Below are four ways accounting firms can nurture existing efforts in order to build momentum for the rest of the year and establish deeper, stronger relationships with clients.
1).Train your staff. There never seems to be a "good time" to take your staff aside and train them on practices that can help grow the firm. So, why not now? Think: do your team members truly understand the specific value provided by each of your service offerings? Are you 100 percent confident in their abilities to communicate these value points to clients?
If the answer to either of these questions is "no," take time to outline the top services your firm provides and align each with the specific, tangible benefits they provide to clients in a discussion with your staff.
Then, make sure your staff members can communicate that information back to you or directly to a client through role playing or observing a client call or meeting. Training efforts on uncovering client needs and pairing them with the best solutions from the firm should be a priority.
2). Incentivize Staff. Take this time to develop and implement a plan to reward staff who identify new opportunities within your client base. Doing so will reinforce the importance of deepening relationships with clients instead of just maintaining them. Keep in mind that incentives can take many forms: monetary bonuses, firm-wide recognition, expanded opportunities, etc.
Consider incentive plans that are individualized, keeping in mind that people are motivated by different things (money, career goals, titles). One size fits one. Working with staff members to establish incentives that motivate them should help create greater buy-in in the initiative as well.
3). Explore New Communication Channels. How do you reach your clients? Excluding the basic "blocking and tackling" you do with clients, such as planning meetings, exit conferences and engagement letters, how do you communicate with your clients on a recurring basis?
Consider additional ways you can reach clients such as electronic newsletters, a social media presence or even targeted email campaigns. Instead of sending the same thing to all of your clients at once, consider grouping your clients by traits, such as industry, company size, services provided or location and send relevant information to each.
4). Share Your Firm Vision. Help your staff members understand how their individual role and efforts align with where your firm is looking to go and how you're looking to grow. Give them the picture of what you hope your firm will look like next year and in five years. Loop them into what roles you're hiring for and why. The ideas and initiatives that can be generated from the ground up to help achieve your vision are amazing when there is transparency beyond the partner level on what that vision is.
By training your team, incentivizing staff, exploring new ways to reach clients and building context, your firm will be on its way to finding new opportunities to serve your clients throughout the year.
To learn more about growing your firm through client relationships, download the eBook, Next-Level Accountants: Your guide to growing a firm of trusted advisors.
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