Moving from Technician to Advisor

Transcription

1 Moving from Technician to Advisor Taking Your Practice to the Next Level Sponsored by:

2 Speaker Bio Jason Vice President Butler and Company CPAs, PC Serving clients since 2003, providing advice to individuals and closely-held businesses, with a focus on professional services, medical and veterinary practices, individual taxation and business start-ups. Honored in 2011 as one of New Mexico s 40 Under Forty by NM Business Weekly PCPS Executive Committee 2012 present 2010 AICPA Leadership Academy Graduate Was a Seattle Seahawks fan WAY before they won the Super Bowl

3 So you want to be an advisor?

4 Self Assessment Need to take a look at a few things: Yourself Your firm Your clients Before you go making a major change in your way of practicing, you need to fully understand where you are presently at If you have partners, then you need to do this exercise with them You may be surprised that some answers are drastically different

5 Personal Self Assessment What are your personal strengths? Where is your time best spent? When are you at your best? Who do you like to work with? Why are you in this business?

6 Steps to take with Yourself Do a SWOT analysis on yourself Have those closest to you give you an assessment Write down the top 5 things you love doing and top 5 things you can t stand to do

7 Firm Assessment What is the firm s capacity? Where are there places for improvement? When do people talk about how amazing your firm is? Who is your team? Why are you different than your competitors?

8 Steps to take with the Firm Interview your staff (or if you are solo, have someone interview you!) about what duties they have and what skills they may have you aren t using Find a CPA you can confide in to keep you accountable Create your Unique Value Proposition

9 Client Assessment What is the make up of your client base? Where are your clients coming from? When do people talk about how amazing your firm is? Who are your A/B/C/D clients? Why do your clients work with you?

10 Client Assessment A Clients Take to lunch B Clients Give them a call C Clients Write them a letter D Clients Take them to breakfast F Clients Friends and Family good luck!

11 Steps to take with Clients Let a bad client go not in your or their best interest to keep working together! Develop a project for an underserved client Implement a client survey to find out more about why they work with you (and things you can change) Create a tracking log of referral sources

12 Challenges Changing our mindset to evolve with our clients Shifting our clients perception of CPAs and their value Being able to say no to a prospective client Finding the time to make the transition Fear of change

13 Finding the Right Course

14 What an advisor is One of the first people your clients go to when they have issues whether they are accounting/tax related or not Collaborative with other advisors i.e. attorneys, investment advisors, consultants The hub for your client When they have a need, they go to you for a solution whether or not you are the one ultimately providing the solution Your best interest is the client s best interest You want more than just making sure the tax return or financial statement is right

15 Who do you want to be?

16 How do you become an advisor? Think differently about how you approach client service Move beyond the billable hour Go outside your normal service comfort zone Ask more questions you ll get way more answers No one will come to you for other advice if you only ask them about their taxes Build broader client relationships Get to know families, future plans, life circumstances, historical background, etc Remember it! If you can t do it off the top of your head, consider a CRM to document this type of information

17 How do you become an advisor? Become a resource for other advisors Offer to help referral sources and other advisors when they need it They will send business your way knowing you are the type of advisor that intentionally helps others Look beyond your current service offerings Explore new software vendors Talk to other CPAs and understand their practices Firm Networking Groups See what is going on in your market (and what ISN T going on)

18 Questions Questions Questions This is the part where you ask a question and learn to keep your mouth shut and listen Clients want to know you care about more than just their taxes or financial statements What types of questions can you ask? What are your long term goals in life? Have you thought about your own estate plan? What would be a positive outcome with us working together? Do you have other advisors you work with? Is there anything I can do to help make our working relationship better?

19 Questions Questions Questions What types of questions can you ask? What are your long term goals in life? What is your estate/succession plan in case something unfortunate happens? What would be a positive outcome with us working together? Who are the other advisors you work with? What can I do to help make our working relationship better? What is important to you in your life? What are you passionate about? What keeps you up at night?

20 Leveraging Technology

21 Create a Process When you have a process, clients are likely to see you as more than just a tax guy or accountant This process is how you work, how you serve clients and how you are different than other CPAs Have a take-away for clients First meetings informational gathering Have reasons to see clients more than once a year

22 Resources Trusted Business Advisor Available through your state society Starting in 2014, we ll be offering TBA within firms AICPA PCPS Tons of toolkits and templates Firm Networking Groups CPAacademy Tons of offerings Lots of CPAs to include in your network

23 Rewards Improved client relationships Client and other advisors referrals Improved brand awareness Strong professional network Personal satisfaction

24 Action Plan Do your self assessment Build a list of your new client questions Find a CPA confidant to hold you accountable Find three new resources to add to your network

25 Thanks! Contact me if you have any questions! Jason Deshayes, CPA, CGMA Sponsored by: