service

i just lost my biggest client

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ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and a

by ed mendlowitz
“tax season opportunity guide“

question: i just suddenly lost my biggest client. they said they outgrew me. what could i have done to keep them?

response: maybe nothing. and at this point it may not matter, but there are some things you can do to maybe get them back in the future and stop it from happening with another client.

losing any client is not pleasant, and losing a large client hurts. and when it is sudden it hurts even more.

i will answer this in three parts.

1. how to try to salvage something from the loss.
2. how to stop this from happening in the future.
3. how to avoid being “suddenly” surprised. read more →

overcoming your clients’ worst fears

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how to help them take initiative and allow you to be proactive.

by hitendra patil
pransform inc.

neuroscience studies have shown that fear is a far bigger driver than we would ever care to admit. according to kevin hogan, author of the science of influence: how to get anyone to say “yes” in 8 minutes or less!, “most people react to the fear of loss and the threat of pain in a much more profound way than they do for gain. they overemphasize the importance of pain by about 2.5:1 in decision making.”

your customers and prospects fear that their actions or inactions will cause bad things to happen, or bad things can suddenly happen to them. it’s therefore important to ask yourself what sort of problems your potential clients are facing during current times. if you can identify their true fears and show them how you can remove the possibility of loss, you are one step ahead of your competitors. read more →

seven reasons you need to know about “consumption marketing”

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and five ways to put it to use in your practice.

by sandi smith leyva, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

when i first heard the term “consumption marketing” i quickly fell in love with the concept.

consumption marketing is continuing to market to clients even after they’ve signed to do business with you.  it’s helping them to more fully “consume” your product or service.

consumption marketing is good for business because: read more →

accountants and six fundamental human needs

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by hitendra patil
pransform

celebrity author anthony “tony” robbins identified six fundamental human needs that everyone has in common, and states that all behavior is simply an attempt to meet those six needs.

these six human needs are certainty, uncertainty/variety, significance, connection/love, growth and contribution.

as an accounting services provider, if you can identify the ways to meet these six needs of your clients (and your staff), if you can recurrently and consistently do things that lead to clients  (and your staff) actually experiencing the satisfaction of these needs, you are more likely to improve your firm’s performance. the question to ask is, “what should i do to ensure that my services/products fulfill these needs of my clients?”

for now, let us focus on your clients. here are some suggestions on what to do to fulfill six fundamental needs of your clients. read more →

client satisfaction starts with ‘likeability’

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the science behind happy customers.

by hitendra patil
pransform inc.

in “the 9 building blocks of a winning vision that the big four have discovered,” august j. aquila and robert j. lees brought out the common vision elements of big four firms. and one of them is “put the best people at our clients’ disposal.”

it’s not common sense! it’s actually human behavioral science. you will be surprised to know how this works at a much deeper level than you think.
read more →

consulting with a client who is also a friend

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question: i have a close friend who is also a client. he went through a rough time with his wife threatening a divorce and we spent a lot of time talking about it (out of office settings).  i sent him a bill and he returned it with a notation that “we spoke as friends and not as a professional consultation, and the bill should be cancelled.”  what should i do? read more →

get paid faster this tax season: six good reasons to send the bill with the return

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it’s good for business and considerate to clients.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

ed mendlowitz

tax season is a business and businesses need to be paid.  it is harder to justify prices when providing services rather than products.  products are usually priced before delivery while many times services are priced after delivery, i.e. performance.

more on busy season management: tax season trends, issues and opportunities 

many accountants price returns before they are worked on, usually basing the fee on last year, or a rate schedule.  sending a bill with the return establishes the relationship that you should be paid promptly for the work done. read more →