here’s what you’re looking for: martin bissett

marketing & sales

you have to believe in yourself

young man fixing collar in mirrorperception, even your own, is reality.

by martin bissett
 business development on a budget

“no man has the ability to step outside of the shadow of his own character.” — robespierre

as far as our potential clients are concerned, how they perceive us is how we really are to them, regardless of the truth of the matter.

more: eight questions to hold yourself accountable | experts: what it takes to become partner | where is your next money coming from? | your website promises. do you deliver? | five reasons firms don’t thrive | four biz dev tasks to start the new year | what the next generation of practice leaders faces | five ways to show commitment
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

because of this, it’s important to realize that when we are meeting a new potential client who has not been referred to us, it does not matter what the reality of our value proposition is; it matters how that potential client perceives our value proposition. therefore, to be effective
in winning work, we must understand how we can positively influence their perception of us at each stage of the relationship-building process.
read more →

marketing & sales

eight questions to hold yourself accountable

what are you selling on?

by martin bissett
business development on a budget

the secret to overcoming failure to correctly implement a successful business development strategy is by “winning your first client” and this starts by being accountable to someone for your performance.

more: experts: what it takes to become partner | business won’t come to you | forged in fire: the pains of leadership | a lesson in customer service and reputation | prioritize your prospects | good enough is not enough
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

now that “someone” may be your fellow partners in the firm. if you are a senior manager, that may be the partner to whom you report.
read more →

pro member exclusive

experts: what it takes to become partner

//www.g005e.com/2021/04/29/industry-experts-speak-on-partner-competence/
dobek, tierney, baker

first, consider why you want it.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

the skill in producing financial reports is limited by the quality of the information presented to the cpa by the client. the motivation of the client to influence that financial information comes in many forms, some intentional and some unintentional. competence comes first in being able to resist pressure and present a true and accurate position of the client’s organization.

more: business won’t come to you | win your first client: yourself | perception is reality, client version | 10 questions for reconsidering your prices | would you make yourself a partner? | prepare the next generation now
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

sounds obvious, doesn’t it? but there’s a twist.

competence doesn’t actually rank highly among the requirements for partners in our study at all.
read more →

marketing & sales

business won’t come to you

hand using key to unlock doora proactive approach is where many fall short.

by martin bissett
business development on a budget

have you noticed all of those titles in the local bookstore or at the airport offering us the “key” to this and the “key” to that, the “six keys” to one thing, and the “four keys” to another?

more: where is your next money coming from? | forged in fire: the pains of leadership | a lesson in customer service and reputation | prioritize your prospects | good enough is not enough
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

it also seems that every book is a “game-changer” now, to the point where it is difficult to understand what the game is anymore, never mind how to play it.
read more →

marketing & sales

win your first client: yourself

screen shot 2015-01-16 at 8.11.40 amdo you project confidence?

by martin bissett
the martin bissett practice growth system

winning your first client is all about understanding why someone would buy from you before you ever speak to them, before you ever meet them before you ever start the preparation for talking to them.

more: where is your next money coming from? | forged in fire: the pains of leadership | a lesson in customer service and reputation | prioritize your prospects | good enough is not enough | consistency is key to business development
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

this discipline too often goes unexplained by most sales training programs offered to the accounting profession, but ultimately we have to be comfortable with who we are and the value that we offer.
read more →

growth strategies

where is your next money coming from?

financial graph on blackboardfive questions to help forecast your firm growth.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

if i could give you one tip that would assure that you could predict your consistent practice growth, it would be to look at your calendar.

more: forged in fire: the pains of leadership | perception is reality, client version | 10 questions for reconsidering your prices | would you make yourself a partner? | a list is not a pipeline | prepare the next generation now | are you committed to your firm? | nine points to check before hello | why clients struggle with growth
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

you need to look at what is on your calendar and to look at today’s date and ask, “where is the money coming from this month?” look at what recurring fees you have, look at the value of those fees and what they bring in. then consider what would happen if any of those fees did not recur. look at what would happen if those fees dropped out of the equation and think about how you would replace that income.
read more →

leadership

forged in fire: the pains of leadership

businessman bursting through flames and fireworksthink of it as an upward spiral.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

unhappy and difficult clients help our firms to improve our client management skills and present opportunities to refine our leadership skills.

