But believe it or not, you can provide your accounting clients with an experience that makes them not only likely to stick with you but can turn them into raving fans or as I often say; walking, talking billboards of your accounting practice.

If you want to delight your clients and decrease the likelihood of them taking their business elsewhere, there are a few key things you can do:

Consider offering a Client Portal

A client portal is a great way to give your clients 24/7 access to their account information, financial statements, and other documentation. They can view their invoices, make payments, and even schedule appointments without having to pick up the phone and call you. Plus, it’s a great way to keep your clients organised and in the loop on their job status.

Be Transparent With Your Fees

No one likes surprises – especially when it comes to money. Consider offering absolute certainty with more fixed price agreements. Be upfront with your clients about your fees from the start both with compliance and diversified services like advisory. This way, they won’t be blindsided and often disappointed by an unexpected bill down the road.

Collect Feedback and Use It to Improve

Don’t be afraid to ask your clients for feedback negative or positive. This is the only way to know what you’re doing well – and where you need to improve. Consider using online client surveys, polls, and even one-on-one interviews over a coffee to get the feedback you need to make your accounting practice and the services it provides even better. This is how you’ll really understand what you improve in your firm to achieve maximum client satisfaction.

Make the Most of Client Meetings

Client meetings are your chance to shine. Make sure you’re prepared for each meeting by having all the relevant information at your fingertips, being on time, and dressing the part. And most importantly, take the time to get to know your clients on a personal level. These meetings are your opportunity to build relationships and show your clients that you care more about them.

Invest in Client Relationship Management solution

Efficiently manage your client relationships through a Client Relationship Management (CRM) system. This type of software can help you keep track of your client interactions, tasks, opportunities, actions, outcomes, projects, and the like as well as birthdays, anniversaries, and even the client’s favourite beverage and biscuit to accompany it.

Offer Value-Added Services

In addition to traditional compliance-based accounting services, you can offer diversified value-added services that will impress your clients and differentiate your practice from the competition. These services might include financial planning, estate planning, or tax planning as well as board of advice meetings and showing clients the financial impact of key business decisions before they happen. There is no better way to delight a client than to offer them something they did not expect to receive. Here is another article I wrote about value-adding.

If you are looking to move into more client-engaged business advisory (value-added) services, why not undertake a complimentary business advisory assessment? Just email me at [email protected] and we will organise a suitable time to have a chat and delight your clients.

The post Strategies for Client Satisfaction: Elevate Your Accounting Practice appeared first on Mark Holton.

The following 15-point Strategy Checklist is a practical review to plan, organise and execute a cohesive review of the strategic plan execution, to define the need for a strategic plan if one is not there. The goal is to rate your organisation out of 5 being the highest, and 1 being the lowest on your strategic performance and understanding. Any gaps present, offer the opportunity to address these issues in future planning sessions.

Why not give it a try on your firm and see how all owners and key team members view strategy?

The strategy processes

• The extent to which the whole board is involved in strategy development
• The balance between board and management input into strategic process
• Strategic planning is built into the board calendar
• The understanding of the board as a whole of company strategy
• Sufficient time and resources are devoted to strategy development

Strategy and regular board meetings

• Strategic issues get strong coverage at all board meetings
• All board papers for decision relate the item back to the agreed strategy
• KPIs are relevant to the strategy
• Regular strategy updates occur at the board meeting
• The Managing Directors report is strongly linked to strategy

Strategy Content (your understanding of)

• Our agreed mission
• Our agreed vision
• Our corporate values
• The agreed goals of the organisation
• Our core strategies

Finally on a scale of 1 to 10 and 1 is Extremely Poor and 10 is Excellent, how would you rate the board’s understanding of the strategy role? If you need help with your strategy planning, consider getting involved in my new StratAdvise program. Click here for more information.

I have always believed when assessing the need for advisory services with clients to lead off with strategy and support later with transactional analysis – not the other way around. At its core, strategic planning is the process of defining the goals of your and your client’s organisation for the immediate future and the strategies by which these goals will be achieved and resourced.

Put simply, a strategic plan is the top three or four things that the board has agreed the business has to get right in the next two or three years. In practice, it is a doorway to innovation, cultural change, and proactive strategies to manage your response to a changing environment.

Why not give it a go with select clients? The strategy assessment and subsequent discussion can lead to many more opportunities for business improvement and enhance your advisory services!

If you would like to find out about my Strategy Enabled Program, contact me to book a complimentary 45-minute complimentary assessment to find out what your firm needs to streamline for success.

The post Developing your firm’s strategy checklist appeared first on Mark Holton.

