I have mentioned Elaine Clark who runs CheapAccounting.co.uk on my blog previously. Like me Elaine is very active on twitter. Like me she is a big advocate of twitter.

The main difference between us is that I make clear that twitter is no panacea and that you need to make time to understand it before you leap in. Elaine’s approach is to generate enthusiasm first before, effectively, confirming the caveats that I offer. We both do this in articles, blog posts and presentations. Indeed we spoke on the same platform for the ICAEW last year.

I was very impressed by a piece Elaine wrote recently for HSBC’s small business knowledge centre about how her business uses twitter.  You can read the whole thing on the HSBC site.

In her article Elaine explains that since she started using Twitter her website visitors have increased by about 50% per month. And, crucially that this resulted in increased sales.

Here are a couple of other things she says in the article:

My tweets [140 character messages] vary, but I always avoid ‘broadcasting’ – using Twitter simply to say ‘buy me’. The key to using social media is engagement and social interaction. I very rarely post any pure sales messages. It’s about getting people to like and trust your brand.

Elaine’s tweets often include links to her blogs and free advice guides. More often they involve general discussion and chit chat with one or more of her twitter followers. She sees this as simply being an extension of her offline networking. I have also noticed that Elaine sometimes comments on events in the news to add to or prompt discussion.

Just like the rest of your marketing activity, social media requires careful planning. It requires patience and hard work, too – success won’t come overnight. Using Twitter should be fun, so enjoy it.

I think the full article is a great case study and contains some excellent advice. I would add, as I have said elsewhere, that I think twitter works for Elaine for two key reasons:

1 – She uses it effectively – as she explains above; and

2 – The CheapAccounting.co.uk website has a clear focused, targeted proposition. It’s inviting and easy to engage with the business. Were that not the case then the increased business driven through Elaine’s activity on twitter would be much lower – and might not even be measurable.

So here’s my key question: Does your website echo your online messages and, in so doing, convert visitors who have followed links from your twitter account (or other social media sites)? If not, it’s something else you might want to address whilst you build up your profile on twitter.

If you are an accountant with a story that would make a good twitter case study, please get in touch.

NB: On 23rd February 2012 Mark is speaking at two masterclasses in London addressing (respectively) The ‘Why bother?’ side of social media and The ‘How to?’ side of social media. The main focus will be Linkedin and twitter. Full details here.

When it comes to the provision of business advice, I’ve previously suggested that accountants serving business clients, fall into one of four categories:

1 – It’s a no-go area: The accountant’s business experience is limited and perhaps they don’t feel that confident with the idea of providing business advice.

2 – Personal experience: The accountant is willing and able to share their own experiences of business over the years, perhaps drawn in part from working with other clients. Those accountants who have worked in (non-accountancy) businesses will also have a different type of experience to draw on.

3 – What others say: The accountant offers advice based on what they have read in books, magazines and websites and possibly what they recall from their studies and from attending seminars and conferences. However, their level of interest in developing this area of skill is much lower than their desire to keep up to date with technical knowledge.

4 – A systemised approach: The accountant has bought into a programme that assists them in adopting a structured approach to the provision of business advice and either they actively promote the service to their clients or they shy away from doing so and quit the programme.

Some commentators have provided near constant pressure over many years to encourage accountants to adopt the systemised approach. Nevertheless I understand that less than 10% of accountants in the UK have bought into the idea.  The vast majority are evidently not convinced. Why is that I wonder?

Most accountants seem to prefer one or more of the first three approaches described above. Perhaps their clients do not seem to be demanding a more formalised approach (or maybe the accountant perceives that their clients are not willing to pay for it).

What do you think?

I recently watched an old video clip of the professional services firm guru, David Maister, in which he highlights the six most scarce resources in most professional service firms:

• Energy
• Excitement
• Enthusiasm
• Determination
• Passion
• Ambition

David also points out that his research has proved that the top achieving firms are those that energise, excite and enthuse their people to perform at a higher level than their competitors.  I can echo this based on my own experience and observations over the years.

Those who’ve worked with me will also know that the listed resources are all qualities that I possess in abundance. I have no doubt that they helped me reach the top of my career more so than any technical skills or technical knowledge that I developed over the years.

Would your colleagues and clients use all or indeed any of these words to describe you or your firm? If there’s a mismatch as between how others see you and how you want to be seen you will need to do something to close the perception gap. If you do nothing then nothing will change.

What other factors do you think can determine your success?

As 2012 dawns here are 10 New Year resolutions that I would encourage ambitious accountants to make. This list has already appeared on AccountingWeb where I included links to articles on that site that explain each of the ideas in more detail. In the list below I have replaced those links with references to related posts on this blog:

1. Reducing the January rush

I will take responsibility for allowing so many of my clients to delay sending me all the information I need until January. I have had enough and will start planning now to stop this continuing year-after-year. (See ‘The January tax return rush is your own fault‘).

2. Billing

I will release cash by reducing my lock-up to 60 days through more prompt billing and applying my standard credit terms whenever clients fail to pay on time. (See ‘10 key actions you need to take when starting an accountancy firm’)

3. Services

I will be more open-minded and introduce one new service for my clients this year – over and above the recurring compliance services I have always provided. This will enable me to help my clients with their businesses and, at the same time, to become more profitable myself. (See ‘Not all Accountants are business advisers’)

4. LinkedIn profile

I will add a photo and an up-to-date summary of my current experience and abilities to my LinkedIn profile. This could make all the difference whenever someone is checking me out online: e.g. a prospective client, a prospective referrer or advocate, an ex-colleague or ex-client. (See ‘LinkedIn for accountants (part three)’).

5. Twitter

I will look into whether tweeting might be useful or fun. If I decide to give it a go I will check out how to make Twitter work for me. I will avoid posting puerile and self-promotional messages as these will not help me or my practice.  (See ‘Is twitter for me?’)

6. Alliances

I will establish a business alliance that will help my practice and my clients. Possible alliances could relate to any area of specialist expertise that some of my clients might need or I could form an alliance with a complementary service provider. We would learn how we can help each other’s clients and then agree to refer clients to each other. (See ‘Do you ensure your clients get the best advice or just your advice?’)

7. Plan

I will create a one-page marketing and business plan setting out what I want to achieve in the practice over the next year and what I will do to make this happen. (See ‘10 key actions you need to take when starting an accountancy firm’)

8. Talk with clients

I will make appointments to speak with all of my best clients within the next three months, just to see how things are going for them. Many of these calls and meetings will lead to those clients asking me to provide additional advice and services – that I can bill them for.  (See ‘What do you say when you ‘Keep in touch’?’)

9. Dump the duff clients

I will stop complaining about my three worst clients and will encourage them to find new accountants within the next few months. I will replace them with three new clients as I deserve to work only with people who appreciate what I do for them.  (See ‘Ditch the duff clients’)

10. Mentoring group

I will join a local mentoring group for ambitious accountants where I can learn from my peers and enhance my business and personal (non-technical skills). The group will help motivate me to keep all of my New Year resolutions. I also know I don’t have a monopoly on good ideas and I want to make 2012 the year that I learn to become more effective. (See ‘ What does CPD really mean?’)

What resolutions are you making as regards your practice this year?

Back in August I wrote a couple of blog posts about online directories. I was quite dismissive of their value to accountants and doubted whether the new entrants to the marketplace would be any different.

I was then approached by the CEO of Ask-An-Accountant. He understood my reservations but also helped me to understand why Ask An Accountant is different.

I have since agreed to promote the facility to my networks of accountants. And to help you understand how to use the facility to best effect. I will be writing further to this effect in the new year.Ask-An-Accountant is different – in a number of ways.

If you are looking to grow your practice I would suggest you sign up with Ask An Accountant - and soon.

Why? - The unique concept and approach has been proven in other disciplines (including lawyers and financial advisers); - There are no onerous contracts, back-end payments or long term tie-ins; - You simply pay a low fixed monthly fee for as long (or as short) a time as you want; - You get unlimited real-time quality leads without having to engage anyone to help; - You can check out prospects’ questions in real time as they drop in; - You respond direct to prospects who all provide an email address and phone number; - You choose how wide an audience of prospects you get to speak with; - You choose which prospects you want to engage with.

- Early adopters will also benefit from a further new business opportunity next year. The soon to be launched ‘Ask-A-Professional subscription service and website is likely to drive loads of new small business leads to the Ask-An-Accountant Accountants.

I am quite sure that you will secure a huge return on your investment if you join up now – and remember there is NO ongoing commitment. You can also benefit further from a 10% discount if you use this promotional code: ML50.

