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Why are you still offering free initial consultations?

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30th Jan 2015
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I am amazed by the number of accountants' websites that offer free advice to strangers who may or may not become prospective or actual clients.

Sometimes the offer is clearly an intentional part of their marketing effort. I am not at all sure however that everyone offering a free initial meeting intends to give away valuable advice.

Unless you are very careful, giving away free advice to non clients undermines your credibility. It can also result in new clients undervaluing the advice you offer them after they agree to become clients.

And what about those people who just want some free advice and have no intention of becoming clients. How effective are your screening procedures to ensure you only offer free advice to serious prospects?

Free consultations

Almost all accountants offer ‘no obligation free initial consultations’. I see no problem with this as long as you’re aware that this need not extend to giving free advice during such meetings, before someone has agreed to become a client, and that you are satisfied that they can and will pay your fees.

I have seen accountants’ websites that offer such free meetings claiming that there are "no catches and there is no obligation on your part."

There is no reference to what I hope is their ‘pre-qualification’ questioning before agreeing to meet with new prospective clients. Unless you have loads of time on your hands I’d suggest that this is an important pre-requisite.

Before you agree to meet a stranger I'd encourage you to find out what's on their mind. Why do they think they want an accountant? What do they want and will they be prepared to pay what you consider to be a fair fee for any advice you provide?

Historically the primary reason for offering free no obligation consultations was to secure interest from people who want to appoint an accountant for their business or recurring compliance work.

Don’t stop

I would be the first to say that if your current approach to offering free advice during initial meetings is working and getting you the results you want, carry on doing what you've always done.

This makes sense if your current approach is generating as many clients as you can handle, of the type you want, paying the fees you want and requiring you to do the work you want. And your current approach should also mean you avoid wasting loads of time during or when following up meetings with time wasters.

If all is going as you want it to then why wouldn’t you continue doing the same things in the same way?

Lawyers vs accountants

Lawyers typically seem to work on the premise that they will be required to provide (valuable) advice during an initial meeting. They typically also charge fees in such cases so as to avoid timewasters. So why don’t most accountants?

I think it comes down to the fact that lawyers tend to ensure they have clarified what type of meeting the prospect expects. Thus lawyers may agree to a free initial consultation when it is clear that a more long-term service will be required. Thus no on-the-spot advice is being sought beyond whether the prospect has a ‘case’.

How often do you clarify with a prospect whether they are looking for one-off advice, or to appoint an accountant for recurring compliance services or any other ongoing project?  

I think the most common justification accountants adopt for giving free advice is that it helps evidence their credibility, style, approach, knowledge and willingness to help clients. 

In reality it is typically only the accountant themselves who doubts their own ability and knowledge. The prospect generally takes all that for granted.

After all our adverts, profiles and websites make clear you’re an accountant. Most prospects assume this means you know everything they need you to know. Even more so if they have been recommended or referred by a third party.

So accountants are generally proving nothing by giving away free advice. They can evidence the other key qualities they want to exhibit without giving away valuable advice for free.

Restrictions

I tend to think that a side benefit of the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) legislation is that it gives accountants a statutory justification for any apparent reluctance to provide answers to technical questions before engaging a new client.  

“I’m really sorry Mr Prospect but as a professional adviser I’m precluded by law from giving any advice before we’ve been through the anti-money laundering checks. I know it’s a pain but it’s the law.” 

The consequence of this will often be that you have engaged the client and secured their agreement to your preferred billing procedures before you give them any valuable advice. So the AML laws do have an upside after all.

How long?

When speaking at conferences I have often asked audiences of accountants how long they allow for initial consultations with prospective clients. Answers typically range from 30 to 40 or even 60 minutes. Often though the reply is ‘as long as it takes’. My follow up question to such a response is– “As long as what takes?”

It’s not just about getting the prospect to want to appoint you. You need to find out quite early on if they can afford to pay the fees you would want to earn.

You also need to determine if this is the sort of person you want to have a client.  Some accountants look to weed out time wasters on the phone before the initial meeting.

Desperation

I'm quite taken by what a marketing guru, Ian Brodie, calls the 'scarcity mindset'. Ian suggests this takes over when we hold initial meetings with prospects. It comes from a belief that we have a shortage of leads and that we don't want to lose a single one.

It is this attitude that leads us to want to convert every lead we get, because they're in short supply. This means we end up spending time talking (or giving ‘free initial consultations’) to lots of people who aren’t perfect for us because we don’t want to miss out on the one who is. It’s a process that only really makes sense in a world where you have plenty of time but very few leads.

If you are keen to build your practice and to focus on the work you enjoy doing it can help to gain greater clarity as to who you really want to have as clients. When you do this you can afford to be more choosy when you get approached by prospects who may not fit.

