Adding Value – Is Your Firm Doing Enough?

We often ask firms that are clients of GPL, typically what would have been the last 5 pieces of communication that you have sent to your clients? As you would expect, the mix is slanted heavily to compliance or governance issues. Common items such as BAS Statements, Annual Returns, CGT Returns, Annual Accounts and Withholding Tax Statements are at the forefront with the occasional newsletter (often heavily accounting based) and the odd client specific industry article.

In a time of high skill shortage and therefore constant demand on keeping our fee earners highly productive, we can lose focus on why many of us went in to business in the first place – that is to help business people improve their business and ultimately their lifestyle.

Making the decision to add value in a focused and consistent manner is a relatively easy decision.
The big question is what to offer and how to offer it to clients?

At GLP Network we certainly support firms that are driven at making business development or management consulting a key revenue stream in their practice. However we believe that for most firms this type of service should be used as an added value service, designed to achieve leverage, that is, low cost to your firm and high value to your clients.

You should be aiming to provide all of your business clients with resources, tools and encouragement to improve both themselves and their businesses. However with high price tags on providing this service on a one on one basis, many clients will deselect themselves and miss out on what you have to offer.

Correlation to Growth: We have found that firms that choose to provide business development services as an added value service rather than an income generating division have found that it results in a direct link to increased accounting fees.

These firms put this down to 4 main reasons:

1. As more clients get access to the material, we find that a higher percentage will have some additional work for us. Even though the dollar value may not be significant, collectively the fees do add up.
2. We find that as our clients appreciate what we are doing, they tend to refer more business to us. Many business people are still looking for a more pro-active accounting firm.
3. As our clients actually implement the strategies, they tend to improve and seek more help.
4. Our spheres of influences also see us being more pro-active than your typical firm and if they have a choice on where to send a client, there is more chance the lead will come to us.

So at GPL Network, we encourage our firms to deliver business development services as part of the overall CLIENT NURTURING strategy of the practice.

Make it a point of measuring what percentage of communication leaving your office is compliance based and what percentage is management focused or value added.

GPL Network has many resources on offer to assist you with this pursuit. Here’s a quick snapshot at 3 of these items:

1) GPL Business Tips: If you are a Coaching Client of GPL Network you will have access to the GPL Business Tips Program. This includes 26 articles that you can email to your clients fortnightly through out the year to keep them focused on ways they can be improving their business. These all relate to either Growth, Profit or Liquidity improvement.
2) GPL CD – ROM Business Programs. Again GPL Coaching Clients will have access to 18 CD Rom Training Programs that you can distribute to your clients. Firms are now choosing to have these CD’s displayed in their reception area and available online to their clients through their web page.
3) GPL CLIENT LEADERSHIP EVENTS: GPL Network provides a 4-hour event called ‘7 Essentials of Leadership’ exclusively for clients of accounting firms. You’ll receive a full Information Kit on CD Rom, covering a step-by-step approach on how to invite your clients along to this event. Tickets are paid for by your clients, so it does not cost your firm a cent. The Information Kit comes with invitation letters, brochures and follow up letters, everything you need is included. This program is available to all firms that have attended a GPL Network event and is highly recommended as it positions your firm as a pro-active company looking to help clients grow and prosper.

Hopefully this has stimulated you to think about what you are doing right now to add value? What can you do to improve this process?

GPL’s Client Leadership Events will be run through major capital cities on the East Coast of Australia in October 2005.

If you are interested in inviting clients along, click on our web site for more information or contact us on (07) 5529-6066.

The dates and venues for Client Leadership are as follows:

All events run from 5:00pm to 9.15pm:

The GPL Network provides NON technical manager training exclusively for the Accounting Industry. For more information on next training day in your city please email admin@gplnetwork.com