Our industry has experienced an unexpected and rapid shift to providing online education to clients. There’s nothing like a crisis to force change and accelerate adoption.  What was consigned to the too hard basket before lockdown, has become a necessity, as accounting firms scramble to support their clients.

I've seen it written that proposals are your sales engine - this is simply not true.  The proposal is essential; but it's only one of the steps in the sales process:

I’ve often referred to the need to gain conceptual agreement with your client BEFORE proceeding with the work.  So, what is conceptual agreement?

Most accountants I talk to have a real fear of selling.  They’re worried they’ll come across as product pushing - having visions of themselves in gold chains and snakeskin shoes - wielding a set of steak knives. 

I’m redefining ‘Scope Creep’ as ‘Scope Stretch’, and for good reason. 

During my 17 years running an accounting firm, particularly in the last five years when I was quoting for 100% of the work I did, I had hundreds of BFOs (Blinding Flashes of the Obvious).  Let me share four of them, relating to proposals and winning new work:

We often refer to the three essential tools in business as ‘The Business Development Trifecta’.  We’re Kiwis after all.

Having just attended Xerocon Brisbane, I’ve had a solid dose of ‘Advisory Rhetoric’. 

You know how it goes - the compliance world is dying, technology and AI will make many services redundant, and the advice for accountants is they just need to rely on their Trusted Advisor status and do more advisory work.  Enough.  I call time out for two reasons: