{"id":6357,"date":"2010-03-15t15:59:50","date_gmt":"2010-03-15t19:59:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/?p=6357"},"modified":"2024-11-19t21:48:37","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20t02:48:37","slug":"six-ways-to-save-a-client-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2010\/03\/15\/six-ways-to-save-a-client-today\/","title":{"rendered":"six ways to save a client today"},"content":{"rendered":"
local accounting firm redefines “r&d” for client retention and business development. how to keep clients happy and build your\u00a0business.<\/strong> by rick telberg<\/em><\/p>\n at most companies, \u201cr&d\u201d means \u201cresearch and development.\u201d but at dugan & lopatka cpas in wheaton, ill., every staffer knows it means client \u201cretention and development,\u201d as in business <\/em>development.<\/p>\n like many firms faced a couple years ago with the credit crash and ensuing great recession, dugan & lopatka\u2019s attention was wrenched from landing new clients to serving the clients they already had. \u201cwe started a renewed focus on client retention and business development,\u201d according to managing principal jerry lopatka, who dropped me a line in response to \u201cdo you know the secrets of happy\u00a0clients?<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n dugan & lopatka has 45 people, including nine principals. it specializes in the usual small- and medium-size business lines \u2014 manufacturing, distribution, real estate and construction. this tax season, they\u2019ll probably do about 750\u00a0returns.<\/p>\n today, what the firm abbreviates as \u201cbiz r&d\u201d \u201cis a daily focus for all of us,\u201d lopatka\u00a0says.<\/p>\n the firm\u2019s \u201cbiz r&d\u201d program contains six building blocks, which may be intuitive for many and familiar to anyone who has studied relationship marketing or consultative\u00a0selling:<\/p>\n 1. going the extra mile on the current engagement.<\/strong><\/p>\n 2. increasing the amount of client contact.<\/strong><\/p>\n 3. building the business relationship.<\/strong><\/p>\n 4. building the personal relationship.<\/strong><\/p>\n 5. increasing knowledge of the client\u2019s industry.<\/strong><\/p>\n 6. increasing knowledge of the client\u2019s company.<\/strong><\/p>\n of course, the firm\u2019s leadership knows that the \u201cr&d\u201d plan would mean nothing without support from the staff. so they launched it at a firm-wide meeting, tied it into training consultant troy waugh\u2019s five star client service model<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n on top of that, lopatka nudges them with an early-morning daily e-mail. by the time you read this, the firm may be posting those notes on a blog, open to clients and prospects. check their web\u00a0site<\/a>.<\/p>\n is all the effort worth it? what\u2019s the roi, every cpa asks. \u201ci can\u2019t quantify it,\u201d lopatka admits. \u201cbut i\u2019m afraid what to think if we didn\u2019t have the\u00a0program.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cwe try, but we can always do better,\u201d he says. \u201cas i often tell our employees \u2014 our good clients are on our competitor\u2019s radar\u00a0screen.\u201d<\/p>\n let that be fair warning to dugan & lopatka\u2019s competitors, as\u00a0well.<\/p>\n are they on the right track? <\/strong>dugan & lopatka is one of many firms <\/strong>pioneering new techniques and strategies for successful cpa firm management. what\u2019s working at your firm? tell me and we\u2019ll share the best\u00a0ideas<\/a>.<\/p>\n local accounting firm redefines “r&d” for client retention and business development. how to keep clients happy and build your\u00a0business. by rick telberg at most companies, \u201cr&d\u201d means \u201cresearch and development.\u201d but at dugan & lopatka cpas in wheaton, ill., every … continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"129943,134380,129835,131604,136315,130091","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1905,5],"tags":[99,85,79,216,1081,936],"class_list":["post-6357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-clients-and-service","category-outlook","tag-client","tag-firm","tag-marketing","tag-sales","tag-satisfaction","tag-service"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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copyright 2010 aicpa.<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"