Practical ideas, lessons learned and shared experiences for those in the world of CPA firm management, human resources, administration, marketing and technology.
I’ve been reading Jeffrey Gitomer’s books for years. When I was working actively inside a growing firm, I bought his Little Gold Book of Yes! Attitude for the entire administrative team. They read it and we talked about it as a group. If you admin team isn’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!
Firm leaders, you need to buy it and read it first then get copies for your entire team. Then talk about it with them at a series of lunch & learns.
Gitomer is trying his best to educate business people about social media and it’s power. I’m trying my best to get CPAs moving on their social media plan for 2012. Don’t wait until May or June to get started! January thru April is when your clients are looking to you (and your website, your blog, your tweets and your Facebook page) for information.
As for Gitomer and his message, listen to it over and over. I featured one of his videoslast week. Right now, spend 80 seconds watching this video. What are you going TO DO?
Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned.
How cool. ParenteBeard has written and released a story book for children about counting. I’m always talking to you about being unique, here’s a wonderful example.
As noted in the Philadelphia Business Journal, the Philadelphia-based Top 25 accounting firm is taking a different approach to the holiday season. They’ve got a message for the elementary school set.
The firm has published a charming children’s book called “Making the Holidays Count,” a story about a little girl who fears and hates math untill she meets up with a Christmas Carol-like “Countess” who shows her that numbers are really important and cool.
Last week the Parente Beard team members read the book and donated copies to the a local Boys and Girls Club in Philly.
Check out the PDF copy via the firm’s website. Oh yeah, the little girl’s dad is an accountant.
To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human variety, ideas, shared experience and the fruits of many inquiries.
Jennifer Wilson, Tamera Loerzel and the team at Convergence are launching a new program designed to prepare up-and-comers to lead and manage their firms. It’s called the Transformational Leadership Program and the first session begins in January, 2012.
One of my continual and strong recommendations to CPA firm leaders is to invest in the success of their people. This is one area where you cannot be miserly.
I’m not talking about the required technical tax and audit CPE that CPAs must have, I’m talking about an investment in the success of the firm, as a whole, because the people who are expected to manage, lead, motivate, inspire and set the example know exactly how to do it.
I’m talking about your Managing Partner – Does he/she have have a coach or mentor? Does he/she attend leadership and advanced management training. Read my post about “leading professional service firms” from 2010 and investigate the program offered at Harvard.
I’m talking about your Firm Administrator and your Human Resources professional – Does he/she have a coach or mentor? Does he/she attend MAP conferences (more than one per year)? Has he/she had the opportunity to develop a network of other firm administrators to use for advice and ideas. The Association for Accounting Administration is a MUST professional organization for professionals managing CPA firms. The AICPA also offers a Human Capital Forumannually, where HR professionals can build a network of advisors.
Your marketing professional should be a member of AAM and attend the national conference. Your technology professional inside the firm should be active in the Boomer Technology Circles.
And…. your future leaders should be building their own network of “professionals managing accounting firms” via leadership training specifically directed at the public accounting profession. State societies, the AICPA and proven, experienced advisors to the profession are offering such programs.
Take action! – Investigate them now.
There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when it's convenient. When you are committed to something, you accept no excuses; only results.
I get a lot of questions about the value of client feedback surveys. In fact, I’ll be writing a more focused look at the variety and style of client surveys used by firms in an upcoming newsletter article.
For today, here’s a method you might want to try. I call it “save the whale” and I learned it from a CPA firm marketing director many years ago.
Client feedback is just one part of the “building the client relationship” journey. To build a true, strong relationship you need face time.
Select a few of your huge, important-to-the-firm “A” clients, maybe two from each partner’s responsibility list. These are the “whales.”
Schedule a meeting with the owner or CEO and the firms managing partner/CEO, promising only to take 30 minutes of the owner’s time just to obtain some information about the firm’s relationship with the client. It is best if the MP actually calls the client directly rather than delegate it to an assistant. The MP does not have to know the client personally. In fact, this is a great way to give clients the chance to meet another partner level contact at the firm.
The MP takes a few standard questions along to ask the client, in person. And then just lets the client talk about their relationship with the firm, how it feels to them and if there is more the firm could do to better serve their needs. Of course, the MP explains how this feedback helps the firm to improve and provide even better service.
The MP returns to the office, debriefs with the partner-in-charge of the client relationship and records the answers to the 4 or 5 standard questions so all the data can be analyzed later.
Managing Partners, make this a routine, quick and easy practice. Do one or two a month on an on-going basis. This type of activity is what a managing partner SHOULD be doing – listening to the firm’s client base and providing important feedback to each of the firm’s partners.
He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.
I like to believe I am a communicator and a connector for people working the the public accounting profession.
I realize that my clients, CPA firms and the people who lead them, are very busy taking care of their own clients and their own firms – so I try to take care of them.
One way I take care of clients and readers is, of course, via this blog and my monthly newsletter. Both are intended to trigger CPA firm leaders into action! Of course, clients get more personal contact and involvement from me – you should consider becoming one.
As for today’s topic – what other CPA firms are doing. I like to feature innovative, proactive firms on this blog and today is a great example.
I have known David King of Barfield, Murphy, Shank & Smith for many years and have admired his efforts in designing a workplace that is unique in public accounting.
Here’s an example – watch the career video on their website and listen to how two of their own team members describe the firm.
I’ve been nagging you for two years now on the importance of your website and this year it has become even more imperative that your site is cool.
I have been blogging every business day for nearly six years on ONE topic – CPA firm management. That’s a lot of writing (and thinking). I want YOU to write, too.
I encourage:
CPA firm partners to blog about tax and accounting issues for their clients, prospects and referral sources.
CPA firm managing partners to tweet or blog for their team members.
CPA firm department heads to blog or tweet for their team members to aid in improving communication inside the firm.
CPA firm administrators or HR directors to do a campus blog for future employees.
CPA firm administrators to blog or tweet for their admin team.
As I talk with CPAs on this topic, I usually get the question, “What do I write about?”
My ideas come from everywhere….. if I read an article about almost any business topic, it automatically transforms itself into a focus on the CPA profession in my mind.
For all of you who ask me, “Where do you get your ideas?” and “What do I write about?” here’s a great blog post by Jessica Levin that highlights some of the best tools for finding content. Jessica is Chief Connector of Seven Degrees Communications.
Write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow.
It happened againthis fall. I received a birthday card from Southwest Airlines. Annually, I also receive free drink tickets in the mail from Southwest. To put it in descriptive terms, I am one of a zillion customers.
How do you feel when you receive a handwritten note in the mail? Do you open it first or save it for last? I bet you must admit that any piece of mail in your daily stack that appears to be handwritten gets your attention.
Now for the big question…… how many clients do you have? Let’s narrow it down a bit, how many business clients do you have? If Southwest can keep track of my birthday, certainly you can do the same for your much smaller group of clients. By the way, this is called marketing. Simple. Easy. Valuable
What about your employees? Do they get a birthday greeting from you?
Here’s a simple idea. Most cities have local candy makers or you can find one online. Arrange to have a small box of chocolates sent to the team member’s home on their birthday. We did this at my firm for many years. A local candy maker sent a 4-piece box of candy with a small, handwritten, note that said Happy Birthday. Team members loved it, often sought me out just to say how much they enjoyed it and how every year their family watched for the small package in the mail. Simple. Easy. Valuable.
Why not send your “A” clients a handwritten thank-you note at the end of every engagement. If you want specifics on how to make it happen, see a post I did back in 2006 – The Little Things – Thank-you Notes.
There has been a lot written lately about civility in the workplace. Make a list of things you could do at your CPA firm that are simple, easy and valuable – for you clients and your team. Then, do them.
A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money.
In talking with many firm leaders this fall, the main theme seems to remain the same – - they want more business. While almost every firm is hiring and looking for great performers, that is not yet the most urgent topic.
At a recent conference session involving small to mid-size firms, I was amazed at the lack of understanding among the participants of how marketing for CPA firms has changed. While there is still a strong need for many of the traditional marketing activities, a firm’s web presence is so important and so misunderstood.
A term I use to help practitioners move forward on both fronts is – Create A Buzz About Your Firm.
My monthly newsletter, Solutions For CPA Firm Leaders, features two articles this month that will help you create a buzz about your firm. If you didn’t receive your copy yesterday,sign-up here.
Yesterday, at the NCACPA Professional Women’s Conference in Greensboro, Denise Ryan of FireStar Speaking, gave the audience of over 200 female CPAs Tips for Breaking the Ice in her session titled Networking for Results.
Denise’s contributions to the event definitely made it both fun and valuable.
Here’s are some of the tips to help you walk into a room full of strangers and easily start conversations. These tips work for women and men. And, remember my advice – - always take a young accountant/CPA with you to networking events and let them shadow you.
Look for visual clues (do they have their company’s name badge on?)
Sincere compliment (those are great shoes, nice tie, etc.)
Common experience (are you looking for Diet Coke, too?)
Ask for help (this is my first time at this event, where are the restrooms?)
Smile (when you smile people want to talk to you)
Evesdrop (did I hear you talking about Joe’s Pizza, it’s my favorite, too.)
Ask about them (tell me about your business)
And, as Denise noted and I agree: First impressions are more important than you think.
A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue. That's why there are so few good conversations: due to scarcity, two intelligent talkers seldom meet.
