Do I have to be an extrovert to win business?
“I’m an introvert. What do you suggest I should do?”
At a recent training sessios, someone came up to me and said: “Your ideas about business development and building a personal brand are great and practical, and I can see how they’d work. But I do not see them working for me — I’m an introvert. What do you suggest I should do?”
What he didn’t realise is that he is probably an ambivert... I’m one, too. In a Wall Street Journal interview, psychologist Adam Grant estimated that ambiverts make up between half and two-thirds of the population. This is good news because ambivert individuals combine the best of both worlds. And they can win at business.
Ambiverts can achieve higher business development productivity than introverts or extroverts because ambiverts can listen as well as assert themselves. They’re ideal partners, co-workers, business owners, and leaders.
To be sure, “pure” introverts and extroverts do exist, but they’re exceptions. Yet it's a commonly held belief that "doing business" favours the outgoing personality. And many who don't see themselves as extroverts are wary of what they see as 'selling' or 'pitching'.
So what if you are a non-extrovert (like many accountants, I suspect) – how do you manage business development effectively? Here are a few pointers to get you started on your business development journey:
1. It’s a simple switch...
Many professionals, especially the introverts among us, think, mistakenly that business development equals sales. But, as an accountant, you did not study to be a salesperson. You are a trusted adviser!
The truth is, you wish you could just have somebody else to do the selling for you, so you can focus on delivering your expertise to your clients. Right? Unfortunately that option is not always available.
So it's a good idea to think of business development as an opportunity to build relationships - to help - not to sell.
When you do that, you can more easily implement strategies that play to your introvert tendencies. Qualities like listening, forming lasting connections, going deep rather than broad, and hyper-focusing your energy where there is the potential for the highest return.
For me, business development or business building is relationship building. This will help you to switch your mind from trying to “close the sale” to becoming a valuable source of service and advice for your clients and connections.
2. Create the right fit...
Firms and businesses need to create the "right fit" between the business development activity and the person who is responsible for it.
In my experience, if a professional is given responsibility for a business development activity that he or she isn’t comfortable with, the activity will be poorly completed or even ignored. This will definitely hurt the practice’s business development.
Play to people's and your own strengths. Different styles, different personalities, different business development activities – done by the right professionals within the practice, will attract different kinds of clients. But more importantly — certainly MORE clients.
I help a lot of professional firms achieve results, based on a strategy I explain in my book The Attention Switch.
By spending time with each member of your team individually - talking to them and asking very specific questions in the right order - you can create the right fit for professionals in your firm and the right business development activity.
3. Respect your natural tendencies...
One partner at a large accounting firm once asked me how she could be authentic in her dealings with others, given how uncomfortable she was when it came to business development activities. She worried she’d have to put on a smiley, outgoing façade. Yet I’m convinced it’s possible to be real about the business development for your professional practice or business, while still respecting our natural tendencies. Just be yourself.
4. Leverage your personality...
The key to success in business development as an introvert is to leverage your personality. Business development is often equated with high-energy, sales, pitching, hand-shaking showmanship.
But, specifically for non-extroverts, there are other, sometimes better, ways you can develop your business development activities within your accounting practice.
Make the effort and embrace the fact that not only are you an introvert or an ambivert, but you are a damn good business developer. Even if your methods are 'different'.
Taking the time to reflect and be thoughtful about how you’d like to develop your business development activities, and your trusted adviser position, is important.
I can help you maximise your results ... feel free to schedule a call with me HERE.
IRIS launches digital excellence awards
IRIS is launching its very own awards to celebrate individuals and accountancy practices thriving in the digital economy.
The IRIS Customer Awards have been set up as the software group enters its 40th year. They acknowledge best practice across several areas as accountancy firms evolve beyond compliance services to capitalise on service opportunities in the digital economy.
Sion Lewis, CEO of IRIS Accountancy Solutions says, “We are delighted to launch the awards as part of our celebrations this year. We’ve seen huge changes in the industry and as practices evolve, it’s important to recognise excellence.
