bissett bullet: why bother?
today’s bissett bullet: “why, in general, does marketing in the accounting profession fail so often and if it yields such dismal results, why bother?”
by martin bissett
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eight questions for personal preparation
before you can succeed in business, get your house in order.
by martin bissett
winning your first client
you know the identity of your first client, and if you buy into you, then there’s a good chance of potential clients being prepared to do so, too.
more: perception, even your own, is reality | eight questions that target personal accountability | are you projecting confidence? | does client perception match your firm’s reality? | firm not thriving? five fixes | five questions for grading prospects | health, wealth, stealth: challenges on the path to partnership | don’t let recurring fees kill your practice | rate your personal purpose | five ways to make selling easier
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.
this is what we must remember about the purchasing of professional services such as accounting. if your prospective client is a grade a or b style opportunity for your firm, then they are not buying the services you provide per se. the services are the vehicles of delivery; the means to the end.
the client is buying the relationship, and they are asking themselves:
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bissett bullet: a.c.c.o.u.n.t.s.
today’s bissett bullet: “a pipeline is essentially a list of people we would like to bring value to, but how can we use it to forecast new business?”
by martin bissett
how can you tell which of your potential clients are really looking to work with you and which are wasting your time?
introducing the a.c.c.o.u.n.t.s system. grading your prospects using a binary scoring choice – 0 for no, 10 for yes – to each of the following criteria will help you to determine who will want to work with you and who may just be comparing prices.
answer – can we solve their problems?
10 = yes, 0 = no
cash – can they afford us?
10 = yes, 0 = no
convince – do we need to convince anyone else in the business?
10 = yes, 0 = no
objections – are there any major objections unresolved?
10 = yes, 0 = no
undertake – is this work we actually want?
10 = yes, 0 = no
necessity – do they feel the need/urgency for change?
10 = yes, 0 = no
timing – is the next meeting date in the diary?
10 = yes, 0 = no
signatory – does your proposal need someone else to sign it off?
10 = yes, 0 = no
the higher your score, the more likely you will win the work. got 6 yeses? there’s a 60 percent chance you will win the work. now, what do you need to do to change the 0s to 10s?
today’s to-do:
start to grade your pipeline against the a.c.c.o.u.n.t.s. system to help you prioritize your efforts and forecast new business in any given week or month.
see more bissett bullets here
perception, even your own, is reality
you have to believe in yourself.
by martin bissett
business development on a budget
“no man has the ability to step outside of the shadow of his own character.” – robespierre
as far as our potential clients are concerned, how they perceive us is how we really are to them, regardless of the truth of the matter.
more: eight questions that target personal accountability | how to prepare for partnership | five questions to help forecast your firm growth | do you deliver on your website’s promises? | five questions about facing challenges | be clear about your roi proposition | it’s time to prepare the next generation | who are you more committed to, your firm or your clients? | nine checkpoints before every prospect meeting | three questions about conversion | six keys to turning prospects into clients | don’t overlook internal communication | four reasons people struggle with communication | why firm culture matters for partners
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.
because of this, it’s important to realize that when we are meeting a new potential client who has not been referred to us, it does not matter what the reality of our value proposition is; it matters how that potential client perceives our value proposition. therefore, to be effective in winning work, we must understand how we can positively influence their perception of us at each stage of the relationship-building process.
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bissett bullet: keeping up appearances
today’s bissett bullet: “so many judgments are made of us as accountants by prospective clients, sometimes even before we open our mouths.”
by martin bissett
conclusions made about you by a potential client may be drawn from nothing more than the car you arrive in, for example, and that can be tricky. if the car is deemed too basic, the assumption will be that you’re not as successful as you say. too flashy a car, however, and the inference will be that you’re splashing your client’s cash – “no wonder she charges us so much, we’re funding her lifestyle!” it’s a hard one to get right but as a rule, the aim is to project prosperity, not opulence.
it is important to present as professional an image as possible. in addition to clean, well pressed clothes and fresh breath, taking out an up-to-date laptop, using the latest phone and taking notes with a good quality pen are all external indicators of who and what you are and what it would be like to work with you.
today’s to-do:
make sure that everything about your appearance is as professional as it could possibly be in order to create the right first impression with any potential clients.
see more bissett bullets here
eight questions that target personal accountability
what are you selling on?
by martin bissett
business development on a budget
the secret to overcoming failure to correctly implement a successful business development strategy is by “winning your first client” and this starts by being accountable to someone for your performance.
more: how to prepare for partnership | stop waiting for business to come to you | four key questions about leadership | showing leadership through customer service | the real math behind the sales pipeline | keep business development going during busy season | walk the commitment walk | two steps toward mastering selling | thirteen ways to show commitment | clients can’t grow without you | seven mistakes in winning new fees | how to develop your communication abilities | five questions for measuring partner potential
now that “someone” may be your fellow partners in the firm. if you are a senior manager, that may be the partner to whom you report.
