Listening to an accountant talk about her very wide and extensive range of services and how she was able to service a very broad range of client types got me thinking.
BAM! A question comes to mind. I ask her, “Where would you ideally like to be positioned in the market place?” She answers, “What do you mean? I have just told you what I am offering!”
True she had! My next question for her was; “What if you were to put on a “potential clients” hat and ask yourself that question again?”
My client reflects for a moment. “I provide an excellent service, high quality and a reasonable price. It is similar to what everyone else charges (who by the way don’t do as good a job as we do). I would like to be in the middle to high range thus I need to change how I price and deliver so that my clients and potential clients clearly understand how I am positioned. Oh, what you are telling me is that I probably need to be more clear on what I do and do not do.”
At that point I knew she got it. “Yes, you do”, I say. “That’s all about clarity and focus and the more you have the easier it is for you to articulate it to your clients and prospects. After all, we are all looking for certainty?”
My experience has shown me that accountants often do not consider the message they send to their clients and potential market place. Most provide excellent service, try to be all things to all people (wide range of services or non-defined service list) and service every type of person who walks in the door. They regularly do more than they ask for (write off time) and charge what everyone else in town charges (hourly rates).
Do you fall into this category?