Leadership Shines in Challenging Times

“During every minute of the flight, I was confident I could solve the next problem. My first officer, Jeff Skiles, and I did what airline pilots do: we followed our training, and our philosophy of life. We valued every life on that airplane and knew it was our responsibility to try to save each one, in spite of the sudden and complete failure of our aircraft. We never gave up. Having a plan enabled us to keep our hope alive.” Those were the words of Captain Sullenberger, aka Sully, in Newsweek as he reflected on the miraculous landing of a US Airways jet in the Hudson River.

Many of your clients are crashing in this economy and this is your opportunity to provide leadership and hope.

As accountants, we have tremendous expertise to share with business and household clients experiencing financial hardship. Here’s why:

1. We’ve been through similar experiences with other clients.
2. We’ve lived through other downturns.
3. We have a better grasp on the financial dynamics of income, expenses, debt, and assets.
4. We can be more objective about the decisions that need to be made.

Sully did what airline pilots do- he followed his training. As accountants, we are equipped for much more than preparing tax returns and financial statements.

Here are 3 things you can do, even during busy season, to help steer your clients through difficult times:

1. Listen. Ask how the economy has impacted them, what adjustments they are making, what they are most worried about. Fight the urge to have all the numbers tied down before assessing how clients are weathering the downturn. The fastest way to find out is simply ask.
2. Get Organized. The first response of many clients is denial. Simply understanding the financial situation can mitigate much of the fear factor and provide the foundation for a plan. If clients aren’t already keeping records, now is a great time to start. Intuit offers free and inexpensive versions of QuickBooks Online for businesses and a free version of Quicken Online for households. Both solutions will summarize bank and credit card transactions as well as automate much of the categorization until you get involved. I recommend an online solution so clients can get started quickly and you can engage remotely.
3. Coach. Once your client has records and a foundation (and April 15 has passed), you can begin coaching. Use the budgeting tool to develop a plan. Simply being involved, as their trusted advisor, will provide comfort and hope.

Sully went on to say, “perhaps in a similar fashion, people who are in their own personal crises—a pink slip, a foreclosure—can be reminded that no matter how dire the circumstance, or how little time you have to deal with it, further action is always possible. There's always a way out of even the tightest spot. You can survive.”

This is your opportunity to be a hero for your clients.

Referral Season Is Here

In our business, client growth comes from the almighty referral. When we pulse firms and ask about marketing activities, accountants overwhelmingly tells us that more than 80% of their new clients come as a result of referrals from existing clients. Likewise, there is common agreement that traditional marketing activities, like advertising & direct marketing, have a relatively low ROI for accountants.

However, when we ask accountants what they actively do to encourage referrals, that’s where things get a little hazy. Non-committal statements like, “well my clients just know they can refer…” are mumbled as the accountant starts shuffling papers. If your firm is experiencing unaided client growth, the potential growth with an active referral program is certainly higher.

First, let’s dispel the myth that asking for referrals is pushy or wrong. Clients are clients because they value your services and expertise. Asking for referrals is simply sharing that great experience with other people they know. Satisfied clients are happy to recommend your services.

Second, let’s frame the request. The conversation can be as simple as, “If you know people who may be disappointed with their financial or tax situation and could benefit from our guidance, please give them our name.”

Third, let’s address the ever-present objection that you are too busy. Tax season is the intersection of opportunity: when you are actively meeting with clients and clients are actively having conversations about taxes and finances. Interestingly, people talk more about their finances in challenging times, than when things are going well. Perhaps misery loves company. Also, recessions are the fertile grounds from which new business start-ups grow. All of which bodes well for your referral season, if you are prepared.

Check your process against these simple rules to maximize your referral activity:

1. Give first. Talk with your business clients about using referrals to keep their business growing in this tough economy. Share referrals from your network and client list. Give first and you’ll be surprised what comes back.
2. Ask. Leading firms make a practice of regularly asking for referrals (at least from good clients; the last thing we want is more dog clients). Make sure all your client facing personnel are comfortable asking for referrals, and if necessary, role play conversations to give them practice.
3. Reinforce referrals. Email signatures, invoice footers, client instruction letters, and other client facing materials are good places to remind clients that ‘we always appreciate your referrals.’
4. Get a website. Guess what people do when they receive a referral to use you? Research shows that 65% of them immediately Google you. That’s a word that didn’t even exist when most of us passed the CPA exam, but it is the first test your firm has to pass if you hope to close that referral. And with a website, every email you send becomes a simple marketing tool for clients to forward to friends being referred.

If you have other referral recommendations, feel free to share them in the comments below. And while we are talking about referrals- if you know someone who will benefit from The Practice Coach, please email them this column.

Make the most of your referral season!

The Practice Coach

I enjoy the game of golf, but to be frank, I’m a hacker. My friend Roney's goal is to finish three under par. My goal is to finish losing under three balls. The only time I ever improve, and do so significantly, is with coaching. 'Keep your head down, relax your grip, accelerate through the shot.' My coach sees what I can't possibly observe. The same holds true for business.

Accountants are among the very best financial coaches, helping all kinds of clients improve their businesses. Part of how we add value is sharing best practices between clients in similar circumstances.

Ironically, most accounting firms don’t have the same level of insight into other accounting firms to improve their own businesses. As a result, many accounting firms have outdated processes and technology. Enter The Practice Coach. The purpose of The Practice Coach is to share process and technology best practices among accounting firms.

Working for Intuit affords me the privilege of learning from thousands of accounting firms. My role at Intuit, combined with a dozen years in public practice, provides me with a unique perspective to share the best practices from a variety of firms.

If you manage an accounting practice and are committed to improving the processes and productivity of your firm, this blog is for you. Use the ‘Subscribe’ tool to add this content to your favorite homepage. Welcome to the team.

Now for the legal exuberance. The opinions and positions in this blog are solely mine and should not be interpreted as the opinions or positions of Intuit, Inc. While many of the ideas, best practices and research are gathered in the course of my work at Intuit, the representation of those learnings are strictly mine and should not be construed as the positions or representations of Intuit.

Let’s start coaching!