a new kind of “a” client.
by august j. aquila
price it right: how to value accounting services
there are many ways that a firm can evaluate itself, but there is only one way that really counts. at the end of the year, you must determine how you have made your major clients more profitable.
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remember that 80 percent of your profits still comes from 20 percent of your clients. that also means, as i recently heard, that only 20 percent of your efforts go to the clients who produce 80 percent of your revenue.
think about that for a minute. if you don’t provide your clients with profit improvement ideas, you should start thinking about it now. this is critical not only to them but also to your long-term survival.
as part of your annual review of your practice, you should try to calculate the increased benefits of the services that you provided to clients during the past year. these can be tax savings, operational saves or revenue enhancement ideas.
one firm uses the following scale to rate their clients as follows: a, b, c and d. now, this is not what you are thinking. there is a new and important twist to this rating system.
“a” clients are those who made more money than they ever dreamed of making. “b” clients made good money. “c” clients are losing money, but things are under control and the clients are moving in the right direction. “d” clients are not only losing money, but the business is out of control. the goal with this rating system is to take the “c” and “d” clients and make them “a” and “b” clients. it’s really a simple marketing and strategic plan when you think about it.
how would your clients react if you were able to take them from a “c” to an “a” level client?
- would they pay your fees?
- would they argue about your fees?
- would they talk wildly about your firm to their friends?
- would you get more and more referrals?
- would your firm increase its own profitability?
- would you be happier?
accounting firms are in the best position to accomplish this. you need to provide clients with solutions to their problems as well as business advice for specialized services that you are the best to provide such as business succession planning, valuation, risk management, investment management advice, etc.
you need to provide solutions for whatever it takes to make that client an “a” client. this is your charge for the year. make it happen!