As advisers, we design, offer and deliver services that we believe are relevant and will benefit clients.

During this period of unprecedented disruption, retaining clients – fearful of losing their businesses or cash strapped and looking for cost savings – will become an overriding concern for many practitioners.

Small businesses are like a line of dominos waiting for someone to tip over and start a cascade. We are all interconnected to some extent; our business relationships mean that what is experienced by other concerns may at some point impact our affairs.

To survive this process, and retain some semblance of activity, accountants may need to ensure that the services they offer are indispensable and provide a discernible benefit to clients.

A few features of the services that firms may need to look into in the coming months could include:

• A race to the bottom of the pricing of work is undesirable and so relying on pure compliance work may be risky.
• Communicating the value of services provided may prove to be as important as providing the services in the first place.

Ignoring the concerns of clients will not do. Taking time to sit back and listen, to appreciate these concerns, could be the key to allow your practice to stand aside from the line of dominoes.

Cultivating the ability to empathise, so see a different point of view, will enable you to expose clients’ fears, and consequently, the problem they may need your help in solving.

This is an eloquent win-win outcome for practitioners and their clients. 

Source: New feed