If you are not already the go-to business adviser for your clients, you probably sit in pole position to assume that role and open up the door to higher value fee-paying work.
Our recent insight report, for which we surveyed and interviewed hundreds of SME business owners, found that 61% confirmed their accountant as their primary source of advice, which is great news.
However, that leaves 40% of the market up for grabs, it is a strong opportunity to grow revenue through your advisory service.
When clients first approach us at PracticeWeb, we find they have often struggled to educate the market on the value they offer to business owners. This is especially true when it comes to winning more advisory clients.
If you can demonstrate that you can educate business owners about the reality and risks of running a business, they will be drawn to your advisory services. They will understand the value you offer in helping them thrive rather than just survive.
We work with accountancy firms to communicate this value. Which I wanted to share with you. In true marketing style I’ve put them into four key tips.
1. Create a value led proposition
A value led proposition should permeate through your messaging. It is the results you promise to deliver to your clients, so goes way beyond simply stating your actual services. You mustn’t take this as being wishy washy, but it is how you make clients feel, how you improve their lives. It is a vital part of successful marketing.
A good value led proposition that works for your business will be focused on your ideal clients – the type of clients you want to attract.
A handy tip is to listen to the language of your current ideal clients and emulate it when articulating your value led proposition. As long as you are authentic, you will find this highly effective when connecting with future clients.
2. Educate the buyer and connect your value to their problems
Again, as well as focusing on results, also discuss your value led proposition through your clients’ problems (pain-points as we often call them in marketing). This shows you understand their needs and helps to build rapport.
Don’t assume that they know everything that you do – they’ll have their own specialisms to focus on. Be proactive in finding out the questions they have and it will help you to understand how they buy. And if one client has a question you can bet that others will be glad to know the answer too.
This is helpful for creating a content strategy which can feed into your marketing plan. Providing unique and relevant content is a powerful way to build trust and empathy.
3. Prove you can do the work
The concept of “show, don’t tell” is well known in creative writing as well as marketing, but how can you apply it to your business?
There are a number of mechanisms for doing this in both short and long form.
Among the most structured is to feature client case studies, carefully designed around your value proposition. They can tell the story (which is a natural way to connect at a human level), share those pain-points as well as the solution and impact. Include facts and figures where possible to demonstrate return on investment, and of course testimonial statements from your clients.
Impactful stats and testimonials should be gathered and used outside of case study format too, for instance on your website and social media.
4. Be consistent
An important element of a successful value led proposition is to live and breathe it in everything you do. Make sure it features in all your touchpoints with clients so they learn through repetition that it is what you stand for, what you offer to them.
When developing a value led proposition, it is worth reviewing your tone of voice guidelines and key marketing collateral like your website, business cards, leaflets and brochures to ensure they reflect it.
Win more advisory clients
If you would like to increase revenue streams by making a push to win more advisory clients, get in touch with us.
Having worked with more than 500 accountancy firms over the course of more than 20 years, we have specialist knowledge and insight to help you achieve your goals through developing a value led proposition.
Email us on hello@practiceweb.co.uk or call us on 0117 915 0420.
