It's another day, and I've seen another poorly thought through piece of advice for accountants to identify their USP. I have long disagreed with this generic idea of trying to identify your Unique Selling Point (USP) or your Unique Sales Proposition (USP). Instead I recommend a much more practical and realistic way for accountants
If you’re either a busy accountant and/or a regular at networking events, you probably get asked this question (How's business?") all of the time. You may also be asked by friends and family, ex-colleagues and prospective clients as well as by suppliers, associates and potential advocates. How carefully have you thought about the way
Some years ago I enjoyed a very long private business networking lunch. The whole group seemed to enjoy the event - perhaps because many of us had known each other for a while . One of the attendees I had not met previously was a chartered surveyor. After we’d spent a few hours together the
I hope this post will be of general interest even though it is intended primarily for those accountants in practice who have a degree of imposter syndrome or who struggle with low self-worth or low self-esteem. Such struggles invariably impact self confidence and this can have a negative impact on the prospect of receiving
One of the biggest changes to be heralded by the introduction of AI so far as accountants are concerned, links to one of my long-term messages for accountants. How can you stand out from the competition? And, as a result, win more of the business you really want? Even before the launch
One of the accountants I mentor has long been proud of how efficiently they look after their own business affairs. Others though are embarrassed at their inefficiencies. And there are some who do not appear to give any thought as to how they are perceived. Some of the accountants in this category may, unintentionally,
Many accountants claim that they secure much of their new work through word of mouth referrals. This suggests that clients are making positive comments about their accountants. They may do that if they're particularly happy but in the same way any unhappy clients will be quick to complain about their accountants. I've heard a
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. What do
Although most of my clients have already built up a good base of clients, I am also often asked how can (typically less experienced) accountants and bookkeepers get more clients. And I see plenty of such questions in online forums. Of course there is no single activity which will work for everyone all the
We know, don’t we, that good communication is important in business. In my view, one of the most fundamental pieces of communication is how we talk about what we do.There are many challenges to be overcome here. We want to avoid sounding just like everyone else in the same field. We want our
Most established accountants running their own firms claim to get most of their new clients via referrals. I see at least three potential flaws with this perception. Firstly, it’s rarely based on empirical evidence. Often it is simply an easy answer to the question: 'Where do most of your new clients come
Not everyone wants to follow the widely promoted advice that you will benefit more from advertising, marketing, networking and referrals if you focus your attention on trying to reach a specific group of people. The idea being that we can then let everyone else continue trying to be all things to all
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 hype surrounding social media activity.
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 look. Early in January I
In an educational context we refer to the three Rs as being those crucial elements that all children need to master. That is, Reading wRiting and aRithmetic. This is somewhat ironic given that only one of the three topics actually starts with an R. (The phrase is used apparently because each of the three
When I ask accountants what they would like to be different in their practice, one theme is more common than any others. They frequently express the desire to have better quality clients, to increase their average fees and to be doing more interesting work.One sole practitioner accountant I was mentoring expressed this quite
So many accountants tell me that most of their new clients come from word of mouth and client referrals. In most cases however this seems to be a function of luck rather than planned in any way. Have you ever thought about how you could make it easier for your contacts to
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.
For some years I have been advising accountants of the benefits of being better Remembered, Referred and Recommended ("The 3 Rs"). After all, Referrals are often identified as being the most valuable route to securing good new clients. Despite how often this topic has featured in my talks about standing out from
Classic. Talking with a partner in a top 50 firm of accountants, I asked how they get most of their new clients. It was no surprise he answered 'referrals'. Many accountants and lawyers, claim that they secure most of their new work through word of mouth referrals. This suggests that clients are
For a change, instead of creating a fresh blog post, I thought you'd appreciate a summary of my most popular posts on how to get more referrals to your ideal new clients.A quick five point plan to get more referralsAre you undermining your credibility by being too modest?Being Known, Liked and Trusted is
Not everyone wants to STAND OUT in the traditional sense. Often we assume that you need to be an extrovert to STAND OUT, and that it's necessary to dress in a distinctive way and to be supported by bright and loud branding. I accept that all of those qualities can make you STAND OUT
I was asked yesterday for my top five marketing tips for accountants and I said I thought these would be clear on this blog. Except that I then realised that 'marketing' is not one of the categories I use on here. [edit: I have since updated the categories here] Thinking back that's because, in
In a recent post I introduced the concept of referral marketing for accountants and set out the main reasons why many accountants don’t explore this low cost marketing technique.In this post I’ll highlight some of the key issues and in part three I’ll address explain ways to overcome any reluctance to adopt this approach
