In This Issue

1. What makes a client change adviser?

2. Getting your message across - features -vs- benefits

3. Tempting clients from the "big 5" firms to your practice.

1. What makes a client change adviser?

It’s a big decision, changing Accountant, one that is not taken lightly by business people. Time and again we hear of entrepreneurs complaining to their buddies over a beer, but when asked a simple question “why don’t you move your account?” nine times out of ten they respond with something along the lines of “I couldn’t possibly leave Harry. I’ve been with him for years!”

Crazy isn’t it? Well, yes. And no.

You see, many business people still see their relationship with their Accountant as a very personal one, and rightly so. Usually something really drastic has to happen to make them move.

Sure – there are those who will shop around for the lowest price, but they’re not really the clients YOU want is it? Imagine working your butt off for a client, providing an excellent service, not even recovering 75% of the time spent on their file in order to stick to the fee quoted, only to find that next year, they’re off somewhere else in order to save $50 on the bill. Not an ideal situation, to say the least.

But these, generally speaking, are the exception thank goodness.

In 1997, I was a committee member of a professional services marketing group who commissioned one of the UK’s leading business schools to conduct a research study into why people changed accountants. The results were very interesting.

In summary, the top 6 reasons, in reverse order, were:

6. Price. Yep, there were 5 items that ranked much higher than price as the reason why people move their account. A remarkably small percentage quoted fee issues to be even remotely connected with leaving their previous accounting firm.

5. Being passed down the “food-chain”. People want to deal with a Partner, and when the Partner gets too busy to deal with the “smaller cases”, and passes these clients down the line to younger, more junior people within the firm, the relationship with the client is put at risk.

4. Death, retirement or change of ownership. If you die, retire or sell your practice, more clients are likely to leave your firm than those who want to argue over price! But I guess if you’ve recently passed-on, what do you care!

3. Approachability. Where clients felt that they couldn’t approach their Accountant for help and advice, or where they felt “belittled” for asking “stupid” questions, or where the Accountant in question obviously didn’t have much time for them (see #2 also) then they would vote with their feet. People skills show their real value here!

2. Availability. “He NEVER returns my phone calls.” “I had an URGENT problem and the best she could offer me was half an hour a week on Tuesday.” If people can’t get hold of you when they need you, they will go elsewhere for solutions to their problems.

1. Not having a real understanding of the client’s business. This was the biggest single reason, quoted again and again by business people who had recently changed auditors.

“He/She simply didn’t understand what made my business tick” was the most quoted statement by ex-clients.

So what can we learn from this? Lots. The key issues can be summarized as:

1. Get to really (and I mean really) understand what makes your clients’ businesses tick. But that’s not all. Once you have done that, you need to demonstrate it to your clients, if they can’t see it, it doesn’t exist. It takes a little time, but it’s well worth it.

Tip – look at your clients, pick the top 20, study their industries. Read the trade press and look for articles you can photocopy and mail to the clients in that industry with some thoughtful comments on how their business might be affected by the subject of the article. Invite them to call you to discuss (of course, this is fee-paying work that you are now generating AND demonstrating to your top 20 clients that you REALLY do understand their business).

2. Be available whenever possible. Remember that you are there for your clients’ benefit – NOT the other way around.

Tip – block off a couple of hours one day every week in the morning to allow you to fit in any last minute “emergency” meetings with clients.

3. Be Approachable at all times. Use first-name terms, smile, be interested in your client and use good listening skills. Tell them that no question is too basic and that there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers!

Tip – the careful use of humour, at your own expense, making the client look good, can relieve tension sometimes. Yes, some clients do get tense about visiting your office. Remember this and smile a lot, put them at ease, and get them talking.

4. Keep healthy. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, eat properly, quit smoking, drink less alcohol. Live longer and keep your clients longer!

5. Keep in front of your clients. Sure – don’t be preparing the accounts yourself, but try to take the review meetings yourself. Being in front of your clients is critical to keeping the relationship fresh, and you will be able to spot new opportunities for fee-paying work with the client that a less experienced eye might miss.

6. Discuss fees openly. Agree costs up-front wherever possible. Clients hate surprises, especially where their own money is concerned. The size of the fee is often not the issue, but the VALUE, or perceived value, of the services provided for the fee.

Tip - Explain in detail what you have done (or are going to do) and the savings that have resulted (or should arise) from this work.

Which would you rather see in an invoice you receive?

“To: professional services rendered $5,000 plus taxes”

or

“To discussing your present cash-flow forecast, discussing anticipated shortfall in cash for February 2002. Discussing your options, preparing revised business plan, forwarding to your bankers and attending meetings to renegotiate your business line of credit. Successfully raising an additional $50,000 in overdraft facilities. Our fee $5,000 plus taxes.”

