I work in a semi rural environment. A local sole practitioner has died. I didn't know him.
Putting aside the terrible tragedy for a moment, should I put my business hat on and think about the fact that his clients will still need an accountant? I feel wrong even writing the thought. A business opportunity for me under such circumstances sounds so utterly crass.
What would others do? Comments gratefully received.
Replies (35)
Please login or register to join the discussion.
Strategic advertising
No harm in stepping up your local marketing if you're uncomfortable with blatant poaching of clients!
I would approach the widow / family
and offer to help out with the business. If you handle the approach with tact and compassion you might be able to strike a deal which appeases your hesitation and provides them with something.
I don't know, perhaps...
Dear ....
I was so sorry to hear of your loss ....blar blar blar .... George was well respected in the local community and will be missed in particular by his many clients.
In the coming days there will be much you will need to attend to and it occurred to me you may need some help .... dealing with clients may be the last thing on your mind ... but
Perhaps I can help..... no charge... for free... look after clients.... recover fees outstanding to you ... stop any penalties / fines
just a thought and certainly worth a shot
Challenge to other Awebbers - draft a letter* (prize for best one)
* terms and conditions apply - Jason excluded
Keep it simple?
How about a very simple, "So sorry to hear of your loss - if there is anything I can do to help please do not hesitate to contact me"?
David
Agree with all the above except no-one has mentioned that as a sole practitioner the deceased will have been obliged to nominate an alternate to step in in the very circumstances that have sadly arisen. So despite your best efforts someone might already have their feet under the table.
Ummm - No
the deceased will have been obliged to nominate an alternate to step in in the very circumstances that have sadly arisen.
As far as ICAEW are concerned, it is recommended NOT obligatory.
Agreed
the deceased will have been obliged to nominate an alternate to step in in the very circumstances that have sadly arisen.
As far as ICAEW are concerned, it is recommended NOT obligatory.
I stand corrected. Obligatory only if sole practitioner holds client money. In other cases recommended only. But point still relevant as there must be a likelihood that the deceased was either holding client money or following the Institute's recommendations.
block of fees
If you were keen to expand, I'd send a letter expressing an interest in purchasing the fees. You'd probably get them at a good price (forced sale).
.
Agree with all the above except no-one has mentioned that as a sole practitioner the deceased will have been obliged to nominate an alternate to step in in the very circumstances that have sadly arisen. So despite your best efforts someone might already have their feet under the table.
That assumes our late colleague was a member of a prof. body. I can't imagine the receipt by the family of a letter will be welcomed. The cynic in me suggests they'll simply jump to the conclusion you're a no good grave robber who's nicking Clients before their loved one is even cold.
I'd keep my distance and simply advertise. What would you have done if he moved away?
I might consider avoiding mentioning inheritance tax in my adverts though.
A tricky one,
but your thoughts are onlly human nature and you are not a bad person.
There was an old guy who kept his boat next to mine at the marina, it was his pride and joy and he looked after it and tendered to it every day. He sadly passed away last year, my first thought was of sadness as he was a great guy, my second thought was " I wonder if his boat will come up for sale" as it was a cracking bit of kit and I knew it was well looked after.
In your position I feel a direct approach at this stage might be going too far (however tempting) wait a few weeks, but do a bit of digging and find out of there had been any succesion planning in place and see if another firm is looking after clients. Increase your marketing and see if you can get away in with1 or 2 people maybe enough for it to snowball.
You never know the family may approach you for help and you could get in trojan horse style and aquire the fees.
Also many of the clients might already be looking elsewhere.
delicate
but tend to agree with mouse007 and approach the family. He may already have made provison for this as posts passim but if not this may on top of everything else be a real worry for the family and they could be desperate for someone like you to help them out. Either a phone call or letter and good luck with that !! What have you got to lose ?
Letter
If writing such a letter to the widow / family then I would word it very carefully (I would draft one for you but I'm not allowed ;)
The last thing you want to happen is to offer a grieving widow help with the affairs, and then finding out you have a whole range of underpriced clients with big and time sensitive demands, that you cannot service.
Potential damage to reputation in this circumstance.
I would word the letter in that you may be able to help, with an offer to meet (if and when she is ready) and which you can then - if she desires, review the business and see what you are up against.
It doesn't make you a bad person to think of this opportunity, especially if you can help take any burden from the widow / family in the process and manage the clients. What is needed though is sensitivity and caution. As previously stated though, he more than likely has recipricol arrangements in place already.
Dear Widow,
Dear Widow, I am deeply sorry for your loss, but for every negative there is a positive, especially wen working with electricity. I digress, what would you think of someone coming to help you when you most need it? not with flowers , but with credits and debits,, err or is it debits and credits! anyway I am sure he had a number of clients who will also be very sad. They have to find another accountant to sort there affairs out and its never easy finding one that cares (like me:) ) That's a smiley face if you didn't know. Not that this is a time to smile :( . Anyway they I go again. What do you think then, can I do it? - should work a treat
Advertising
Personally I'd also go with a big splurge on local advertising for a few weeks.
I wouldn't dream of writing to the widow, or of directly targetting the deceased's clients. It'd feel a bit too much like turning up at the funeral and handing out business cards. Might be different if I knew him or her and was offering to help out a friend, but a letter from a complete stranger sniffing after business? If I got a letter like that in those circumstances I'd be fuming.
bereaved's viewpoint
If there is no alternate, the widow/er probably feels under incredible pressure now suddenly being responsible for all these clients.