As such I am also sure that there will soon be a waiting list of accountants who want to benefit from the business generation opportunities presented by Ask-An-Accountant.  It is quite distinct from the online directories. If I were still in practice it is the one online facility that I would use to source new clients.

So do please take this opportunity to get in early. Beat your local competitors. And remember to secure your 10% discount! Follow this link.

Yes I know Christmas is coming and the Jan 31 filing deadline is approaching. At this time of year there are typically two types of accountants. Those who hold off all business development activity and those who see it as a great time to pick up on those clients and prospects who want to find a new accountant.

Which type are you?

What do the initials SME mean to you? Do they refer to small local businesses? The official Government definition, drawn from the EU definition and used for determining which businesses need an audit for example, is clear. Small and Medium-sized Enterprises account for over 99.9% of all UK businesses*

Any initiative that purports to focus on SMEs is not focused at all – unless everyone involved understands the initials to mean something more specific and all agree on what this is.

So I am a touch disappointed to read that the new ICAEW Business Advice Service is branded as being for SMEs.  That apart it’s a great move by the ICAEW to help fill the ‘advice gap’ left by the government’s decision to close Business Link.

It highlights the services available from Chartered Accountant members of the ICAEW, and demonstrates their commitment to economic growth by offering one initial consultation at no charge to SMEs and start-ups on the full range of business issues. It is intended to clearly differentiate ICAEW members from unqualified accountants, to highlight the services offered to SMEs by member firms and help introduce new business to members. Full details here: businessadviceservice.com

If I were still in practice I’d register to be included. It’s a branding exercise more than anything else as most member firms have long been willing to hold the initial no-obligation meeting with prospective clients – of whatever size.  There doesn’t seem to be any obligation on members to do anything different from the past.  So it’s a simple win:win for everyone.  Especially as ICAEW is launching a new advertising campaign promoting ICAEW Chartered Accountants and promotion of the Business Advice Service will run alongside this. This will include national and local media to ensure coverage across the UK.

What do you think?

*SME statistics from the Dept for Business Innovation and Skills

In a separate post I have listed the existing and about-to-be-launched online directory sites for accountants in the UK. They are all intended to appeal to people using the internet to search for a new accountant.

The value of paying to be included in any such directory site seems to depend on at least six things:

1) Search results

The directory on which you are listed must appear sufficiently high up the search results and be sufficiently compelling to attract interest from users searching for a new accountant;  Bear in mind that those people will not all use consistent search terms and some will be more expert at using search engines than others.

2) User willingness to use the directory

Sufficient numbers of those users must be willing to ignore both the direct links to accountants who come up in the natural search results and those whose ads appear in the pay per click ads on the right hand side of the search results screen;  And these people need to be the sort of new clients you would like to attract as new clients.

3) Non-search related promotion of the online directory

Some directories may promote and seek interest from users who see adverts for the online directory in the conventional business or personal finance press, on relevant discussion forums and through social media.

4) Site useability

Sufficient numbers of users must find the directory service easy to use and do not abandon their search before finding what they seek.

5) Your directory entry/activity

Your directory listing and/or response to enquiries needs to be more compelling than those of your local competition.

6) Your website / closing ability

If the directory site links to your website, how easy is it for a new visitor to satisfy themselves that they should get in touch? How easy is it for them to find your phone number and a name of someone to ask for? And how good are you at converting such enquiries into new clients?  (I have addressed a similar point many time before on this blog in the context both of social media and of websites for accountants)

Have I missed anything?  What sort of experiences have you had re online directory listings?

How many online directory services can there be for accountants?

I’m aware of three new ones about to launch:

www.ask-an-accountant.co.uk - Providing people with “direct access to great accountants free of charge”. Invites users to post a question and promises that a real accountant will respond in under 30 minutes. There’s also a listing service for accountants – £125 per month with  a maximum of 5 accountants per postcode.

www.switchmyaccountant.com - Offers people the facility to complete a ‘switch form’ and to be “matched with an accountant in your area”. The listing facility costs accountants £75 per month.

www.getaccountant.co.uk - Offers people the opportunity to find local accountants by ref to their postcode. Accountants can obtain exclusivity of promotion for upto 4 specific postcodes. Accountants are encouraged to offer fixed fee quotes.  Special discounted facility for first 200 licencees £27 per month.

