Another tax season is here and many of you are bracing for the 60+ hour work weeks. Your focus is on preparing financial statements, tax returns, and delivering them to your clients. Keeping your head down and getting it done!
However, tax season is also an ideal time to identify cross-selling opportunities, strengthen client relationships, and promote client satisfaction. In addition, it’s a chance to demonstrate your advisory skills by asking smart questions.
Here are 12 questions to consider asking your clients this tax season. Since time is at a premium identify the three or four questions best suited to each client.
- What are your priorities for this year?
- What challenges do you predict for your business over the next 3-5 years?
- What are your growth plans?
- Do you expect any significant changes in your income in the next five years?
- At what age do you plan to retire? Have you identified your successor?
- Do you have any financial concerns?
- Are you satisfied with the amount you have available for savings or investments?
- What is the most important contribution that we can make to you and your company?
- How can we serve you more effectively?
- Do you have any financial or tax needs that are not being met by the services we are currently providing?
- What’s changed in your business over the last 12 months? (You should know most of this answer already if you’ve done your homework.)
- We always appreciate referrals. What kinds of referrals are you looking for?
Create a follow up list, including your clients’ responses, to arrange client meetings after tax season. This will help you fill your pipeline, address client needs, and show your clients you’re listening to them.
Now, you may be asking yourself, Is she kidding me? I don’t have time for this. Understood. Following this process for selected clients, e.g., your top 10 or those showing the greatest potential, will go a long way to accomplishing these goals.
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Jean Marie Caragher is president of Capstone Marketing, providing marketing consulting services to CPA firms for the past 20 years. She is the author of The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms: How to Create the Roadmap for Your Firm’s Growth. Download her free eBook, Client Satisfaction Surveys for Accounting Firms: The Answers to Your Most Frequently Asked Questions. For more information contact her at 727.210.7306 or jcaragher@capstonemarketing.com.
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