Here’s a radical idea – if you want your staff to be billing like a partner, why not start treating them like one? Now before you get too excited, I’m not suggesting that you start paying them like a partner, but recent research certainly indicates that giving your staff more ownership of their clients can have a positive effect on both their motivation and their overall productivity.
With many firms still treating staff as mere processors, rather than as customer service providers, it is no wonder that Accountants often complain to me that they are having trouble motivating their staff members to drive revenues and build the practice.
Therefore, as a Practice Growth specialist, it never really comes as a surprise, when as part of our business audit of a firm, i find that many staff are often not held accountable for developing additional revenue streams or focusing on profitability. I often find that the staff do the task they have been assigned to do, but rarely do they feel it is part of their job to seek out more ways in which they can help (and bill) the client. This is despite the fact that research has consistently proven that it is much easier to get new business out of existing clients, as opposed to chasing new ones.
Rather than just training your staff to provide a high standard of accounting services, modern firms are realising that they need to provide additional training that teaches staff how to fully understand the business needs of a client, and more importantly, how to present a full suite of expanded services that can mean the difference between average fees, and ongoing additional revenue streams that will see all of your staff billing like full partners.
At TwentySixGroup, we have developed a series of advanced training and assessment tools that will teach your staff how to better serve your clients, how to spot revenue opportunities and most importantly, how to create a greater connection with your clients that will ensure they turn to your firm as their first point of contact for all of their business needs. And by allowing your staff to take ownership of the client, you will unleash their selling ability and enable them to bill like a partner. In some cases, we have been able to help firms uncover hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional revenues.
And it goes without saying that additional revenue streams and higher fees will give you the flexibility to attract better staff, or motivate your existing staff by paying them (nearly) as well as a partner.
Why not talk to us today to find out how our customer care programs are helping firms like yours grow their revenue streams and the practice.