martin bissett, author at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 - page 23 of 27

how to create a winning proposal

flip your perspective to avoid a “so what” response.

by martin bissett
business development on a budget

getting the proposal document right is a mini-science in itself, and it’s not within the scope of this post to explore it in depth. however, the following guidelines will help you understand the process and principles.

more on business development: how to prepare for the first meeting with a new prospect | the five fastest ways to kill a new opportunity [video] | understand the dna of business development success | do you deliver on your website’s promises? | the science of pipelines | prepare your next generation of professionals | how to win your first client | you’re selling all the time

first and foremost, you must write the proposal from the viewpoint of the client, not your own. it must make sense to them, and it must pass their “so what“ test. if the prospect reads a statement or sentence in your proposal and mentally asks, “so what?” that is the kiss of death for your proposal.
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pro member exclusive

are you partner material? maybe not

research shows wide gap between partners and partners-to-be.

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 on the passport to partnership: 9 things to stop doing now | the dna of a practice leader | why hitting your numbers isn’t enough | what do your true colors say about your commitment? | what commitment really means for partners | how well do you represent your firm? | communication: putting it all together | the 4 winning communications habits of top accountants

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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marketing & sales

how to prepare for the first meeting with a new prospect

and 4 questions to ask yourself afterward.

by martin bissett
business development on a budget

you’ve done all the marketing to bring new opportunities; you and your partners are confident in the value you need to offer; your pipeline is filled out and you have done your a.c.c.o.u.n.t.s. so what’s next?

more on business development: the five fastest ways to kill a new opportunity [video] | use this spreadsheet to evaluate prospects | before the sales meeting | lowballing is undervaluing yourself | do you have a pipeline or just a list? | overcome recurring fee apathy | 5 ways to make selling easier to swallow

now you need to go and meet with the prospect for the first time. this is a huge step forward, but many professionals also find the first meeting a challenge. that challenge can be overcome by having a system in place and following it.
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the five fastest ways to kill a new opportunity [video]

featuring martin bissett

bissett is a regular contributor to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 and author of passport to partnership, winning your first client, and business development on a budget.

more on practice growth and development by martin bissett for pro members: use this spreadsheet to evaluate prospects | 9 things to stop doing now consider hiring a sales director | key advice for potential partners | understand the dna of business development success | before the sales meeting | | how to create an upward spiral your perception vs. your client’s reality

exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

marketing & sales

use this spreadsheet to evaluate prospects

get your a.c.c.o.u.n.t.s. in order.

by martin bissett

there is a difference between a pipeline and a simple list of prospects.

more on business development: consider hiring a sales director | understand the dna of business development success | do you deliver on your website’s promises? | lowballing is undervaluing yourself | appraise your prospects | the science of pipelines | do you have a pipeline or just a list? | develop the habit of consistency | prepare your next generation of professionals | overcome recurring fee apathy | banish the idea that selling is difficult | how to win your first client | you’re selling all the time

exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

a true pipeline grades prospects, works out the value of each prospect and determines where they should fit in your business development efforts. you can use this process to create a mathematical equation that scores how likely you are to win the work.
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pro member exclusive

9 things to stop doing now

stop devaluing yourself and the profession.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

the thing about accountants is that they occupy, should they wish to, a unique position in the minds of their clients. we know it as most trusted advisor.

more on the passport to partnership: how to create an upward spiral | it’s not the challenge, it’s your response | what challenges really mean for partners | commitment: your view and your firm’s | businesses place value on expertise | what conversion really means for partners | communication: it’s not about you

exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

simply put, if you are a trusted advisor, you’re supposed to
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marketing & sales

consider hiring a sales director

what is the best use of your skill set?

by martin bissett

as a partner in an accounting practice, your average day (if there even is such a thing as an average day) is fraught with many calls on your time: producing client work, management of the team, checking the processes, following up unpaid bills and more. and that doesn’t even account for all the personal things you need to achieve every day.

more on business development: understand the dna of business development success | before the sales meeting | your perception vs. your client’s reality | do you deliver on your website’s promises? | lowballing is undervaluing yourself | appraise your prospects | the science of pipelines | do you have a pipeline or just a list? | develop the habit of consistency | prepare your next generation of professionals | overcome recurring fee apathy | banish the idea that selling is difficult | how to win your first client | 5 ways to make selling easier to swallow | you’re selling all the time

exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

so the thought of adding another skill, that of managing the sales process, might feel like the straw that broke the camel’s back. if that’s how you are feeling, here is some food for thought.
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pro member exclusive

key advice for potential partners

bonus: 8 questions to ask plus words from our expert council.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

you may want to become a partner, but that requires leadership. do you display the traits you admire in leaders?

