There’s an enormous opportunity for accounting and financial professionals to go beyond traditionally outsourced services to offer high-value advisory services and partner in more meaningful ways with small businesses.
Millions of these businesses are open to, and looking for, a more engaged and proactive finance team, but the industry has been slow to deliver.
Why? One major reason is that it requires a deliberate shift in the way accounting and financial professionals interact with clients. In order to evolve into a more advisory-focused firm, principals need to inspire everyone on their team to break out of the task-oriented mindset and start thinking like a CFO.
Here’s how to empower your team to make the shift:
1. Ask tough questions that make think them beyond the transaction mindset
You can help your team think more like a CFO by getting them to weigh in on more than just the transactional elements of their work. Ask engaging questions that get them thinking about their client through a more strategic lens. Ask them what they’re seeing, what’s changed with the account, and what’s new for the client.
2. Teach them to look for advisory moments
The opportunities to offer more advisory-oriented services are endless; teams just need to know how to spot them. Let’s say a client mentions casually that they’re thinking about moving from their current office. That’s an advisory moment — an opportunity to engage on a deeper level. Train your team to capture these moments by offering helpful guidance. Offer to review the lease for them or run the numbers with a higher rent payment. You want to condition your team to insert themselves into the decision-making process.
3. Balance people skills with heads-down work ethic
Identify the people on your team who are fantastic with clients and put them front and center in not only interacting with clients, but also in advancing your firm’s advisory practice. It’s not only about people skills, though. Your heads-down workers are the ones who see the day-to-day changes and that’s where opportunities emerge. Encourage everyone on your team, whether they’re client facing or not, to communicate and share their insights.
4. Put the focus on the client relationship rather than the short-term deliverable
Help your team shift into a more advisory mindset by emphasizing the importance of building a relationship with clients. Oftentimes, business owners aren’t familiar with the full range of services and expertise that is available to them, and it’s up to your team to build a relationship that opens the door for deeper conversations. That way, when a client confides that they might be, for example, considering expanding into a new service or thinking of making some big hires, your team will be there to offer valuable support and guidance.
5. Be patient; big change takes time
This kind of fundamental shift in mindset takes time. Focus on planting seeds of change that, over months, begin to evolve into a new way of thinking. Be patient and allow incremental change to seep in and permeate your firm’s culture.
The bottom line
Small business owners are desperate for the insights accounting and financial professionals can provide. There’s never been a better time to empower your team to adopt a more strategic and proactive attitude when engaging clients. This will help you demonstrate more value to your clients, shift into an advisory role and take your own firm to the next level.
