bissett bullet: remember the golden rule
today’s bissett bullet: “please do not talk to your clients and prospects about services but rather the achievement of their desired objectives and outcomes.”
by martin bissett
here’s what you’re looking for: martin bissett
bissett bullet: the next level of advisory
today’s bissett bullet: “if advisory stage one is client care then advisory stage two is simply about providing the basics. by doing so, you help your clients to take control of their current situation and their future – today!”
by martin bissett
advisory is about helping your client to provide for both worst-case and best-case scenarios with the knowledge, skills and experience that you have. support them with budgeting, tax planning, financial forecasting, management reporting and so on.
remember to charge them appropriately for your advice, knowledge and skills.
today’s to-do:
are you supporting all of your clients in this way? who among them presents an opportunity for fee growth? arrange a meeting with them.
see more bissett bullets here
bissett bullet: ask for the business
today’s bissett bullet: “some accounting firms like to do as much as they can to win a prospect’s business except actually asking for it. what else are you meeting with them for?”
by martin bissett
it never ceases to amaze me how much work an accounting firm will put into winning a client and yet not have the guts or fortitude to actually ask for the business when the time comes. what other reason was there for the two of you meeting all this time? there was only one commercial imperative. shall we work together or not? the superior accounting firm does not struggle in asking for business.
today’s to-do:
today, practice a phrase that you feel comfortable with using at the conclusion of a conversation with a prospective client. this could be, “so on that basis, can we now proceed?” or it could be, “so can we schedule a date for the first meeting?” or any other of your choosing, whatever is comfortable for you, but make sure you use it.
see more bissett bullets here
don’t let recurring fees kill your practice
there’s comfort and then there’s complacency.
by martin bissett
business development on a budget
as you know, the traditional accounting firm model is firmly based on the reality of recurring fees that come in from clients every year. we can rely on these and forecast accurately how much revenue they bring in – which hopefully covers overheads and direct expenses of the business.
more: who are you more committed to, your firm or your clients? | two steps toward mastering selling | thirteen ways to show commitment | clients can’t grow without you | seven mistakes in winning new fees | 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
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.
this is a good thing, right? well, maybe not as much as you think.
read more →
bissett bullet: this too shall pass
today’s bissett bullet: “you will undoubtedly encounter challenges in business, just as there will be good times. the important thing to remember is that neither lasts forever.”
by martin bissett
when you are experiencing bad times, keep perspective and plan for when circumstances are different and you’re able to grow. when times are good, build your cash reserves to weather any storms that may be ahead.
today’s to-do:
if today is a bad time, what would you do differently once the storm has passed? if today is a good time, are you building your cash reserves to cushion you from harder times ahead?
see more bissett bullets here
who are you more committed to, your firm or your clients?
sometimes silence is the best approach.
by martin bissett
passport to partnership
ask yourself and answer these questions when considering the current and future “commitment” behaviors that you’ll employ.
more: two steps toward mastering selling | rate your personal purpose | five ways to make selling easier | six keys to getting a proposal accepted | 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
1 – what is my first reaction to being asked to work outside of my normal hours?
read more →
bissett bullet: who do you know?
today’s bissett bullet: “we convert high-profit clients by creating peer-level relationships and earning respect. we convert low-profit ones by discounting and devaluing.”
by martin bissett
if you ever hear an expert or practice guru advising you to lowball fees in order to win work, stop listening to them immediately, burn all the books you have in their name and understand that this is a profit-first business. lowballing always creates a profit-last scenario in your future.
today’s to-do:
take a look today at how many relationships you have with introducers in your locale, be they bank managers, be they financial advisers or be they somebody else altogether. if you do not have many of those, you need to strengthen your peer-level relationships in the town that you are in.
see more bissett bullets here
bissett bullet: the tortoise will always beat the hare
today’s bissett bullet: “when times are tough, choose short-term lifestyle changes over sacrificing long-term investments.”
by martin bissett
the temptation will always be to cash in an investment in order to enjoy the spoils of your previous discipline and maintain the lifestyle to which you have become accustomed. before you sacrifice your future with no guarantee that you’ll ever catch up on that lost income, have you considered cutting back?
