March 2002a- Each month this page will be updated with new tips and ideas and the previous content archived. As time goes by our archives will grow. These will always be accessible, and always without charge. Enjoy.

Welcome to the free tips page for March 2002

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This month I want to take a single issue - client service - and focus on a few pointers that can make a real difference to client retention rates, and the number of referrals you get from your clients.

I call them the One Percenters, after the then President of Scandinavian Airlines, Jan Carlson, who, in his book "Moments of Truth", talks about the $160M two-year turn around of his airline.

He points out that they did not set out to improve any one activity by 1,000%, but to instead improve 1,000 activities by as little as 1%.

Let's face it, preparing a set of financial statements doesn't have much room for improvement. The results of the client's business are the results, no matter where he or she gets their accounts prepared.

It is in the service experience, and the way in which the financial statements are presented that we can differentiate ourselves from our competitors.

Lots of little improvements add up to a big improvement.

Here are a few ideas for you to ponder:

• Quality of paper the client's financial statements are printed on.
• Quality of font used in the financial statements.
• Quality of the cover the Statements are presented in.
• Quality of the binding of the document.
• Quality and usefulness of any narrative included in the document.
• Are there any graphics included in the document?

Maybe the client's logo on the first page would be a nice touch, or how about a pie chart showing the total revenue for the period broken down into "pizza slices" of varying size, one slice for each overhead category, leaving the final slice for net profit.

All of these little things add up and make a huge difference to the client's experience of your firm.

Just imagine what a client would think of your firm if their financial statements were:

• Presented in a luxurious cover with a quality spine
• On excellent quality paper
• In very good looking print
• With their own logo in the footer of each page
• With their logo front and center on the first page
• With some great narrative on the results on the introduction page
• and even a graph and a pie chart explaining certain issues.

With the software available today, it's very easy to do produce a good selection of graphs and charts to include in the financial statements presented to the client, yet hardly any firm I know does this.

Adding Narrative To The Pages

What about one or two paragraphs of narrative under the P & L Account and the Balance Sheet - it would definitely differentiate you, and remember - Bank Managers, an excellent source of new clients, usually get to see their customers' Financial Statements. They should be an advertisement of the quality service your firm provides.

If you're charging a client $5,000 for preparing these statements, don't you think the end product ought to look and feel like five thousand dollars worth?

After the work is done, think about sending a little thank you card to your client, expressing your thanks for their business and looking forward to helping them again next year.

Better yet, include a summary of other services you could provide on an ongoing basis, not just a once a year service, on one side of this card - and the potential benefit to them. You could even have a summary page as the very last page in the financial statements detailing the benefits they can enjoy from other services you are able to provide - from monthly bookkeeping and payroll for smaller clients, to estate planning and succession planning for larger clients.

Quick Tip
So, here's a few quick tips on additional one percenters that will help you to differentiate your firm:

Little things can make a big difference, and they needn't cost anything to do. Setting your firm apart from the competition is critical to gaining competitive advantage more so than lower fees. Adding to the value you offer can often overcome small differences in price.

Some other One Percenters include: Very comfortable waiting area in reception with quality publications to read. Top quality refreshments available. Always Always Always return clients' phone calls as soon as possible. Decorate and furnish your offices to the highest standards possible. Have a range of quality marketing materials to give to prospects and clients. Ensure that you have a web site that you are proud of. Update your Web Site regularly with useful information. Send out newsletters or e-Newsletters on time and with useful content.

So, that's all for now, if you need more, sign up for our free e-newsletter, LEDGER, on our newsletter sign-up page, or look at our best-selling manual LOW COST HIGH IMPACT WAYS TO WIN NEW CLIENTS.

Thanks for visiting.
Have a great month.
Until next time.

More free tips to come as we next update our site in April 2002.