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 not value such
We have all been asked, many times, "What do you do?" Does your reply help ensure that you will be remembered positively for any length of time? Simple straightforward factual replies allow the other person to put us in a 'box'. This is what happens when we simply state our profession (eg: "I'm an accountant"
This blog post was prompted by a tweet. It was posted by a top 30 firm of accountants: "Are you aware of the range of services we provide? We do more than just a set of books at year end. Take a look" There was then a link to a page on their website which
I still remember meeting Christopher Higenbottam at a networking event some years ago. I asked what he did and he told me he is an architect. (Indeed it transpired that he was the MD of Tempietto Architects). We talked for a while about his work. After a few minutes I think I asked him whether
Are you 'just another' accountant, lawyer, surveyor, speaker, trainer or whatever? Really? But you're you. No one else can be you. The real you. Richard Jones on BGT The winner of the 2016 TV series of Britian's Got Talent (BGT) was Richard Jones. A magician. And a soldier. When interviewed* Richard explains that from the
I routinely encourage audience members to give me their business cards at the end of conference talks. They do so if they would like me to send them copies of slides and other materials I reference during my presentation. As many of my audiences are accountants this affords me the opportunity to compare and contrast
If you are a regular reader you will know I rarely include guest posts on my blog. In this tenth anniversary year though I have decided to stop being so precious. As long as the content is both directly relevant and useful to my audience and I agree with the advice and tips, why not?
After I'd presented a talk to a group of accountants recently one of them asked for my advice. Our brief discussion might be of wider interest. Q: I have a [huge] shopfront window at the front of my high street accountancy practice. 40,000 cars go past each day. Could we use the window to STANDOUT and
During 2016 politicians in both the UK (Michael Gove) and in the US (Donald Trump) repeatedly asserted that people have “had enough” of experts. Voting patterns seemed to confirm this as expert political and economic views were largely ignored. And yet, we also know it's patently not true. If you have a health problem do
This is a guest blog provided by Patrick McLoughlin. In it he explains how sole practitioner accountants can become really clear as to who is a premium fee playing client. And, having done that, how you can then clarify your future marketing and business generation activities. As Patrick's approach is much the same as mine I
Let's be realistic. If you did some work for a client but they weren't happy because you made a big mess of it, would you insist on charging them extra to correct your mistake? I hope you wouldn't even consider trying to charge extra to resolve a mistake of your own making. To my mind this
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 clients engage us. Challenge this if you must. Tell me that no one cares about anything other than price. If that's what you believe
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 message to
Most professional advisory firms are simply named after their founders. Some retain the names of just the first two or 3 partners, Others might extend to 4, 5 or 6 names. The longest I have found, unless you know better, was a small Los Angeles entertainment firm, once known as: Ziffren, Brittenham, Branca, Fischer, Gilbert-Lurie,
I recently offered some help by way of comments in response to an accountant's query in an online forum. Most of my observations and advice are of more general application so I am sharing them here too. The questioner has been in practice for 3 years and is struggling to build up his client base. He
One of the thousands of accountants with whom I am connected on Linkedin recently posted a link asking what did people think about his firm's new website. I replied privately but thought I would share my feedback as it may be helpful to others. I have no desire to embarrass the accountant in question so
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
The top ranked personal skill or expertise on my Linkedin profile is currently 'strategy'. It has been moving up the list over the last year. I am flattered that hundreds of people have endorsed me for ANY skills and expertise on Linkedin. Until recently 'Accounting' was top - presumably by reference to my background in
There is no doubt in my mind. The more focused you can be as regards your ideal clients the more chance there is that other people will recognise when they can recommend and refer you to people who need your services. But it's not the only route to success. You are not alone if you
Back in 2007 I wrote a chapter for a book (BusinessWise) to help Entrepreneurs with 'Finding, Choosing and Using an accountant'. I tried to ensure that this was more practical and real-world advice than the generic and incomplete advice which appears on a variety of business and accountancy websites. I explained some of the ways that entrepreneurs
Those of us who are of a certain age were surprised recently to see the classic American crooner, Tony Bennett, performing alongside Lady Gaga. They started singing together in 2011 and, despite a 60 year age gap, they have recently released an album of jazz standards, ‘Cheek to cheek‘. They also appear together in the
Having been talking and writing about this framework for some time, it's about time I recorded it on my own blog. There's also a link to a graphic of the STAND OUT framework on the top menu bar above. The seven fundamental principles are easy to recall through a simple acrostic. Each of the principles
At the ICAEW's 'Growing your practice' conference yesterday, speaker after speaker shared similar ideas - allbeit from very different perspectives, with different emphasis and in different contexts. I was first up and talked about the 7 step framework you need to follow to STAND OUT from the competition. There are a host of detailed factors
The main topic for discussion at last week’s meeting of The Inner Circle was: Distinguishing your practice from the competition. We met at our new home, The Eight Club in Moorgate, London. Members of The Inner Circle again benefited from the willingness they all had to share their experiences and insights during our round table
Years ago I became quite attached to the idea of identifying UPBs (Unique Perceived Benefits). I preferred this approach of looking at the provision of services from the client's viewpoint rather than trying to identify a USP (Unique Selling Proposition). More recently though I have realised that it is all but impossible for any
