This is a very different blog post to usual. I hope it will be of interest to accountants and tax advisers generally even though it does not contain any of my usual insights, guidance and advice. Thirteen years ago, in July 2008, I authored the lead comment article in Taxation magazine: Why
What do people say about you when you’re not in the room? What would you like them to say? Few accountants seem to think this through. If you are clear about what you want people to say though you are likely to find success a lot faster than anyone who is ‘just
The following list is a salutary lesson in what NOT to do if you want to keep your clients. You could also use it as a checklist to have counterpoints to raise in each case when talking to prospective new clients. If they are moving from a previous accountant, they will appreciate
Too many accountants struggle to distinguish themselves from their competition. This is a shame as it is what makes each of us different that makes us memorable and the reason why we are referred and recommended. And then why we are engaged by clients. Challenge this if you must. Tell me that
No one is 'just an accountant'. And you know that already. But how clear do you make this on your website, your online profiles and when you are networking? Lots of accountants make the mistake of assuming they only need to evidence their credibility as an accountant. And it's true that sometimes
I wonder if you make an all too common mistake. We all hope that clients will want us to provide a range of services to them. And we hope that clients will recommend and refer us to other prospective clients too… But, as I frequently point out, ‘hope’ is not a strategy.
I was asked recently for my top five marketing tips for accountants and so I had a quick look at the marketing related posts on this blog. In so doing I realised how much has changed over the years. When I first started mentoring accountants I had to avoid the M-word (Marketing).
You might think that business is all about facts and figures. In truth, as the world and business get more uncertain and complex, successful leaders need to embrace soft skills to get the best out of their people and themselves. These are the opening words on the back cover of a book
It is rare for an accountant to tell me outright that they want to be more efficient. But this wish is often implied by other things they say. Often their concerns are focused on time management issues, a desire to overcome procrastination, a need for more and better systems or for another
If you’ve been around a while I am sure that you find the constant articles, posts and commentators telling accountants you have to move into advisory services both boring and repetitive. I’ve been debunking the hype here for well over ten years. Many commentators have also been naively forecasting the end of compliance work.
Unlike some commentators, I entirely accept that many accountants have some clients who want nothing more than a basic compliance service. And that you get very frustrated to be told by consultants that you should offer your clients "advisory services". After all, you know your clients don't want, cannot afford and will
When I ask accountants about the level of fees they would ideally like to earn from new clients, they often struggle to give an answer. Some can't even agree as to the minimum fees they (and their colleagues, if any) would charge for each type of new client work they might take
We have all heard the projections that compliance work is dying and that accountants must move into advisory services. This is not a new phenomenon. It started long before the pandemic. I first debunked the hype in 2009 so it really isn't new. What has changed though is the speed with which
Today I share with you the transcript of a recent conversation with Joanna Gaudoin. I hope you will enjoy reading her perspective on a number of issues I have previously addressed on this blog. In summary Joanna's view is that your marketing, business development and career development will all flourish if you
These days it typically takes a lot to get me cross. But one thing that really winds me up is the continuing wave of advice to accountants generally, telling them to do stuff that doesn't work for everyone and is especially inappropriate for most sole practitioners. This is quite different from the advice that
Most accountants have found themselves in meetings with prospective clients seeking free advice. I know I did it myself when I was in practice. I wish I had known then what I know now. When a stranger/prospect calls you need to set clear parameters. Why give ANY free advice? Over the years
I have lost track of how many sole practitioners and two-partner accountancy practices pretend to be bigger than they really are. Some overtly claim that their firm is bigger than it really is by adding words like “and associates” to the name of the firm. Even though, in reality, it is only
Sometimes a post on Linkedin can start a conversation that runs and runs. This was the case just after the Budget when I posed the question “Is it really worth everyone producing a 'me-too' morning-after Budget summary?” I suggested these were typically simply a re-hash of information already in the public domain
Over the years I must have heard every reason there is as to why accountants cannot get all of their clients to behave properly. Many still pay late and even more continue to ignore repeated requests to supply their accounting and tax data in good time. Rather than rehash the advice I
This relates to another question I was asked recently by an accountant who gets lots of leads but finds that he doesn’t want all of them as clients. Too many are time wasters. He wanted to know how he could weed them out - or even better, avoid having to spend any
Were you in practice in 2011? That was when I wrote an article about client meetings in a year I described as "an era of video calls and social media"! That era was underway in 2011 but it took the pandemic in 2020 for everyone to start using video calls. As the latest
No doubt some accountants found January 2021 was worse then previous years, some will consider it about the same and some will have found it less pressured than previously. The one thing that most accountants will agree on is that, regardless of the impact of the pandemic, some clients are beyond help. Previously
Now that January 2021 is behind us, perhaps it is time to consider any resolutions or promises you might want to make to yourself. Certainly you should have more time now than you might have done at the turn of the year. Here are ten resolutions that I think many accountants should
During our first mentoring conversation a mature accountant told me how they had been struggling to replace clients who had retired, died or gone bust. The practice was well established and he had never previously needed to spend much time or effort on marketing or promotion. He had done the basics. He
As someone who blogs here every week I aim to provide valuable content, insights and tips that inspire and motivate you to secure greater success and to waste less time on shiny distractions. That's why you won't hear me advocating the new social media (audio) service 'Clubhouse'. If you haven't heard of
