Who Doesn't Want Something Better?

In all the years I have been practicing public accounting, I have never had someone come to my office and say "Jon, I want to have you be my CPA.  In the process, I really don't want to learn anything new.  I just want to keep doing what I have always done, and maybe have you help me prepare some reports that I more than likely won't read anyway.  Feel free to bill me for all this, but not too much.  I don't really understand the value of what you do....my friends told me I needed a CPA so here I am!"

I recently began a coaching course (I am the one being coached, by the way) that my fellow CPA, Jason Blumer, decided to offer through his organization of forward-thinking CPAs called THRIVEal.  I realized after talking to the other CPAs located all over the country that we, as an industry, sometimes treat our clients like that.  The business relationship starts off something like this:

1. A client is referred to my firm;
2. I meet with the potential new client and learn a little bit about them, and then share a little about what I do, and at this time the client tells ME how they feel the engagement should go;
3. I send out a quote based on what the client indicated they wanted and hope they take it;
4. We start working together based on the parameters outlined by the client, and;
5. Nothing changes until something BREAKS!

Where was the advisory?  Where was the ingenuity and recommendation of SOMETHING NEW AND BETTER to my client?  What were they paying me for, exactly?  What value am I providing? Ah HA!

Who doesn't want something better?  I know I do.  Case in point....my wife (then my girlfriend) came to my office not too long after we met and asked me if I had recently been robbed, or if I had just moved in.  I sheepishly answered "No" to both of those since I had been here for almost 5 years with no theft, but in an instant saw what she was referring to.  I had neglected the interior of my office for so long it had become a habit.  I no longer saw it as something that could be improved.  I saw it as something that just "was."  But if you've been in my office lately, you've seen the drastic changes that have taken place over the last year.  I wanted something better, so I asked for her help in making the office look better.

My questions to clients aren't always that direct.  But, I think it's about time that I become that direct, but maybe with a rounded edge.  I have made some changes recently with new clients who have asked for my assistance, most importantly by spending the bulk of my time with them asking questions about what they do.  I need to know, IN DETAIL, what they do before I can offer any worthwhile assistance to them.

It doesn't stop there, however.  No, no....I now begin to delve into how I can make things better, more efficient, more cost-effective, and more quality-of-life-friendly for them.  Here is where things get interesting.  The responses from clients are AWESOME!  I am learning about new technologies that can pretty much allow you to run your business from the bow of a rowboat, and I'm sharing the information with everyone (after I learn how to do it, of course) and the results are off the charts!  Clients love it!  And guess what?

WE ALL WIN!!

My quality of life increases...my client's quality of life increases....and the true value of what I do now becomes obvious to them.  Sometimes, until someone points out what is missing, we don't know or even notice what we didn't have.  The old saying "You don't know what you don't know" is your mantra.  Then, one day, you finally know what you didn't know and you make changes to ensure things change and get better.

Value....that's something for another time, because that's a bigger nut.  But I will be back to talk more about that....