Becoming a Trusted Advisor to your Clients DZH Phillips July 2015 Presented by Art Kuesel

Art Kuesel, President EXPERIENCE  Sales Executive  3 years inside $60M CPA firm  5 years inside $25M CPA firm  6 years at PDI/Koltin Consulting  2.5 years at Kuesel Consulting EXPERTISE Leadership and Sales Coaching Sales/Marketing Training EXPERTISE (Cont.) Keynotes, Presentations, Workshops on Growth Growth Plan Development/Implementation Managing Partner Coaching Sales & Marketing Recruiting STREET CRED →Top 100 Most Influential Person in Public Accounting: 2014 →In-house and external experience →Clients include scores of T250 Firms including a third of the T100 →Frequent writer and blogger for Accounting Today →Accomplished speaker and presenter on growth trends 2

2

Today’s Workshop 1. What’s a Trusted Advisor? 2. Top Client Relationship Killers and Thrillers 3. Building Trust with Clients 4. Developing More and Deeper Relationships with your Clients (and their COI) 5. Recognizing Clues & Triggers 6. Cross-Selling 4 4

What’s a Trusted Advisor?

Define it! 6

Characteristics Include First person who is asked for help Respected for knowledge/opinion Reliable Responsive Likable! ____________________ 7

How can we get there? 8

Top Client Killers

10 DZH Phillips Client 2012 – 2015 R.I.P.

Top Ways to Kill Client Relationships 1.Ignoring your gut when it tells you that something isn’t right with the relationship or client (ask the tough questions and have open and honest discussions when necessary.) 2.Telling a client what you think they want to hear vs. what they really need to know 3.Not working well or being responsive to internal accounting staff, owners, or any other party 11

Top Ways to Kill Client Relationships 4.Not understanding billing needs, fee tolerance of client & doing too much too soon and ignoring client budget 5.Not having a relationship with multiple owners when applicable and appropriate 6.Being perceived as taking sides between owners/parties or multiple generations 12

Top Ways to Kill Client Relationships 7.Blaming others: “can’t get this job out of QC”; mail room sent return to wrong address, having staffing challenges, deadline compression, etc. 8.Being satisfied with a compliance relationship 9.Not being proactive with ideas that can help save the client money, create greater efficiency, reduce risk, reduce liability, etc. (the client comes to you with more ideas than you bring to them) 13

Top Ways to Kill Client Relationships 10.Making repetitive mistakes, being late with deliverables, last minute deliverables, being late for meetings, using electronics during client meetings, bad body language such as poor posture and a weak handshake 11.Poor internal communication among team 12.Fail to acknowledge a question or inquiry 13.Not knowing and having a relationship with the client circle of influence 14

The Number one Way to Kill a Client Relationship? Not knowing or understanding the expectations of the client!

Top Client Thrillers

17 DZH Phillips is AMAZING!

Top Ways to Thrill your Clients 1.Taking client to lunch, coffee, drink, etc. 2.Seize opportunities that arise from client life situation (marriage, divorce, anniversary, birthday, birth of child) 3.Do things without charge that add value and “claim” credit 4.Meet on nights, early am, weekends, whatever is necessary to accommodate their schedule 18

Top Ways to Thrill your Clients 5.Remind them about due dates 6.Be proactive with ideas that can help save the client money, create greater efficiency, reduce risk, reduce liability, etc. and quantify the value of those ideas 7.Know what is important to them professionally (know their strategic objectives, plans, goals, etc.) 19

Top Ways to Thrill your Clients 8.Know what is important to them personally! 9.Know and have relationships with their circle of influence (banker/financer, attorney, professional advisors) 10.Be hyper responsive, acknowledge questions and inquiries quickly 11.Deliver on-time every time 20

Top Ways to Thrill your Clients 12.Send them notes/ s with articles, newsletters, and other items that show that you are invested 13.Make the client feel important in front of his/her family (tickets to special events) 14.ID future problems, help save them from themselves 15.Take responsibility for what goes wrong 21

The Number One Way to Thrill a Client? Under Promise and Over Deliver!

Can you thrill one client a week this summer? Who is it and what will you do over the next several weeks? 23 Action Plan Development [A]

Building Trust with Clients

Trust is Scarce! We are taught NOT to trust (if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is) Mother taught us to be AFRAID of strangers We are bombarded with communication and our personal filter CANNOT discern what’s accurate and what is not Look at the rise of Yelp, TripAdvisor, and other “independent” ratings sites! Trust takes a long time to build but can be shredded in one interaction 25

The Speed of Trust – Stephen Covey 26

Three Basic Building Blocks of Trust 1.Clients need to like you 2.Clients need to respect you 3.Clients need to have repetitive positive experiences with you 27

Building Blocks of Trust 1: Clients need to like you! Find commonalities, exhibit care and concern, demonstrate active engagement in the relationship Show loyalty – acknowledge contributions of others Demonstrate respect – be genuine (it’s easy to tell) Right wrongs – “service recoveries” 28

