marketing for accountants

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1 :: Download your FREE book -- All Accountants Are Marketers -- from www.HighPerformanceGrowth.co.uk Top 10 Take-Aways for UK Accountants from the Association of Accounting Marketers Conference in Chicago — June 2011 A summary of the conference by UK attendee Richard Parkes Cordock, founder of www.HighPerformanceGrowth.co.uk Discover the latest thinking on client acquisition and client retention for accounting firms.

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In June 2011, I attended the Association of Accounting Marketing Summit in Chicago.Here's my top-ten marketing take-aways for accountants from the event.

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Page 1: Marketing for Accountants

1 :: Download your FREE book -- All Accountants Are Marketers -- from www.HighPerformanceGrowth.co.uk

Top 10 Take-Aways for UK Accountants from the Association of Accounting Marketers Conference in Chicago — June 2011A summary of the conference by UK attendee Richard Parkes Cordock, founder of www.HighPerformanceGrowth.co.uk

Discover the latest thinking on client acquisition and client retention for accounting firms.

Page 2: Marketing for Accountants

Iʼve just returned from a marketing conference for accountants in Chicago.

The event was hosted by an organisation called the Association of Accounting Marketers (AAM). In the US, many large and small accounting practices belong to AAM. This organisation offers marketing advice, best practice, latest strategies and marketing techniques for firms of accountants.

The event had approximately 450 attendees, most of whom are professional marketers who work within accounting firms.

There was also a handful of partners there, but mostly those in charge of marketing and business development.

Just two people from the UK attended the conference and I was one of them.

I had found out about the event only 48 hours before its start, and managed to get a ticket and flight arranged at the last minute.

I work with accounting firms (you can see more about my company at www.HighPerformanceGrowth.co.uk) and I

was keen to hear the latest ideas from fellow marketers in the accounting profession.

In this short report, Iʼll share with you my ten most notable marketing and business development ʻtake-awaysʼ for UK accounting firmsʼ.

In summary, these are:

1. Create a point of difference.

2. Up sell additional services to clients.

3. Know your CCA and LTV.

4. Non-sexy marketing delivers the best ROI.

5. Looking for the silver bullet to get new clients? Keep looking!

6. Do you have a dedicated marketing resource?

7. Use value based pricing.

8. Accountants are not marketers.

9. The importance of education — some words of wisdom.

10. Marketing is not a luxury, it is an essential investment.

2 :: Download your FREE book -- All Accountants Are Marketers -- from www.HighPerformanceGrowth.co.uk

This was my first visit to the AAM conference which was held in Chicago this year. There were 450 attendees, with only 2 from the UK. I was one of them.

The photo above is taken from the top of the Sears Tower (also known as the Willis Tower) with my mobile phone. The Sears Tower is the ʻstand outʼ building in Chicago.

In this short report, youʼll find some ideas to make your accounting firm the ʻstand outʼ firm in your niche or region.

Page 3: Marketing for Accountants

Probably the most practical take-away for UK accounting firms is the need to create a point of difference for your practice — and then firmly communicate it.

In the world of accountancy it is very easy to practice ʻme too marketingʼ (i.e. do the same as everybody else), and in the eyes of a client, have no point of difference which demonstrates why they should choose you over your competitors.

All too many accounting firms have websites which look the same, marketing which looks the same and even offices and employees who look the same!

It can often be hard for prospective clients to understand what sets you apart.

For example, in my industry — marketing, there are many companies who focus on helping accountants generate new leads. I take a different position.

My point of difference is that I help accounting firms turn every employee in a practice into a marketing and business development asset who takes ownership for generating leads (and retaining clients).

This is a clear point of difference.

At the conference, the importance of ʻvertical marketingʼ or specialising in niche industries became very clear.

The more direct your message can be for your target audience, the easier it is for your prospective customer to understand you and relate to you.

You can see the difference vertical marketing makes by taking a look at the following two websites — they are both mine.

Firstly www.EnterpriseLeaders.com, and then www.HighPerformanceGrowth.co.uk.