Life begins at 40
“For those of us who have celebrated this milestone birthday, we often talk about life beginning at 40, and IRIS is no exception – we are starting the next phase of our journey and look forward to supporting the next generation of accountancy practices.”
All UK accountants, UK accountancy firms (of any size and nature) who are a customer of IRIS Software Group (using IRIS, Keytime, PTP or KashFlow branded products) can enter the awards.
Categories include IRIS Firm of the Year (Small, medium and large categories); Client Excellence Firm of the Year; Advisory Firm for the Year; Fastest Growing Firm of the Year; Most Profitable Firm of the Year; Best Use of Technology of the Year; Marketing Innovation of the Year; Bureau/Outsource Service of the Year; Accountant of the Year; Partner of the Year; Practice Manager of the Year and Graduate / Trainee of the Year.
The closing date for entries is 3 September, with the shortlist announcement on 17 September and the winners announced at the awards dinner on 9 October.
To enter the awards visit HERE.
How do you enforce crypto regulation?
As accountants call for regulatory guidance on crypto assets, a bigger concern is brewing beneath the surface: enforcement.
Historically, with the exception of cash, global governments have enjoyed a tight grip on the the flow of money through the banking system. This has been achieved by the reporting regulations imposed on banks, brokerages and other businesses.
For example, in many jurisdictions, tax authorities are informed:
- When a company pays a dividend;
- When an managed fund pays a distribution;
- When an broker liquidates an investment; and
- When a bank pays interest.
While this has increased the administrative burden on the private sector, this reporting has benefited the taxpayer by simplifying record keeping. In turn, it has provided the tax authorities and tax accountants with confidence that investment income is being appropriately recorded.
When it comes to crypto assets however, governments have no grip on the crypto market, nor will they. It was designed that way. There’s a saying in the crypto community: “You can’t ban math.”
High probability of failure
The crypto asset sector is comprised of an ever increasing number of international corporations, as the internet knows no borders. Attempting to outlaw these would come at extensive cost, with a high probability of failure. For example, several nations have already attempted to outlaw corporations in this sector; only for these corporations to expatriate to other, more favourable, jurisdictions.
The sector also comprises of what’s called a ‘decentralised autonomous organisation’ (DAO). These DAOs are stateless, totally decentralized, peer to peer exchanges, with no staff or leadership. They are theoretically impossible to outlaw.
In their failure to outlaw or control the corporations, some governments have attempted to outlaw their citizens’ participation in the sector, under the guise of protection. While it may deter many, it has ultimately lead to motivated citizens bypassing regulatory barriers or expatriating to crypto-friendly nations.
Obscure their identity
Given the anonymous nature of crypto assets, one can easily obscure their identity without expatriating, in only a few simple steps. Such citizens are not likely to self report any gains if the market is outlawed.
Prohibition is not the answer.
By virtue of these constraints, enforcement is also extremely difficult. You cannot compel a foreign or decentralised exchange to report to local taxing authorities. The one thing governments can control is their own fiat currency.
They can compel local exchanges, by way of banking regulations, to report any inflows and outflows of fiat currency, and the taxpayer that effected these transactions.
With this in mind, this is where the regulation and enforcement conversation should have begun. Let us hope it gets there soon.
GDPR guide for accountants in practice
A "pragmatic" look at GDPR focuses on the new data law in the context of accountancy practices and looks at how the regulation will impact.
MyFirmsApp, providers of a custom app platform for accountants in practice, has published the handy summary .
The 19-page guide examines key questions such as what personal data a practice typically holds - with helpful advice on the rules for holding children’s personal data.
What is a data breach?
It covers what the law now requires for data retention and addresses questions such as "what is a data controller?", "what is a data processor?" and "what is a data breach?"
Any breach caused by human error or lax security measures threatens the accountant-client relationship. Practices need to ensure they have the processes and technologies in place that will enable them to detect and respond to breaches.
The guide includes a checklist of actions so that practices can implement the necessary systems and processes to meet GDPR requirements. The ‘Preparing Your Practice for GDPR’ guide can be downloaded HERE.
