entrepreneur

how to choose clients right

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businesswoman on the phone in front of modern buildingquestions to ask, plus a welcome letter for those who make the cut.

by michelle long and sandi leyva
the ultimate accounting virtual conference

you really need to have confidence when you’re discussing your fees with your clients and realize that you may lose some clients. that’s okay because they’re probably not the kind of client you want to have anyway.

more small firm growth strategies: how to handle price sensitivity | how to handle referrals – and how not to | trashing the spreadsheet: best practices in modern expense management | how to find hidden money for your clients | why clients need dashboards | 3 ways to implement value pricing | how small firms can use value pricing | 3 ways to raise your prices | building reputation to build your business | 3 killer lead generation channels | your existing clients are your best leads | need more business? focus on referrals

i had one conference participant say, “many ask about price but i now see it as an opportunity to explain the value i can provide.” that’s great, i like it. someone else suggested saying, “it seems like responding to price is your primary concern.” that puts it back on them to let them explain it and so that’s a good idea as well.
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‘uberizing’ means more than technology

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portrait of man in his car looking at camerago beyond what your clients might expect.

by hitendra patil

when did you last buy new software for accounting, tax preparation, practice management, sales tax calculation or payroll processing?

more on entrepreneurial strategy: you don’t think technology helps get new clients? | do you want a practice … or a business? | the 5 most common marketing blunders accountants make | linkedin adds messaging. finally! | what cpa firms could learn from google’s alphabet | what if accounting firms were ‘apps?’ | top 10 entrepreneurial traits of successful accountants

think for a moment: how did you arrive at the decision to buy the new software? what did you think before buying?
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how to handle price sensitivity

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man in glasses and striped shirt holding a pink piggy bank“have you ever known anyone to go up to an attorney and say, ‘why do you charge so much?’”

by michelle long and sandi leyva
the ultimate accounting virtual conference

how comfortable do you feel when a potential client asks you how much do you charge?

more small firm growth strategies: how to handle referrals – and how not to | trashing the spreadsheet: best practices in modern expense management | how to find hidden money for your clients | why clients need dashboards | 3 ways to implement value pricing | 3 ways to raise your prices | building reputation to build your business | 3 killer lead generation channels | your existing clients are your best leads

don’t you love that? you answer the phone and the first question is how much do you charge? how do you feel about this? are you very comfortable, somewhat comfortable or somewhat uncomfortable or very uncomfortable?

of our conference participants, 37 percent are somewhat uncomfortable and another 9 percent are very uncomfortable when someone asks about their fees. so that’s almost half of us are uncomfortable discussing our fees. only a fourth of us, 24 percent, are very comfortable.

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you don’t think technology helps get new clients?

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"good vs. evil in technology" illustration using laptopsturn “necessary evil” into “welcome angel.”

by hitendra patil

“new clients do not come to me because i have an accounting software and/or a tax software. they hire me because i am a cpa.” a small firm owner from los angeles recently expressed this, on the condition of anonymity.

does that summarize how accountants view technology spending? the new accounting firm operations and technology survey gives us a surprising insight into how primary technology purchasing decision-makers view technology spending.

more on entrepreneurial strategy: do you want a practice … or a business? | tax season management: multi-tasking is a myth | re-learning the lingo of the accounting business | top 10 entrepreneurial traits of successful accountants | six steps for a better tax season | 8 seconds into the future: meet generation z | get more done, make more money: stop doing these 17 things

key findings from this survey indicate:
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how to handle referrals – and how not to

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illustration of recommendation and later confirmation as worthwhilestart with the warm introduction, then thank the source.

by michelle long and sandi leyva
the ultimate accounting virtual conference

we’re talking about client communication and all kinds of different things about communicating with our clients because sometimes as accountants and bookkeepers this is an area we might not be quite that great in.

more small firm growth strategies: trashing the spreadsheet: best practices in modern expense management | how to find hidden money for your clients | why clients need dashboards | 3 ways to implement value pricing | how small firms can use value pricing | 3 ways to raise your prices | building reputation to build your business | 3 killer lead generation channels | your existing clients are your best leads | need more business? focus on referrals

we want to start by talking about the art of a referral. that’s not exactly client communication but it certainly helps us get clients.
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ready for tax season? not so fast

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purple no. 4 billiard ball4 resolutions to keep as you prepare for busy season.

by sandi leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

i’ve worked with a lot of accountants who do not realize how valuable their skills are in the marketplace. most people can’t do what we do with numbers. we need to shake any self-limiting beliefs we have in this area because it limits our ability to serve more clients.

more on small-firm growth strategies: make your services an investment, not an expense | how a spreadsheet can help stop leaks | 9 ways to boost your value (and your fees) | 9 ways accountants throw away profits

if you were making resolutions for the accounting industry, what would you suggest? the first resolution i’d make is:
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trashing the spreadsheet: best practices in modern expense management