Essentially they both offer the same product, but the first website is aimed at a generic business audience and the second website is aimed at accounting firms.

Which website speaks more directly to you as an accountant?

Questions for UK accountants:

• Who is your target customer?

• Are you speaking directly to them or is your marketing generic and trying to catch everyone with a single message?

• What makes you different from your competitors?

• How do you market and communicate your point of difference?

3 :: Download your FREE book -- All Accountants Are Marketers -- from www.HighPerformanceGrowth.co.uk

1. CREATE A POINT OF DIFFERENCE

On the way to the AAM conference in Chicago, my flight was cancelled, so I ended up spending the night at Yotel in Terminal 4.

This is a hotel with no natural light and tiny — but high quality — rooms. Yotel is inspired by Japanese capsule hotels. It is perfect for a 1 or 2 night stay.

Yotel has a very clear point of difference!

Page 4: Marketing for Accountants

Clearly one of the easiest ways to increase revenue in your UK accounting practice is to sell more services to existing clients.

One of the presenters at the summit made a good point about how banks are excellent at up-selling and cross-selling.

In addition to having your everyday bank account with your chosen provider, it is also quite typical to have your savings account, mortgage, credit card, life insurance, etc with the same bank.

When a bank provides more services to you, switching to another provider becomes much more difficult.

Another presenter made the point that clients often want extra services, but they donʼt know that you provide these services, and so they start shopping around for a firm who does.

For example, your firm might provide audit and tax for a client, but as their circumstances change they may require new services such as M&A advice, or advice on which software package to implement. These may well be services you

offer, but your client simply doesnʼt know about them.

When your client looks around for a service provider to fulfill their new need, this has a triple negative impact for you.

Firstly you miss out on the revenue which you would have received from the new work. Secondly, you loose the opportunity to strengthen ties with your client by providing more services to them, and thirdly, you have opened the door very widely for a competitor to come in — possibly even steal your client and take away your lucrative audit and tax work.

If your employees who interact with your clients on a day-to-day basis had a deeper awareness and understanding of your clientsʼ needs, and understood your clientsʼ wider commercial issues, they could spot opportunities where your firm could add more value for your clients.

Unlike lead generation activities to get new clients (i.e. direct mail, seminars, telemarketing, etc), up-selling and cross-selling additional services to clients requires a different ʻhuman marketingʼ approach, whereby every employee who interacts with

your clients has their eyes and ears open for new opportunities.

Questions for UK accountants:

What additional services can you up-sell to your clients so that you:

1) Generate additional revenues

2) Create a stronger, deeper, richer, longer-lasting, and loyal relationship with them.

4 :: Download your FREE book -- All Accountants Are Marketers -- from www.HighPerformanceGrowth.co.uk

2. UP SELL ADDITIONAL SERVICES TO CLIENTS

One of the ʻup-sellingʼ opportunities at the marketing event in Chicago was an evening architecture cruise. This was $60. I suspect more than 250 people went on it. I did! I also bought a CD recording of the entire event for an extra $120. Another up-sell. Up-selling definitely works!

Page 5: Marketing for Accountants

A common theme which came up during the presentations was the need for accounting firms to know the ʻcost of client acquisitionʼ and ʻlife time value of a clientʼ.

When you know how much a client is worth to you over their lifetime, it is easier for you to work out how much you are prepared to spend to get them as a client in the first place.

For example, say you win a new client and charge them £5,000 for auditing their financial statements and filing their tax.

Over 5 years this could well be worth £25,000 in revenue to you — or even more if you up-sell and cross-sell additional services to them.

Armed with the knowledge that this client is worth at least £25,000 of revenue to you over 5 years, the critical question to ask is how much would you be willing to pay for that client?

If you knew the profit on that client was £15,000, then you may take a view that you would spend up to £3,000 in Year 1 (possibly even more) trying to win that

client, confident that your client acquisition investment would pay back a handsome return over the next few years.

Here you can see the importance of retaining clients to ensure you maximise their life-time value.

