CS-Connections

WHAT DO increasing your clientele AND increasing your transactions & gross margin per client HAVE IN COMMON?

Increasing your clientele involves:
1. Generating leads
2. Converting leads to become clients
a. Generating interest
b. Selling solutions

Increasing your transactions & gross margin per client involves:
a. Generating interest
b. Solution selling

While the context for “generating interest” and “solution selling” selling is different for increasing your clientele THAN FOR increasing your transactions & gross margin per client, THE PROCESS IS THE SAME.

GENERATING INTEREST involves:
• Asking questions, e.g., what is working well, what is not working well
• Listening
• Asking what they want most, re addressing what is not working well
• Getting them to agree to discuss ways of addressing their top priority items re what is not working well (assuming you can and want to help them) – it helps to have an effective elevator speech (the subject of a future blog)

SOLUTION SELLING does not involve “selling” but rather:
i. Asking questions that help you understand their pain and that result in the prospective clients verbalizing and confirming their pain
ii. Asking questions that help you understanding their expectations and that result in them verbalizing and confirming the impact or benefits of overcoming or resolving their pain
iii. Asking questions that result in them agreeing on a course of action that would overcome or resolve their pain
iv. Establishing a win-win agreement

Each of steps (i) – (iii) involves asking leading questions, beginning with general questions, then in-depth questions, and then questions to confirm agreement. It’s referred to as the “Solution Selling” process.

The exhibit (below) presents an overview of the Solution Selling process. It appears cumbersome but after applying it a few times, it’s very easy.

Looking for ways to increase your services and fees per client is one way of growing your accounting practice. A more progressive approach is to increase your number of clients. This requires generating leads by advertising, pay per click to get visitors to your web site, sending out emails or brochures, …. Most small businesses including accountants find that this results in disappointment and frustration. The reason is that persons who see your ad, brochure, email, etc., are not looking for an accountant, sort of thinking of getting a new accountant, …. or urgently need an accountant. Even if they urgently need an accountant, today’s prospective buyer will usually search the web to check out your competitors and look to see who has reviews. All your ad, brochure, email, … does, at best, is generate leads (possible clients). What you need to do is develop and implement a strategy (comprised of tactics) for maximizing the number of leads who become clients? More>>

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