It takes an extra 2 minutes to prepare but it puts you in a much better light! Remember, it’s not price, it’s value that is the issue.

2. Getting your message across
features -vs- benefits

This is one of the most common faults of Accounting firms’ marketing messages, and we covered a little of this last time when we discussed your yellow pages advert. But there’s more, much more. So here’s another slice…

In my consulting work with accounting firms, no matter where they are in the world, the same misconception often has to be overcome. Many say: “But we have been around for over thirty years, surely that’s a benefit for a client?” No. It’s not. The consequences of being around for over 30 years can be hugely beneficial, but they need explaining to the client. You need to use the “which means that” method.

First, state the original feature. “Established over 30 years”. Then add “which means that” and then think of what the feature really means to the client – how does the client benefit from using a firm that’s been around so long?

Maybe it’s: “Established over 30 years, which means that if you need a new source of business finance, we have excellent connections, built over this period, with some great sources that will cut out a lot of the red tape and speed up the process.”

Then, take out the first part and just use the benefit:

“If you need a new source of business finance, we have excellent connections, built over 30 years, with some great sources that will cut out a lot of the red tape and speed up the process.”

Or from a tax point of view, maybe it’s: “Established over 30 years, which means that we have developed an excellent rapport with the tax office. Because of our sterling reputation, we have fewer clients selected for a tax audit than any other firm in our state/province/county etc. That means peace of mind for you.”

Which translates to:

“We have developed an excellent rapport with the tax office. Because of our sterling reputation, we have fewer clients selected for a tax audit than any other firm in our state/province/county. That means peace of mind for you.”

Now you have some homework: Take a long hard look at your own marketing materials and see them through the eyes of a worried prospective client. Do they show empathy? Do they highlight benefits that clients receive, or are they really just features?

3. Tempting clients from the "big 5"
firms to your practice.

This is a great source of quality work I tapped into when I was in practice myself. Many of the bigger firms have a “small business unit”. Now, the big 5 version of small business is anything but that to sole practitioners and independent firms.

Usually, clients not quoted on the stock exchange can be found here, and boy, do they have some gems.

A small business to these firms could be a $50 million revenue company, and a fabulous client to your firm. So, how do you go about finding out who they are, and then tempting them to your firm?

In the United Kingdom, it’s a lot easier, as the solicitation rules are a lot less onerous than in North America, so if you’re one of our many subscribers in the UK – this is especially relevant to you. Subscribers in Canada, USA and other parts of the world with more onerous rules - your time will come when we discuss something more relevant to you, so please keep with the program!

Firstly, compile a list of all the top-tier private companies in your area that you would simply love to have as clients and that you know you could service well.

Dun & Bradstreet and similar companies provide excellent marketing information for prospecting from. Then, get a copy of their annual accounts from Companies House. You’ll learn who the auditors are from this. Next, compile a spreadsheet or database and group these companies by Auditors. You might even be able to get the audit fee from the filed accounts at Companies House, so you could rank these prospects by Auditor and in order, highest fees to lowest. Perfect!

Now, it’s a case of investigative marketing. You know the company and you know who their auditors are, now it’s just a case of manufacturing an opportunity to meet them.

It’s not as difficult as you might think.

Like attracts like, so you need to go where the action is. By this I mean that you need to attend the same type of meetings as these people do.

The first port of call is the local Chamber of commerce. Many of these companies are well connected here – some even have members on the board.

Get involved with the organization, volunteer for positions that could put you in contact with the prospects you are targeting. Then, it’s just a matter of time – but don’t rush things – you need to develop trust and respect and in an organization that meets maybe every three months or so, so it takes time.

Hand-in-hand with this strategy – and welcome back our Canadian, US and other readers – you need to develop a public relations effort that will elevate the public awareness of your firm. The best way to do this is to write articles for the Chamber of Commerce newsletter and the business pages of your local press. Don’t overlook your local radio stations either – they have a chronic need for guests for their business shows, and if you show willing, more often than not they will invite you in at some point.

That’s all for now.

In our next issue:

1. Tempting clients from the "big 5" firms to your practice. There’s a lot of ground to cover on this topic yet, so I’ll continue this next issue.
2. The harder-working Business card. Let your card do your marketing for you.
3. Building a steady flow of referrals. Some new ideas to try.

See you next time.
Steve McIntyre-Smith.

For more free help and information on marketing your practice, or to order any of our eBooks, our consulting services, or to get a web site working for your firm, visit our web site at www.marketingforaccountants.com

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