Rights Contact Login For More Details
More About This Title Becoming a Trusted Business Advisor: How To Add Value, Improve Client Loyalty, and Increase Profits
English
Being your clients’ Most Trusted Business Advisor is not about selling and making pitches. It’s really about showing an interest in your clients, asking the kind of questions that will help you learn what is important to them, and then listening. Based on the AICPA’s successful Trusted Business Advisor Program and intended for CPAs who want to take their consulting practice to the next level, this workbook provides approaches to help you do just that.
By the time you finish working through the book’s helpful forms and exercises you will be better able to:
- have critical conversations with your clients
- ask the right questions effectively
- be a better listener
- easily identify services that will add value to your clients’ organizations
- avoid administrative pitfalls throughout the process
- effectively market your services, and
- profitably grow your practice
Find out how to uncover critical client needs in ten minutes or less, how to help your clients prioritize their wish lists, and how to help them quantify the value of addressing each of the issues that keep them awake at night!
English
Bill Reeb has been consulting for over three decades to all sizes of businesses, from mom and pop operations to Fortune 100 companies. Prior to his life as a CPA, he worked for IBM in sales in the late 1970s. As an entrepreneur, he has founded seven small businesses, from retail to software development to advisory work. An award-winning public speaker, Reeb lectures throughout the United States. and Canada to thousands of executives and CPAs each year. As an award-winning author, he is internationally published, with numerous magazines, journals, newspapers, and books to his credit. Besides Securing the Future, Reed and his partner Dom Cingoranelli have also authored Becoming a Trusted Business Advisor: How to Add Value, Improve Client Loyalty, and Increase Profits.
Dom Cingoranelli is a consultant whose engagements over the last three decades includes organizational development work for CPA firms and associations, as well as on construction projects for the Big Three auto makers; for regional, national, and international contractors; and for organizations in a variety of other industries. He has performed strategy consulting and planning; process improvement studies; management consulting, training, and development; team building; coaching; and group process facilitation for a variety of groups. He co-authored Securing the Future and Becoming a Trusted Business Advisor: How to Add Value, Improve Client Loyalty, and Increase Profits, as well as the AICPA PCPS Succession Resource Center and Trusted Business Advisor Resource Center. Cingoranelli has also written numerous articles and CPE offerings on executive recruiting, performance management, leadership, planning, and organizational culture. He speaks frequently on management and consulting topics throughout the country.
English
Section 1: The CPA as Most Trusted Business Advisor
Chapter 1: Becoming Your Clients’ Most Trusted Business Advisor 2
Overview 3
Frequently Asked Questions about the MTBA Role 4
Organization of This Text 9
It’s Time 11
Chapter 2: The Changing Profession 12
The World Continues to Change 13
The Profession Is Continuing to Be Reshaped 13
The Commoditization of Traditional Services 15
Unbundling Services 17
Moving to the Future 18
The AICPA’s Position on Advisory and Consulting Services 19
What About Attest Clients? 21
Incorporating the MTBA Framework Into Your Daily Routine 22
Who Should Become an MTBA? 23
The Minimum Transition Requirement for Moving to MTBA Status 38
Chapter 3: Making the Transition to Most Trusted Business Advisor: How and Why 39
The Essence of the Most Trusted Business Advisor Framework 40
Obstacles or Opportunities 40
Our Answers to the Questions and Objections 41
Fees and Pricing Issues 41
Positioning Issues 42
Workload Issues 42
Addressing These Issues 45
Compensation Systems 45
Clients and Fees 45
Stop Giving Away Work 48
Technology 49
Managerial Leadership 49
The General Contractor Model 50
More on the Opportunities of an MTBA 51
Revenue Growth 51
Account Control 54
The MTBA Framework Is a Logical Role for CPAs 55
The Market Has Changed 55
Organizational Opportunities 56
To Answer the Question 57
Chapter 4: The General Contractor Model 59
Using the General Contractor Model 60
The Role of MTBA 60
The General Contractor Role 61
GC Case Study 61
Skills Required for the GC Role 63
Will People Pay Me to Function as a GC? 64
Case Study 65
Important Nuances of the GC Approach 66
Being a GC Means More Than Just Referring Someone 66
Bill for Your Time 67
Build Your Subcontractor Network 67
Benefits of a Strong Subcontractor Network 68
Your True Value as MTBA and GC 68
Your Need to Stay Involved as MTBA and GC 68
Your Role as GC in Dealing With Subcontractors 68
Final Thoughts on the GC Model 69
Section 2: The MTBA Framework
Chapter 5: Developing Your Self Skills 72
Treating the Symptoms 73
What is Your Emotional I.Q.? 74
Taking Down the Barriers 76
Self-Esteem: The Greatest Obstruction to More Effective Communication 77
Communicating With Your Friends 78
Self-Esteem: Awareness Goes a Long Way 80
Failure: A Sign of Real Growth 81
Your Attitude Makes a Big Difference 84
Recapping Some Potentially New Ideas 86
Before You Move On 87
Chapter 6: Refining the Most Important MTBA Tool: Communications 89
Communication Foundation 92
Making a Good First Impression 92
Interpreting Nonverbal Messages 93
Ask Questions 99
