personal touches help retain clients.
by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide
clients are not numbers on a list that needs to be reduced. they are all individuals and consider themselves very important people and want professionals who treat them accordingly.
more: these five procedures will simplify your tax season | 11 steps to better client tax instructions | get your team ready for tax season | 12 ways to squeeze fun into tax season | 6 ways to get paid faster in tax season
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it is attitudinal and accountants must adopt that mindset and transmit that through to their culture. so you need to know when it’s essential to pick up the phone.
occasionally accountants lose touch with their clients, especially during tax season. part of this is because of the crush of work, which is compressed into a pretty short period.
we sometimes lose sight that we are working on something the clients consider one of the most important things in their lives at that moment.
following are a few things you can do and should do. not only does doing these things communicate your culture, but they are all good business.
- reply when you receive information by email to let the client know it was received.
- call or send an email when you receive information by postal mail.
- call with a question, and call as soon as the questions arise. save up the questions so you don’t make numerous calls, but as soon as you’ve worked on everything the client provided, call with questions and to resolve open items.
- call with a suggestion (even if it is for next year) such as signing up for their employer’s cafeteria plan or increasing 401k to get maximum matching or consider a one-person 401k (for current year). this call can be made after tax season. if it is not necessary for the preparation of the return, put it on a followup list and then do it.
- call with an unexpected result. always do this. if you do not take the time, you will still have to handle the call, except it will be when the clients call and some may even be upset.
here are a few of the situations when you should pick up the phone:
- client will be paying more than expected.
- client will be receiving a refund less than expected.
- there is a first-time requirement for estimated tax for current year.
- client needs to adjust their w-4 withholdings for current year.
- there will be a delay in completing their returns if something unexpected came up.
- if you are doing a return for a child at the request of a client, and did not receive all the information let the client know if there will be a delay or extension and why.