© U PSTREAM A CADEMY W ORLD C LASS T RAINING: G ETTING Y OUR F IRM O N T RACK P RESENTED BY S AM M. A LLRED, F OUNDER & D IRECTOR O F U PSTREAM A CADEMY B USINESS D EVELOPMENT : G ETTING B ETTER E VERY D AY P RESENTED BY S AM A LLRED D IRECTOR OF U PSTREAM A CADEMY

© U PSTREAM A CADEMY 2013 The focus of today’s Leadership Training Forum is business development. There is little doubt that the better a person becomes at business development, the more his/her career opportunities are enhanced. 2

© U PSTREAM A CADEMY 2013 P RESENTATION R OADMAP 1.Strategic thoughts about helping clients 2.Year 3 ELA participants respond to key questions 3.Question and answer session 3

© U PSTREAM A CADEMY 2013  S TRATEGIC T HOUGHTS A BOUT H ELPING C LIENTS 4

© U PSTREAM A CADEMY 2013 Quit thinking of business development as selling and start thinking of it as helping. How good are you at helping clients and prospective clients? 1. F OCUS O N H ELPING N OT S ELLING 5

© U PSTREAM A CADEMY 2013 Commit to becoming a helping expert. Set specific goals to become consistently better at helping clients and prospective clients. What are some things you can do to become a helping expert? 2. B ECOME A H ELPING E XPERT 6

© U PSTREAM A CADEMY 2013 While there are many strategies for building a successful accounting practice, few things will have greater impact than choosing to help the right clients. When all is said and done, the foundation of a world-class practice is selecting and retaining great clients. 3. L EARN T O H ELP T HE R IGHT C LIENTS 7

© U PSTREAM A CADEMY 2013 The only clients for whom you can provide A-level service for any length of time are A-level clients Your firm can be no better than its clients allow it to be Every firm has some bad clients Not all difficult clients are bad clients T HOUGHTS A BOUT A-L EVEL C LIENTS 8

© U PSTREAM A CADEMY 2013 Bad clients cost you a fortune Bad clients seem to live in Quadrant I The primary purpose of a client screening process is to detect as early as possible whether the prospect is A-level or D-level The only thing worse than pursuing a D- level client is landing one T HOUGHTS A BOUT A-L EVEL C LIENTS 9

© U PSTREAM A CADEMY 2013 Most individuals have a poor screening process for selecting new clients The idea of performing appropriate due diligence with prospective clients is foreign to many professionals Most individuals are better talkers than doers when it comes to culling D-level clients T HOUGHTS A BOUT A-L EVEL C LIENTS 10

© U PSTREAM A CADEMY 2013 Develop the courage to have direct conversations with clients and prospective clients about services and fee expectations. Foster a relationship of openness and honesty with those you serve so that they can have absolute trust in your abilities. 4. H AVE T HE D IFFICULT D ISCUSSIONS 11

© U PSTREAM A CADEMY 2013 Too many individuals in our profession shy away from difficult, straightforward discussions with clients and prospective clients. They seem so pleased to get the work that they appear frightened to bring up the issues of fees, invoices, and other critical expectations. 12

© U PSTREAM A CADEMY 2013 Recognize the power of becoming a great speaker/presenter. Speaking and presenting are two of the best ways to create great opportunities with A-level clients and prospects. 5. B ECOME A G REAT P RESENTER 13

© U PSTREAM A CADEMY 2013 Learn the principles of networking and discover the strategy of accomplishing what you want by helping others get what they want. 6. D EVELOP A N ETWORK S TRATEGY 14

© U PSTREAM A CADEMY 2013 Get really good at leading meetings and contributing in them, and you will find yourself in a lot of key meetings with clients and prospective clients. 7. B ECOME A M EETING G URU 15

© U PSTREAM A CADEMY 2013  Y EAR 3 ELA P ARTICIPANTS R ESPOND T O K EY Q UESTIONS 16

© U PSTREAM A CADEMY 2013 What would be the value of knowing your clients’ biggest issues? How would you discover these issues? Q UESTION 17

© U PSTREAM A CADEMY 2013 What are some marketing/business development mistakes that individuals in our profession make? Q UESTION 18

© U PSTREAM A CADEMY 2013 What are some things that every professional could do to become much better at business development? Q UESTION 19

© U PSTREAM A CADEMY 2013 What is the best way to ensure you are spending the majority of your business development time with A-level prospects? Q UESTION 20

© U PSTREAM A CADEMY 2013  Q UESTION A ND A NSWER S ESSION 21

© U PSTREAM A CADEMY 2013 Thank You! 22