This week, Sam and Amy talked through why you should NEVER make assumptions when it comes to your small business clients. Watch a recap video or check out the write-up below. If you have a question you would like answered, please send it through to Amy on [email protected],, and we’ll be sure to include it in our topic rota!
A regular conversation Sam says he’s having with members is around making assumptions.
Don’t assume your clients don’t want your help.
It’s so easy to make assumptions based on:
- Size (believing your client’s business is too small for advisory conversations)
- Success (has your client’s business been affected by the pandemic?)
- What (you believe) they already know.
You need to stop making these assumptions, especially that they don’t want your help, never-mind need it. Every business owner will need some form of extra support at some point, so why not now?
Reach out, be proactive in your advice, and get your clients excited again about their business and their numbers.
It’s so important to remember that you can never over communicate with your clients. It’s great for your clients to see you enthusiastic about growing their business,, and this will reciprocate and turn into big wins, both for your clients’ businesses but for your firm’s too. Instead of waiting for an event or incident to happen, look at your clients’ numbers, and utilise them to initiate meaningful advisory.
A good example would be from Hetty (March 2021 Member of the Month), a silver clarity advisor and last week’s guest on our Facebook live.
On assuming some of her clients were too small for advisory, Hetty was selective with which clients she was adding to her Portfolio View. Since putting more clients on her portfolio view and consequently reaching out to her smaller clients, she has surprised herself with how much her clients need her support, now more than ever, no matter their size.
After taking the leap and reaching out to one of her clients and being pleasantly surprised with the client’s enthusiasm about an advisory service, Hetty assumed they’d only want to cheapest option. To her surprise, the client then up sold themselves and went for a more advanced and expensive advisory package.
We saw two assumptions and key learning points here:
- Clients won’t want advisory.
- And that clients will want the smallest option
Do clients ever just want compliance?
Many think they do. Often as accountants, we’re our own worst enemies. Mainly because, as it is for many firms, compliance is all they’ve ever provided.
Remember, you’re not only trying to launch a new service in advisory; you’re also changing the hearts and mindset of your clients, as so many are unaware you can offer this support as an accountant. Usually, they’d simply turn to business coaches or advisors and inevitably pay a lot more for them, so you’re helping your clients in infinite ways.
To conclude…
Of course we recognise the reasons behind making these assumptions, which are mainly fear of rejection and fear of selling, but with Clarity, both of those things become boundlessly simple. As an accountant, you gain confidence by doing so take the leap and watch the results happen.
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Clarity HQ
The Clarity platform is empowering all of your team to deliver business advisory to all of your clients through our out-of-the-box solution. We provide accountants with the tools to scale advisory, that is appropriate for both the client and the fee involved. So, by making business simple, Clarity offers a conversation starter that empowers all members of your team to introduce advisory to 100% of their client base.
Finally, if you would like to speak to a member of the team, contact us on [email protected] for more information.