Vision

A clear and compelling vision provides direction and purpose to an organisation. It outlines the long-term goals and unifies efforts and resources toward a common objective.

Strategic Planning

Effective strategic planning encompasses setting objectives, identifying priorities, and creating a roadmap to achieve these goals. It involves analysing both the internal and external environment, recognising opportunities and threats, and devising strategies to leverage opportunities and mitigate risks.

Execution Excellence

Successfully developing and implementing strategies requires strong execution capabilities. This encompasses efficient resource allocation, establishing clear accountability, defining measurable targets, and ongoing progress monitoring. Adaptability and flexibility are essential to adjust strategies in response to changing circumstances.

Innovation and Adaptability

In today’s ever-evolving business landscape, agility and adaptability are key to staying competitive. Encouraging innovation, fostering a culture of continuous learning, and embracing change are vital components of strategic success.

Customer/Client Focus

Long-term success hinges on understanding and meeting customer needs. Business owners should invest in market research, gather customer feedback, and leverage customer insights to shape their strategies. By delivering value and nurturing strong customer relationships, organisations gain a competitive edge.

Organisational Alignment

Strategic success demands alignment throughout the organisation. This involves ensuring that all departments and teams work toward the same strategic goals, effective communication of the strategy, and the promotion of collaboration and cross-functional cooperation.

Leadership and Talent

Effective leadership plays a pivotal role in driving strategic success. Leaders must inspire and motivate their teams, provide clear direction, make tough decisions, and foster a culture of accountability and high performance. Attracting and retaining top talent with the right skills and competencies is crucial for executing strategies successfully.

Continuous Improvement

Businesses should adopt a mindset of continuous improvement to outpace the competition. This involves regular performance evaluations, learning from both successes and failures, and actively seeking opportunities for innovation and optimisation.

It’s important to note that while these pillars are significant, they are not exhaustive. Different organisations may have additional pillars or place varying emphasis on each one, depending on their unique circumstances.

If you would like to find out about my Strategy Enabled Program, contact me to book a complimentary 45-minute complimentary assessment to find out what your firm needs to streamline for success.

The post The key pillars of strategic success appeared first on Mark Holton.

Factors Impacting Business Value:

Several factors can influence your business’s value, including:

1. Owner’s Complacency: Recognising the urgency of succession planning.
2. Exit Strategy Evaluation: Comparing benefits while selecting exit options.
3. Realistic Expectations: Aligning sale prices with owner expectations.
4. Pre-Retirement Business Value Deficit: Ensuring business value is on track before retirement.

Historical Perspective

Traditionally, business owners could rely on increasing home prices to fund business growth. However, today’s entrepreneurs face higher entry costs, tougher competition, and formidable entry barriers. Consequently, ignoring succession and retirement planning might have worked for past business owners but could pose challenges for those entering the market now.

Emerging Challenges

New business owners grapple with higher acquisition costs, stiff competition, and mortgage commitments due to homeownership aspirations. This limits funding opportunities as banks hesitate to lend solely against the business.

The Challenge Ahead

• Anticipate more businesses for sale, possibly driving down prices.
• Expect fewer qualified buyers and a discerning selection process.
• In an oversupplied market, strategic planning and readiness are crucial for a successful sale.

Key Value Drivers for Business Optimisation

Smart business owners focus on value drivers to enhance their business worth:

• Reduced Proprietor Dependence
• Established Clientele and Dedicated Workforce
• Innovation and Differentiation
• Performance Benchmarking
• Efficient Systems
• Robust Succession Planning

Here’s another article I wrote recently on the staff impact on succession planning.

Optimising Business Value for Retirement Freedom

By optimising your business’s value, you secure the flexibility to choose your retirement lifestyle. Knowing your business’s targeted retirement value empowers your planning process.

The imperative for succession planning and business value optimisation is apparent. As the landscape evolves, addressing these aspects now ensures a smoother transition and more secure retirement prospects. Don’t delay – act today to secure your financial future.

If you would like to find out about my Strategy Enabled Program, contact me to book a complimentary 45-minute complimentary assessment to find out what your firm needs to streamline for success.

The post The Need for Successful Succession Planning: Can You Afford to Retire? appeared first on Mark Holton.

If things are going well, it’s often just simple to accept a good life, instead of striving for a great one. So, what’s going well in your firm that is helping you to remain just plain good – maybe like many of your competitors?

Do you settle for good clients when you could be out there looking for great clients? Do you settle for good staff when you could be mentoring people to become great staff? Do you settle for good financial results instead of stretching yourself to deliver great financial results for your efforts?

There are five key steps for any accounting firm that will help them get closer to greatness, so let’s cover them here;

Transitioning from Good to Great… 5 Key Steps

1. Get the right people on your team.
   If you surround yourself with smart, capable people and get out of their way, good things will happen. Train and develop the team in both technical as soft skills. Often soft skills training is overlooked or undervalued. After all we are dealing with people here!
2. Move on bad clients.
   Nobody likes being abused, under-appreciated, under-valued and so on, so why keep clients around who consistently do this to you? I call them Emotional Vampires. They consume all your time, do not appreciate what you do and bitch, moan and winge (BMW) about your price.
3. Invest some time in your best clients.
   Your best clients deserve to be spoilt, but few firms create the time or capacity to spoil them. After removing some of your bad clients, use some of the time freed-up to invest with your better clients. Meet with them and find out what is important to them both in their business and personal lives and deliver services to address these needs.
4. Add-Value to your clients’ Businesses.
   If you want to charge what you’re worth, you have to justify that by adding value to your clients. If you do not add value, why should someone pay you? One of the key growth areas in this regard is to show your clients how to build a better more profitable business with strong cashflow. Why not show them the financial impact of key business decisions before they make them? If we can effectively put money in their pocket, we are no longer considered an overhead, but a valuable partner and resource.
5. Set higher client selection criteria.
   Start by reconsidering working with clients or on projects that are going to be of low yield to your firm. Instead, let’s go hunting and see if you can engage a few bigger clients with higher standards and bigger goals that fit your ideal client criteria. If you do not have this criterion, consider developing one and pass that onto your team and hunt clients that fit this model.

Finally consider on an ongoing basis how to be great in your firm and link that to the strategic vision and process from your strategic planning process and ongoing review of goals and actions.

Take the challenge and grow and develop your firm and have more fun doing it

Practice Management Enabled is an ongoing program that ensures focus on building your practice is not lost. Get started with a 45 minute complimentary Practice Management Assessment with Mark Holton – find out how to start streamlining practice management in your firm. Contact us now to confirm a time.

The post Do You Suffer From Being Good? appeared first on Mark Holton.

You have to be success minded.
You have to feel that things are coming your way when you are out selling services; 
otherwise, you will not be able to sell anything.

Benjamin Jowett

I am often asked by practitioners; how do I sell my firm’s business advisory services to current clients and future prospects? Another common question is; how do I keep the clients engaged as we move through the years developing their business and enhancing our business advisory service offering?

There is no hard fast system or process that works every time however the following ten strategies may help:

• Know how to explain simply to clients the business advisory services your firm offers. Understand the service benefits from the client’s perspective.
• Develop your staff’s soft skills in particular basic customer service and selling and promoting skills. Give them the skills to ask the right questions, handle objections and introduce and present new ideas to clients.
• Promote services based on benefits – not features or functions. Remember the key selling acronym – FFB. You can interest a client with a feature, further support that interest with a function, however ultimately clients buy on benefits – what is in it for them!
• Use some time at staff meetings to share experiences about promoting your business advisory services to clients. These are great opportunities to learn new techniques and review performance for handling these situations.
• Have staff members role-play a client meeting where a new service is to be discussed. Role-plays build confidence and help team members prepare for objections and reactions.
• Ensure staff are thoroughly trained in all new services, as they are introduced. Keeping staff knowledge current is paramount to the successful implementation and ongoing management of business advisory service offerings.
• Develop one-page summaries of each service noting key features or technical details. Do not use these with clients, however; build knowledge and confidence by reviewing before meetings.
• Immediately address a client’s objection. An objection to a service, or its features, suggests the client has some level of interest.
• Have well-structured procedures and systems in place if a client decides to buy. Staff should know exactly what to do if a client decides to go ahead. Getting buy in and failing to deliver is not acceptable.
• Include referral targets in staff key performance indicators and monitor progress to budgets regularly. Reward those who succeed and performance manage those who need additional support.

Most importantly, bear in mind that when we refer to “selling,” it’s essentially a dialogue aimed at understanding a client’s objectives and determining the best approach to help them accomplish those goals.

Why not get the ball rolling by taking a complimentary 45 minute Business Advisory Readiness Assessment webinar with me? We will examine where your firm’s business advisory service is at the moment, where you want it in the future, how to get there and who is going to do what. Just reach out to me at [email protected] and we can organise a suitable day and time.

The post How to sell your firm’s business advisory services; the ten key strategies appeared first on Mark Holton.

Flexibility is a cornerstone of strategic planning and by frequently adapting to change, your strategy needs to be open to adjustment as you adapt to fluctuations in the market. Reassessing your strategies and being open to feedback will allow you to shift your focus based on your client’s expectations.

