How would you answer these questions:
- Tell me about your firm
- What makes you different?
- Why do client’s come to your firm?
- What value do they get from your services?
It would not be surprising if you struggled a little to come up with your answers. CPA firms, particularly small and mid sized, tend not to spend a lot of time and effort thinking about marketing and sales. We’d prefer to think of ourselves as trusted advisors and mine our Centers of Influence, Rolodex and vCards for new business opportunities.
How’s that working out for you? If the answer is great, then congratulations – you are one of the lucky ones. For those who need to pursue net new business opportunities, then it’s time to start thinking about the answers to those questions.
Here are some recommendations for getting started:
- Think about your audience: Who is the individual you are trying to reach? Business owner? C-Level Executive? How do they think about services like yours? What does a win look like for them? Putting yourself in their shoes will help you think differently about your value proposition.
- Find your narrative: People relate better to stories than they do to a dry recitation of dry facts and figures. Abe Lincoln had a log cabin story that most of us all can recite today. What’s your log cabin story?
- Be authentic: We live in a world where people have hundreds of Facebook (supposed) friends and thousands of followers. Swiping left or right finds dating partners. As the culture becomes more superficial, be authentic. Your prospective clients will pick up on it quickly and appreciate it.