staffers aspiring to be partners must learn the key characteristics of successful partners. they also must learn how to develop their own personal plans to achieve partnership. firms and staffers alike need a clear set of procedures, processes and milestones for turning top talent into the next generation of firm leadership.
there are seven critically important criteria by which partners assess partners-to-be. i call them:
editor’s note: with this article, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 introduces a new series of articles by martin bissett reporting on the findings of his proprietary research into the keys to making partner. the research is based on hundreds of interviews with partners and practitioners at more than 30 firms in the u.s. and the u.k., dozens of experts and advisors, and his own 20 years of experience in the field. in his research, bissett uncovered a wide gap between what partners say they seek in a staffer yearning to be partner and what they actually do and say to train and nurture the staffer. his work in passport to partnership is dedicated to bridging that gap, revealing to both partners and partners-to-be the unspoken rules, and working to create a bulletproof program to guide their efforts.
have you ever wondered what the partners of your firm are looking for from you, beyond your technical abilities?
for full disclosure, i am not an accountant, but i have spent decades working with accounting firms of all shapes and sizes in the united kingdom, the united states and europe.
i noticed over time that in many firms, partners may often regard one or more of their managers as not being “partner material” because they feel that the manager does not exhibit the traits they are looking for.
i’ve been asking you to believe in yourself, to get your potential clients to open up to you and to demonstrate to them the outcomes that working with you and your firm would create in their personal and professional lives.
now here’s a checklist for you to run through before you begin your next business development initiative, and before each new business appointment that you have. read more →
you may be thinking right now, “well, very good, martin, but we have finite time. we’re very, very busy people and we need to get business in the door, and therefore creation of opportunity becomes the issue.”
when i look back on the research that has been conducted by various groups as to the biggest obstacles accounting firms cite to growing their practice,
50 percent said creating opportunities,
25 percent said knowing how to close deals
and the remainder said having self-confidence in presenting and then being able to positively differentiate from their competition.
when we meet with prospective clients – and i say this as someone who has sat in on many hundreds of meetings of this nature – we rarely give potential clients a reason to buy from us that they care about.
let’s take a look at the last 16 years of my experience and my research as to where new clients come from in an accounting practice. i don’t think there are going to be too many shocks here.
what i’ve found is that 82 percent of all new clients in a given year who come into an accounting firm come in from a referral source. this may be a bank or a lawyer or some other source, perhaps an existing client, who has recommended that a particular business meet with your firm and come on board as a client.
being a successful person according to your own measurement of that, and your own goals and your own standards, is different for everyone.
if you’re comfortable with yourself, it’s very likely that others will be too. if you understand the value that you offer (how you can improve a client’s situation to move them closer toward their personal and professional aspirations), you’re likely to be able to convey that value in front of a prospect.
you know the identity of your first client, and if you buy into you, then there’s a good chance of potential clients being prepared to do so, too.
this is what we must remember about the purchasing of professional services such as accounting. if your prospective client is a grade a or b style opportunity for your firm, then they are not buying the services you provide per se. the services are the vehicles of delivery;
the means to the end.
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.
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.
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.
if you’re a sole practitioner or if you don’t find being accountable to your partners helpful, then you can be accountable to your life partner, spouse or another person you wouldn’t want to see you fail. read more →
be proactive, rather than waiting for business to come to you.
by martin bissett
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?
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.
when it comes to winning new work in professional services, we must first build a relationship. the game hasn’t changed at all in that respect. read more →
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.
break down unspoken barriers. are you just about compliance?
focus on the client’s concerns, not your own.
why your first sale is to yourself.