This week I had the great pleasure of interviewing Michael ‘MC’ Carter from Australia.

Michael shared some really valuable insights into what makes accountancy firms really successful (you’ll get access to the full interview in a future post – it’s really neat!).

Who’s Michael? Michael is dedicated to helping Australian accountancy firms achieve remarkable results through his Practice Paradox organisation.

In the interview Michael and I touched on the importance of emotions in marketing and selling accountancy services. We also discussed the importance of the ‘trusted adviser’ concept too – more on this in a second, let’s tackle the emotion stuff first.

Why focus on emotions?

Emotion management is a vitally important and valuable subject for predominantly left brained, analytical, functionally obsessed accountants. Manage the way your clients feel and this happens…

1. Only when prospects feel good about you do they buy from you

2. When clients feel good about you they stay with you and maybe even buy more from you

3. When clients feel good about you they’ll recommend you to other business owners more often and more zealously

So how do you want them to feel?

I’m of the opinion – and please challenge me on this – your clients want to feel absolute certainty about your firm.

A. Clients want to feel absolute certainty you are saving them the maximum amount of tax

B. Clients want to feel absolute certainty you are doing everything you can to advise them correctly about their business affairs

C. Clients want to feel absolute certainty they are minimising the likelihood of investigation from the powers that be

D. Clients want to feel absolute certainty you’ll do what you say you will do when you say you will

E. Clients want to feel absolute certainty they are getting value for money from you and your team (demonstrate you do A through to D and they’ll see the value)

One of the best ways to achieve A through to E is to advise your clients, proactively. Meet with them more often see them more often and seek opportunities to have them feel absolute certainty about your firm. Do so and they’ll trust you, stay with you, buy more from you and refer you more often. Oh and they’ll be happier about being charged more too.

They’ll see you as their trusted adviser and you’ll grow your firm because you managed their emotional response to your firm.

Are you ready to challenge me on this and create a meaningful debate here?

Is ‘Absolute Certainty’ the central emotion an accountancy firm should be managing with their clients?

Or is there another, more powerful, feeling we should be pursuing as accountants with our clients?

Or should you be even debating emotions and think it’s all about functional ROI!?

Paul Shrimpling

PS My thanks go to John Haylock and his book – Absolute Certainty – for stimulating this focus. Every partner of an accountancy firm I have gifted this book to has thanked me profusely – you should read it..
Author of ‘Bamboo Marketing For Accountants’ – the route map to marketing success for accountants in practice

Creator of ‘BUSINESS BITESIZE’ – cultivating a greater flow of new clients for your accountancy firm through profitable word-of-mouth…

And let’s get LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/in/paulshrimpling