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ushering a new wave: automated solutions.
ushering in a new wave of automated solutions.

how digitizing can benefit clients – and you.

by michelle long and sandi leyva
the ultimate accounting virtual conference

in this session on trashing the spreadsheet, stories in expense automation, we’re going to hear a lot about best practice. we know a lot of you have clients who have expense automation needs.

more small firm growth strategies: how to find hidden money for your clients | why clients need dashboards | 3 ways to implement value pricing | how small firms can use value pricing | 3 ways to raise your prices | building reputation to build your business | 3 killer lead generation channels | your existing clients are your best leads | need more business? focus on referrals

today, we hear from jason mills, director of customer experience at expensify. read more →

make your services an investment, not an expense

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businessman holding idea light bulb; dollars passing through grow larger5 value-added service areas to suggest.

by sandi leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

every business needs to do some level of bookkeeping for a couple of reasons:

  1. various government agencies require reporting and payments based on the company’s results.
  2. the owner needs a certain amount of information to manage their business and keep it profitable.

more on small-firm growth strategies: want more clients? take these 5 steps | do you want to do compliance your whole career? | 7 ways to get new revenue from old clients | how to work the same hours and make more money | four ways to stop leaving money on the table

many business owners hire us grudgingly for compliance work because they have to. and they consider what they pay us as an overhead expense that is a required cost.

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how to find hidden money for your clients

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$100 bills behind a curled pagedata will lead you to opportunities if you know how to use it.

by michelle long and sandi leyva

we’re talking about using dashboards to make more money with mike milan, the senior vice president of finagraph.

more small firm growth strategies: why clients need dashboards | 3 ways to implement value pricing | how small firms can use value pricing | 3 killer lead generation channels

mike milan:

how do i use this dashboard to talk to an individual? every business may be a little different but you can always start from the same template and then add in or take away.

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set fee by focusing on value first

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hand moving triangle along beam to indicate balance between price and valuethe right time to talk about your fee is not as soon as a potential client calls.

by sandi leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

how do you talk to a prospect or client about your fee?

more on small-firm growth strategies: prospects like a little wooing | 9 ways to boost your value (and your fees) | two daily rituals: focus and measure | how to calculate your ‘opportunity number’

some of the answers i have heard are:

  • “it depends.”
  • “tell them and get off the phone as fast as possible.”
  • “i don’t know.”
  • “what is your budget?”

most accountants spill the beans about their rates way too early in a conversation with a future client. so when should you talk rates?

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why clients need dashboards

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finagraph screenshotsit’s all about packaging the information they need in an easy-to-digest format.

by michelle long and sandi leyva
the ultimate accounting virtual conference

we were talking about using dashboards to make more money with mike milan, the senior vice president of finagraph.

more small firm growth strategies: 3 ways to implement value pricing | how small firms can use value pricing | 3 ways to raise your prices | building reputation to build your business | 3 killer lead generation channels | your existing clients are your best leads | need more business? focus on referrals

mike has entrepreneurial experience, has created his own businesses and business ventures and helped others as a consultant. he’s known for crafting ideas into million-dollar companies, which is a really great skill to have. here are excerpts from our conversation:

mike milan:

if you look at my background i’ve been part of nine different startups, five different transactions with three on the sales side and two on the buy side. in between doing finagraph and selling my business i did some consulting. and so i had some boots on the ground or life in the trenches that i really would like to impart and share with the group.

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want more clients? take these 5 steps

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5 steps to successwhy skipping ahead is costly.

by sandi leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

there are five simple steps to getting more clients. but guess what? most accountants make a big mistake along the way.

more on small-firm growth strategies: prospects like a little wooing | do you want to do compliance your whole career? | 5 skills to grow your practice | is it time to reboot your practice? | how a spreadsheet can help stop leaks | 3 ways to get to ‘yes’ with prospects | design your business around your strengths | two daily rituals: focus and measure | how to work the same hours and make more money

first, here are the five steps to get more clients:

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how small firms can use value pricing

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two businesswomen meeting in an officestep 1: know what your customer values.

by michelle long and sandi leyva
the ultimate accounting virtual conference

value pricing is commonly used with consultants in large firms, but how do we apply it to the very small firms?

what is value pricing? it’s a special type of pricing method that is highly misunderstood in this industry. a lot of people, when they go up on their price, they call it value pricing and that’s not correct. value pricing has nothing to do with cost, it has nothing to do with time or market; it has to do with what the customer vales. that is the only input that goes into value pricing: what the customer values. there is no relation to cost.

more small firm growth strategies: 3 ways to raise your prices | building reputation to build your business | 3 killer lead generation channels | your existing clients are your best leads | need more business? focus on referrals

value pricing is hard because you have to know what the customer values. you have to be really good at putting yourself in the client’s shoes in order to do value pricing. now let me talk about different pricing methods briefly because i think that will help you a little bit.

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