how to measure partner potential

read your firm’s cultural blueprint.ptp_2ndc

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

what conclusions can you draw from your knowledge of how the promotion system works in your firm that you need to keep in mind?

more: three questions to evaluate firm culture | make firm culture work for you | sailing the seven c’s to partner | you can’t land your next client without this | if you’re selling, you’re doing it wrong
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in terms of firm culture, you need to understand the four navigational points of the compass:
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three questions to evaluate firm culture

it’s part of the path toward partner.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

this second c is a stormy and choppy one, often fraught with political icebergs but navigated diplomatically and with maturity, will lead you through.

more: make firm culture work for you | checklist: partner-ready metrics | checklist: 10 keys to landing your next client | focus on your client’s concerns, not yours | 8 questions for business success
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

case study on culture

deborah had done well. she was bridging the firm’s culture gap and fulfilling its desire to be seen as an equal opportunities employer by becoming the practice’s standout rising star.

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defining firm culture for partners

with insight from our exclusive expert council: grundy, pipe, dunn.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

the passport to partnership study collated a number of responses from existing partners of accounting practices in a conversational style. examples that really stood out on the realities of individual variances in firm culture are showcased below.

more: make firm culture work for you | checklist: partner-ready metrics | checklist: 10 keys to landing your next client | focus on your client’s concerns, not yours | 8 questions for business success
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

meaning, can they hold their own intellectually in more senior circles? how would they then behave when meeting with other senior executives as a contemporary of theirs? this is a huge consideration for existing partners as the reputation, goodwill and future new business of the practice is influenced greatly by how well the firm is represented by its chosen ambassador (e.g. you).

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make firm culture work for you

businesspeople chatting around a water coolerbonus: 5 ways to make sure the firm’s people believe in both themselves and the culture.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

cultural issues are dynamic, very broad and unique in each firm. as such it is a challenge to summarize them accurately and comprehensively.

more: checklist: partner-ready metrics | making partner when competence isn’t enough | the three habits of the rich accountant | 4 reasons selling is hard | why believing in yourself matters | your first sale is to yourself
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

from our research, however, the wise choice for anyone wishing to get their passport to partnership appears to be to study

  • their firm’s existing culture,
  • that of its senior individuals and
  • that of those who have the ear of those senior individuals

to understand not only the route to partnership, but the terrain that they need to cross too.
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checklist: partner-ready metrics

confident businesswoman looking straight at camerathree questions on competence, four on branding plus a five-point checklist.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

the passport to partnership study collated a number of responses in a conversational style.

more: making partner when competence isn’t enough | sailing the seven c’s to partner | you can’t land your next client without this | if you’re selling, you’re doing it wrong | what partners don’t tell you
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

but two brief but succinct examples on the realities of how a firm assesses an individual’s “competence” for leadership are showcased really stood out:

  1. they need to explain technical data to me in a way that i know they understand.

  2. what kind of lifestyle does this person have outside of work? we’ll be looking at facebook, twitter, and google to find out.

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making partner when competence isn’t enough

//www.g005e.com/2016/06/11/adopt-a-marketing-mindset/four experts on what it really means.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

the skill in producing financial reports is limited by the quality of the information presented to the cpa by the client. the motivation of the client to influence that financial information comes in many forms, some intentional and some unintentional. competence comes first in being able to resist pressure and present a true and accurate position of the client’s organization.

more: sailing the seven c’s to partner | checklist: 10 keys to landing your next client | focus on your client’s concerns, not yours | 8 questions for business success | don’t wait for business to come to you
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

sounds obvious, doesn’t it? but there’s a twist.

competence didn’t actually rank highly in the majority of partner requirements when interviewed in our study at all.
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sailing the seven c’s to partner

competent? great. but that’s just a prerequisite.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

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.

more: checklist: 10 keys to landing your next client | the three habits of the rich accountant | 4 reasons selling is hard | why believing in yourself matters | your first sale is to yourself
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

there are seven critically important criteria by which partners assess partners-to-be. i call them:

the seven c’s
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the gap between partners and candidates

//www.g005e.com/2021/02/17/a-rose-by-any-other-name/what we’ve got here is failure to communicate.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

have you ever wondered what the partners of your firm are looking for from you, beyond your technical abilities?

more: checklist: 10 keys to landing your next client | the three habits of the rich accountant | 4 reasons selling is hard | why believing in yourself matters | your first sale is to yourself
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

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.
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checklist: 10 keys to landing your next client

young black businessman looking at his reflectionplus: 10 more questions to check your comfort level.

by martin bissett
understanding selling

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.

more: the three habits of the rich accountant | you can’t land your next client without this | if you’re selling, you’re doing it wrong | what partners don’t tell you
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

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.

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the three habits of the rich accountant

businessman looking at calendar on tabletthey’ll quickly become second nature.

by martin bissett
winning your first client

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.”

more: you can’t land your next client without this | focus on your client’s concerns, not yours | 4 reasons selling is hard | if you’re selling, you’re doing it wrong | 8 questions for business success | why believing in yourself matters | what partners don’t tell you | don’t wait for business to come to you | your first sale is to yourself
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

regardless of whether we’ve got 20 opportunities on our plate today or none, when the next one comes along we can’t afford to be anything other than confident, comfortable, assured relationship builders who have tremendous value to offer. because people will see that body language, those voice tones and hear those words and it will be attractive. they will want to get to know more – they’ll want to be able to look at options. they’ll want to know what you’ll charge, and they’ll want to know what they’ll get for what you charge.
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you can’t land your next client without this

how can expect any prospect to buy into us?

by martin bissett
winning your first client

it’s about time to realize that value is not about time.

more: focus on your client’s concerns, not yours | 4 reasons selling is hard | if you’re selling, you’re doing it wrong | 8 questions for business success | why believing in yourself matters | what partners don’t tell you | don’t wait for business to come to you | your first sale is to yourself
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

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.

let’s not sell, let’s attract.

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focus on your client’s concerns, not yours

attract new fees instead of chasing them.

by martin bissett
winning your first client

let’s start with two simple definitions to avoid any confusion:

  1. the purpose of marketing is to create the opportunity.
  2. the purpose of business development (sales) is to convert that opportunity into a paying client.

more: 4 reasons selling is hard | if you’re selling, you’re doing it wrong | 8 questions for business success | why believing in yourself matters | what partners don’t tell you | don’t wait for business to come to you | your first sale is to yourself
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

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.

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four reasons selling is hard

businessman with head in handsbut it doesn’t have to be.

by martin bissett
winning your first client

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.

more: if you’re selling, you’re doing it wrong | 8 questions for business success | why believing in yourself matters | what partners don’t tell you | don’t wait for business to come to you | your first sale is to yourselfgoprocpa.com

exclusively for pro members.
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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.
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