more on the passport to partnership: how to create an upward spiral | the dna of a practice leader | what does the next generation of practice leaders face? | commitment: a cautionary tale | how to build your pipeline | 6 keys to the perfect proposal | communication can’t be overrated

exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

partnership pointers

1. take time to identify a leader you admire from any walk of life. jot down a criterion for emulating their success behaviors. how many of these criteria do you fulfill yourself already and what do you yet lack but can work on right away?

marketing & sales

understand the dna of business development success

two out of three is not enough.

by martin bissett

dna is an acronym i’ve given to the three component parts to success in professional business development. in order to succeed, you must have all three.

more on business development: before the sales meeting | your perception vs. your client’s reality | appraise your prospects | develop the habit of consistency | banish the idea that selling is difficult | how to win your first client | 5 ways to make selling easier to swallow | you’re selling all the time

exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

d stands for doing. how much are you actually doing to create new opportunities? how consistent are your efforts at any given time? if you are not consistently trying, you can expect to have stop-start results from your stop-start efforts.
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marketing & sales

before the sales meeting

prepare a range of questions.

by martin bissett

do you feel uncomfortable meeting with a new client because you don’t know how to start the conversation?

more on business development: your perception vs. your client’s reality | do you deliver on your website’s promises? | the science of pipelines | prepare your next generation of professionals | how to win your first client | you’re selling all the time

exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

if so, you’re not alone, as this is one of the most common issues partners talk to me about. they don’t want to come across as artificial, forced or pushy.
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pro member exclusive

how to create an upward spiral

will you be forged in fire or flutter away like ash?

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

unhappy and difficult clients help our firms to improve our client management skills and present opportunities to refine our leadership skills.

more on the passport to partnership: the dna of a practice leader | surviving vs. thriving | what does the next generation of practice leaders face? | 6 keys to the perfect proposal | what conversion really means for partners | 12 ways to determine your competence | passport to partnership: new research shows wide gap between partners and partners-to-be

exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

it is tough for us to build a successful firm without difficult clients or internal personnel issues in order to provide learning experiences for us to build a robust and commercially successful infrastructure.
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marketing & sales

your perception vs. your client’s reality

avoid a funhouse mirror effect.

by martin bissett
business development on a budget

there used to be an old exercise used in training sessions about customer relations or selling or leadership that went like this. the trainer would ask the group to think about the color green. a few seconds later he would ask them what type of green they were thinking of, and of course there would be many variations of green.

more on business development: do you deliver on your website’s promises? | lowballing is undervaluing yourself | appraise your prospects | the science of pipelines | do you have a pipeline or just a list? | develop the habit of consistency | prepare your next generation of professionals | overcome recurring fee apathy | banish the idea that selling is difficult | how to win your first client | 5 ways to make selling easier to swallow | you’re selling all the time

exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the point is that, as the saying goes, perception is reality. whatever each person perceived as green, that would be the reality for them – but it would be different for each person in the room.
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marketing & sales

do you deliver on your website’s promises?

if not, undercharging is often the cause.

by martin bissett
business development on a budget

there’s an overall sameness to the majority of accounting firm websites, and typically they make a lot of promises – promises like

more on business development: lowballing is undervaluing yourself | appraise your prospects | do you have a pipeline or just a list? | overcome recurring fee apathy | banish the idea that selling is difficult | how to win your first client | you’re selling all the time

we’re big enough to cope and small enough to care, or
we are proactive, or
we’re not just bean counters, or
we have your best interests at heart, or
your business is our business.

martin bissett

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martin bissett is the author of

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winning your first client,
passport to partnership, and
meet your new best client

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he is the founder of the upward spiral partnership ltd., the uk-based consulting firm that specializes in the implementation of professional selling and leadership skills in the next generation of accounting professionals.

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previously, martin served ten years on the board of directors of the uk’s leading provider of high-quality new business appointments for accountancy firms. there, he held the responsibility for the nurture and organic growth of the organization’s new client base, including six of the uk’s top 30 firms of accountants.

martin became fascinated by the apparent juxtaposition of partners not vocalizing what they were looking for in terms of an accomplished skill set from their potential future partners and their managers not asking to discover what that skill set included, despite wanting to reach that very position. in a profession with a supposed “succession crisis” on the horizon, this apparent stand-off struck him as curious.

this has led upward spiral partnership to personally interview several hundred partners and managers in the us and uk to learn what partners are looking for and how the managers see their own future in the firm. there are, of course, firms that have addressed this issue already, and their initiatives have also been captured.

the results of the research, including both the consensus and the exceptions to the general opinion, is called “passport to partnership.” this study provides the highlights of each factor that the majority of partners interviewed use as their criteria when evaluating whether someone in their organization can make it to the top.

as a result of the combination of his experience, intellectual property, and this proprietary research, martin now consults with accounting firms in the uk, europe, and the usa to support them in their transition through to the next stage of their development and growth.

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