Building Blocks of Trust 2: Clients need to respect you! Having broad or deep knowledge in subject matter Introduce others of value to them – be a connector Talk straight – be honest and call things what they are Create transparency – be open and authentic and err on the side of disclosure Be a great communicator 29

Building Blocks of Trust 3: Clients need to have repetitive positive experiences with you! Understand where your relationship is and work to deepen it – go from a B- to an A- Look long-term in your scope (trust is not generated overnight) Clients need to feel that you have their best interest in mind at all times Clients need several consecutive experiences with positive results Clients need to see you add value to the relationship without expecting 30

Do you need to build or establish more trust with one or more clients? Who is it and what will you do? 31 Action Plan Development [B]

Relationship Breadth and Depth

Relationship Breadth: Firm A Partner 33 Firm A Client Generation 1 Owner

Relationship Breadth: Firm B Partner Manager IT Consultant Accounting Services 34 Firm A Client Generation 1 Owner CFO Generation 2 Owner Office Manager

Relationship Breadth: Firm A Partner 35 Firm A Client Generation

Relationship Breadth: Firm B Partner Manager IT Consultant Accounting Services 36 Firm A Client Generation 1 Owner CFO Generation 2 Owner Office Manager

Benefits of Relationship Breadth Relationship Breadth:  Insulates against unfortunate accidents  Creates a stronger web between us and our clients  Increases cross-selling opportunities  Fuels more referrals  Drives greater long-term retention  What else? 37

38

Common types of relationships we should seek connections with Banker/Financier VCs Attorney – Corporate, Trust/Estate, Employment Boards of Directors Committees – Tax, audit, internal audit 39 Consultants/Professional Advisors P&C Insurance Real Estate Broker Bonding Agency Key Vendors, Top Clients Who else? 39

Asking for introductions to these people 1.Can you help me? 2.I’d like to serve you better… In order to do this, I need to have stronger relationships with your. This could enable. Plus, if you know and trust them, I am sure they would be someone that I could benefit from a relationship with. 3.How have you done this? 40

Relationship DEPTH: Would you fire your friend? Q: In general, the stronger the relationships we have with our clients, the (easier/harder) it is to leave us.

It’s much easier to fire your accountant, than it is to fire your friend! Benefits of Client Friendships:  Fuels more referrals  Drives greater long-term retention  Increases trust  Insulates you against mistakes  Accelerates your trusted advisor status  What else? 42

Do you have relationships (breadth or depth) you need to target and build? Who and where? When will you get it done by? 43 Action Plan Development [C] 43

Recognizing Clues and Triggers What are your clients telling you without telling you?

Defining Clues and Triggers If you’ve done a good job developing your client relationships, you will be in an excellent position to hear and observe clues and triggers Clue: Something a client says that indicates there is a need for an additional service Trigger: An event that happens with a client that triggers the need for an additional service 45

Which firm Drives more Cross-Selling Growth? FIRM A / 30 People 3 people who recognize and understand how to capitalize on clues and triggers 27 remaining people not really engaged in the marketing and sales process 46

Which firm Drives more Cross-Selling Growth? FIRM B / 30 People 30 people who recognize and understand how to capitalize on clues and triggers 0 people unaware of how they can help 47

Recognizing Clues/Triggers Four Steps: 1.KNOW OUR SERVICES 2.Be Actively Engaged in the Relationship. Have your Antenna Up! 3.Engage 4.ACT 48

Common Clues You May Hear Clues…  I wish…  I’m having trouble with…  I can’t seem to…  Our competition is…  I’m concerned about…  This trend is scaring me… 49

Triggers You May Encounter Triggers  Recent sale, merger, or divestiture  New facility, building, land, physical expansion, etc.  New division, product or service line, niche, focus  Owner retiring, succession to another generation, ESOP  Physical expansion into new markets  Rapid growth in number of employees  Significant changes in cash flow, payables, receivables, financing, profitability  Addition or subtraction of a key competitor 50

What to do when you hear a clue or recognize a trigger Engage  How is that affecting you?  How does that make you feel?  What are the biggest challenges that come along with that?  What do you see as the opportunities that surround that situation?  What are you doing about it? 51

What to do when you hear a clue or recognize a trigger ACT 1) I believe we’ve helped other clients with similar challenges, can I introduce you to XYZ? -or- 2) I believe we can help you, but I’m not the expert on it. Can I get back to you later today or tomorrow with more information? 52

Detour Approach 1.KNOW OUR SERVICES 2.Be Actively Engaged in the Relationship. Have your Antenna Up! 3.Engage 4.Bring the information back to the office and talk with the relationship partner about what you heard. 53

…HAVE a strong relationship! …KNOW the services we offer! …KNOW what’s important to your clients! …ENGAGE when appropriate! …DO something with the information! 54 PS. This Only Works if you… 54

Let’s go through some common clues and triggers and their corresponding services… 55 Uncovering Opportunities 55

Clues & Triggers Clue/TriggerPotential Opportunity 1. CFO is looking to hire a controller 2. Controller quit 3. CFO quit 56

Clues & Triggers Clue/TriggerPotential Opportunity 1.Controller complains about reporting capabilities from current financial software and that current systems don’t talk to each other 57

Clues & Triggers Clue/Trigger Potential Opportunity 1. Acquisition or divestiture 58

Clues & Triggers Clue/TriggerPotential Opportunity 1. New facility/building 2. New international venture 3. New funding or investors 4. Retirement or succession 59

Did you recently hear a clue, or observe a trigger that would indicate an opportunity? 60 Action Plan Development [D] 60

Cross-Selling as a Retention Tool and Key Benefit to the Client Cross-selling = greater client retention? Clients benefit from Cross-selling?