more: perception is reality, client version | your website promises. do you deliver? | five reasons firms don’t thrive | four biz dev tasks to start the new year | what the next generation of practice leaders faces | nine points to check before hello | why clients struggle with growth | nine biz-dev metrics for making partner
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

it is tough for us to build a successful firm without difficult clients or internal personnel issues in order to provide learning experiences for us to build a robust and commercially successful infrastructure.
read more →

marketing & sales

perception is reality, client version

black cat statue and white cat statue, nose to noseavoid the funhouse mirror effect.

by martin bissett
business development on a budget

there used to be an old exercise used in training sessions about customer relations or selling or leadership that went like this. the trainer would ask the group to think about the color green. a few seconds later he would ask them what type of green they were thinking of, and of course there would be many variations of green.

more: your website promises. do you deliver? | a lesson in customer service and reputation | prioritize your prospects | consistency is key to business development | five questions about your network | seven things that good advisors skip
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the point is that, as the saying goes, perception is reality. whatever each person perceived as green, that would be the reality for them – but it would be different for each person in the room.
read more →

marketing & sales

your website promises. do you deliver?

man viewing desktop computer screenif not, undercharging might be to blame.

by martin bissett
business development on a budget

there’s an overall sameness to the majority of accounting firm websites, and typically they make a lot of promises – promises like

  • we’re big enough to cope and small enough to care, or
  • we are proactive, or
  • we’re not just bean counters, or
  • we have your best interests at heart, or
  • your business is our business.

more: a lesson in customer service and reputation | 10 questions for reconsidering your prices | would you make yourself a partner? | a list is not a pipeline | prepare the next generation now | are you committed to your firm? | nine points to check before hello
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

you’ve seen all those, haven’t you? are these or similar promises on your website?
read more →

leadership

a lesson in customer service and reputation

manager standing in front of wall of tvswho needs to see you lead?

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

in order to become a commercially aware practice leader, we need to understand the dna of leadership.

more: 10 questions for reconsidering your prices | five reasons firms don’t thrive | four biz dev tasks to start the new year | what the next generation of practice leaders faces | five ways to show commitment | selling isn’t hard | do you make your firm look good?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

any woman or man leading an accounting firm, who chooses to overcome each operational or client challenge as it if their future depended on it, will not only succeed in practice but will become capable of delivering advisory value to their clients unmatched by their competitors, thus achieving true differentiation.
read more →

marketing & sales

10 questions for reconsidering your prices

coins and small bills in a plastic boxstop undervaluing yourself.

by martin bissett
business development on a budget

undercharging – or lowballing as it’s also called – is the scourge of the profession. it has always been present, and unfortunately, it will probably be with us for the foreseeable future.

undercharging is directly related to fear – fear of rejection.

more: five reasons firms don’t thrive | prioritize your prospects | good enough is not enough | consistency is key to business development | comfort vs. complacency | five questions about your network

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

when you are building your pipeline according to the process, you have assigned fees you think might be in the ballpark of what you believe you could get from a new piece of work or a new client. you may tend to estimate on the low side, which is not a bad idea in theory, because it lets you be pleasantly surprised when it’s anything beyond that.
read more →

marketing & sales

five reasons firms don’t thrive

plant seedlings growing out of coin stacks , both increasing in size… and how to solve them.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

a big concern in recent years has been how the incoming partners will purchase equity or fund the capital account and exit of a retiring partner.

more: prioritize your prospects | would you make yourself a partner? | a list is not a pipeline | prepare the next generation now | are you committed to your firm? | nine points to check before hello | why clients struggle with growth | nine biz-dev metrics for making partner
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

much has been written that examines the mathematical complexities of this topic but the bottom line is simple. would-be partners in the age demographic of 28-42 are part of a generation who are already heavily borrowed in the form of credit card debt, mortgage debt and other forms of personal loans.
read more →

marketing & sales

prioritize your prospects

young black woman with magnifying glasscan you deliver some value in advance?

by martin bissett
business development on a budget

after you have listed business prospects, then what? it’s time for a good hard look at those prospects, and an honest appraisal of their value.

more: would you make yourself a partner? | four biz dev tasks to start the new year | what the next generation of practice leaders faces | five ways to show commitment | selling isn’t hard |  selling happens all the time | do you make your firm look good?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

how long do you think each prospective client will take to make a decision to move to your firm or not? is it a month? six months? a year or more? this information is the next filter you will use to prioritize your time and efforts.
read more →