How to ensure clients never complain about fees and stay with you for life.

The success of your accounting firm comes down to being able to charge the prices you want and never losing a client to the competition.?

How do you achieve that?

First, you need to do the technical work well and deliver a consistent, high-quality service.?

That alone, however, isn't enough - because most accounting firms already do that. To avoid the loss of clients to the rest – you need to be better.

Other firms already know about Xero or Dext, and they have the same tax knowledge as you. The key to exceeding them is going further than the job and actively looking to build a bond with clients.?

You do that by focussing on the seven relationship drivers:

Communication; better and more often

Have fun;?sharing a smile brings people together

Be genuine and honest;?this shows you care about the other person

Be a great listener;?when the other person feels heard they feel more connected

Be emotionally responsive;?be there for clients, understand their needs, and value them as a person

Build commitment;?keep your promises to each other

Be a giver;?you can simply give some time and energy to a client

One way to do this is the 'Wheel of Life'; a simple tool designed to help business owners explore their satisfaction in different areas of their life.

You can use a pen and paper; draw a circle with lines from the middle to the edge of the circle for each ara of your client's life that is important to them. Then mark each line from 0-10 with zero at the middle and ten on the circumference.

Ask the client to not analyse this process too much, instead suggest they go with their “gut feel” to score each line and see what the wheel looks like. If everything is good it will be a big smooth wheel, if not life is going to be a bumpy ride. To be perceived as more professional you can use LifeNumber.co.uk, which has a free starter plan.

This simple tool will help you understand:

• What's important to your clients
• Why it's important to them
• How they define success as well
• How they feel

When you have this type of conversation you will be seen as a giver, an accountant who is prepared to share and facilitate client growth – with no “angle” or intent to profit from that support. It shows commitment from you and lets your clients know you truly understand their needs and value them as a person, not just a job where you crunch numbers. And, as well as an opportunity to demonstrate you are a great listener, genuine and honest you'd be amazed how much fun these types of conversations can be.

Getting clients to?work with you?to complete their Wheel of Life can be built into your standard workflows, perhaps at the year-end meeting and/or during onboarding. Or, you can offer this selectively to clients with a one-off 'Business Performance Review' (BPR) or a 'Step-Back Session' (SBS).

What to do if the client has a problem?

When your client sees their life is imbalanced (as shown in the example wheel above), it highlights the potential need for change.?Using the image above, with a few questions it's possible to know:

• What they can't do now they would like to
• What they are going to have to compromise when they retire
• How do they feel about not being able to play as much golf as they want
• Where they'd like to go on holiday but can't afford

These are the problems that your clients ultimately want to solve; our clients don't have profitability. growth, strategy, or cashflow issues, they have lifestyle problems. And, when they connect paying you to help them get and keep the life they want they will buy more services, never complain about your fees, and stay with you for life.

Note - always include 'Money in the future (retirement)' on the wheel because many clients may not aware they have a problem because they have never completed a Lifestyle Cashflow Forecast to see how much money they need to live the life they want for the rest of their life.

This is a very powerful exercise that will help you develop a bond with a client and bring out hidden problems. Use LifeNumber.co.uk to help forecast your client's financial future and check if they have too little, too much, or just about the right amount of money.

If your client has a lifestyle problem (either now or in the future) before suggesting any solutions, it's important to give the client time and space to mentally process the consequences of the problem. They may never have really thought about it before to the level where they truly 'own' the problem.

Become a Life Centred Accountant

If this resonates with you then perhaps becoming a Life Centred Accountant is something to explore.

This initiative was launched in 2021 off the back of working with Paul Barnes of MAP - there is no joining fee to join, it comes with a Facebook Group and the right to use a badge to help differentiate your firm.

Joining is a great opportunity to introduce using the Wheel of Life to your team and clients alike, as well as introducing the idea of Lifestyle Financial Forecasting.

To join sign the manifesto and I'll send you a welcome pack with a link to the kick-off webinar,