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bissett bullet: how healthy is your pipeline?
today’s bissett bullet: “it is no coincidence that the accounting firms that have superior profitability are those taking growth seriously and forecasting their new business income.”
by martin bissett
not recurring business, new business. your pipeline should be able to tell you, at any time, where the new business is coming from, how likely it is to convert, how soon you are likely to win it, how much the deal is worth and so on. if you are serious about growth, and you should be, your pipeline should be up to date and active at all times.
today’s to-do:
review your pipeline and score yourself honestly between 1 and 10. 10 being an active, up-to-date pipeline and 1 being no pipeline at all. what do you need to do in order to be in a position to accurately forecast new business?
see more bissett bullets here
bissett bullet: setting the agenda
today’s bissett bullet: “take control of the first meeting with a potential client by gently setting the agenda at the beginning.”
by martin bissett
having no agenda means that a meeting can flow in the wrong direction and it may be difficult to steer the conversation back to where you need it to be. there is a real danger that you will leave without getting what you came for. setting out the agenda in too formal a tone, however, will do you no favors either. a prospective client who is meeting you for the first time may feel on the back foot and the meeting will be closed down before it’s even started.
the word “gently” is key here. setting out three things you’d like to cover during the meeting and asking your prospective client if that agenda suits them rarely meets any kind of resistance.
today’s to-do:
practice setting out the meeting agenda with a colleague so it feels natural when you gently steer your next prospect toward staying on track.
see more bissett bullets here
bissett bullet: schedule + strategy = pipeline
today’s bissett bullet: “the very best marketing and business development strategies are derailed by a lack of consistency, coupled with a loss of momentum.”
by martin bissett
in order to successfully build a new client pipeline, you must commit enough time to implement your strategy. that means scheduling in regular and uninterrupted time on an ongoing basis. consider both the best time for you and your team to work together and when your target audience is most likely to be available. if there is a crossover, that is where you would be best advised to block out your time.
today’s to-do:
look at your diary for the next month and schedule in time each week to spend creating and following up on new opportunities.
see more bissett bullets here
how to prepare for partnership
our expert panel says first, consider why you want it.
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: stop waiting for business to come to you | are you projecting confidence? | does client perception match your firm’s reality? | firm not thriving? five fixes | five questions for grading prospects | health, wealth, stealth: challenges on the path to partnership | don’t let recurring fees kill your practice | rate your personal purpose | five ways to make selling easier | six keys to getting a proposal accepted
exclusively 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.
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stop waiting for business to come to you
a proactive approach is where many fall short.
by martin bissett
business development on a budget
have you noticed all of those titles in the local bookstore or at the airport offering us the “key” to this and the “key” to that, the “six keys” to one thing, and the “four keys” to another?
more: are you projecting confidence? | five questions to help forecast your firm growth | do you deliver on your website’s promises? | five questions about facing challenges | be clear about your roi proposition | it’s time to prepare the next generation | who are you more committed to, your firm or your clients? | nine checkpoints before every prospect meeting | three questions about conversion | six keys to turning prospects into clients | don’t overlook internal communication | four reasons people struggle with communication | why firm culture matters for partners
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.
it also seems that every book is a “game-changer” now, to the point where it is difficult to understand what the game is anymore, never mind how to play it.
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bissett bullet: cash is not the issue
today’s bissett bullet: “there are certain criteria that will always need to be demonstrated for you to become a partner in your firm. the ability to find cash up front for investment, however, is no longer one of those criteria.”
by martin bissett
the path to partnership in the accounting profession is evolving. no longer is it necessarily the case that a lack of available funds is a barrier to realizing your ambition.
a forward-thinking practice will find a way to enable their rising stars to fund the deal. don’t allow a lack of cash to get in the way of your career aspirations. focus instead on who you need to be and hone the foundational skills and behaviors you need to demonstrate in order to be the most outstanding candidate for partnership in your firm.
today’s to-do:
if you aspire to partnership, list those necessary skills and behaviors. demonstrate those you have and ask for support with those you still need to develop. show your commitment to the practice now and be recognized as a candidate for the future.
see more bissett bullets here
are you projecting confidence?
you are your first client. what’s your first impression?
by martin bissett
business development on a budget
winning your first client is all about understanding why someone would buy from you before you ever speak to them, before you ever meet them, before you ever start the preparation for talking to them.
more: five questions to help forecast your firm growth | four key questions about leadership | showing leadership through customer service | the real math behind the sales pipeline | keep business development going during busy season | walk the commitment walk | two steps toward mastering selling | thirteen ways to show commitment | clients can’t grow without you | seven mistakes in winning new fees | how to develop your communication abilities | five questions for measuring partner potential | five ways to rally your firm to its culture
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.
this discipline too often goes unexplained by most sales training programs offered to the accounting profession, but ultimately we have to be comfortable with who we are and the value that we offer.
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