“Added value” – what do you mean?
Many accountants and other service providers talk about providing “added value” to their clients. A friend of mine, Marcus Cauchi (who is a seller who trains selling not a trainer who teaches sales) makes the point that: “Added value” is only added value if the prospect acknowledges a real (or perceived) need for the particular aspect of the [...]

“I doubt I’ll sell my practice when I retire”
A smaller practitioner shared this view with me recently. He is 60 and his current turnover is around £120k. He said to assume his net profits are around £80k pa. My friend had noted that were he to sell his practice he would be lucky to secure a capital sum of much more than £120k (being [...]

Is it worth the time it takes to learn how to use social media?
A lot of people choose not to explore social media as they don’t have the time. In effect they want to know if they will be able to identify a ROI for the time spent learning about and engaging with other people through online social media? In the same way as you might ask the question [...]

‘Social’ vs anti-social networking
Whenever I am asked to speak about ’social’ networking to audiences of professional advisers I insist on the quote marks. In my experience most advisers aren’t excited by the the idea of social activities when they’re working. And if anyone wants to encourage accountants (and, I would expect, most other professional advisers) to get involved [...]

Does ’social’ networking force you to REDUCE your fees?
It seems there is a tricky balance to be made here. I’ve written previously about how networking, whether online or offline, can be an effective way to secure new clients of the type you want – just as long as those with whom you network know enough about you, like you, trust you and know [...]