There is no shortage of conversation around AI, crypto and outsourcing in the accounting industry; and while those innovations and developments are certainly important, they do not always connect to a crucial area of significance: business growth. Without growth, whether it be in the form of customers, revenue, or service lines, the way the business operates is of relatively little importance.
If an ice cream shop cannot sell cones, the staffing model, cash register software and freezer size are not going to have much of an impact.
As most accountants and bookkeepers are process crazy (guilty), we oftentimes distract ourselves from growth to return to the comforting confines of technical papers and software Wiki pages. And while many may be thinking that growth does not need to be prioritized if, in fact, revenues are on the rise—imagine what could be achieved if accelerated growth was indeed a priority.
Over the past 15 years, I have learned that some of the most fundamental concepts are still the strongest, and when implemented correctly, can have quite dramatic results. While not necessarily revolutionary or over-complex (I’m looking at you, ChatGPT), they train the mind (and practice) to focus on growth.
This is the perfect time to implement some new techniques that enable you to break through the plateau and prepare you for the next step in your business:
Define Your Target Client
While this may seem rudimentary, it’s often overlooked and almost always underestimated. Have you ever asked yourself if you should implement a new software? Maybe you want to know which social media platforms you should be active on? Or if rolling out a new service line makes sense? Those can be hard questions to answer.
However, if you know your target client, they are usually very straightforward. It’s important to stress that your target client and your current client base don’t have to be the same. The target client is the client you want to add as you continue to grow, and the ones you truly want to work with.
Here’s a brief list of questions to consider:
- How old are they?
- What industry are they in?
- What is their annual revenue?
- Do they have inventory? Sales tax? Complex tax issues?
- Do they have employees? How many?
- What other professionals do they work with (e.g., lawyer, banker, etc.)?
- What are their main pain points?
If you can answer those questions, it will transform the way you go about building your business. At ARC, we have two primary target clients. I will outline one here to give you a sense of what I’m talking about:
The target client is a touring band where they’re transitioning from playing clubs (and thus living hand to mouth) to small theatres (meaning they likely have money left over for the first time in their career) and one of the band members (probably the drummer) has been handling all of the finances. This creates stress between them and the other band members because either the other members think they should be paid more or the one member handling finances is frustrated at all the extra work they are having to perform.
In addition to this, the “adjacent professionals" (management, legal, booking agent) are likely having a hard time getting paid their fees and commissions due to the band not being organized.
This is a partial representation of that target client. There are other industry-specific things that are likely present as well. However, let’s return to some of the questions I posed at the outset of this point with the knowledge we now have about our target client. For example, for the question regarding social media we no longer need to ask which platforms the firm should be active on.
Now we simply need to figure out which platforms the target client is active on. If they are not active on a platform, we will not reach them on that platform. I realize that’s obvious but once we define the target these questions become straightforward. Content marketing should be related to the target client’s pain points.
Outreach should be direct or to the adjacent professionals the target client works with. Conferences attended should be based on where the target client will be or perhaps software vendors who solve the target’s pain points. If the target is in ecommerce, you can bet that adding inventory and sales tax to your services will pay off.
In short, every decision is based on how it affects the target client.
Dedicate Time to Growth (No Matter What)
The main reason firms don’t grow as they should be is because there’s often no time set aside for growth activities. When do you make sales calls? When do you write content? When do you perform targeted searches on LinkedIn? More often than not, the answer is, “When I have time.”
However, most of us do not HAVE time for anything—we must make time. Imagine if the answer to those questions was, “Every day from 9 a.m.-10:30 a.m.” How would the results of those consistent actions snowball over the course of a month? A quarter? A year?
Here are a couple of pointers to get started:
- It doesn’t have to be perfect—it is more important to get started. For example, how do you find the perfect intro email to your target client? By sending a lot of imperfect emails to target clients.
- Yes, I mean no matter what—unless your office is literally ablaze you must dedicate yourself to growth activities. You are better off starting with less time that you can actually pull off than to shoot high and fail.
- Start with your target client profile – The perfect start to your dedicated growth time is to define your target client. Then it will be that much easier to figure out how to fill this time going forward.
Combining these tactics will set you on a growth journey you could not previously fathom. Leave your comfort zone at the door and get to growing.
Tate Henshaw, CFP®, co-founder Arc Business Management and National Xero Ambassador.
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