Take Notes and Refer to Them Often 99
Ask Only One Question at a Time 101
Ask Open-Ended Questions 101
Probing and Follow-Up Questions 103
Don’t Forget to Use the Global Functions as Your Questioning Checklist 104
Avoid the Impulse to Announce Quick Solutions 109
Your Job Isn’t to Have Answers 111
Listen Actively 113
Clarification and Paraphrasing for Understanding 117
Does Gender Make a Difference? 117
In Conclusion 118
Before You Move On 118
Chapter 7: Advanced Communication Skills: Working as a Facilitative Advisor Instead of as a Technical Expert 130
Show Me the Money!—Quantification 131
The Omnipotent Advisor: A Relationship You Can’t Count on Having as Well as a Risk You Can’t Afford 134
If This Is So Straightforward, Then Why the Opposition? 136
Perspective is the Key 137
Different Approaches Are Necessary for the Advisory (MTBA) and Expert Advice Roles 138
The Hierarchy of Sources 140
Before You Move On 142
Chapter 8: Delivering Value-Added Services 146
Cash, Capacity, and Capability 147
The Balancing Act 151
How Do You Find the Right Balance? 152
A Simple Format 153
What If the Client Doesn’t Want to Do the Leg Work! 154
The End Result 154
Estimating the Project: Pricing Approaches 154
Commissions and Contingent Fees: Where Do They Fit in? 160
Before We Move On 161
Chapter 9: Advanced Advisory Skills and Practices: Conducting Effective Sales Calls With Clients and Prospects 167
Where We’ve Come From 168
Going Even Further 168
The Structured Discovery Call 169
The Structured Sales Call 169
The Structured Consulting or
Advisory Call 169
Uncovering Relevant Information 170
The Structured Discovery Call 173
The Sales Process 180
Feature, Benefit, Result 181
The Structured Sales Call 182
The Closing Phase of the Sales Call 191
Service Delivery 199
The Structured Consulting or Advisory Call 199
The Number One Failing 206
Before We Move On 207
The Discovery Call Role Play 207
Paper Closing Exercise 209
Sales Call (Information Gathering or Branch) Exercise 209
Self-Assessment 210
Section 3: Administrative and Organizational Issues
Chapter 10: Billing and Engagement Considerations 223
Tracking Your Time for Billing
Purposes 224
Time and Charges Approach 224
Project Billing Approach 228
Value Billing Approach 229
Frequency of Billing 231
Survey Information You Might Find
Interesting in This Context 232
Gaining an Edge on Being Paid for Your
Involvement 236
The Value of Advisory Fees Is More
Subjective 237
Sometimes When Senior Management Asks You What the Problem Is, You Have to Tell Them That They Are the Problem 238
Project Deadlines Are Internally Generated 238
Client Commitment Is Imperative 238
Retainers Aren’t a Panacea 239
Asking for a Retainer 240
How Much Retainer Should You Ask for? 242
Summary Regarding Retainers 242
Proposals 243
Typical Proposal Structure 245
Attachments 248
Engagement Letters 248
Section 4: Identifying and Marketing Your Services
Chapter 11: Two Approaches to Providing Advisory and Consulting Services 256
Understand to Whom the Service Is Targeted 258
Building Your Fortress’ Wall of Services 262
Building the Wall Profitably 264
In the Real World 265
Building the Empire 266
Determining the Most Appropriate Services: The Notion of Synergy 268
We’re Doing both and It Seems to Be Working Fine 273
Don’t Get Complacent 275
Stay on Top of Your Marketing Focus 275
A Summary of the Differences 276
It’s Time to Make the Determination 278
Before We Move On 278
Chapter 12: Marketing Your Firm and Your Services 283
Developing a Marketing Strategy 285
Developing Your Marketing Plan 286
Understand Your Market 286
Understand What You Are Selling 287
Determine Your Objectives 288
Fine Tune Your Target Audience 289
Fine Tune Your Message 295
The Role of Exposure 296
Choose Which Exposure Vehicles Are Best for Your Organization 297
Monitor the Results 316
Don’t Let Marketing Get Out of Hand 317
Manage Your Marketing Time 318
Marketing Must Be Planned 319
Everyone Has to Be Accountable to Someone for Marketing to Work 319
Customer Relationship Management 321
Where Your Firm Is in Its Life Cycle Matters Too 322
Before You Move On 323
Section 5: Putting It All Together
Chapter 13: Facilitating Your Clients’ Meetings 344
Our Role in Meeting Facilitation 345
Stay Neutral—Do Not Take Sides 345
Manage the Process 346
Help the Group Stick to Its Guidelines 346
Help Stay on Track and Keep Moving Along 347
Ensure All Are Heard 347
Provide Concepts and Comments When Useful 347
Suggest Procedures 348
The Bottom Line About Our Role 348
Types of Meetings 349
Problem Definition Meetings .349
Decision Analysis Meetings 350
Implementation Planning Meetings 351
Process Facilitation: Facilitating Your Clients’ Meetings 353
Gaining a Shared Understanding of Objectives, Agenda, and Approach 355
Expectations and Concerns 355
Keeping Everyone Focused on the Matters at Hand 356
Processes to Help Your Group Be Productive 356
Dealing With Difficult Behavior 358
Meeting Management 360
Utilizing the Minimum Decision Resource to Make Decisions: Who Should Be Making the Decision? 362
The Bottom Line 365
The Right People, the Right Number, and the Right Climate 365
Effective Group Presentation Techniques 366
Control Your Eyes 367
Be Aware of Your Posture 368
Use Gestures to Give Emphasis and Avoid Appearing Stiff 368
Project Your Voice 368
Clear Your Visual Aids 369
Using PowerPoint or Other Presentation Packages 369
Look, Then Turn and Speak 370
Silence Is Powerful 370
Handling Questions 371
Practice Creates a Path to Comfort 373
Before We Move On 374
Conclusion 377
Appendix A: Sample Timed Agenda 380
Appendix B: Food for Thought for CPAs Regarding Facilitating Client Meetings 382
