Business Development Blog for Accountants in Practice
Every week Mark provides fresh, practical and commercial business development related insights and advice
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5 warning signs your accounting practice may be more fragile than you realise
Try balancing playing cards on their edges and building upwards. With enough patience, you can create something that...
Are you accidentally running a wantrapreneur practice?
The term *wantrapreneur* is usually credited to Noah Kagan. It describes someone who loves the idea of running a...
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Why simply saying you’re an accountant is costing you referrals
Do you ever struggle to make a lasting impression beyond the generic label of being “an accountant”? Most of us have experienced it. You meet someone at a networking event, a business gathering or even socially, and the inevitable question arrives: “What do you...
Ten lessons sole practitioner accountants tell me they learned too late
After hundreds of conversations with sole practitioners over the years, I've noticed something unexpected about the mistakes they admit to having made. I'm thinking specifically about the accountants who guest on my podcast. My co-host and I always ask them to...
How sole practitioners can regain control of their working week
When was the last time you stopped to think about how you are investing your time in your practice? It may sound like an odd question, but I think it matters more than many accountants realise. Most accountants focus their attention on how many clients they have,...
The real reason many sole practitioners feel overwhelmed
Many sole practitioner accountants think they're overwhelmed because they have too much work. Sometimes that's true. I know that there are absolutely some times when an accountants' workload is genuinely excessive and the only sensible response is to find ways to...
How accountants lose their edge with generic USPs
For years I have talked about what accountants can do to stand out from their peers and competitors. How to be remarkable and better remembered, referred and recommended. Many people see accountants simply as professionals who help clients satisfy their legal...
Setting boundaries: The secret to attracting better clients to your accounting practice
You know the type of call. It starts innocently enough, and within a minute or two you can feel the energy shift. The language gives it away. “I just need a quick bit of free advice.” Or “my last accountant didn’t help reduce my tax bills.” Before long, you’re no...
What can you do to stop sounding like a generic accountant (just like everyone else)
One of the more damaging assumptions people have about accountants is that you are largely interchangeable. To some extent we all understand why this belief persists; most accountants produce variations of the same outputs: accounts, tax returns, VAT work,...
What happens when clients don’t see their accountant as a business adviser
For years now, accountants have been encouraged to “move into advisory”. It’s become one of those phrases that is repeated so often it risks losing meaning. And yet, many sole practitioners, especially, continue to resist it. Some genuinely believe that NONE of...
When you don’t want more clients (at the moment)
I've never agreed with conventional wisdom that tells every sole practitioner they should always be looking to grow their practice. I've had too many conversations with accountants who have grown tired of such messages which just don't resonate. This can be for...
25 ways accountants can answer “How much do you charge?” without losing control of the conversation
It's probably happened to you, just as it's happened to hundreds of other accountants. A prospective new client's first question is about your fees. Plenty of experienced accountants will see this as a huge red-flag. We might all assume that the question implies...
Why many sole practitioners feel overwhelmed (and it’s not about workload)
Some of the accountants who contact me do so because they’ve reached a point where the pressure feels relentless. They often say they feel overwhelmed by constant deadlines, client expectations and a lack of time to think, take a break or relax properly. Family and...
10 ways accountants can weed out time-wasters
No accountants set out to work with the wrong clients. But, I have lost track of how often I have heard accountants announce that, with hindsight, they wish they had been more selective when they started out. I have heard this repeatedly, in 1-2-1 conversations and...
When and how to increase your fees without overthinking it
I've noted a steady stream of accountants asking the same question in online groups: "When should I increase my fees, and how do I even begin that conversation if I have not upped them for years?" If you already review your fees regularly, don't worry about this...
Why your lead generation isn’t working (and what to do instead)
Most people, including most accountants, seem to approach lead generation from entirely the wrong angle and, like many aspects of business life, this only becomes obvious when you pause and reflect on it. It is also why so many of us dislike the cold calls and...
If you’re not growing, are you comfortable or coasting?
For years I’ve told marketing consultants, sales trainers and social media gurus not to bother trying to sell growth strategies to sole practitioner accountants without first finding out if they are likely to be interested. My reasoning is simply that many...