GDPR challenges
“Over the last year, we been working closely with selected global law firms and advisers to find solutions to the GDPR challenges faced by our customers,” says Joel Oliver, CEO, MyFirmsApp.”
“We are confident that having the right practice App will help in the collection and verification of data, in gaining the necessary opt in permissions, in the sharing of privacy policies and also in the storage and management of data. GDPR presents an opportunity to revise existing privacy policies and achieve better organisation, improve data management and strengthen defences against data breaches and cyber risks.”
GDPR and the right of access to data
GDPR says it is an individual's right to obtain confirmation about whether data belonging to them is being processed and, if so, where it is being held.
It is also their right to have a copy of that data and other "supplementary information" including: the purpose their data was being stored for; the recipients that their data has been/ will be shared with; information on the source of their personal data; and the period their data is likely to be stored for.
This is the right of access or "subject access". It is important to recognise and become familiar with what falls within the realm of "personal data" as an individual that uses their right of access and makes a request, is permitted to information relating only to them and no other person.
Recognising and dealing with a request can be tricky: a request can be made by an individual in person or in writing, to any part of an organisation (including via social media) and does not have to be concerning a specific member of staff. This means that an individual can make a valid request to any employee (by email or phone) and it is required by law that the request is managed accordingly.
Some organisations have trained staff who are likely to be dealing with individuals on identifying requests. Others use a standard form with information fields for an individual to fill out, making it easier to identify a "subject access request" and to find the individual’s data.
BrightPay will continue to hold free online webinars specifically designed to help you on your GDPR journey.
Upcoming Webinar: Payroll Data & GDPR - What you need to know
Agenda:
What does GDPR mean for your payroll processing?
- Understanding GDPR
- The contract between accountants & clients
- Template Data Processor Agreement
- Proof of compliance
- Securely storing employee data
Payslips & GDPR Compliance
- Employee consent
- Emailing payslips
- Recommended self-service access
Breaching GDPR
- Data breach plan of action
- Non-compliance and penalties
BrightPay & GDPR
- BrightPay Connect - online self-service portal
- Enhanced security measures
BrightPay offers payroll access app
In today’s fast paced environment employees want their payslips at their fingertips. BrightPay’s cloud add-on BrightPay Connect now offers an employee smartphone and tablet app for employees to access their payroll information on the go. The BrightPay Connect app integrates with the BrightPay payroll software application bringing a new level of efficiency and productivity to managers who manage the payroll, leave requests and HR activities. The employee app is available to download for free on any Android or iOS device.
Seven skills that are the hallmark of eager beavers!
I came across this two-part question the other day: "Is there someone on your team who seems unusually productive? Someone who gets a huge amount done — without working longer hours?"
Productivity on a wide scale is a tricky concept. It's got loads of economists scratching their heads. Take Britain's low wage, low productivity economy as an example. Then add artificial intelligence and automation to the mix.
During the industrial revolution in Britain, it was worthwhile investing in machines/automation because of the relatively high cost of labour. That's not so much the case these days. Yet many are fearful of the threat of automation. Probably rightly!
Manage workloads effortlessly
Anyway, I digress. What interests the questioners at the top of my blog is productivity on a micro scale. It's not about the Hotel California colleague (they can check out any time they like, but they can never leave) ... it's about the ones who manage their workloads effortlessly and are still home in time for the early kick-off from Volgograd. This is altogether easier to grasp as a concept.
Productive people are in every sector. According to the Harvard Business Review, the most productive software developers write nine times more usable code per day than the average developer. According to research by Michael Mankins, the best fish butcher at Le Bernardin restaurant in New York can prepare three times as much fish as the average one and the best sales associate at Nordstrom sells eight times more clothes.
Leadership development consultants Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman collected data on 7,000 people rated by their manager for productivity. Here, I'm going to share the seven top skills/traits/behaviours, as identified by Zenger and Folkman.
- Stretch goals. "A big project encourages you to pick up your pace and eliminate all distractions. There is some great magic that occurs when people become riveted by the thought of achieving a stretch goal. The people in our study who got the most done made setting stretch goals a habit."
