Successful Accountants’ Blog
Don’t make this marketing mistake especially if you are reliant on referrals
I am frequently surprised when apparently successful accountants tell me that they know they should start being active on social media. And that they want to beef up their marketing activity. Both such aspirations typically reflect a belief in the mystical power of generic marketing and the
What do you REALLY need to sell as an accountant?
What do you really need to sell as an accountant? This is a simple enough question, and knowing the right answer could make a profound difference to the success of your practice. Let’s start with what you’re NOT selling. As I explained in a 2018 blog post, You
15 quick tips to grow and build your practice
This week I am sharing with you 15 of the key points I referenced during a recent conversation with an accountant who wanted to know what they should be doing in year 3 of their newish practice. Background The accountant had booked a one-off focused mentoring call,
How to stop letting dilatory clients bully you
Every February I hear tales of woe from accountants who have worked late into the night during the days and weeks leading up to the tax return filing deadline. Many are resigned to this and some even seem to enjoy the adrenaline rush. Most though resent the
4 questions that will help you identify the value you really deliver to your clients
How do you evidence your value to prospective clients? You need to be able to do this effectively if you want to charge more than the absolute minimum for your services. This is a key part of promoting and pitching your services. Your promotional and marketing messages
What matters to clients – real-life feedback
Below you will find a ten point list of what matters to an accountant's client who has just posted a glowing and comprehensive testimonial for them. The client shared the list on Linkedin and I have copied it here and added my related observations. I know the
21 lessons from my 2021 Linkedin activity and experiments
This is my fourth* annual report(!) intended to help others benefit from what I have learned about getting value from the time I spend on Linkedin. Why this could be useful to you In 2021 my SSI moved marginally up to 86/100, having been consistently 85/100 during 2020.
Top ten blog posts of 2021
Instead of a final post of the year, I offer you a reminder of ten of my most popular blog posts (out of the 50 posted, one each Tuesday) in 2021. I’ve included the links in case you missed them originally or you want to take another
The 5 key issues to consider re your competition
In this blog post I explain five key issues in the context of your competition as an accountant. I have discussed them many times with clients during mentoring sessions. Often I find an accountant's perception as to who is their competition is blinkered and limited. They are
Beware the risks of being Unconsciously Incompetent
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing and a lot of knowledge is empowering. The problem is the gap between the two can be quite large! This is something it took me years to learn when I was in practice. Let's consider a simple example. What do
What is holding you back?
Most accountants are justly proud of their technical skills. No doubt you make time to keep your technical knowledge up to date. Most accountants I know focus a majority of their CPD efforts here. Equally most accountants seem to undervalue the importance of ensuring that they have
How you can stop being scared of losing prospective new clients
Many accountants appear to approach the idea of finding new clients with conflicted emotions. If you do this you are probably making life harder for yourself than it needs to be. On the one hand your website and marketing activities try to promote you and your firm
6 ways you can stop making the same mistakes on social media as everyone else
Regular readers will know that I am both very active on social media and highly ranked for my online influence (such as it is!) Equally you will also know that I do not routinely encourage accountants to use social media for promotional and marketing purposes. And I
What to say when you call a client to ‘Keep In Touch”
This post follows on from a previous post in which I set out the 12 ways in which you can Keep In Touch with clients and why it is so important to do so. As I explained in that post, this demands personalised 1-2-1 contact. It is
The 12 ways you can Keep In Touch with clients and why this is so important
You want your clients, certainly the better ones, to stay with you. By implication therefore you want them to appreciate that you care about them, that you are interested in them and that you want to help them as much as you can. Those are just some