Taking that problem off their hands would, I think, be very welcome. So a direct response may be very favourably received. Obviously, you don't want to contact them the day after the funeral, but I suspect you knew that anyway!
Direct letter might work
What about writing to her concentrating mainly on your concerns for her situation and the fact that she's now got the business to consider as well as her grief.
Tell her that you don't want to intrude as she may not feel like handling this straight away, but here's your phone number and you would be very happy to talk to her if she should wish to get some advice on how to proceed.
If you don't sound pushy, but instead a really helpful person, that can't harm things. Many people have already said that they wouldn't write to her, so she probably won't get many letters like this, and yours, being so thoughtful and well written will score some brownie points.
Yes, it's selling, but that's done best when you're talking to someone who may have a need for your services, so the door's already ajar. You aren't going to be calling her every day, driving her bonkers, so she has the choice to file your letter until she feels up to doing something about it.
At the same time, a high profile advertising campaign will remind her and the existing clients that you are definitely in business.
To hell with that
Just turn up at the funeral, plonk yourself down next to the widow at the start of the service and hand her a contract to sign giving you all the clients instead of the order of service that she was really reaching for! Or go with a box of tissues, each one with your firm's logo on so with every dab of the eye she'll be seeing your details :)
And don't forget to stand next to her afterwards so that you can hand out business cards to all the clients that have to come pay their respects! You can quietly murmur in their ear 'The dearly departed, god rest his soul, asked me with his dying breath to look after his dear clients. So pop round to see me next week and bring your cheque book'
(I think I've come up with a great marketing idea - all I need to do is scan the obituaries in future for the names of dead accountants - I could make a killing (pun intended)!)
Personally I'd go with more advertising and a nice letter of condolence saying how wonderful the deceased was without mentioning offers of assistance, but then I'm not good with death. I still can't think of the passing of our dear departed mutual friend without shedding a few tears. They may look like tears of joy and mirth but it's just the brave face I put on :)
Reminds me old joke
Recent widow, strapped for cash, phones local paper to put a death notice in. She suggests simply
'David Green died'
and asks how much. Salesperson says there's a minimum charge £30, but points out that it's £5 per word, so the notice can run to 6 words. OK says the widow, we'll put
'David Green died. Volvo for sale'
There may be an alternate
If they are an ACA then sole traders are likely to have an alternate lined up. I think QAD ask about this when they visit sole traders although, as my friend has one, I do not know the response from QAD if there isn't one in place. Whilst having an alternate might not mean clients will move to them forever, it is certainly designed to mean clients are not left in the lurch suddenly. I am alternate for a sole trading friend and meet annually to ensure their work is still of the type I can resource and am skilled to do, should anything happen. So, one would hope, an alternate will have been ready to step in and up to date with the type and number of clients he has working files for. Offering to help the alternate with resourcing though, no harm in that.
There may be an alternate OR there may not!!
If they are an ACA then sole traders are likely to have an alternate lined up.
Why? I don't.
I think QAD ask about this when they visit sole traders although,
Nope. I have had two QAD visits and it wasn't raised.
I do not know the response from QAD if there isn't one in place.
I do - No response at all.
Just thought I would elucidate.
Just be honest.
Write to her, and offer to buy the practice. What's wrong with that? You're not asking for special favours, or to get it for free or anything, and she is free to offer it for sale to other accountants. As with any deceased person's asset that is not of use to their legatees, they will want to swap the practice for money, and the longer it is left the more the value will decay.
'If they are an ACA then sole traders are required to have an alternate lined up'. That is not so if you are, like me, a sole practitioner who does not hold client money and does not work in reserved areas.
brilliant
dear widow letter. You could even add that as a mark of respect for the deceased you are prepared to offer a small discount to each of his clients or make a (small again) donation to his favourite charity (or of course if she'd prefer offer her an "inducement").
Andy as for your vulture perception comment search your heart and soul. You seem a nice guy but only you really know. Are you a vulture Andy ?
From experience
My predecessor passed away a few years back, and while the practice was still in limbo, we were the target of other firms cold calling our clients. We too are in a rural location. Many of our clients wasted no time in informing us of this and were outraged by the mercinary behaviour of some of those firms. I don't think it did those firms any particular favours on a local level, but it was really great to know that our clients were so loyal :-).
10+ years ago a
I was approached by a new client. His accountant had died.
I wrote to the widow to see if there was any goodwill and she told me that all the clients had left and that she would have liked to have sold them.
This I recommend a friendly letter thus
I was very sorry to hear that "John" has passed away. He was a great guy. Whilst it may seem a little sensitive I am contacting you to see if you have sold "John's" business. As soon as his client's have hear of his demise they will be looking for a new accountant. I am looking to expand my practice and would like the opportunity to purchase the business from you.
Please let me know if you are interested
Ask the deceased's solicitor
If you work in a semi-rural environment you may know the deceased accountant's solicitor. The solicitor should know whether the window and/or executors are likely to need assistance in wrapping up the business. Why not write to the solicitor in the first instance and he/she can then pass your offer to the widow/family/executors if it is likely to be well received. If it would not then they need never know you made it.
AN IDEA....
Put your best bib and tucker on, pick up a bunch of roses and pop round to console the widow over a glass of Krug at the local Spa....you might pick the cients up for free ;)
Approach sensitively, the family may be grateful
A very sad time, but the family might be grateful for your support. Something less for them to worry about. I'm sure it could be done in a way that is mutually beneficial to all of you.