don’t know where your own business is coming from and you have no plan to proactively grow?”

by martin bissett

if the majority of your new client income is generated by referrals then you’re getting something right. if you are providing a level of service that is resulting in a steady stream of recommendations then well done! but you can’t rely on referrals alone. if you needed to proactively grow, what would be your plan?

if you don’t know, that should ring an alarm bell in your mind. don’t be subject to external factors. you need a pipeline in place or should those referrals be turned off for whatever reason, would cash flow quickly become an issue?

today’s to-do:

revisit your marketing strategy and if you think you are too busy to implement it yourself, consider who you could put in place for you.

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