martin bissett, author at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 - page 11 of 29

six keys to turning prospects into clients

plus seven things that trusted advisors don’t need to do.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

what makes a written proposal become accepted by the potential client – every time?

more: seven mistakes in winning new fees | tell the world your worth | four surprising keys to communication | culture can’t be ignored | three questions about your competence | 10 can’t-skip steps for business development | attract clients, don’t chase them | success in business comes second | business won’t come to you | forged in fire: the pains of leadership
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

proposal writing is a micro-science in its own right but here are the proven principles that it takes to get proposals accepted.
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marketing & sales

bissett bullet: relationship building

today’s bissett bullet: “if we’re on dragon’s den, we ‘pitch.’ if we’re an accountant meeting with new potential clients, we build a relationship.”

by martin bissett

never fall into the trap that we are pitching for new work or that we should have a “spiel” of any kind. this is not a junior sales opportunity. the relationship that a business owner has with their accounting professional is known as the “most trusted” and as a result of that it should be treated with due reverence in each meeting scenario. even when you are in a “beauty parade” situation, you are not pitching for the business, you are building relationships. make sure that your language reflects that.

today’s to-do:

review the last meeting you had with a prospective client. if you were on their side of the table, were they being pitched to or were they having a relationship built with them?

see more bissett bullets here

marketing & sales

seven mistakes in winning new fees

plus nine metrics to measure.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

like it or not, the 21st-century accountant is in the relationship-building business.

when a qualified accountant learns the art of developing those relationships in such a way as they empower the practice to be able to forecast its new fee income each year, the accountant becomes a profit center and their value to the firm increases tenfold.

more: tell the world your worth | don’t overlook internal communication | four reasons people struggle with communication | why firm culture matters for partners | competence is step one of seven | three things that rich accountants do | make your expertise a new-client magnet
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

our fourth “c,” conversion, has flirted with being the top answer from respondents in the passport to partnership study and has featured in over 80 percent of all firms interviewed as to what makes a senior manager stand out as a potential partner.
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marketing & sales

bissett bullet: do you need it?

today’s bissett bullet: “before you invest in the latest software in the name of progress, what is your true motivation? is it because it will make a clear difference to the service you are able to offer or will ‘shiny new object syndrome’ last until the next piece of new software is available?”

by martin bissett

if you cannot correlate the cost of new software with the difference that it will make to the profitability of your practice and the outcomes that you deliver for your clients, then it is not a wise investment.

having a clear vision as to the purpose of your investment, with the client at the center, will help not only to determine the most suitable software but also to ensure that money is spent wisely. if you cannot demonstrate a benefit either directly or indirectly to your clients, then it is of no use.

today’s to-do:

what do you currently have on your wish list in terms of software or technology? what difference would this really make to your clients and can you really justify the cost?

see more bissett bullets here

marketing & sales

bissett bullet: keep it simple

today’s bissett bullet: “is your marketing copy based on what you want to tell people you do, or what they want you to do for them?”

by martin bissett

i am not an accountant, i am a business owner. when i talk to other business owners about what they want from their accountant, they all say the same two things:

1) i want someone to make my life easier and
2) i want someone to help me make more money. anything else is unnecessary.

we need to articulate our services in those terms. how does what we do make their lives easier and how does it put more money in their pockets?

today’s to-do:

review your website copy. does it make clear to potential clients that you will achieve these outcomes for them? if not, it’s time for an update.

see more bissett bullets here

pro member exclusive

tell the world your worth

bonus: exercises to define and refine your message.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

an advisor is trusted when they can show that they

took responsibility for their end of the bargain in the client engagement,
educated the client of their responsibilities,
offered prompting and assistance throughout but then allowed the client to ultimately govern themselves in terms of following through on their commitments.

more: don’t overlook internal communication | how to develop your communication abilities | five questions for measuring partner potential | five ways to rally your firm to its culture | when would-be partners aren’t candidates | make your expertise a new-client magnet | don’t think of it as selling | experts: what it takes to become partner | where is your next money coming from?
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

this then empowers the advisor to make a commercial decision when the client now faces the consequences, as to whether they want to communicate even more assistance to make things all better for the clients and gain huge appreciation and emotional capital.
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marketing & sales

bissett bullet: demonstrate genuine interest

today’s bissett bullet: “how can you further demonstrate that your interest in a new client is genuine and not just a means to secure their business?”