- Consistency. "We all know people who are 100 per cent reliable. If they say, “It will be done,” it will get done. In our study, the most productive people did not see their productivity ebb and flow over time; they didn’t procrastinate only to pull all-nighters later on. Instead, they figured out how to consistently deliver results. There was a cadence and a rhythm to their work that seemed to keep them going.
- Knowledge and technical expertise. "When you know what you’re doing, you don’t have to sacrifice quality for speed. You don’t need to spend time searching online for a good tutorial, or asking a colleague for advice. The most productive professionals didn’t hesitate to ask for help when they needed it…but they didn’t need it that often. They also intentionally acquired new skills and worked to expand their expertise. That helped them be skilful, exacting, and quick in their execution."
- Drive for results. "Most people are willing to accept responsibility for accomplishing goals and to work at a reasonable pace to achieve expected results. But there are a few people who have a great desire to accomplish results sooner and quicker. They are overjoyed to be able to check something off their to-do list. They’re competitive — and they compete not only with their colleagues but also with themselves. They like to set new records for performance and then beat their own best.
- Anticipating and solving problems. "The most productive people come up with innovative solutions and accomplish work more efficiently. They also tend to anticipate roadblocks and begin working on solutions in advance, and so avoid some of the problems that other people run into. Social psychologists call this mental contrasting — thinking about what you want to achieve and what might get in the way of your achieving it — and have found that it helps people achieve their goals."
- Initiative. "For many people, the hardest part of getting a job done is starting. The most productive people start quickly, and they never wait to be told to begin. They ask for forgiveness, not permission. And indeed, their bias for action can get them into trouble sometimes — they might start executing a project before all parties have bought in, say. But their bosses rarely complain, because their results tend to speak for themselves."
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Collaboration. "So far it might sound like we’re describing a person who is a brilliant individual worker but can’t work well with others. But that’s not what our study showed. In today’s complex organisations, very little gets done by someone acting alone. Everything is highly interdependent. The most productive people in our study were highly collaborative and worked well with others. They didn’t have to spend a lot of time soothing ruffled feathers, because they didn’t ruffle many feathers in the first place."
Five ways to improve your clients' experience
Being a professional and building your practice is challenging. There are many things to take care of ... and time can be at a premium.
But, no matter how busy you are, you can’t forget the most important aspect of your business — your clients. Their needs must be understood and be met. And the key is to create an experience that adds value to your clients. It’s all about building real relationships.
Who is doing it in your practice or business? During the past decade, while helping accounting firms grow and expand their practices, we discovered that many business developers focus only on winning the next client or the next project.
A lot give little consideration to winning many more projects with the same client. Building strong client relationships is an integral business development strategy to improve your practice’s bottom line and support its long-term growth.
Happy clients will keep coming back, and they may also recommend your services to others.
Here are five ways to support business development and improve the client experience with your practice:
1. Create a client experience strategy
Most professionals include in their business development plans a strategy that helps them to take the right direction in building their practice.But I rarely find professionals that include in their business development plan a special part dedicated for “the client experience strategy”.
This the process of documenting your client’s journey so you will understand better how to serve their needs. The overall success of the project and your client experience depends very much on the successful implementation of each part of the project.
2. Close the client experience gaps
Research shows that many professionals lose clients and return business from existing clients owing to poor client service. So what’s missing from your practice client experience?
Do you have an onboarding package for every new client who joins your practice? Does every new client joining your practice receive a welcome call or an email from the right person in your practice (or even from yourself)?
What are the first three touch points of your new client with you or your practice? How do you make these interactions different from any other professional practice?
Do you take advantage of the time you have to nurture your relationships? In order to succeed and close these client experience gaps, you need to:
- Understand your clients' business.
- Understand your client target clients.
- Understand new innovative tools to business development and create amazing client experience.
We suggest you identify ways to enhance your communication with your clients, as part of your practice business development. Be proactive and learn how to identify gaps in your clients’ experience to improve your and your team’s performance.
3. Deliver more to your clients
You have been hired by your clients to solve their problems. However, providing solutions is only one piece of the puzzle. In this 'connected age' clients also want you to know them, like them and trust them, before providing your services to them. Clients expect you to earn their loyalty.
