While just about everything has changed this past year, one thing has not: relationships are core to your firm’s success. That said, one question all firms should be asking is how can one ensure their relationships are being managed and cultivated in a time where many of us are not meeting face-to-face?
Customer Relationship Managers (“CRMs”) can be the backbone to strong, long-lasting relationships across your firm, and, as a result, can lead to accelerating your firm’s growth. When used regularly and properly, here are a few ways how using a CRM can propel your firm's growth.
Stay in Touch
Relationships take time to build and effort to maintain. Whether your prospect is dealing with a problem you solve, or an existing client is ready to re-sign their yearly engagement letter, staying top of mind is important. A CRM can help hold you accountable to regular touchpoints and ensure that you’re building and maintaining relationships with your contacts, even in a time that you can’t meet in person.
When evaluating a CRM for your firm, it’s important to consider what options the system provides for helping you develop your relationships. Some CRMs support newsletters, email and conversation tracking, sales pipeline management, client satisfaction management, and more. Further, some CRMs were built specifically for accounting firms, whereas other CRMs were built for business in general. Oftentimes, it’s not the CRM with the most bells and whistles that firms find the most useful, but rather the CRM that provides the specific functions your firm needs is the best choice.
Focus on relationships that matter most.
While many CRMs provide automated ways to stay in touch with customers and prospects through newsletters, reminders, and so forth, firms must identify the relationships that matter most and keep a pulse on them. The Pareto principle states that for many outcomes roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of the causes (the “vital few”). The same is likely true for your firm. Some CRMs, like ABLE CRM, can help you identify those specific contacts which compose that 20%. Thus, you can provide them with highly specialized and individualized attention.
Provide context for conversations and relationships.
One client may work with more than one accountant within a firm. Using a CRM to store key client information and document important conversations, which creates team synergy, improves workflow within the firm and enables firms to broaden their service offerings. As a result, these firms can command higher fees and provide a superior client experience.
Build your brand and position yourself as the thought leader you are.
Become the trusted advisor and engage your clients through sending Thought Leadership content to your contacts at the right time. Not only can a CRM help you segregate your clients in a way that enables you to send your contacts the right content at the right time, but some CRMs also have a content library for you. This means you don’t have to worry about generating your content. Developing your personal brand and positioning yourself as the trusted advisor helps you strengthen client relationships and command premium fees, as clients view you as a valuable resource. It’s a win-win situation and doesn’t require any face-to-face meetings.
Determine client satisfaction.
It’s no secret that obtaining new clients is much more costly than retaining existing clients. A major key to firm growth and success is through repeat business, which comes from retaining existing client relationships and referrals. As many of us are still not meeting face-to-face, it’s now more important than ever to obtain client feedback. Using a CRM that supports client surveys and regularly obtaining such feedback can help your firm retain existing clients, benchmark your progress, and identify at-risk relationships.
As firms look to reach new levels and grow this year, regularly using a CRM can accelerate your firm’s growth - even during a global pandemic. CRMs are not a one-size-fits-all solution, so be sure to find one that works for you and your business model.
About the Author
Jeffery Pawlow, co-founder & CEO of ABLE CRM.
Jeffery Pawlow
Jeffery Pawlow is the co-founder and chief executive officer at ABLE, a CRM for Accountants. He is a four-time recipient of Accounting Today's "Top 100 Most Influential" designation and brings more than two decades of experience and passion for helping professional service firms achieve sustainable and profitable growth. In addition to being the CEO of ABLE, Jeffery is also the Founder of and Managing Director at The Growth Partnership. The Growth Partnership offers the accounting profession’s premier partner development program: The Partner Institute.
If you have any questions about choosing a CRM for your firm or would like to learn more about how The Partner Institute can support your firm’s current and future leaders, Jeffrey may be contacted through his website.