Make your services a must-have
February 07, 2024
By Edward Mendlowitz
Most people use an accountant because they need to. A smaller number use them because they want to. If you want to grow your practice and your income, you will need to be in the "want to" category. Clients will want to use you when you become their trusted advisor and they think of calling you before they do anything that might impact their business, financial security or growth. Here are some ways to make this happen.
- They want us to be available. This means you need to be proactive in reaching out to your clients with suggestions for their business's growth, tax or reporting changes that might affect their business, or industry trends. It also means responding promptly to their concerns not only when they contact you, but when you anticipate those concerns and reach out to them. Make the first call. You will get an "A" for service by responding quickly to every call to you, but you'll get an "A+" and attain the trusted advisor level when you make the first calls.
- Clients want to avoid problems that are avoidable. Make this an agenda item when you speak with them. Try to anticipate problems that might arise and discuss what might have to be done now to avoid them. The worst thing you could hear from a client is: "I trusted you to keep these problems from arising."