To do so, you need to push beyond the primary business development goals of your practice. Think of other ways you can satisfy your clients. How can you help them reach their secondary objectives? A simple example could be introducing your client to another valuable client of yours. In my practice, I used to do it at least once every week.
Other ideas could be sending a simple “thank you” card for being your client and for their continued support, organizing a special event for your clients. Surprise your client with something extra. They will appreciate the genuine attention you give them.
(Remember: If you are busy, we can help. We implement these ideas and more on a regular basis for many professionals and the results are astonishing!)
4. Conduct an external client assessment
Do you know how many clients of yours are not fully satisfied with your services? What did you do in the past three months to learn more about the things that your clients want you to improve?
You need to learn the art of “asking” to ask your client the right questions, in the right order, in the right timing to get the information you need to improve your practice services and business development.
If you want a real assessment of client satisfaction, you need to conduct an external audit. When it comes to business development and building clients experience, do not rely too much on opinions and intuition. You need to get actual insights by conducting a proper project to ask and assess your clients’ satisfaction.
5. Focus on your commitment to help
You need to be able to understand the client’s business and to be able to recognize what they’re actually seeking.
Once you find it, focus on it, and demonstrate a commitment to help your clients to achieve it. How do you demonstrate this? One of the most common ways is by using a simple question for every client of your practice. I do that every 4-6 months.
I ask my clients: “What’s your current greatest concern?”. This single question encourages them to be clear on their needs. It also allows me to reassure my clients that I can help.
Are you interested to learn how I can help you maximise your results from business development? Feel free to schedule a FREE call with me HERE
Three tasty takeaways from Accountex 2018
Two days. Hundreds of seminars. Thousands of accountants. We’ve all had the bank holiday weekend to catch our breath from attending Accountex— the event of the year for accountant and finance professionals.
This year we saw an array of new and improved technologies, products and services. We at Spotcap attended a wide range of talks and presentations, in addition to giving our own on alternative finance. The highlight however is always the one-to-one conversations the team has with existing and potential partners.
Here, I share just a few of the interesting takeaways from the discussions I had at this year’s show:
Products and services are changing. How do accountants choose? Cloud, automated data entry, alternative finance. Most of the accountants I met with are familiar, and often very knowledgeable, about the many new service offerings brought to market. The key challenge for them is to figure out who to work with. Since there are several providers in each product and service category accountants need to invest in understanding the differentiation between what is on offer. As a result some service providers focus on a specific niche— from online automated payroll or unsecured lending.
Becoming an accountant-adviser. Everyone is looking to raise the bar of what they are doing. Independent smaller accountants in particular are looking to diversify their offering. The goal is to become a one-stop-shop for advisory services— to be an accountant and an adviser, not just someone who manages the book keeping and financials. Funding of course is an important part of the new bundle of services that help accountants meet this goal.
The future is digital. Technology is growing in importance and it’s clear that Making Tax Digital is the next big thing after GDPR. It seems to me that MTD is acting as a catalyst for technology adoption. I wouldn’t be surprised if it has a knock-on effect on practices, pushing them to think digitally across the board. It will likely make them more open to new technology, services and change in general. As a result the whole landscape will become more efficient.
Ultimately, Accountex is very much about taking the time to think about the direction you are taking long term. It’s also a good reminder for accountants and service providers alike that they aren’t the only players in town. Everyone needs to plan for what comes next and how they will continue to provide value to their clients. The challenge - and it’s an exciting one - is to combine the financial knowledge and tech available, to help Britain’s businesses become more efficient, productive and successful.
Give your clients an expenses health check
Whether you still accept shoe boxes full of receipts or prefer newer methods, it’s time to give your clients an expenses health check to ensure you’re offering the best solution, and not just the solution that suits your practice.
What happens when your client tells you that they want to use the latest and greatest solution that they have found? Do you embrace it, or tell them very politely that it’s your way or the highway?