Setting goals both financially and strategically helps your firm by establishing concise objectives and identifying steps needed to achieve them. Focusing on the resources needed to reach these goals on a regular basis will allow you to allocate your resources effectively based on a thorough understanding of your capacity to ensure you’re able to invest in areas that will provide a clear path to achieving strategic targets.

I always start with a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) which can help your firm identify, both through internal and external stakeholders, what can be improved and where you’re shining. This can be used to inform strategic decision making and when engaged on a regular basis, this analysis will allow you to capitalise on new opportunities.

While we’re on the topic of opportunities, creating a routine for strategic planning allows businesses to identify new chances for growth and innovation. By analysing trends and client needs, your firm can identify areas where it can expand and integrate new innovative value-added services.

When I work with accounting firms and business owners to strategy plan, I generally set Smart Goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) with them in the following five key pillars:

• Financial Management
• People
• Processes
• Clients
• Services

The pillars drive accountability to the plan and ongoing management of key objectives. In essence, if you get the people, processes, clients, and services goals working in sync the benefits should flow through to the financial management pillar. Alternatively, you can set the financial management drivers and link the remaining pillars into the strategy. The choice is yours.

Strategic planning isn’t all about partners making decisions. When you engage both senior management, stakeholders, and junior staff to brainstorm strategic ideas, you create a shared vision. This allows you to communicate the firm’s goals and you can foster a sense of collaborative engagement that can increase motivation and morale.

Through frequent feedback, flexibility, analysis and collaboration, your firm can reach your goals and adapt easily as industry and client demands fluctuate. The benefits of strategic planning on a regular basis will help your firm to stay agile, focused, and competitive in a rapidly changing environment.

If you would like to find out about my Strategy Enabled Program, contact me to book a complimentary 45-minute complimentary assessment to find out what your firm needs to streamline for success.

The post Strategic planning for your firm appeared first on Mark Holton.

Why not consider adopting these three business practices to refresh your routine and open new doors:

Assess Your Leadership Skills:

I passionately believe and teach accounting professionals that everyone can be considered a leader regardless of their job position. So, take a moment at the beginning of each day to remember that you are a leader, and your actions should reflect your personal values, as well as those of your firm. Empower yourself to find new opportunities to further develop your leadership skills. Maybe volunteer to take on ownership of a new project, mentor a new employee, evaluate your personal career goals, and create new paths to achieve them.

Practice an Environment of Gratitude:

Take a positive attitude, and share it with your team members. Providing genuine care for your people is one key to engage others, and as we have seen, it can directly translate into team members providing a high level of care for clients. Find new ways to appreciate the work that your peers, and leaders are contributing to the organisation. This new level of can result in a happier, more engaged workforce.

Be Curious About Your Surroundings:

Curiosity will lead you down new paths, so now is a great time to be more curious about your surroundings. Take the change in scenery as an opportunity to brainstorm and think outside of the box. Maybe think about moving your weekly meetings to other venues. Innovation stems from new stimuli. Be curious about other firms and companies. What are their business challenges and how have they solved them? You just might be surprised to discover a solution that could apply to your firm.

Finally, my five tips to open more doors:

1. Begin with gratitude. There’s an old saying “to be happy, don’t do what you like, like what you do.”
2. Surround yourself with people who are where you want to be now and in the future.
3. Go the extra mile with team members and clients.
4. Contribute professionally at conferences, events and through social media
5. Cultivate a professional standard in everything you do.

If you would like to find out about my Strategy Enabled Program, contact me to book a complimentary 45-minute complimentary assessment to find out what your firm needs to streamline for success.

The post Opening up new doors in your career appeared first on Mark Holton.

