6 killer questions for a client who thinks you’re only about compliance
‘For Accountants taking Clients Along the Runagood® Business Pathway’
What did you think about last year’s tax bill?
How is your personal wealth proceeding?
How will you ensure there is enough cash in the bank to go through this year?
What business issues do you see as problematic this year eg marketing, customer service, systems, people, there must be one?
What lifestyle / ambitions do you have to exit the business?
What ambitions do you have for the business to develop?
Don’t take notes, but use ‘Active Listening’ i.e. as they answer you interrupt to summarise “so what you’re saying is xxxxxxxxxxxxx?”
Answer yes, you move to the next question. Answer no, ask the question again, and summarise again. This way you can easily make the notes later in your CRM system from memory because you only have 6 imprinted things to remember.
Do not talk about solutions at this stage, however tempting.
Book the next meeting, because you now have the raw material you need to work out some solutions. Just say you’re coming back with a plan to ensure that they finish the year where they want to be. No charge.
In my next post I’ll talk about how to prepare for the next meeting.
Practical stuff from AI Business Advisor® see the series here