Cross-Selling--Making it Real

Source: CPA Practice Management Forum

The following includes excerpts from the original article, reproduced with permission.

Just about every accounting firm claims to provide "a personal touch" and "24/7/365 attention." It takes a lot more to win new clients and to retain existing ones.

Positioning yourself as your clients' primary business advisor is one way to differentiate yourself. Do the things you know instinctively you should do, but generally don't take the time for (and understand it may take an investment of non-chargeable time to do it):

• Take a close interest in your clients' business and their success. Learn all there is to know about it. You can learn more about a business's needs through a first-hand look at their operations than you could ever glean from phone conversations or meetings in your office.
• Immerse yourself in learning about the clients' industry and what factors affect it positively and negatively.
• Understand the issues that concern them the most, and why. Earn a seat at their management table by being available to answer their questions.
• Introduce them to other advisors that can help (i.e., bankers, lawyers, insurance), so they will always view you as a "go-to" resource.

Cross-selling is anticipating your clients' needs so that you can maximize the services you and other partners in your firm provide. If you take the time to discover their needs, you can tell them how you can help them without coming across as a salesperson.

In today's economy, some of the most sought-after additional services clients can benefit from are consulting services, such as profitability enhancement, operations-efficiency assessment, cash-flow studies, mergers and acquisitions and succession planning, just to name a few. You have to let your clients know that you provide the services they need, that you are good at it.

For the complete article, click here.

From CPA Practice Management Forum, CCH Incorporated, 800-449-8114, May 2009, p. 5, "CPA Practice Management Forum, Cross-Selling: An Art You Need to Practice."