Every business pays attention to cash flow, or at least they should.
After all, it's a key point of emphasis regardless of the nature of the business. Without making more than you spend in a given period—you won’t be in business very long. It’s for these reasons CEOs and small business owners seek out the advice of CPA firms.
There are different ways your firm helps, but one of the best is to offer cash flow advisory services to your clients. Above and beyond basic bookkeeping, budgeting, and payroll; advisory gives the value of your experience and expertise.
These attributes help with many common problems, from getting the basics of cash flow right to avoiding traps like expenses outgrowing revenue in ways that often prevent pivotal growth.
Selling your clients on cash flow advisory and budgeting tools is often a tricky process. Let's take a more thorough look at the ins and outs you need to know.
Know the Benefits and You Know Your Ideal Client
Let's start with the benefits. Potential clients will want to know what they're going to get from this kind of service, so you need to be upfront and clear about them.
All benefits of advisory are directly linked to cash flow. When cash is tight or dwindling is when fear sets in and business owners panic.
The simple fact is that over 50 percent of businesses tend to fail within their first five years, largely due to cash flow problems. Taking this issue off the plates of owners and CEOs can eliminate a source of worry and allow them to make better decisions.
Building a business can be scary for your clients. They have to manage their own revenue, alongside their employees, and creating positive cashflow is the most critical step to reducing their anxiety.
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This service, then, allows you as an advisor to deliver massive benefits to clients beyond compliance.
You’re providing peace of mind
You’re providing the ability to look forward
You’re allowing clients to confidently take vacations and find balance
As a cash flow advisor, you’re able to provide a data-driven path to your client reaching their goals and building a healthier business.
Common Cash Flow Mistakes Your Clients Desperately Need to Solve (With your help)
Part of the process of selling cash flow advisory services to prospective clients involves informing them about the most frequent mistakes that most small businesses make with regard to cash flow.
It's easy for many small businesses to assume they'll handle expenses as they achieve success.
They figure as their revenue starts to grow, expenses fall in line without much forethought and planning. But as you know, without managing their cash flow in a way that keeps revenue from outstripping expenses—problems are just around the corner.
Another common mistake has to do with the emotional side of managing cash flow.
It's easy to fall into the trap of overestimating future revenue or making impulse purchases when growth is robust, and these mistakes can force business owners and CEOs into financial positions that easily become untenable.
Finally, there's the budgeting mistake.
Many owners and CEOs think they don't need a budget when they've got their expenses and revenue under control, but not using a cash flow budget can cause financial blind spots that make them miss important aberrations, and it can also prevent them from keeping a cushion of cash on hand to handle those kinds of situations.
Selling Your Cash Advisory Service
The idea of using a cash advisory service is a newer concept to many potential clients, so it’s crucial to sell your value, instead of only your time.
Prospects want to know what you’ll do for them, how it will impact where they’re focused. Think, “here’s how what we do impacts your business” instead of simply “here’s what we do.”
Start by showing proof of success when it comes to your basic accounting services, and testimonials can go a long way when it comes to specifically selling your cash flow advisory service.
You can also show them the benefits of the software associated with your cash flow advisory software. Many clients are unaware that these packages allow them to build a cash flow forecast in minutes, and they don't know that future forecasts can easily be automated to save them both time and money.
Identifying the Best Candidates
Flagging those clients who will benefit the most from cash flow advisory services is an important part of the sales process.
The best clients are those who have asked you for this kind of help, of course, but businesses that are growing too quickly are also good candidates.
Seasonal businesses also tend to be good candidates. Their revenue projections can be a bit of a roller coaster ride, and you can eliminate the valleys to keep them out of crisis mode.
The direct approach involves talking to prospective clients who have already experienced a cash flow problem, as this will allow you to directly address their problems as an immediate benefit you can provide.
Ready to take your cash flow experience to the next level? Join us for our joint webinar, called with InsightfulAccountant on June 29th. You’ll learn exactly how being a banking partner can level up clients’ cash flow clarity. Find out more and save your seat right here.