Maximising life-time value is one of the key factors of ʻhuman marketingʼ which you can read more about at: www.HighPerformanceGrowth.co.uk.

Questions for UK accountants:

• What are your average annual fees per client?

• On average how long does a client stay with you?

• What is the average lifetime value of your typical client?

• How much would you be prepared to pay to acquire a new client?

5 :: Download your FREE book -- All Accountants Are Marketers -- from www.HighPerformanceGrowth.co.uk

3. KNOW YOUR CCA AND LTV

Chicago has amazing architecture and outdoor sculptures. It certainly knows how to market itself!

These buildings cost hundreds of millions to build, but clearly the property developers know they will get a return on their investment. They understand their numbers and know how much they can afford to build a property for, and what its payback will be over the years.

The same is true with marketing for accounting firms. You should know how much it costs to acquire a new customer and what your profit will be over the years as they remain a client.

Me!

Page 6: Marketing for Accountants

Despite all the glitz and glamour of the marketing world and talk about Web 2.0, blogging and social media (i.e YouTube, Facebook, Twitter) — there was less talk at the conference about these types of activities than I had expected.

Marketers at the event agreed that social media has a place in marketing accounting firms, but it needs to be part of a wider marketing strategy.

Most marketers understood that the greatest return on their marketing investment comes from retaining clients, up-selling/cross-selling and getting referrals from existing clients. It is widely accepted that it is easier and cheaper to sell (and get referrals) from existing clients than to chase cold new clients.

A few words about each of these non-sexy marketing activities:

1.) Retaining clients. Client retention has to be the primary goal of any marketing department. Itʼs evident if you lose a client paying £5,000 per year, this revenue comes straight off your P&L. To replace that client is an expensive and time consuming activity. In order to retain

clients, you have to provide an extraordinary level of service. This means that providing excellent client service has to rise to the top of your marketing agenda.

A great line I picked up at the conference was: “treat your clients like prospects and your prospects like clients.” I thought this was brilliant!

2.) Up-sell/Cross-sell. Most clients are not looking for commodity accountants who churn out accounts, they want trusted advisers who can help them grow their business. This provides more opportunities to sell more services to them. It also means that every employee in your company has to keep their eyes and ears open for new opportunities — and take time to understand the wider business challenges your clients are facing.

3.) Get more referrals. Your own existing client base contains a wealth of opportunity to get new referrals but the message came through many times from speakers that you are more likely to get referrals from clients if you purposefully ask them to introduce you to their network.

An interesting statistic was presented which is that 83% of accounting firms think clients will happily recommend them, whereas in reality only 23% of clients said they would be prepared to make a recommendation. This is simply because the level of service and experience a client receives is not good enough for them to willingly make that referral. Closing this reality gap should be on the agenda of every partner in every accounting firm.

To learn more about how to retain clients, up-sell and cross-sell more services, and get more referrals, download a free copy of my book ʻAll Accountants Are Marketersʼ from www.HighPerformanceGrowth.co.uk.

Questions for UK accountants:

• What are you doing to make sure you retain your existing clients?

• How can you get closer to your clients and better understand their challenges?

• What are you doing to up-sell and cross-sell more services to your clients?

• What are you doing to actively secure more referrals from your existing clients?

6 :: Download your FREE book -- All Accountants Are Marketers -- from www.HighPerformanceGrowth.co.uk

4. NON-SEXY MARKETING DELIVERS THE BEST ROI

Page 7: Marketing for Accountants

In a conference of 450 experienced professional marketers who sell accounting and business advice services, it soon became evident that there is no silver bullet for acquiring new customers.

In fact one presenter who gave a very interesting presentation on what marketers could learn from Lady Gaga, put up a slide which showed over 100 different lead generation techniques.

The presenterʼs point in showing all these different lead generation activities was that they all work to some degree, but there isnʼt one single winning method which is a silver bullet.

Marketing is both an art and a science and deals with complex human emotions.

