CPA Practice Advisor - 24

BRIDGING THE GAP

Tips for Developing

True Consultants
IF YOU'RE LIKE most firm leaders, you're working on expanding your firm's core service

SANDRA WILEY

President, Boomer Consulting, Inc.
sandra.wiley@cpapracticeadvisor.com

lines to become more consultative for your clients. Firm partners and managers know the
technical side of the business. They can teach and train it well. But even if they
serve a consulting role with clients, teaching their staff to act like a consultant is
entirely different. Many aren't even sure where to start.
In a tax or audit engagement, the scope of
services is well defined and documented. But
consulting has almost unlimited possibilities.
How do you train people to recognize all of those
possibilities and meet client needs?
We developed our Certified Consultant
Training to meet a need we saw in the profession. While growing into a true consultant takes
time and practice, here are three changes you
can start making in your firm to help you move
toward that goal.

CREATE
CAPACITY
One of the first hurdles many CPAs face when
they're trying to expand their service offerings
is finding the time and headspace to do it. When
people are working eight, ten or more hours a day
on compliance work and feeling the pressure of
deadlines and client demands, there just isn't
the time or bandwidth to do more.
Most of us have very little uninterrupted
quiet time to think deeply about what our clients
really need because we spend so much time fielding texts, calls, emails and more.
There's no one "right" way to create that
capacity. For most firms, it involves a combination of technology, process, delegation and prioritization. Whatever combination of strategies
works for you, make a commitment to make a
change. Freeing up even an hour a day to have
more in-depth conversations with clients and

MAY 2020 ■

really think about how the firm can better serve
them can really move the needle in your firm.

COLLABORATE
Consulting is a team sport. It requires a variety of
skill sets and backgrounds. To serve your clients
in new ways, the people in your firm will need
to think and act differently than they do today.
This may involve working more closely with
people in different departments or siloes. It will
almost certainly involve hiring non-accounting
graduates. It's about getting the best person for
the job, regardless of their degree or designation.
A good collaborative team checks their egos
at the door and focuses relentlessly on the goals
of the project or the needs of the client.
Invest in tools that allow your team members
to collaborate with each other (and with clients)
regardless of their location, including cloudbased systems and communication tools. If you
don't have these capabilities, your firm will miss
out on opportunities.

HAVE BETTER CLIENT
CONVERSATIONS
One of the most critical steps to successfully selling a consulting engagement involves having a
conversation with your client. Many accountants
dread "sales" and approach these conversations
with apprehension.

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Everyone in your firm needs to get past their
fear of "sales." Exploring client needs and figuring
out how the firm can create value is the responsibility of everyone in the firm. The first step is
building a relationship - something everyone
should already be doing in their compliance work
roles. The second step is to show clients how the
firm can solve their problems.
It's rare for a client to approach their CPA
with a clear understanding of their problems
and how the firm can help. Instead, we need to
become adept at asking the right questions and
earning their trust. That ability doesn't always
come naturally, but it's something that can be
cultivated over time.
It's easy to put off consulting conversations
when people are busy doing compliance and
transactional work. And many professionals
fear consulting because they think they need
all of the answers. But as a consultant, it's more
important to be interested and interesting. There's
never been a better time to work on increasing
your connection to clients and offering them
more strategic services. Embrace a new mindset
and become a true consultant for your clients. ■

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CPA Practice Advisor

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