never tell them it’s “client accounting services.” here’s why.
by hitendra patil
client accounting services: the definitive success guide
i recently spoke with an experienced cpa who has been very keen to expand the firm’s client accounting services practice. i told her, “if your firm’s website and marketing material states you offer ‘client accounting services.’, you’d want to rewrite that content, like, immediately.”
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she was utterly puzzled and asked:
“but cas is vital for the future of accounting firms, and you wrote the profession’s first book on cas, so why are you now saying so?”
what’s in a name?
“what’s in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” – from romeo and juliet by william shakespeare, ca. 1600
neither am i a literature expert nor did i do any research about the above quote, but it is very relevant when it comes to explaining what you do and how it helps your prospects and clients move to a better financial and business life.
your prospects and clients are the juliets who want your services to be the romeos for them. not the “name” of romeo but the love that juliet experienced with romeo. like juliet, your prospects/clients are more interested in the impact/outcome of your cas offering, not the name cas itself.
fundamentally, how does it matter to your prospects what you name your cas offering? they are not professional accountants to instinctively understand what cas means, especially for them. cas is more of a professional lingo for accountants to create future focus.
google proves this beyond any doubt
for the last year, google search trends showed that if the phrase “client accounting services” was searched one time, the term “accounting services” was searched about 50 times. so, think of it any which way: it undoubtedly means your prospects are not searching for accountants that provide “client accounting services.” but they mostly look for firms offering “accounting services.”
what does it mean for you as a professional accounting firm?
#1 – don’t say your firm offers cas, surely not on your website and in your ads/marketing/sales materials.
yes, internally, within your firm, you must use the phrase “client accounting services” to mean and explain to everyone in the firm that we, as a firm, want to do everything required for any client’s accounting work. cas is an internal goalpost for your firm. it is the target. it is the objective.
not convinced (that you should not call it cas)?
consider the following analogy.
if you need a dental health care specialist, what do you look for? complete exams, x-rays, dental cleanings, fillings, root canals, extractions, maybe cosmetic dentistry, such as whitening, porcelain, composite veneers or implants, crowns, bridges, full and partial dentures? these are all the words that reflect what services/benefits/problem resolutions you receive as a customer/patient. you don’t really search for oral and maxillofacial surgeons, orthodontists, periodontists, prosthodontists, etc., do you? you probably don’t care much about such medical names of professionals, but you do care about what they can do for you.
in my book, the definitive success guide to client accounting services, we learn that accounting is not a services profession. “services” turn (accountants’) knowledge into benefits that your clients enjoy. services are a mechanism to deliver the benefits of your knowledge, expertise, and experience. it is (should be) all about the impact of what you do for your clients.
prospects and clients search for those impacts. they don’t care much about the professional terminology that you use, except for traditional terms like bookkeeping, accounting, taxes, financial statements, etc. unfortunately, these terms carry a conventional connotation that can easily pigeonhole you and can commoditize your pricing/fees.
this article is not about search engine optimization (seo). it is about what your prospects/clients read/hear when they find you/speak with you/interact with you. they need to read/hear/feel they will get what they want/need from your firm. the easiest way to express this most effectively is to say something like:
“when you subscribe to our services, what you get is….” and use the words or phrases that describe the outcomes and impacts of your services that your prospects and clients will receive and experience.”
want examples? visit some prominent or leading accounting firm websites and find out how they express the impact and outcome of their services. for instance, many rarely say “financial statements,” but say something like “meaningful financial statements with budget comparisons.”
you’ll see that “improving,” “managing,” “providing,” “supporting” are some of the most-used words. these words imply that these firms are continuously and consistently contributing value to their clients’ businesses.
caution: do not copy another firm’s content. do not just change the words you use. it is not about applying a band-aid because it is not just a little scratch. cas is a serious business, and you need to get the fundamentals right before you can really deliver what you promise.