1. Business Development Academy for CPAs
Workshop #4
December 8, 2016
Presented by Art Kuesel

2. Today’s Workshop Review & Share Experiences
Building a Strong Personal Brand
Networking
Referral Source Mastery
Building our Action Plan for the Next 30 Days 2

3. Review & Share Experiences

4. Specialization is our Future
Source: CFO Magazine
Source: CFO Magazine

5. Niche Practice Growth 80% + 60% + Advisory Growth = Opportunity
Source: Accounting Today
Source: Accounting Today

6. Personal Branding: Like Creating Fame

7. Niche Services are Wedge Services
QUIZ: Which service fares better in getting an appointment with a busy CFO:
“Timely” tax services
Fraud detection and prevention

8. Q2: Referral Source Development
What’s in Quadrant 3?
Q3: Personal Brand Building
Consider a variety of specialties and niches
Talk to your mentor about your intentions
Identify clients in your firm you can be assigned to within your area
Identify top associations and organizations within these specialties and niches
Produce Thought Leadership
Discuss top strategies in associations/events for about 10 minutes
Q1: Client Development
Q2: Referral Source Development
Q3: Personal Brand Building
Q4: Prospect Development

9. Sample Elevator Speeches
Hi, I’m Art from ABC Firm, and I am an auditor. or Hi, I’m Art from ABC Firm and I help business owners gain access to expansion capital Hi, I’m Art from ABC Firm and I help business owners protect their businesses from fraud. Hi, I’m Art from ABC Firm and I consider myself a financial firefighter 9

10. Networking Mastery – Six Steps
Step 1: Planning and Preparation Step 2: Knowing How to Approach a Stranger Step 3: Starting a Conversation Step 4: Maintaining a Conversation Step 5: Exiting a Conversation Step 6: Follow-up 10

11. Step 4: Finding Commonalities11

13. Your Assignment was:
Thriller/Breadth/Depth/Cross-Serve/Referral Ask 2x
Personal Brand Building 2x
Network 2x 13

14. Success Stories! 2 Thriller/Month 2 Personal Brand Building/Month
2 Networking/Month 14

15. Referral Source Mastery How to create a network that provides a lifetime of leads

16. “A New Way of Thinking about Referrals”
A recent article written by Lee Fredericksen, Hinge Marketing
What do you think about his findings?
Where do you agree?
Where do you disagree?
Discuss top strategies in associations/events for about 10 minutes

17. > Your Four Quadrants for Personal BD Success
Q1: Client Development
Q2: Referral Source Development
Q3: Personal Brand Building
Q4: Prospect Development
This is the basic framework for an IMP. Your plan template goes deeper and has sub categories of these four quadrants. Let’s discuss each of these quadrants and think about how we can implement activities in each area of development.

18. Q2: Referral Source Development
What’s in Quadrant 2?
Q3: Referral Source Network
What do they look like?
Who’s in your network?
How many are there?
Where do you find the best ones?
How do you make them “produce?”
Discuss top strategies in associations/events for about 10 minutes
Q1: Client Development
Q2: Referral Source Development
Q3: Personal Brand Building
Q4: Prospect Development

19. Quadrant #2 = Referral Sources
Bankers
Attorneys (wide variety here)
Consultants/ Advisors
Insurance agents
Contract controllers/CFOs
Board members
Bonding agents
Financial advisors
Trust officers/Fiduciaries
TPAs
Relatives/Friends/Alumni
Other accountants!

20. Definition: Referral Source Network
A population of people who can refer you the type of clients that you desire.
PLUS: A population of people who can leverage their existing relationships to open doors for you.
PLUS: A population of people who have access to information that would be personally valuable to you in your marketing and business development pursuits.
YOUR REFERRAL SOURCE NETWORK IS BIGGER THAN YOU THOUGHT

21. Categories of Referral Sources
“A” Referral Sources
1-2 Referrals/Year (or more)
Consistent quantity annually
“A” referral sources give “A” referrals
In your “sweet spot”
Not competitive situations
75%+ chance you’ll get the work
Requires 4x Touches/year Minimum