play the long game for your future. run a budget at home and in your business that ensures that you spend less than you earn and that allows you to invest even when times are hard. stay the course slowly but surely and resist the urge to keep up with the joneses.
today’s to-do:
where could you cut back if you had to in order to avoid sacrificing an investment you’ve worked hard toward? make a list of unnecessary outgoings that could be canceled in the event of a reduction in income.
see more bissett bullets here
two steps toward mastering selling
it’s a new skill. you have to practice.
by martin bissett
business development on a budget
if winning new clients is simply a matter of being yourself, why is selling so difficult for accountants? well, it’s a combination of several factors, but there are two main reasons.
more: rate your personal purpose | nine checkpoints before every prospect meeting | three questions about conversion | six keys to turning prospects into clients | don’t overlook internal communication | why firm culture matters for partners | competence is step one of seven
first, accountants have not traditionally been required to sell. maybe your practice has grown by referral – business has come to you and you haven’t had to do much to win that business. unfortunately, however, business doesn’t always walk through the door; you don’t know how often it will, or what caliber it will be when it does.
read more →
bissett bullet: beware scope creep and seep
today’s bissett bullet: “‘while you’re there, could you just …?’”
by martin bissett
the scope creep is all of those seemingly small requests that fall outside of your agreement, for which you generally do not charge, out of a desire to please a new client or to avoid an awkward conversation. seep occurs when you volunteer to do that extra work and it becomes an issue when we are too busy doing that free work over and above the original scope to spend time winning any paid-for new work.
when presented with requests for additional tasks, it is important to say that a particular task is not within the original agreement but that absolutely, you would be very happy to raise a new invoice or undertake a new project for them.
today’s to-do:
practice confidently responding to a “can you just …?” request with a client so that the conversation feels natural when it next occurs.
see more bissett bullets here
rate your personal purpose
bonus: experts discuss challenges for new leaders.
by martin bissett
passport to partnership
the passport to partnership study collated a number of responses in a conversational style. the need for commitment is showcased below and was repeated many times in various different ways.
so many use us as a stepping stone and we’re now trying to determine who those are at the interview stage.
more: nine checkpoints before every prospect meeting | thirteen ways to show commitment | clients can’t grow without you | seven mistakes in winning new fees | how to develop your communication abilities | five questions for measuring partner potential
proof – if any were needed – that long-term commitment is not a given in the next generation of accounting professionals.
one question we ask is: would we want to pass our firm on to someone like this?
read more →
bissett bullet: show them the value
today’s bissett bullet: “if we demonstrate that we can create more wealth for our client than it will ever cost them to hire us, price sensitivity starts to diminish.”
by martin bissett
the objection or concern phrased as “you’re too expensive” is the most common one experienced in the accounting profession, bar none. “you’re too expensive” simply means “i do not understand why i should pay this much money.” that is the prospective client telling you that you have yet to make a case strong enough for them to change from their current accountant at the price you’re asking. once you overcome that, watch fee sensitivity disappear before your very eyes.
today’s to-do:
how strong is the commercial case for working with you and your practice? what value do you actually deliver that other firms don’t, won’t or can’t? until you know that, do not expect the prospects to know that either.
see more bissett bullets here
nine checkpoints before every prospect meeting
how do you feel in your own skin? it shows.
by martin bissett
business development on a budget
winning your first client is also known by various other names, including closing the first sale and winning the first deal. no matter what it’s called, it is one of the central principles you must follow as you begin the business development on a budget process.
what does it mean?
more: thirteen ways to show commitment | five ways to make selling easier | six keys to getting a proposal accepted | tell the world your worth | 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
basically, it represents a mindset you must develop before you ever speak to a prospective new client. i developed the principle of winning your first client in response to a common concern often raised by partners of accounting firms – one that holds them back from going after new business. it’s the belief that they don’t really have anything to offer above and beyond what an organization is receiving from its current accountant.
if you are not convinced of your value to prospective clients, why should they believe it?
read more →