Getting a CFO, Finance Director or Business Owner to move from their existing accountant to your firm requires a lot of persuasion, story telling and giving a strong compelling reason why.

More often than not it requires multiple marketing strategies so that you can get your message in front of decision-makers,

on multiple occasions and in many different ways — all followed up with a human face-to-face touch.

This process can be time-consuming and expensive, but is the reality of growing a successful accounting practice.

I had a conversation with one particular partner (from memory, his firm had over 100 employees and revenues of about $15 million), he looked to bring in 50 to 75 new clients per year through pure cold lead generation. A technique he found worked well for him was webinars followed up by telemarketing. However, he said that the level of investment in time to get his 50 − 75 cold new clients (i.e. those who donʼt come through referral) is massive.

But because he understands the lifetime value of his clients and how much he can spend on client acquisition, he is able to make this marketing technique profitable for him.

If you are still looking for the ʻquick fixʼ, one-hit, silver bullet for marketing and lead generation, good luck. However, if you want proven ʻhuman marketingʼ strategies to

make every employee in your company take ownership for attracting new clients and retaining existing clients, visit www.HighPerformanceGrowth.co.uk or call me (Richard Parkes Cordock) on +44 (0)7979 86 319.

Questions for UK accountants:

• Which marketing techniques, lead generation and client acquisition techniques have you found to work well for you and why?

• Which lead generation techniques do you find do not work for you and why?

• What new lead generation techniques are you planning to use in the next 3 months?

• How many new clients do you get each year through word of mouth?

• How many new clients do you get each year on average through outbound marketing?

• How much do you spend on marketing each year?

7 :: Download your FREE book -- All Accountants Are Marketers -- from www.HighPerformanceGrowth.co.uk

5. LOOKING FOR A SILVER BULLET TO GET NEW CLIENTS? KEEP LOOKING!

Page 8: Marketing for Accountants

I met quite a few marketers at the conference who were the only person in their company focused on marketing and business development. Even in companies with 100 employees, it seems it isnʼt uncommon to just have one person focused on marketing and business development.

Without exception, every marketer I spoke to was over worked, under-resourced, and struggled to find enough hours in the day. Remember, these are companies with dedicated marketing people. Many accounting firms donʼt have anybody dedicated to marketing at all!

One particular marketer I spoke with had been at her company a couple of years. She said that since the firm had made the investment in her as a marketing person, they looked to her as the rainmaker to bring in all new clients!

The reality is that this simply isnʼt how marketing and business development works.

As Peter Drucker, the famous management guru said. "Marketing is not a

function, it is a whole business seen from the customer's point of view."

One person cannot be responsible for how all your current and future clients view you.

Marketing and business development involves everybody in the company from the senior partner down to the most junior employee. They are all marketing assets for the company, and everybody should be out there sowing seeds of opportunities, networking and seeking to attract and win new clients.

Another presenter I spoke with was a very savvy and experienced business development and marketing professional had been headhunted to provide marketing expertise to his new firm. I asked him if he was the sole person responsible for marketing, or whether he had been able to push that responsibility back onto the partners and employees in the company.

His answer was a definite — yes. As he is such a strong character, his role is more as a coach and mentor who helps partners in their business development and marketing activities.

As a result of him working with the company and getting marketing and business development activities owned by everyone in the company, his practice has seen a significant increase in new client acquisitions and increased revenues and profits.

Getting everybody — from receptionists to managing partners — to take ownership and responsibility for marketing and business development is what my company does. To learn how we do it, take a look at www.HighPerformanceGrowth.co.uk.

Questions for UK accountants:

• Who is responsible for marketing and business development in your company?

• What are you doing to make everybody responsible for marketing and business development (i.e. attracting new clients and retaining new clients)?

• How are you fostering a culture of business growth in your firm?

8 :: Download your FREE book -- All Accountants Are Marketers -- from www.HighPerformanceGrowth.co.uk

6. DO YOU HAVE A DEDICATED MARKETING RESOURCE?

Page 9: Marketing for Accountants

On the flight to Chicago I started reading a new book called ʻEffective Pricing for Accountantsʼ. The book talks about the benefits of switching from billable hours, to value based pricing.

It was interesting when speaking with some of the accounting firms who were also at the conference how they have embraced value based pricing.

One particular partner — who is a more creative specialist marketing partner for his company — told me about a project he did for his firm which took him literally 5 hours to complete, but he was able to charge $20,000 for this work.

This was simply because he was able to recover over $300,000 for a client of tax they had already paid. If he was charging regular billable hours, his maximum fee for the same work would have been around the $2,000 mark.

But because of the way he presented the value of this opportunity to the client, and was delivering a significant upside return for him, he was able to charge a premium. (NB. He also offered a risk reversal, that if

he could not recover the $300,000 of tax, he would not charge them anything).

The reality is, when you make all your employees in your company become marketing and business development experts who get closer to your clients, they will understand your clients at a deeper level, and see more up-sell and cross-sell opportunities where you can use value based billing, instead of traditional hourly based billing.

Questions for UK accountants:

• Are you using value based billing on projects which offer a significant ʻupsideʼ return for your clients?

• Do you offer risk reversal guarantees for your clients?

• Do you communicate clearly the value you deliver for your fees and do your clients understand the value they receive from you?

• Could you raise your prices and generate more revenue from fewer, but better quality clients?

9 :: Download your FREE book -- All Accountants Are Marketers -- from www.HighPerformanceGrowth.co.uk

7. USE VALUE BASED PRICING

This is the view taken from the outside bar on the Trump Hotel in Chicago. The view is spectacular as is the pricing! I had a Jack Daniels and coke for $18, whilst my friend had a margarita for $81.

The bar was packed, and the high prices didnʼt seem to put anybody off having a drink.

Page 10: Marketing for Accountants

When speaking to many of the attendees at the event (who were all marketers in accounting firms), a common frustration they all shared was that their partners they worked for were not marketers, and didnʼt understand marketing — or perhaps even value marketing at the necessary level.

This is only to be expected.

Accountants spend years developing their finance, accounting and tax knowledge, and are experts at the top of their game when it comes to helping companies file their accounts, save tax or even structure M&A deals.

But when it comes to marketing, accountants often havenʼt invested the same amount of time and therefore donʼt have the same insight into marketing.

I spent years as an accountant myself having qualified back in the early 90s, but after my early years in practice, I soon realised accountancy wasnʼt for me. Marketing is though — and having studied both, I can tell you they are poles apart.

• Accounting deals with numbers. Marketing deals in words.

• Accounting is black and white. Marketing deals in shades of gray (lots of them).

• Accounting deals with facts. Marketing deals with the complex emotional needs and wants of prospects and customers.

As a partner in an accounting firm, you need to ensure all your employees (i.e. accountants) get educated and skilled in marketing and business development.

This is something which should start early in their careers so that by the time they become managers or partners themselves, they are confident in attracting and retaining clients.

To learn how you can install a marketing and business development mindset in every employee in your practice, visit www.HighPerformanceGrowth.co.uk. Make sure you download a complimentary copy of our book, All Accountants Are Marketers.

Questions for UK accountants:

• What are you doing to make sure all your employees develop their marketing and business development skills?

• What tools are you giving your employees so they can attract new clients and retain existing clients?

10 :: Download your FREE book -- All Accountants Are Marketers -- from www.HighPerformanceGrowth.co.uk

8. ACCOUNTANTS ARE NOT MARKETERS

The Association for Accounting Marketing showed off their new logo at the conference. The logo shows a ʻpersonʼ in it — and reflects ʻGrowing People and Practicesʼ.

I like the associationʼs focus on people — since marketing and business development is all about people.

Ultimately, making a prospect switch form one firm to yours is about instilling enough trust and confidence in them, that they believe your promise. That is all about people. Your employees are all marketers in your accounting firm.

Go now to www.HighPerformanceGrowth.co.uk to download your free copy of my book: All Accountants Are Marketers.