22. Categories of Referral Sources
“B” Referral Sources
0-1 Good Referrals/Year
Inconsistent quantity or quality
“B” referral sources give “B” referrals
Not always in your sweet spot
Might be competitive
“I gave your name with others”
33-50% chance you’ll get the work
2x Touches/year -OR- 4x Touches/year

23. Categories of Referral Sources
“C” Referral Sources
Infrequent referrals
Poor quality referrals
Fake referrals
Highly competitive
Not in your sweet spot
1x or 0x Touches/year

24. Where to Find Good Referral Sources?
#1 Source Client Relationships! #2 Source Introductions through any current referral source or contact #3 Source Knowledge-based inquiries #99 Best Source Targeted networking

25. Maximize your Client COI
Your Clients COI Includes:
Bankers
Attorneys
Consultants/ Advisors
Insurance agents
Brokers/Traders
Relatives/Friends/Alumni
Board members
Bonding agents
Financial advisors
Trust officers/Fiduciaries
TPAs
Who else?

26. REMEMBER!
A critical component to your success (to get more referral sources and more referrals) will be your ability to clearly define what kind of clients you are looking for.

27. Define your IDEAL referral
Criteria include:
Size
Industry
Type (LLP/LLC/S-Corp)
HNW Individuals
Estate/Trust,
Family owned,
Specific geographic location
And more
Who has a clear and concise definition of the type of referrals they seek and would be willing to share?

28. Worksheet: Define your Ideal Referral
Now define your ideal referral. 28

29. Table Discussion: How do I ask for introductions to my client’s COI?

30. 2nd Best Source of new Referral Sources
Introductions through your existing contacts:
Any current referral source
Leaders at your firm
A mentor
LinkedIn Connections
A successful friend

31. How do I ask for introductions via my existing contacts?

32. 3nd Best Source of new Referral Sources
Knowledge based inquiries come from your personal brand:
Concentrated Knowledge & Expertise
Client Concentration
Speaking
Writing
Social Media
SEO/SEM
Website

33. 99th Best Source of new Referral Sources
Targeted networking
(I’m a bit tough on networking)
I’d love for you to work the other angles we discussed today before you rely on networking
For most of us, networking is a high anxiety and time intensive exercise
HOWEVER, with an effective approach like we discussed last month this can help you build referral sources

34. Quantity Needed to be Successful?
Most partners I work with have ___ (or fewer) A and B referral sources A good number to aspire to is ___ active A or B referral sources Rainmaking territory is ____ active referral sources

35. Making your Network Produce
Visible Expertise
Strong Relationships
Professional/Expertise
Personal/Social
3. Reciprocity
4. Frequency
5. Effective Personal Marketing Approach
6. Impressive Online Presence

37. ADD to your Plan Now: Quadrant 1
COI Asks to find referrals: Can you do 1/month?
Thrillers
Breadth
Depth
Cross-Sell
Referral Asks
COI Introduction Asks!
Who, What & When? 37

38. ADD to your Plan Now: Quadrant 2
Review your “advanced preparation worksheet.” Are you out of touch with any existing referral sources?
Plan to reconnect with 2/month
AND Consider your existing network – who can make introductions for you?
Plan to ask one person/month
Who & When? 38

39. ADD to your Plan Now: Quadrant 3
Do ONE MORE personal brand building activity in the next 30 days:
Consider some options
Talk to a mentor
Get assigned to clients
Join an association
Produce thought leadership
What & When? 39

40. ADD to your Plan Now: Quadrant 3
Plan to network ONCE MORE in the next 30 days:
Identify when/where
Identify your buddy
Set goals
Meet future clients and referral sources
Follow-up
What & When? 40

41. We must WORK our Plans to Succeed!
Call the BD Hotline if you get Stuck!

42. Resources www.kueselconsulting.com/BDAcademy Slides Tools Templates
Subscribe to my monthly blog too!

43. Reminder
Our Next Meeting: December January 12th 8:30 – 11:30am Ravinia Green Country Club 1200 Saunders Road Riverwoods, IL 60015

44. Thank you!
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