by martin bissett

when you have successfully won a new client, take an appropriate amount of time to conclude the meeting away from business matters if possible, in order to further strengthen the relationship you have entered into.

giving them an additional 20-30 minutes of your time to discuss unrelated topics and find common ground, rather than rushing away before the ink is dry on their signature, will serve to demonstrate a genuine interest.

today’s to-do:

diarize sufficient time for your next proposal delivery to allow for some time to chat informally with your new client rather than rush off.

see more bissett bullets here

pro member exclusive

don’t overlook internal communication

bonus checklist: five questions to evaluate yourself.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

the passport to partnership study collated a number of responses in a conversational style. several examples really stood out as the first steps in effective communication:

would we put this person in front of a client?

more: how to develop your communication abilities | four surprising keys to communication | three questions about your competence | 10 can’t-skip steps for business development | attract clients, don’t chase them | eight questions to hold yourself accountable | 10 questions for reconsidering your prices
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

meaning: the clients are our source of income; we don’t jeopardize that for anything. if we think that this person will do anything less than consolidate the perception of the firm and its people in the eyes of the client, we’ll keep them back in the office.
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growth strategies

bissett bullet: be proactive

today’s bissett bullet: “the accounting profession, by and large, is reactive. business referrals are too often viewed as ‘unforecasted’ and not proactively sought, resulting in a feast or famine scenario over which practitioners have no control.”

by martin bissett

proactively seeking referrals should be a part of your practice dna. rather than leave it to chance, make referrals a prerequisite of working together. initiate regular conversations with clients to establish who they feel would benefit from an introduction.

if you lay out your referral expectations during the client onboarding process and make time for regular conversations during client meetings, this will become a given.

today’s to-do:

for each of the client meetings in your diary, make a note to have this conversation. keep noting it as a reminder until you routinely ask out of habit.

see more bissett bullets here

pro member exclusive

how to develop your communication abilities

three outlooks from our exclusive expert council: pipe, dobek, grundy.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

what does communication mean at the partner level?

more: four surprising keys to communication | four reasons people struggle with communication | why firm culture matters for partners | three things that rich accountants do | four reasons it’s hard to sell | eight questions to hold yourself accountable | win your first client: yourself | 10 questions for reconsidering your prices
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

ask yourself and answer these questions when considering the current and future communication tactics that you’ll employ.
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marketing & sales

bissett bullet: why do i need to change to your firm?

today’s bissett bullet: “we might understand the pressing need for the client to act fast on our proposals but do they?”

by martin bissett

being able to save a client thousands in tax may or may not convince them to use you. explaining how the redistribution of that saving brings them closer to realizing their professional and personal goals, will.

the less commercial urgency there is for a business to engage you, the easier it will be for them to reject your proposal.

today’s to-do:

what are the most common and pressing business issues that you’ve seen motivate businesses to join yours or other firms? are issues of that nature present in those businesses that you are currently talking to?

see more bissett bullets here

pro member exclusive

four surprising keys to communication

component parts of how the other person perceives your in-person communication

how to show that you value your clients – and yourself.

by martin bissett
business development on a budget

i’ve had the benefit of meeting, speaking and observing hundreds of very successful and unsuccessful partners over the last two decades and there is indeed a set of differentiating factors that set a partner apart from the chasing pack.

more: four reasons people struggle with communication | five questions for measuring partner potential | five ways to rally your firm to its culture | when would-be partners aren’t candidates | make your expertise a new-client magnet | don’t think of it as selling | experts: what it takes to become partner | where is your next money coming from? | your website promises. do you deliver? | five reasons firms don’t thrive | what the next generation of practice leaders faces
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

here are the four “best-selling behaviors” that i’ve observed:

1. road tested

none of us can have a track record of partner-level excellence on day one in the position but we can be road tested in four ways:
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marketing & sales

bissett bullet: the price is right

today’s bissett bullet: “in the accounting world, pricing is always an issue and it needn’t be.”

by martin bissett

when you price a new job, there are three prices to consider and we will cover these in more detail later but for now, the first is the ideal price – at which you would feel fairly remunerated for the results you bring to the client. the second is the walkaway price, at which you wouldn’t consider working with the client for any less than; and then the cost price, which is what it costs for you to complete the work.

any job you take on must fall between your ideal price and your walkaway price. do you know what they are?

today’s to-do:

sense check your most recent proposal. what will it cost you to complete the work? what would you ideally be paid for that work and at what price should you have been prepared to walk away? how did the figure you agreed on with that client compare?

see more bissett bullets here

martin bissett

more at store.m.g005e.com

never mind the bullets digital daily | learn more.

martin bissett is the author of

never mind the bullets, the 366-day year-long daily email subscription providing guidance and inspiration for practicing professionals. | learn more
winning your first client,
passport to partnership, and
meet your new best client

shop the martin bissett practice growth collection

he is the founder of the upward spiral partnership ltd., the uk-based consulting firm that specializes in the implementation of professional selling and leadership skills in the next generation of accounting professionals.

learn more about addviserplus here

get martin bissett's practice growth checklist

click for free download here

previously, martin served ten years on the board of directors of the uk’s leading provider of high-quality new business appointments for accountancy firms. there, he held the responsibility for the nurture and organic growth of the organization’s new client base, including six of the uk’s top 30 firms of accountants.

martin became fascinated by the apparent juxtaposition of partners not vocalizing what they were looking for in terms of an accomplished skill set from their potential future partners and their managers not asking to discover what that skill set included, despite wanting to reach that very position. in a profession with a supposed “succession crisis” on the horizon, this apparent stand-off struck him as curious.

this has led upward spiral partnership to personally interview several hundred partners and managers in the us and uk to learn what partners are looking for and how the managers see their own future in the firm. there are, of course, firms that have addressed this issue already, and their initiatives have also been captured.

the results of the research, including both the consensus and the exceptions to the general opinion, is called “passport to partnership.” this study provides the highlights of each factor that the majority of partners interviewed use as their criteria when evaluating whether someone in their organization can make it to the top.

as a result of the combination of his experience, intellectual property, and this proprietary research, martin now consults with accounting firms in the uk, europe, and the usa to support them in their transition through to the next stage of their development and growth.

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

today’s bissett bullet: “if we’re on dragon’s den, we ‘pitch.’ if we’re an accountant meeting with new potential clients, we build a relationship.”

today’s to-do:

review the last meeting you had with a prospective client. if you were on their side of the table, were they being pitched to or were they having a relationship built with them?

if you cannot correlate the cost of new software with the difference that it will make to the profitability of your practice and the outcomes that you deliver for your clients, then it is not a wise investment.

today’s to-do:

what do you currently have on your wish list in terms of software or technology? what difference would this really make to your clients and can you really justify the cost?

today’s bissett bullet: “is your marketing copy based on what you want to tell people you do, or what they want you to do for them?”

i am not an accountant, i am a business owner. when i talk to other business owners about what they want from their accountant, they all say the same two things:

today’s to-do:

review your website copy. does it make clear to potential clients that you will achieve these outcomes for them? if not, it’s time for an update.

today’s bissett bullet: “how can you further demonstrate that your interest in a new client is genuine and not just a means to secure their business?”

when you have successfully won a new client, take an appropriate amount of time to conclude the meeting away from business matters if possible, in order to further strengthen the relationship you have entered into.

giving them an additional 20-30 minutes of your time to discuss unrelated topics and find common ground, rather than rushing away before the ink is dry on their signature, will serve to demonstrate a genuine interest.

today’s to-do:

diarize sufficient time for your next proposal delivery to allow for some time to chat informally with your new client rather than rush off.

today’s bissett bullet: “the accounting profession, by and large, is reactive. business referrals are too often viewed as ‘unforecasted’ and not proactively sought, resulting in a feast or famine scenario over which practitioners have no control.”

proactively seeking referrals should be a part of your practice dna. rather than leave it to chance, make referrals a prerequisite of working together. initiate regular conversations with clients to establish who they feel would benefit from an introduction.

today’s to-do:

for each of the client meetings in your diary, make a note to have this conversation. keep noting it as a reminder until you routinely ask out of habit.

today’s bissett bullet: “we might understand the pressing need for the client to act fast on our proposals but do they?”

being able to save a client thousands in tax may or may not convince them to use you. explaining how the redistribution of that saving brings them closer to realizing their professional and personal goals, will.

today’s to-do:

what are the most common and pressing business issues that you’ve seen motivate businesses to join yours or other firms? are issues of that nature present in those businesses that you are currently talking to?

today’s bissett bullet: “in the accounting world, pricing is always an issue and it needn’t be.”

today’s to-do:

sense check your most recent proposal. what will it cost you to complete the work? what would you ideally be paid for that work and at what price should you have been prepared to walk away? how did the figure you agreed on with that client compare?