Sort your Practice, then sort your Clients
Every day I speak to accountants who are considering diversifying into business advisory and they often say “how can I credibly offer business advice. What do I know about managing client marketing, operations, systems, people and profits?”
To which I answer “more than you think, because you’re already doing all that in your own practice”
“Ah” they say “but I don’t do any marketing because it’s all referrals, my operations manage themselves through people who don’t need supervision because they are trained in compliance work, all the accountancy software I’ve bought isn’t applicable to any other business and profits are just a function of how much I can charge”
To which my further answer is, “turn your practice into a business and when you’ve done that, you’ll know exactly how to help any client’s business with any problem to greatly raise your revenue. And by the way you know more than you think”
After a long pause for reflection my accountant then says, “so how would I do that then?”
“Let me see your business plan” I say. “Ah” (a wry smile) “it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have one would it!”
“Right then” I say, “here’s where we begin your journey with a plan to become a full business advisory practice, and you an experienced business advisor”
And so, during a lively hour I induct them through a (free) process that goes like this:
Vision statement
E.g. by 2030 my practice will be recognised locally as the first place to go for anyone with a business problem or ambition
Mission statement
E.g. we work with business owners to fix any problem and realise any ambition
Marketing Objective
E.g. we will add 10% to sales every year from new clients
Operations Objective
E.g. we will add 10% the revenue per client every year
Systems Objective
E.g. we will increase business operating efficiency by 10% every year
People Objective
E.g. we will raise productivity by 10% every year
Finance Objective
E.g. we will raise profits by 10% every year
Value Objective
E.g. this practice will sell for £3m in 2026
Strategies
E.g. we will:
Benchmark our performance against these 6 measures to see what is possible
Analyse each to see what:
Strengths we have to build upon
Weaknesses we suffer that ought to be fixed
Opportunities open to us that we can exploit
Threats we confront that should be defended against
Action Plans
Make one for each strategy with names, dates and numbers
Ensure everyone in the practice has at least one for which they are accountable
Implementation
Weekly consultancy training
Consultancy technology licensing
Business Advisory marketing
Practical work with real businesses
Monthly team meeting to review and correct progress and problems
Coaching throughout the training period
On demand support
Outcome
E.g. £3m practice sale in 2026
Objections
Time
“Ah” says my accountant “but there is no way I can find the time to do all that, it sounds like a full-time job in itself”
To which my reply is “it’s a new way of life that liberates you by integrating business and accountancy so that you meet every client’s every need.
And by the way, thanks to technology, items 1-10 above take just one hour…
…so I’ll give it to you for free – right now if you like.
Item 11 takes three hours per week in the training period and new income will commence by month 3 of the implementation programme”
Risk
“Ah says my accountant “what if it doesn’t work and I don’t get the ROI?”
To which my reply is “if you implement the plan, I’ll guarantee the ROI”
Cost
“But what if I can’t afford it?” says my accountant.
To which my reply is “the first three new clients will fully cover all the training and licensing costs and it’s pure new profit thereafter”
Marketplace
“But how will I find the clients?” anguishes my accountant.
To which my reply is “we’ll start with the 200 you already have and get an extra £100 per month from each one. And if you want more, we’ll engage you with another 1000 businesses near you. We know how to do it”
Reaction
I say “you now have a plan of how to do it which has given you 3 things:
How easily and quickly the skills and technology will build a plan
What it feels like to be a client of your new business advisory practice
You feeling that you can do this yourself for any business”
Proposal
I say “work with us, and by month three you will have learned so much about business consultancy, selling it, delivering it, profiting from it that you will progress rapidly through the key learning stages of:
Conscious incompetence – now
Conscious competence – 3 months
Unconscious competence – 6 months - ie doing it standing on your head
So, we get to the end of the meeting…
My accountant says, “there is so much to get hold of here, my head is spinning, I need a couple of weeks to think it all through. I suppose you get that a lot with accountants?”
“Yes, indeed” I reply. “Most sales organisations have a pipeline of leads and prospects, but Runagood® has a ‘fence’ of accountants. (No offence intended…)
“So, I’m putting the next meeting in both our calendars now, at which you will make a decision (please) because I need your help in making my fence shorter…”
By Duncan Collins
Founder of Runagood.com Ltd