A new approach to standard conversations about your current services can yield huge benefits for both your client relationships and practice profitability.
Why a new approach is so Important
Re-orienting this conversation can change the dynamic entirely.
A greater conversation to have with your clients allows your clients to see you in a different perspective leads to more work (that they’ll ask you for)
Tax, for example, is a weight around many clients’ necks. It’s something they put off thinking about until the last possible point, resent the time they do put in and certainly fear getting the bill at the end. These tax conversations become a burden on the team, and make it uncomfortable to pitch additional products.
When I adopted the mantra “tax is not a problem when you’re earning profits”, and let this shape my client conversations. Now I was able to position us as a partner to help our clients achieve the additional profits so that tax was no longer a burden. Now we could focus on building the client’s business, instead of just processing tax returns.
Valuable Conversations lead naturally to Value Add Services
Adopting this new approach not only re-inspired me, but it lead naturally to more work. Once we discussed the real issues, Client’s would be asking for additional services to reach their new goals.
This is a list of approaches:
- Have an open discussion about the Client’s profitability
- Find ways that you can help improve those profits
- Book the work in
How to Minimise Cost Blowouts of Specialist Jobs
I know I used to worry that our team didn’t have the skills to offer Value Add services. From previous failed experiences, I was burned by cost blowouts and un-billable hours that seemed to stem from specialist jobs.
But I found that there are ways to mitigate cost blowouts. For example, replicating the same service across profitable segments of your current client base. (See last week’s article on Profitable Segments.)