If you are bringing new ideas to your clients you are being… a)Proactive b)Not proactive 62

With an existing compliance relationship you are likely to be cross-selling… a)Higher value services b)Lower value services 63

When clients switch CPA firms a common complaint is… a)My firm was just too proactive b)My firm wasn’t proactive 64

Cross-Selling creates.. a)Stronger client relationships b)Weaker client relationships 65

Who is generally easier to sell to? a)Client or b)Non-Client 66

What percentage of annual growth can come from cross-selling? a)5% b)15% c)25% d)33% e)50% or more 67

The more opportunities you have to delight your clients with high value services… a)The more likely you are to receive referrals b)The less likely you are to receive referrals 68

Art, do my clients really want me to approach them with ideas? When asked if buyers had an interest in one or more additional services from their current firm XX% responded YES… …but when asked if buyers understood the full range of services offered by their current firm only XX% responded YES.  Implication: We are missing out on valuable opportunities to educate our clients about our services, and cross-sell additional business (Source: Hinge Marketing) 69

Art, do my clients really want me to approach them with ideas? When asked HOW the client would prefer to learn about a new service that could benefit their business, XX% responded they would prefer a face-to-face meeting with senior leadership to discuss recommendations  Implication: Our clients want us to make recommendations that will help their business (Source: Hinge Marketing) 70

Why is Cross-Selling Absolutely Critical to Long-Term Client Relationships? 71

72

73

Rewards/Risks: Compare for Yourself Rewards  We build great relationships with clients to enable cross-selling  A significant component of your growth can come from cross-selling  It’s easier to sell to current clients than to prospects  Bringing ideas to the client shows you are proactive and interested in their success  Most often we are INCREASING the value we can offer through selling high-value services  More high value services = more referrals due to outstanding results  More services = greater retention and profitability 74

Rewards/Risks: Compare for Yourself Risks  Not cross-selling creates a perception of not being proactive  Clients expect us to offer suggestions that can help them – not cross-selling is a disservice  Most clients don’t know our full capabilities anyway  Not cross-selling reduces referrals  Not cross-selling means we may only have a compliance relationship  Not cross-selling reduces long-term retention and profitability 75

Kuesel Consulting Inc.

Cross-Selling: Process and Tools

The Cross-Selling Matrix 78 DZH Phillips Client Service Matrix Client Name: Client Number: Engagement Partner: Engagement Team Members: Service AreasYes In discussio n Not ApplicableIn-houseDeclined Assurance Services Audit Review Compilation Internal Controls Review Agreed-upon Procedures Financial Projections Tax Compliance Tax Return Preparation (personal and business) Integrated Tax and Investment Advisory Planning IRS Issues Sales and Use Tax Consultation FASB 109 State Tax Issues (multi-tax) Employee Benefit Plan Consultation Tax Planning 78

The Cross-Selling Matrix is… An assessment of opportunities based upon the clients’ current and potential services that allows us to: PLAN our relationships with our best clients Be PROACTIVE with service offerings Create greater stickiness and client retention Deliver greater value to clients Improve profitability 79

Process 1. ID a “top” relationship with general opportunity for growth 2. Review service offerings, select “yes=being delivered” or “In discussion” or “not applicable” or “in-house” or “declined” 3. Complete the notes section, focusing on opportunities 4. Build your action plan for each opportunity identified 5. Plan your approach with each client 80 The Cross-Selling Process 80

Cross-Selling: Starting the Conversation

Cross-Selling Convo Starters… Clues/triggers:  Any reverberation of a clue/trigger is a great entry point for cross-selling! 82

Cross-selling convo starters… Service/Trend based questions  How are you managing internal controls?  Are you moving any of your systems, programs, processes to the cloud?  How are you planning to implement the ACA?  Are you considering expanding cross- border?  What else? 83

Cross-selling convo starters… About their business based questions  “What’s in your annual business plan this year?”  “What’s been keeping you up at night?”  “What key goals are you seeking to accomplish this year?”  What else? 84

Cross-selling convo starters… About them based questions  How did the recession change your plans for retirement?  What are the key drivers for you in succession planning?  How are you planning for college savings for children/grandchildren?  What else? 85

Do you have a client you’d like to take through the cross-selling matrix? Do you have a client with a need you need to talk to them about? 86 Action Plan Development [E]

Place client logo here 87

We must WORK our Plan to Succeed! 88

Thank you! For tools, resources, and a monthly blog subscription on marketing, sales, and growth topics go here: Or contact Art: