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today’s bissett bullet: “‘businesses like what we have to say, they just don’t want to change their accountant.’ really? then why were they talking to you?”

by martin bissett

so often we make excuses for why we did not win work and why we did not have the guts to go through with actually asking for the business. i get told so often that a prospect does not want to change their accountant.

there are only two possibilities here:

1. either they were wasting your time, unlikely, or

2. they did not have a strong enough case for changing, likely.

if that is the case, revisit exactly what is involved in your conversation with the prospective client because you were not there for the sake of their health. you were there to discuss them coming to work with you. if they do not want to change, ask yourself why not?

today’s to-do:

if you were to be honest with yourself, how many prospective clients really do not want to change their accountant, and how many just did not see the reason to? now, on that basis with that reality confronted, be stronger in your next meeting with a prospective client.

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today’s bissett bullet: “we talk a lot about what we could do for clients. we talk a lot about what we should do for clients and what we would do for prospects. what we don’t often talk about is what they need right now.”

by martin bissett

what if you found out what challenges they face now, what they want to achieve now and how you could help immediately to help them really accelerate their business? the “now” accountant is one who deals with fast fixes that make a huge impact for that client.

today’s to-do:

do you know of anything your clients are facing right now for which you could offer a quick and effective solution? let them know about it. if you do not already offer a solution, what new value could be created to meet that immediate need?

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today’s bissett bullet: “we all use the same technology and the offer is very consistent so what sets us apart is our people.”

by martin bissett

if the tech is the same as our competitors, then it is our identity, the culture in our firm that sets us apart. you can have the best strategy in the world, but without the culture that engages people to deliver on your vision, it won’t work.

take a look at the culture of your business. does it reflect your vision and values? do your people know what the vision and value are and how do they reflect them? have you created an environment where they are happy to spend up to half of their waking life?

a happy, engaged, loyal team who understand what you want to be known for and are motivated to deliver that will result in greater retention, reduced recruitment cost and outstanding client experiences.

today’s to-do:

ask a team member at random what it is they think you most want your firm to be known for. do they know? do you know?

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today’s bissett bullet: “some of us are compliance providers only and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that if that’s what you want to do, but beware of what is happening elsewhere.”

by martin bissett

there are no two ways about it, tech is coming for your job if your job is compliance-based. software companies want you to upload data to the cloud so that they can see what it is you do and create ai solutions for your clients. will there still be compliance work out there? of course, but whether or not it will be at a rate you are happy working for is yet to be seen.

this is solely a threat in terms of those clients who only have compliance needs. if you are a firm that is reliant on that work, now is the time to build a pipeline that brings you bigger and better clients. if you are already at the advisory stage then you cannot be replaced by tech. in fact, many firms that already go beyond compliance have written themselves into their clients’ strategic plans for years to come, because they are recognized as critical to that plan and an integral part of the business operation.

today’s to-do:

take a look at your current client base. if you took your compliance-only clients out of the equation, what would you be left with?

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today’s bissett bullet: “if we’re on dragon’s den, we ‘pitch.’ if we’re an accountant meeting with new potential clients, we build a relationship.”

by martin bissett

never fall into the trap that we are pitching for new work or that we should have a “spiel” of any kind. this is not a junior sales opportunity. the relationship that a business owner has with their accounting professional is known as the “most trusted” and as a result of that it should be treated with due reverence in each meeting scenario. even when you are in a “beauty parade” situation, you are not pitching for the business, you are building relationships. make sure that your language reflects that.

today’s to-do:

review the last meeting you had with a prospective client. if you were on their side of the table, were they being pitched to or were they having a relationship built with them?

see more bissett bullets here

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