What has the biggest influence on your ability to retain clients?

Below you'll find more practical ideas to help you succeed, plus my thoughts on what has the biggest influence on your ability to retain clients - and what you can do to enhance this.

And this week's fun item is a example of how sometimes we're not as clear as we might be....

Enjoy!

Mark

3 practical tips I shared recently in 1-2-1 sessions

Which of these tips could help as regards the issues, challenges and problems you are facing in your practice?

1. Management by exception: Stop spending so much time on such a huge range of analytics. Focus your time and attention only on the key information and data that you NEED to make decisions and choices.
2. increase your profitability: As we have discussed, your carefully computed proposed fees for new clients seem low compared with your predecessors. Check those elements of your proposed fees where your profitability is lower than you would like (eg: bookkeeping). Maybe you should increase your rates for such work?
3. Stop working for free: Unless you can afford to operate as a charity, when a client can't afford to pay you, you should probably limit your help to offering advice rather than continuing with further day to day unpaid work.

More on mentoring >>>

1-2-1 strategic and practical advice for you and your practice

My approach to mentoring sole-practitioner accountants is much the same as how I imagine a good sporting coach operates.

Helping clients by sharing advice borne of wider experiences. Typically my clients all seem to appreciate my years of experience, my independence, general credibility and my straightforward, direct and fun approach.

And they often end our calls by saying how valuable has been my advice, guidance, support and insights.

More specifically they typically find that by taking my advice they secure more of the referrals and business they want, they waste less time on pipe-dreams and they generate more fees.

Just last week, one of my clients thanked me again for the advice I had given in a recent call. He had done as I had encouraged him to do with just one client to date. And he was thrilled.

As a result of following my advice, he told me, he had secured additional fees from that one client sufficient to cover 4 months of my monthly retainer.

I currently have space for just two new 1-2-1 mentoring clients.

If this sounds like something that that would be of benefit to you, do message me so that we can book a time for a phone or zoom exploratory meeting - without any obligation.

More on mentoring >>>

Expert tax support for your clients

Next time you need tax support - for a one-off situation or to find someone to refer your heavyweight tax issues on a regular basis, just go to FindATaxAdviser.online.

The advisers are all members of the Tax Advice Network, which I Chair.

There's never any charge for you to use the quick, easy and free online search facility to find the right tax adviser by expertise and location whatever your client's tax problem, question or challenge.

FindATaxAdviser.online >>>

What has the biggest influence on your ability to retain clients?

Accountants have a distinct advantage over most other service professionals. Your clients need your help on an ongoing basis, at least once a year and often more frequently than this.

This leads some accountants to be a little complacent about client retention – certainly as compared with most solicitors and financial advisers. When I have asked about client retention rates it seems many established accountants continue working for the clients they want to keep for upwards of ten years.

All too often however there is a tendency to assume that clients are happy as long as they aren’t complaining. But this is to mistake laziness with loyalty, confusion with confidence and adequacy with admiration.

Think about the last time you took on a new client from another accountant. Sure the client wasn’t happy with them but had they made this clear to your predecessor before announcing they were appointing you to take over? In the vast majority of cases I hear about, clients don’t bother to complain, they simply decide to move on.

What then has the biggest influence on your ability to retain clients? Some accountants think it’s their willingness to keep their fees low. That may be the case occasionally. But clients don’t always move to get a cheaper service. And when they do there is normally another catalyst.

Another view is that it’s all down your accounting skills and the quality of your service. To you doing a good job. I don’t think that’s the full story either. And I think it’s too easy to kid yourself if you focus here in isolation. I have seen plenty of accountants hang on to clients even after there have been mistakes, errors or oversights.

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In this week's blog post you'll find out what it is that has the biggest influence on your ability to retain clients and all the things you need to do to positively impact this. Taking this on board could have a huge impact on your ability to continue working for the clients you most want to hang onto.

Read more >>>

Fun time - Sometimes we're not as clear as we might be....

Accountants frequently ask new clients to either bring their passport into the office or to supply certified copies of the passport. It's a requirement of the anti-money laundering regulations.

An accountant told me that a new client once sent him an unusual package. On opening it the accountant found a copy of the client's passport. What else? Another one. Same as the first. And another, and another.

Indeed the package simply contained almost 3 dozen photocopies of the client's passport. None had been certified by a solicitor - or anyone.

The accountant called the client to acknowledge receipt of the package and to find out why he had sent so many copies - and not had any of them certified.

The client was pleased to hear the package had arrived safely. "I should have checked as I must have misheard you. 'Certified copies' makes much more sense. I thought you asked for 35 copies."

You'll find plenty more to make you laugh on the Accounting Fun blog here >>>

Let's have a chat...

Let's have a chat if any of the above topics resonated with you. I love supporting and encouraging accountants, tax advisers and solicitors who want to secure more referrals, reach and results.

You can take your chances here now: 07769 692890

or book a call at a time that suits us both: www.calendly.com/bookmarklee

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Mark Lee FCA  provides strategic insights, advice, talks and mentoring to accountants, solicitors and tax advisers who want to improve their reach, referrals and results. He is also Chairman of the  Tax Advice Network, the UK’s largest network of independent tax advisers.

Mark has long been a popular speaker for UK accountants both on stage and online. Informed, entertaining and commercial he also debunks hype and misconceptions. Earlier in his career he was a partner in two top firms. He has a number of voluntary roles and is a long time member of The Magic Circle.

BookMarkLee.co.uk