In a recent customer success call, a customer was told that they could only use the solution that their accounting practice supported, and wouldn’t consider any others. The client had done his own research and found one that best suited his needs, one that prevented his employees from having out of pocket expenses and gave him a much greater visibility of company spending.
Carefully crafted partnerships
Understandably, our customer couldn’t understand their accountant's rationale and chose our solution anyway. Finding the balance between a walled garden of carefully crafted partnerships that you recommend and opening the floodgates to whatever clients want to use is difficult, but it is important to keep an open mind.
Few who entered the industry probably expected that they would also have to become a technology expert but with just a brief look at the Accountex exhibition and conference list, that’s exactly what many have had to become. Accountex really shows the amount of choice now on offer, and it’s the perfect setting to create new partnerships to ensure you can continue to offer the best solutions to your clients.
In a recent case study with Sacred Spirits, Expend learnt that while head office expenses admin had dramatically reduced from nearly a day a month to 20 mins. They estimated that they had saved even more money by using Expend’s connected payment card to pay for the their expenses abroad due to its zero fee foreign exchange rates.
These extra savings are crucial to fast growing SMEs with global ambitions, and is a prime example of value added extras that help to differentiate potential solutions.
Seamless real-time view
So with global business travel spending worldwide forecasted to rise from about $1.3 trillion in 2016 to $1.6 trillion by 2020, it’s not just time and efficiency gains that can be made or clients.
It’s also crucial to ensure that these added solutions don’t increase the workload further. This is especially true In this interconnected digital accountancy world, one that increasingly demands a seamless real-time view of company finances. Simply being the fastest and greatest expenses solution isn’t enough. The quality of integrations with the likes of Xero and Quickbooks matter just as much.
It's important to pick the right solutions that are not only flexible to your needs, but provide the insight you need to make and advise on crucial business decisions.
So it’s time to give your clients an expenses a health check and explore what else your practice needs in its toolkit.
Expend will be on Stand 951 at Accountex.
MyFirmsApp launches OneApp at Accountex
MyFirmsApp, provider of intelligent Apps to professional firms in 11 countries, is introducing the new OneApp layered mobile platform at Accountex 2018.
The OneApp platform will feature an AI/chatbot or virtual assistant that answers questions using calculator functionality and completes simple tasks.
Working closely with the Amazon Lex platform, the AI functionality is set to evolve over coming months and will include the ability to book calls and to join up with other external systems such as practice management.
The company says:
OneCommunicate – OneApp enables firms to connect & communicate with their clients wherever they are. People spend an average of four hours a day looking at their phone and 90 per cent is spent in apps.
OneApp enables practices to be part of this screen time and take advantage of this most expensive real estate on the planet with powerful marketing tools that improve interaction and engagement
OneCollect – OneApp gives partners back time and eliminates stress with inbuilt data collection tools including a receipt manager, mileage tracker, income tracker and document scanner
OneControl - OneApp enables partners and firms to take back control by holding all disparate cloud apps in one place with app stacks and app add-ons bespoke to each accounting firm. The app dashboard delivers download and usage statistics and co-ordinates communications and marketing activity
OneCare – puts accountants first and helps guide them into the digital world. MyFirmsApp is the only company to offer 24-hour on-going support, backed by the wealth of experience that comes from running the largest global customer app platform in the world for accountants in practice.
Joel Oliver, CEO, MyFirmsApp says: “OneApp has been developed to address three dominant problems in the marketplace today. First accountants are overwhelmed by the changing landscape and fast pace of technology development, they are being commoditised with prices being driven down with no way to differentiate themselves and finally, they are lacking in time and productivity as most partners are still chasing clients for answers to questions and not leveraging technology in a way that maximises productivity.”
“OneApp is functionally rich and complies with the latest Apple rules and guidelines. It has some powerful USPs including deep integration with Receipt Bank and Virtual Cabinet, unique onboarding software for clients and a Budget Pack that is unique in the app space. It helps accountants to connect and communicate, manages all their key client apps and above all, improves workflow and data collection.”
MyFirmsApp can be found on Stand 798 at Accountex, ExCel, London on Wednesday, 23 May and Thursday, 24 May.