Page 11: Marketing for Accountants

For me, the most memorable speech from the conference came from Bob Love, the very first speaker who had a 10 minute opening slot. Bob Love is a famous Chicago Bulls basketball player from the 1960s and 70s.

Not knowing basketball Iʼd never heard of Bob Love before, but I now know Bob is one of the all time greats. He used to own all the records for the most shots and most points in a season. These records have only since been broken by Michael Jordan.

Whilst playing basketball, Bob had a debilitating stutter and could barely string two words together. He rarely spoke to his team mates and never gave media interviews.

After playing basketball he ended up working as a busboy for $4 an hour.

It wasnʼt until his 40s that Bob actually learnt to speak. He clearly still has difficulty getting his words out at times.

In his 10 minute speech he told a very brief but emotional story about the need for education ahead of sport and said that as much as he encourages people to excel in

sport, it is education that will ultimately deliver you the financial success you want.

There is no single marketing solution that will guarantee you growth and success other than the need to invest in the education of your employees. Teach them about marketing and business development and give them the tools to become marketers for your organisation.

Bob Love was the only person to receive a standing ovation at the marketing conference.

I donʼt know how he did it, but what I do know was that emotive way he delivered his message about the need for ʻcontinued educationʼ connected in a way no other speaker did.

Questions for UK accountants:

• Besides ʻtechnical CPD/CPEʼ (i.e. where your employees learn about tax and GAAP updates), what professional development do they receive which helps your practice attract and retain clients?

11 :: Download your FREE book -- All Accountants Are Marketers -- from www.HighPerformanceGrowth.co.uk

9. THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION - SOME WORDS OF WISDOM

Former Chicago Bulls player Bob Love opened the event with a 10 minute speech. His hugely emotional message was about the need for education. He was the only speaker to receive a standing ovation.

Page 12: Marketing for Accountants

At the end of one of the sessions, the presenter closed his presentation with a quote from David Maister, the author of the book, Managing the Professional Service Firm.

The quote read, “What you do with your billable hours determines your profits; what you do with your non-billable hours determines your future.”

From speaking with attendees, it was clear that most partners put billable hours ahead of investing for the future.

This is very understandable as billable hours generate immediate revenues which cover overheads, pay salaries and are available for distribution for partners.

But without marketing and business development (to attract and retain new clients) the cupboard will soon become bare and soon, there wonʼt be any clients for employees and partners to bill!

It was also clear that many partners see marketing as a waste of money. They might have tried different marketing actives before and not seen results. It's not uncommon to hear a partner saying ʻweʼve

tried marketing here before — it didnʼt work so we donʼtʼ do it any moreʼ.

Marketing however is an essential investment which should deliver results. There is a direct link between high growth companies and companies who invest in marketing.

Probably the most telling fact about marketing came from a presenter who talked about high growth professional services companies. He explained that the best performing companies did a number of things right; most notably they reinvested around 5% of the fees back into marketing and business development.

He went to on to say that high performing professional services companies:

1. Make all their employees responsible for marketing and business development.

2. Have a clear point of difference which prospective clients can understand.

3. Work on expanding their relationship with their current clients.

4. Actively seek referrals from their existing clients.

To learn how you came make all your employees responsible for marketing and business development, go now to www.HighPerformanceGrowth.co.uk and download a free copy of my book, All Accountants Are Marketers.

Questions for UK accountants:

• What have you done today to attract new clients?

• What have you done today to ensure you donʼt lose existing clients?

12 :: Download your FREE book -- All Accountants Are Marketers -- from www.HighPerformanceGrowth.co.uk

10. MARKETING IS NOT A LUXURY, IT IS AN ESSENTIAL INVESTMENT

I understand the next AAM event is in Las Vegas in June 2012.

However, donʼt wait until then to improve your firmʼs marketing and business development capabilities. Get in touch with us today at www.HighPerformanceGrowth.co.uk — or call me personally (Richard Parkes Cordock) on +44 (0)7979 860 319.