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What makes your practice different?

14th Oct 2015
Brought to you by
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ICPA is a professional organisation for accountants in practice.

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Mark Lee considers how a typical small practitioner can differentiate their practice from the competition

When I talk with smaller practitioners, which I do most days, it’s clear that they share many challenges. One of these is especially apparent among those who are seeking to grow their client base. They often struggle to persuade prospects to engage them, rather than anyone else.

Sometimes this results in a defeatist attitude developing: we’re all the same. It’s all down to price. I want to win the work. I’ll lower my fees. Why am I still not winning enough new work?

Have you ever felt like that? I’m sorry, but in many cases it’s not really about the fees. Of course it is in some cases. But you need to decide whether you can afford to build your practice by continually taking on clients whose only interest is in paying the lowest possible fees. Personally I doubt that’s a sustainable business model in many cases.

Let’s ignore those people who simply ring around looking for the lowest quote. Everyone else is interested in what you can do for them, the value they will perceive and, often, personal chemistry. If your fees are higher than a rival’s the question then comes down to value for money.

You often can’t have that value for money discussion until you know what matters to the prospect. What are their past experiences of accountants? What did they like? What did they not like? What are they looking for from someone new? Are they looking to avoid fines and penalties that they have paid before when doing things themselves? The more you know about them the more you can tailor what you say to focus on what matters to them. Few of your competitors will have done that.

What makes you different to the accountant down the road? Lots of things, some of which you don’t know about. Because what makes you different in general is less important than what makes you different in ways that a specific prospect considers important. On my website and in my talks I share a simple seven-point ‘stand out’ framework. It highlights seven distinct principles you can adopt when you want to differentiate yourself from your competitors. Among these principles is what I refer to as ‘Conversational Impact’. It involves listening effectively so that what you talk about resonates better with prospects. It’s all about the differences that matter to them. And everyone’s different. If you can get this right, you’ll win more of the work you go for.

• Mark Lee, bookmarklee.co.uk

This article is taken from “Accounting Practice” the ICPA quarterly magazine. Dedicated to supporting and promoting the needs of the general practitioner. You can find us at www.icpa.org.uk or email [email protected] or by phone on 0800-074-2896

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