Why give these strangers the benefit of your time for free? Shouldn’t you be focusing on existing profitable clients? And encouraging new prospects who meet your preferred criteria?

Finally

If you’ve not yet done so, I’d suggest you establish a process/checklist (that you will, in time, commit to memory) to qualify future enquiries before you see them as prospects.

Get used to allowing likely time wasters to go elsewhere before you waste too much time on them. Initially you may want to qualify out time wasters on the phone. You will also want to determine what you need to cover in an initial meeting. 

What’s your approach to making time for initial meetings and to giving away valuable advice to strangers?
 

Mark Lee is consultant practice editor of AccountingWEB and a speaker at conferences and in-house events, helping accountants who want to STAND OUT from the pack. He also facilitates The Inner Circle group for accountants and is chairman of the Tax Advice Network of independent tax specialists who provide support to smaller practices.

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Replies (8)

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By lucy.danon
30th Jan 2015 11:17

Carrot Approach

Very interesting article Mark.

I've always thought you need to give them the 'if you came on board we would look at this tax saving thing or that profit improvement thing' without ever giving them the advice.

Carrot sort of approach. Completely agree that if you start the relationship by giving out advice for free you're training that client to not put value on your time before they've even become a client! 

Aim to have a maximum time allocated for each initial meeting based on the size and value of the client - e.g. personal tax return - 30 minutes, potential Audit for a £6M business - an hour (at least!).

Bundling services is great when it comes to initial enquiries as you are able to say, our fees start from £X per month. If the potential new client balks at that figure you know they're probably not suited to the firm.

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By johnjenkins
30th Jan 2015 16:58

I don't think

any Accountant would give "advice" for free. Once you are talking you know instinctively if the prospect is coming on board. Then, once you've registered them online, it's all stations go.

So Mark, we go from "emotional intelligence" to "scarcity mindset". Can't wait for "Numerological Blindness" or even "over active restriction controls".

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By JDBENJAMIN
03rd Feb 2015 12:12

We generally don't give free advice.

The article seems to misunderstand what happens at initial meetings. I don't give out free advice, I review the client's documentation and discuss what is needed. Then I give them a quote to do that work. I reckon the vast majority of accountants do this at the free initial meeting, not give out free advice. Also, accountants are right to have a scarcity mindset. Leads are not easy to come by without spending a lot of time and money on marketing. Recommendations from existing clients will only generate the occasional lead. Furthermore, the comparison with lawyers is a false one, as they tend to have one-off clients, and so it is not worth investing in free initial consultations. Accountants can get repeat work that could go on for decades, and so it is well worth spending time on initial consultations.

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By Andrew288
03rd Feb 2015 13:05

No regrets
Have always offered free first interview. First (instant) impressions are important and it is easy to determine if it worth going far with the first meeting. The first three minutes tend to determine the outcome. It is simple to end it quickly and politely if we are not the right fit for their requirements/attitude/expectations/budget. We are usually happy to refer them up or down in these circumstances.

If they are good prospects the time spent getting to know them without the pressure of the clock ticking is a very fulfilling and worthwhile investment.

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By David Delve
03rd Feb 2015 17:39

Standard Fixed Fee Checklist of requirements

I have always offered free advice and been caught too many times by "giving away the crown jewels" for nothing. So now its still free but before too long I whip out the preprinted form and fixed fee checklist that starts at £500. That soon sorts out the time wasters.

Then the ones I want have the £500 waived and we discuss the costs of the items on the checklist or other services required.

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Mark Lee headshot 2023
By Mark Lee
04th Feb 2015 07:11

Going beyond one's own experiences

A couple of respondents above seem to assume that everyone else operates the same was as they do.

My research across the web and my conversations with accountants suggest that there are plenty who do indeed publicise and offer free advice.  Some have misunderstood the distinction between a free meeting and free advice.

I agree with @JDBENJAMIN that the comparison with lawyers is a false one - indeed that's the point I sought to make in the article.

Mark

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By johnjenkins
04th Feb 2015 09:26

Very interesting point

Mark. I certainly assume that most Accountants operate the same way as me. That's because I was trained the "right" way and that together with my out going personality allows me to develop my business. Having been in Accountancy for 50 years I actually know what you have to have to be in practice. Your articles make me feel that there are people practicing out there that really should still be in training.

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By Ken of Chester le Street
04th Feb 2015 11:32

"the first hour is free"

I'm retired now, but I never ceased to be amazed at the new clients who had heard, and believed "The first hour is free". It wasn't.

I always used to ask for a copy of the previous accounts before taking on a client, possibly before the meeting.  There was one valuable piece of information- the accountancy charge!

 

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