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TURNING CLIENT PROBLEMS INTO LUCRATIVE ENGAGEMENTSMake more money in the process
Presented by Rick Solomon, CPACEO, RAN ONE Americas
Contents Copyright © 2011 RAN ONE Americas, LLC
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Agenda
• Business client migration
• Your new role
• How to deliver
• Understanding the problems
• Getting into action
• Discussion & next steps
• www.TryRANONE.com
36% of business clients report they are likely to switch CPA firms in
the next year.
The top reason clients would consider leaving their firm is if the firm did not check with them
on their changing needs.
CCH Accounting firm client survey
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Which end of the migration pattern will you be on?
Most clients will not tell you they are dissatisfied unless you
ask them.
They will just stop doing business with you.
CCH Accounting firm client survey
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Formula to Win
Help clients solve business problems
and becomemore successful.
They will love you stay with you
pay you very well&
Your practice will flourish
Text 1
Traditional Services– Accounting
– Tax
– Audit
Results– Commodity
perception
– $ = Hours
– Buy because they “have to”
What Clients Want– Success:
– $
– Quality of Life
Results– Value Perception
– $ = Value
– Buy because they “want to”
Text 1
Traditional Services– Accounting
– Tax
– Audit
Results– Commodity
perception
– $ = Hours
– Buy because they “have to”
What Clients Want– Success:
– $
– Quality of Life
Results– Value Perception
– $ = Value
– Buy because they “want to”
60% of businesses are becoming more focused on the return they are getting from their CPA firm.
CCH Accounting firm client survey
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Any concerns about being an advisor?
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Poll
What % of your clients would be likely candidates?
50% or more
30% - 50%
15% to 30%
5% to 15%
Few, if any
What stops you from having a greater impact on business clients?
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It’s not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?
Henry David Thoreau
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It isn’t that they can’t see the solution. It is that they can’t see the problem.
G.K. ChestertonEnglish Journalist and author
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Business Advisory Made Simple
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Five key advisor abilities:
1. ask questions
2. listen and understand
3. analyze information and draw conclusions
4. creatively solve problems through facilitation
5. communicate and relate to people
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Personal Goals
Business Planning
Monitor/Manage
Result: Profitability & Professional
Wellbeing
Result: Profitability & Professional
Wellbeing
Business Advisory Components
Help business owners clarify their personal and quality of
life goals
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Personal Goals
Business Planning
Monitor/Manage
Result: Profitability & Professional
Wellbeing
Result: Profitability & Professional
Wellbeing
Align business and personal objectives.
Develop a plan to achieve them
Business Advisory Components
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Personal Goals
Business Planning
Monitor/Manage
Result: Profitability & Professional
Wellbeing
Result: Profitability & Professional
Wellbeing
Keeping an eye on actual vs.
intended results greatly
increases chances for success.
Business Advisory Components
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Personal Goals
Business Planning
Monitor/Manage
Result: Profitability & Professional
Wellbeing
Result: Profitability & Professional
Wellbeing
As they win, you win
Business Advisory Components
Choose Your Level of Involvement
Provide a road map &
intelligence for their journey
Show up periodically to help them stay
on track
Walk with them on their
journey
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Poll
What % of your clients would be likely candidates?
50% or more
30% - 50%
15% to 30%
5% to 15%
Few, if any
What’s your current advisory role?
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RAN ONE Rocket
Internal factors
The Rest •Start with an idea but no
real vision
•Lack a clear, purposeful direction
•Take whatever work comes along – mortgage over mission
Strategy
Top Performers•Have a clear and
consistent plan •target markets defined
•products/services defined
•start external, then go internal
•Track business performance and act quickly to change if necessary
•Risk management adopted
The Rest •Planning is ad hoc and
informal
•May start internal then “fit” to external environment
•Fire fighting mentality
Structure
Top Performers•Adapt structure to
business needs over time
•Professionalize management
• Identify and seek out the right type of people early, including specialists
The Rest •Have less formal
structures
•Build around leader’s personality
•Are thinner on management talent
Culture
Top Performers•Build corporate
culture – not dominated by founder but on values
•Attitude to growth•high imperative
•growing the pie more important than size of share
•Environment manages pressure, deadlines and priorities
•Willingly take external advice
The Rest •Dominated by
personality of founder/leaders (good in start up but must mature past this)
•Environment endures pressure, deadlines and priorities
•Look for an internal solution ahead of an expert one
Products & Services
Top Performers•Have attractive
products/services to sell •life cycle position
•profit margin
• Try to secure their valuable formula using IP or some other security eg. an exclusive license
•Productize the business•repeat sales become cheaper
•efficiency increases
•quality improves, risk falls
The Rest •Do not critically analyze
and refresh their portfolio frequently enough
•Reinvent the wheel too often
•Too readily justify one offs as “strategic positioning”
Finance
Top Performers
•Some start up capital (usually limited)
•Make working capital management a priority – have KPIs and use them
•Reinvest in the business as a priority
•Profitable business model
The Rest•Have far poorer working
capital management
•Lack profitability
•Are unable to reinvest optimally ie. when funding allows, not when business needs
Systems & Processes
Top Performers
•Systemize the business from an early stage for efficiency, succession and risk management
•Use mainstream technology - stay current but not bleeding edge
•Protect and leverage intellectual property used in the valuable formula
The Rest•Do not systemize the
business, so frequently reinvent the wheel
•Are often technologically challenged
•Are often under-invested in IT
People
Top Performers•Look for the right
type of people early – including specialists
•Create a great place to work
•Attract and retain good people
•Develop & significantly improve their people’s capabilities
•Look to reward in line with business performance
The Rest•Don’t always try to get the
best people they can i.e. not better than themselves
•Have poorer people management skills
•Are vulnerable to losses in key positions
•Don’t invest so readily in their team as a core asset
Marketing & Sales
Top Performers•Very good at
winning business i.e. finding new markets, positioning
•they’re not egg warmers; they create or find new business
•Strong sales culture and ability to convert at all levels
•Strong reputation
•Acutely aware of the competition
The Rest•Compete predominantly
on price over other benefits/value proposition elements
•Poor quality or non-existent marketing plans
•Less market aware overall
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Result: Profitability & Professional WellbeingResult: Profitability & Professional Wellbeing
Personal Goals
Business Planning
Monitor/Manage
Business Advisory Components
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Poll
What % of your clients would be likely candidates?
50% or more
30% - 50%
15% to 30%
5% to 15%
Few, if any
How do you see advisory fitting into your firm?
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AdvisapediaBusiness diagnostic process
Process & Deliverables
Skills and confidence
Win the work
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Solving problems
differentiates your firm
“You can't afford to rest on last year's assumptions in this unpredictable, rapidly
changing world.
The biggest sales mistakes we see accountants making is 'The Don't Ask; Don't
Know' syndrome.
Far too few CPAs make the effort to ask the right questions that reveal prospect's real
needs and desires.”
Rick Telberg, President and CEOBay Street Group
Publisher, CPA Trendlines
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Poll
What % of your clients would be likely candidates?
50% or more
30% - 50%
15% to 30%
5% to 15%
Few, if any
Interest in RAN ONE’s Tax Season Marketing Program?
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There is only one success – to be able to
spend your life in your own wayChristopher Morley
American writer
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Questions & Discussion
For more information about RAN ONE [email protected]
www.TryRANONE.com