1. Make sure the practice’s objectives are aligned with those of the client
   This is the most important step you can take to create a successful practice. What do your clients want? While the question is simple, the answer often is not. Do your clients want customised solutions or conservative answers? Do they need someone to hold their hands or challenge their decisions and partner in their success?
2. Get to know your clients
   Clients can be segmented into one of four groups. There are clients who want you and you want them (A Class). There are clients that you want however for some reason they do not want you (B Class). There are the clients who you do not want yet they want you (C Class), and finally, there are the clients that you do not want and they do not want you (D Class). Can you convert the B Class to A Class clients? Is your future servicing the C and D Class clients?
3. Focus on making your clients more successful
   Think about the things that you can do to improve your clients’ return. The more you do this, the more value-added services you will be providing and the more loyal your clients will become. Use services that promote the need for improvement. Focus on developing the client’s strengths and addressing the client’s weaknesses.
4. Focus on client profitability
   Too many firms focus on client revenue. It’s not what you generate, it’s what you take home. Change your focus from top-line revenue to key bottom-line profit for each client. Determine your acceptable gross profit margin before you accept the next new client. By doing this you will focus on the right clients.
5. Don’t focus only on billing more time
   Client-centered, value-added practices focus on solving client problems and issues, not on building up chargeable time. The more successful you can make your clients, the more successful the practice will be. Learn to bill on the value of your work, not the time that you spend. Know your practice’s value proposition and sell it to the client.
6. Communicate with your clients
   Determine the most efficient way to communicate with your clients. Some clients may prefer e-mail, while others still like to receive a letter by mail. A client-centered focus demands that you find out how each client wants to be contacted. Treat all clients as individuals and understand their idiosyncrasies.
7. Create systems to eliminate redundancy
   Develop one team way of doing things in your practice. Partners and staff should not have different ways to set up a file. The more you develop systems and processes, the more time your staff and partners will have to spend with clients.
8. Reduce your costs of providing services
   Salaries make up the largest portion of a firm’s cost. Make sure your compensation system rewards those who produce the most for the firm. Move away from annual salary increases and create a system that pays performers more than non-performers. Consider paying staff bonuses if they achieve above the budget expectation. Encourage staff to up-sell services when clients present leads and reward them for their efforts.
9. Make client satisfaction a key element of your compensation system
   There is nothing more valuable than a satisfied and loyal client. Reward partners and staff for achieving superior client service and satisfaction. Constantly survey clients on how well you identify and solve their problems.
10. Train your staff
    Professionals are good tax accountants. That does not make them good client service people. They need training in developing listening, writing and probing skills, customer service and in learning how to manage and respond to client objections.

If you would like to find out about my Strategy Enabled Program, contact me to book a complimentary 45-minute complimentary assessment to find out what your firm needs to streamline for success.

The post The Value-Added Proposition appeared first on Mark Holton.

However, it is also a very important personal step that can have consequences, in terms of you or your clients, available time and energy and possibly, in extreme situations, your personal financial liability.

Therefore without appropriate “due diligence” being undertaken before deciding to join a Board, you may find yourself in a situation that you may later regret.

Some of the key areas you will need to consider as a potential Board Member are these:

• What is Governance?
• What are the goals and values of the organisation?
• Is the organisation solvent?
• Does the organisation have an active Strategic Plan in place?
• Are there any special risks associated with the nature of the business?
• Is it clear what skills the Board is seeking from you?
• How does the organisation fit into the service delivery mix in its area?
• How does all this “sit” with what you believe you have to contribute?

Regardless of what factors motivate any person to take on a Board role, or the skill-set they may bring with them, many can find their skills not being effectively used. This can become a source of intense frustration over time.

Because you become legally responsible from the day you become a Board member, it is important that you feel comfortable about what you can contribute to the organisation’s objectives and more importantly, that the opportunity exists for you to make that contribution in a constructive way with the other Board members.

Director’s Roles and Responsibilities

Some important questions for all Company Directors & Board Members…

• Are you a Company Director of a small or medium business?
• Do you sit on the Board or Committee of a club or not-for-profit organisation?

If so, ask yourself these important questions:

• Do I truly understand my role, responsibilities and accountabilities?
• Am I fully aware of the strategic needs of our organisation?
• Do I fully understand the financial statements of our organisation so that I can make sound financial decisions?
• Do I know if our organisation is legally solvent?
• Do I adequately understand the law in respect to “conflict of interest?”
• Am I fully aware of my ever-changing legal responsibilities and governance duties?
• Do I have the necessary levels of skill, care and diligence to effectively perform my role?

If you could not confidently answer “Yes” to each of these questions…you may have identified important gaps in your competencies as a Director or Board Member and you should urgently consider filling these gaps with appropriate training and development.

There are many organisations that offer training in this area. Personally, I have completed the Company Directors Course at the Australian Institute of Company Directors. The course provided practical, easy to understand training and development in the skills and knowledge necessary for Company Director competence.

Just some of the competencies and outcomes covered in the training included:

• Understanding your duties and legal responsibilities as a Director
• Improving your knowledge and understanding of financial statements
• Learning how to identify and respond to conflicts of interest
• Minimising your personal and organisational risks
• Discussing Boardroom issues in confidence with your peers

Knowledge is power and for all Accountants and their clients, this area is one that we need to develop.

If you would like to find out about my Strategy Enabled Program, contact me to book a complimentary 45-minute complimentary assessment to find out what your firm needs to streamline for success.

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