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

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?
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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.
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pro member exclusive

would you make yourself a partner?

young businessman standing on edge of rock mountain and looking acrossfive questions for self-evaluation.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

when challenges come our way, regardless of what shape or form they arrive in, our world seems to lose a bit of brightness, there’s a little knot in the gut and a sense of peace broken.

more: four biz dev tasks to start the new year | good enough is not enough | consistency is key to business development | comfort vs. complacency | how are you showing your commitment? | 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 question is, if we were watching our own responses to these trials, would we appoint ourselves as the next partner of the firm?
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marketing & sales

four biz dev tasks to start the new year

dollarphoto screen shot 2016-02-22 at 12.23.16 pmthe science behind pipelines.

by martin bissett
business development on a budget

i’ve taken many accounting firm partners through this process, and it’s quite common for them to balk a little at the pipeline idea when they see the amount of work involved.

more: good enough is not enough | a list is not a pipeline | prepare the next generation now | 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.

they see it as just another call on their time when they already have far too much to do, and they ask me why they can’t just write down a list of prospects and go to work on them.
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pro member exclusive

good enough is not enough

three darts hitting a target bull's-eyeare your projections sending your firm backward?

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

how do you react to challenges?

more: a list is not a pipeline | 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.

ask yourself and answer these questions when considering the current and future “challenges” behaviors that you’ll employ.
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growth strategies

a list is not a pipeline

golden vintage tap with money flowing outbonus checklist: 5 points for grading prospects.

by martin bissett
business development on a budget

so you’ve done all the work to get yourself composed and prepared to go out and generate new opportunities, find new business and new clients. now what? how will you know who to contact for the first step?

answer: your pipeline.

more: what the next generation of practice leaders faces | consistency is key to business development | comfort vs. complacency | how are you showing your commitment? | 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.

many partners think they have a pipeline, but they don’t. what they actually have is just a list of prospects they’ve

  • met with,
  • would like to meet with or
  • have worked with in the past.

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pro member exclusive

what the next generation of practice leaders faces

woman's hand pressing words "ask an expert"“now, more than ever before firms need to be clear regarding their roi proposition to clients.”

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

the passport to partnership study collated a number of responses in a conversational style. the need for professionals who can remain calm in the storm is showcased below and was repeated many times in various different ways.

more: consistency is key to business development | 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 | communication isn’t about you
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the expert council

what is going to be the single biggest challenge for the next generation of practice leaders?
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marketing & sales

consistency is key to business development

man writing on a calendaryes, even during busy season.

by martin bissett
how to win the new breed of client

you may be asking yourself how you will know when you are successful in your selling efforts. many people have asked me that, but it’s the wrong question because firms have different goals.

more: prepare the next generation now | 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.

some want to simply tick over and replace the clients they lose, some want to grow exponentially, some want steady and consistent growth they can measure and monitor. so there is no one definition of success. but no matter what yours is, you will never attain it if you are inconsistent in your process of winning new business.
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checklist

the three challenges on the road to partnership

stylized photo of businessman running on a trackand why we need them.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

now we move on to our sixth “c” in the passport to partnership – challenges.

more: prepare the next generation now | five ways to show commitment | selling isn’t hard | do you make your firm look good? | 4 top communication habits | making partner when competence isn’t enough
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

again the heading has more than a single application, which we’ll explore here.
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management

prepare the next generation now

group of four young professionalsthey will look to you for an example.

by martin bissett
business development on a budget

if you are a partner in your firm, you may already have asked yourself the all-important question: how can i successfully retire and have someone else take over the firm?

more: five ways to show commitment | comfort vs. complacency | how are you showing your commitment? | five questions about your network | seven things that good advisors skip | internal communication can’t be overlooked | the seven levels of communication management | make firm culture work for you
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the partner who has a satisfactory answer to that question is the one who is committed not only to developing business and building the firm on a regular basis, but also to developing and preparing the next generation of professionals in the firm.
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pro member exclusive

five ways to show commitment

the word "commitment" in letter blocks with four tiny businessmenthe cliché is true: you have to walk the walk.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

there’s no doubt that consistent commitment is not as widely practiced as current partners of accounting firms might like to think.

more: comfort vs. complacency | 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.

business success is built on a dedicated team with a shared vision giving their all for the realization of that vision and the development of the next one.
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growth strategies

comfort vs. complacency

businessman sleeping with a giant dollar bill for a blanketdon’t let recurring fees kill your practice.

by martin bissett
business development on a budget

as you know, the traditional accounting firm model is firmly based on the reality of recurring fees that come in from clients every year. we can rely on these and forecast accurately how much revenue they bring in – which hopefully covers overheads and direct expenses of the business.

more: are you committed to your firm? | selling isn’t hard | selling happens all the time | do you make your firm look good? | how to communicate your value | 4 top communication habits | three questions to evaluate firm culture
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

this is a good thing, right? well, maybe not as much as you think.
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pro member exclusive

are you committed to your firm?

profile of woman with finger on her lips in "shush" gesturethere are times to be silent.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

ask yourself and answer these questions when considering the current and future “commitment” behaviors that you’ll employ.

more: selling isn’t hard | how are you showing your commitment? | nine points to check before hello | selling happens all the time | five questions about your network | why clients struggle with growth | do you make your firm look good? | seven things that good advisors skip
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

1 – what is my first reaction to being asked to work outside of my normal hours?

2 – how well do i understand the history and ethos of this firm and do i appreciate what the current partners have had to do to get this firm to where it can afford to pay me today?
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marketing & sales

selling isn’t hard

young man facing image of himselfit’s a new skill. you have to practice.

by martin bissett
business development on a budget

if winning new clients is simply a matter of being yourself, why is selling so difficult for accountants? well, it’s a combination of several factors, but there are two main reasons.

more: how are you showing your commitment? | nine points to check before hello | why clients struggle with growth | nine biz-dev metrics for making partner | communication isn’t about you | how to measure partner potential | making partner when competence isn’t enough
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

first, accountants have not traditionally been required to sell. maybe your practice has grown by referral – business has come to you and you haven’t had to do much to win that business. unfortunately, however, business doesn’t always walk through the door; you don’t know how often it will, or what caliber it will be when it does.
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