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
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
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's your 'And'? Yes, we know you're an accountant. But what else are you? What else do you do? What else interests or fascinates you? A new book, written by my friend, John Garrett, explores how sharing your personal passions improves work performance, builds culture, and strengthens relationships with colleagues, clients and
Back in the days when I was a professional speaker (BC -Before COVID-19) I often asked audiences of accountants to look around the room. And then to indicate whether they felt that they were in any way special and different from most of the other accountants in the room. Typically only a
Some accountants I know are 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. We all know the old adage that you never get a
You have probably heard the old networking idea that it's important to help people get to know, like and trust you. Only then will they buy from you. Only then will they even consider becoming your client. This idea originated in the book ‘Endless Referrals', written by Bob Burg, who said: “All things
Recently I was asked this question: "Can a traditional accountant also be a modern accountant?" The person asking me this was what we might think of as an 'old-school' traditional accountant. But they liked to also think of themselves as modern. I think they had seen an article that suggested that traditional
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 know that my own career success owes more to the development of non-technical skills than it does to my knowledge and application of accounting and tax law. How do we gain our technical skills? No one is born a great auditor, tax adviser or accountant. We learn by working alongside experienced
Networking is not for everyone. Whilst some accountants enjoy attending regular networking events, I regularly hear tales of woe from those who find it a frustrating waste of time. There are also plenty of accountants who do not like the idea of chatting with strangers very appealing. You will rarely meet someone at a networking
In this blog post I will explain the reasons I advised an accountant that he did not need a website in January 2018 and also how I would adapt this advice going forwards. I initially wrote about this on Linkedin and sought feedback there. Within days that post secured over 24,000 views as well as
This was another question I was asked during a recent interview. This post is drawn from the notes I made before giving my answer on air. Many accountants and bookkeepers reference their best source of new business as being referrals and recommendations. So let's deal with this first. Tools I would recommend here include: Linkedin
I recently heard John Hardy the Founder of FASTER Health and Fitness introduce his business. He mentioned he throught there were similarities with accountants. I have taken what he said and adapted it to provide some lessons for accountants from the business side of personal training and fitness. 1 Personality John has noted that a
This post adopts a different approach to usual. In it I share 5 key social media risks and offer pragmatic advice to help you manage the inherent risks. 1 - Posts on behalf of the firm The biggest risk here is of boring your intended audience! Social media encourages interaction. This happens less frequently when
Are you one of those accountants in practice, who still charges fees by reference to the time you spend working on a client’s affairs? Even if you have moved to fixed pricing, menu pricing or value pricing you may still complete timesheets to show how much of your day has been devoted to each different
It’s all too easy to get caught up in the game of chasing followers, likes, connections and social media klout. It may be fun to keep track of these metrics and to keep increasing them. But, in real life, they are not important by themselves. There is little point in simply pursuing these metrics. You
I was thrilled to be seated with Robert when he was announced as the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Taxation Awards ceremony last night. I am proud to count him as a friend and as one of my tax mentors. In the light of last night's award I think it appropriate to share
I'm often struck by the difficulty many accountants have when trying to identify what's special about them or their firm. When asked, almost everyone uses the same adjectives, the same aspirational service levels and the same so-called distinguishing features. What's really special? What really makes you stand out and memorable? Not a lot, it would
Were you as angry as I was at the headlines and media focus on a clearly misguided element of the latest report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC)? Committee chairman Margaret Hodge said accountants seconded to government represented a "ridiculous conflict of interest" that should be ended. She had clearly made up her mind based on no real evidence
Most accountants who become active on social media do so in the hope of attracting more clients. If this is your intention or you want to evidence your credibility, I suggest that you adopt a consistent business focus across your websites, blogs, online networking and contributions to business forums. It also helps to show that
I recently watched an old video clip of the professional services firm guru, David Maister, in which he highlights the six most scarce resources in most professional service firms: Energy Excitement Enthusiasm Determination Passion Ambition David also points out that his research has proved that the top achieving firms are those that energise, excite and enthuse
On one of the business networks I follow a member recently asked for a recommendation to a down-to-earth, friendly, non-judgemental, accountant. He explained his requirements in a little more detail - but not much, although he did state: "To be ABSOLUTELY clear, I am NOT looking for someone who has intentions of turning me
This is a follow up to last week's post about a poor piece of generic direct mail I received from a firm of accountants. I've been asked to spell out what's wrong with it. So here is my analysis of the letter - line by line: “It was unfortunate that I was not able
