How to Become a Trusted Advisor
Source: Journal of Accountancy
In this article, Lindsey Ferguson outlines the benefits and challenges of becoming a trusted advisor to your clients and the steps to help you make the transition into the advisor role. Following is a brief overview of Ferguson's points:
Benefits
- Better relationships with clients
- Referrals from those clients
- A new opportunity to promote your business
- More consistent work and income throughout the year
- Higher profits
- The satisfaction of helping your clients succeed
Challenges
- Becoming a trusted advisor requires a time commitment, increased client communication, and an ability to approach your role from a new perspective.
- You must be willing to pursue change and overcome personal doubts and fears.
How to Make the Transition
- Determine which of your clients would benefit most from your assistance as a trusted advisor.
- Educate yourself on your targeted clients and their businesses. Discuss with these clients their business needs, goals, challenges, etc.
- Present a proposal to your clients, outlining services you can provide and pricing for those services.
- Finalize the agreed-upon service arrangement with an engagement letter.
- Set your plan into action, assigning work to staff members, setting deadlines, etc. Connect with your clients regularly to keep them abreast of your progress and to receive their input.
- After an engagement is complete, meet with the client to review the experience and receive additional feedback. Be prepared to outline additional services you could provide in the trusted advisor role.
For the complete article, read “Gaining (from) your clients' trust.”
From Journal of Accountancy, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, May 2012, http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/Issues/2012/May.