Business Development Academy for CPAs

1. Business Development Academy for CPAs Workshop #1 September 22, 2016 Presented by Art Kuesel

2. Today’s Workshop • Introductions and Objectives • What to Expect • Building your Individual Marketing Plan • Today’s Topic: Client Development • Building our Action Plan for the Next 30 Days 4

3. Today’s Workshop • Introductions and Objectives • What to Expect • Building your Individual Marketing Plan • Today’s Topic: Client Development • Building our Action Plan for the Next 30 Days 3

4. Art Kuesel, President • EXPERIENCE • Sales Executive • 3 years inside $60M CPA firm • 5 years inside $25M CPA firm • 6 years at PDI/Koltin Consulting • 3years 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 • 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

6. Getting to Know Each Other

7. Name Role Firm Why you are here in the BD Academy What’s a Trusted Advisor?

8. What to Expect

9. Your Experience in the BD Academy • A well-rounded curriculum and interactive learning experience • Six Face to Face Meetings • Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, & May • One Webinar (March) • Opportunities to practice and execute • Individual Marketing Plan • We’ll start this today • A safe and supportive environment in which to learn • Accountability for effort 9

10. Results you can Expect from the BD Academy • The development of positive habits in BD • Integration of BD into what you do on a daily/weekly/monthly basis • Achievement of BD Goals • Effort (hours/activities) • New clients • Cross-selling • A trickle-down effect within your firm 10

12. Building your Individual BD Plan

13. What’s in a Great Personal BD Plan?

14. What’s in a Great Personal BD Plan? • Q1: Client Development • Build more relationships within each client (breadth) • Build stronger relationships within each client (depth) • Make valuable introductions • Seek referrals for new clients • Cross-sell services when appropriate • Leverage social media

15. What’s in a Great Personal BD Plan? • Q2: Referral Source Development • Nurture existing referral sources • Identify potential new referral sources • Focus on breadth of type of referral source • Focus on an adequate quantity • Be deliberate about your touch program! • Leverage social media

16. What’s in a Great Personal BD Plan? • 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 • Thought Leadership • Leverage social media

17. What’s in a Great Personal BD Plan? • Q4: Prospect Development • Identify your target market • Create a short list of ideal prospects • Seek out warm entry points for these prospects • Get greater exposure to the sales process (practice) • Leverage social media

18. Suggested Time/Activities by Level • Staff and Seniors and/or 0-4 years of experience • 50 Hours/Year • 1 Cross-Sell and 1 New Client/Year • Common Types of Activities • Reestablishing college connections • LinkedIN • Client lunches/thrillers • Future referral lunches

19. Suggested Time/Activities by Level • Supervisors and/or 5-6 years of experience • 100-150 Hours/Year • 4 Cross-Sell and $25K/year • Common Types of Activities • LinkedIN • Client lunches/thrillers • Referral lunches • Networking/Personal Brand Development

20. Suggested Time/Activities by Level • Managers and/or 7-14 years of experience • 200-250 Hours/Year • $50-100K/Year • Common Types of Activities • Client development and cross-selling • Referral development • Networking/Personal Brand Development • Sales Calls/Proposals

21. Suggested Time/Activities by Level • Senior Managers/Directors/Principals/Partners and/or 15+ years of experience • 400 Hours/Year • $50-150K/Year • Common Types of Activities • Client development and cross-selling • Referral development • Networking/Personal Brand Development • Sales Calls/Proposals

22. Goals will Keep you on Track • # of Client Development Activities • # of New Clients • $ of Cross-selling • $ of New Clients • # of Articles/Thought Leadership • # of Referral Source Meetings • # of Associations/Trade Groups • # Prospect Touches • # of Sales Calls

23. Table Discussion: Being Successful at BD • What’s most important in me being more successful in personal BD?

25. What Do Our Top Clients REALLY Want from Us?

26. What do our clients WANT from us?

27. Translated: They Want us to be a Trusted Advisor

28. A Trusted Advisor Is… • “First” person who is asked for help • “Respected” for knowledge/opinion • “Reliable” • “Responsive” • “Likable” • “Great” communicator • Meets and exceeds expectations • Saves client before they need it • Numerous positive experiences • Keeps confidences • Proactive with things that can help

29. How can we go from “accountant” to trusted advisor?

30. How can we go from “accountant” to trusted advisor? • More Thrillers • Greater Depth • Greater Breadth

31. Top Client Thrillers

32. My CPA is AMAZING!

33. Top Ways to Thrill your Clients • Taking client to lunch, coffee, drink, etc. • Seize opportunities that arise from client life situation (marriage, anniversary, birthday, birth of child) • Do things that add value to the relationship • Meet on nights, early am, weekends, whatever is necessary to accommodate their schedule

34. Top Ways to Thrill your Clients • Remind them about due dates • 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 • Know what is important to them professionally (know their strategic objectives, plans, goals, etc.)

35. Top Ways to Thrill your Clients • Know what is important to them personally! (hobbies, interests, family, etc.) • Know and have relationships with their circle of influence (banker/financer, attorney, professional advisors) • Be hyper-responsive, acknowledge questions and inquiries quickly • Deliver on-time every time

36. Top Ways to Thrill your Clients • Send them notes/emails with articles, newsletters, and other items that show that you are invested • ID future problems, help save them from themselves • Take responsibility for what goes wrong

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

38. Table Discussion: Thrillers What thrillers have you done for clients that were really well received?

39. Creating Relationship D-E-P-T-H

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.

41. It’s much easier to fire your accountant/consultant, than to fire a friend! • Benefits of Client Friendships/Business Friendships: • Fuels more referrals • Drives greater long-term retention • Increases trust • Insulates you against mistakes • Accelerates your trusted advisor status • What else?

42. What can you do to build friendships with clients? • Identify commonalities -- and talk about them • Get to know what’s important to them personally • Take them to lunch simply to build the relationship and goodwill • Recognize important life events • Get together outside business hours • What else?

43. Creating Relationship B-R-E-A-D-T-H

44. One Relationship? Firm A Partner Company Owner

45. Or Multiple? Firm B Client Owner Owner’s Daughter Operations Leader Office Manager • Partner • Manager • HR Director • ASG Lead

46. One Relationship… Firm A Partner Company Owner

47. Multiple Relationships… Firm B Client Owner Owner’s Daughter COO IT Manager • Partner • Manager • HR Consulting • IT Consulting

48. Do we want more of this? Firm B Client Owner Owner’s Daughter COO IT Manager • Partner • Manager • HR Consulting • IT Consulting

49. Do you Know The Client Circle of Influence? You Banker Vendor Attorney Client Customer Fin Advisor

50. Build your Plan Now: Quadrant 1 • It’s time to WARM UP your client relationships…Can you do 1/week? • Thrillers • Depth • Breadth • Who & When? • Come next month prepared to talk about your visits. 50