Others that have been around a while include:

www.choose-your-accountant.co.uk – A different model. Businesses looking for an accountant place an ad describing their needs.  Any registered accountant can submit a tender for the work. A maximum of 4 tenders are allowed per lead. Accountants are automatically alerted to leads which fit their stated preferences and only pay for leads they want to puruse.

www.accountantlocal.co.uk – Local directory listings of accountants. Appears as a paid for result above the natural search results in Google. Seems to be no charge for being listed. I assume accountants later get invited to pay extra to be ‘featured’ in the local search results.

www.searchaccountant.co.uk - Allows users to search for accountants in their postcode area. Results will show upto max of 7 who have paid to be listed. Launched 2001 but only 4 of the areas have max 7 accountants in them. Unclear what accountants have to pay to be included and to add their own articles and news items. FAQs page is “coming soon”.

www.find-uk-accountant.co.uk – Directory listing. Basic listing is free for accountants who then pay £14.99 per lead. Alternative is a premium listing for £10 a month with added benefits – leads then cost only £9.99. The site contains a comparison with 4 other sites that are not accountant focused (ie: none of those listed above). Users of ClearBooks get a special deal.

www.find-me-an-accountant.com – Claims to be more of a dating agency approach than a directory. Users identify their needs and are matched with accountants who have registered and shared their info. Accountants then pay for targetted leads that are passed to them.

www.uk.servicestart.com/accountant.do – User is required to enter post code, answer 10 simple questions and provide summary of their enquiry. Accountant only pays anything if they decide to contact the customer. “You never risk competition from more than 4 other providers on any job.”

www.uk.servicestart.com/Tax-return-assistance.do – As above but there are only 6 questions this time.

www.unbiased.co.uk – This “the leading consumer search” site operates a directory service for IFAs, mortgage advisers, solicitors and accountants. There is no charge for advertising and users choose who to approach from the adverts they see when they enter their postcode. Enhanced ads, which make it more likely that users will choose you and easier for them to get in touch, are £29pm

Also popping up in the search results when someone searches for accountants are a couple of standard directory listings showing accountants in the local area:

www.yell.com

www.thomsonlocal.com

And, for tax specific advice and support from vetted experts in their fields I should also mention my own: www.TaxAdviceNetwork.co.uk

Each of the sites that require payment to list accountants claims to be highly rated by Google. The sites reference ‘Search Engine Optimisation’ (SEO) – as justification for this. It means that the directory site is optimised to be attractive to Google (and often to other search engines too). In theory this means that the directory site appears high up on page one of the results whenever anyone in the UK searches for a new accountant. That’s the theory anyway. Some of these sites appear more often when the search for a new accountant includes words that also appear in the directory’s name.

Are there any others to add to the above list? Beyond the Institute member listing services that do not appear to have been Google optimised.

[Edit: Chartered Accountant members of the ICAEW also have the facility to receive referrals through the new ICAEW Business Advice Service being launched in Autumn 2011. See: BusinessAdviceService.com ]

I’ve written a separate blog post highlighting what I think are the 6 factors that will determine whether it is worth paying to be included on any of the paid for directory listings.

I’d love to know what degree of success accountants have been getting from their directory entries and whether they favour any in particular. If you’d rather tell me privately so as to not to publicise your success to others do contact me direct. Many thanks

Most lawyers only know a world in which they have to quote fees and charge for the provision of advice.

Few solicitors have the luxury of charging recurring fees to clients who come back year after year for the same recurring compliance service. Accountants, on the other hand, tend to earn much of their fees from work related to their clients’ annual accounts and tax returns (hence the term ‘recurring compliance services’).

Lawyers and accountants are also different in another way. Most solicitors typically specialise in specific areas of law and their clients know this. If you’ve been to see a divorce lawyer you wouldn’t be surprised if they recommend a colleague or third party to resolve a commercial dispute. No one would mind if a property lawyer suggested you see someone else to help you with your will. And so on. Indeed, most people seeking legal advice would prefer to see a specialist rather than the same lawyer who dealt with some completely different matter on a previous occasion.

Following on the thoughts in recent blog posts here I believe that accountants have a choice. The best ones will, in my view, specialise and niche their practices. They will focus on a specific type of clients, industry or area of work. They will not attempt to be all things to all people. They will be happy to admit when clients have issues that require expertise that is outside of their comfort zone. They will charge higher fees when they give advice on matters that do not recur each year. And they will seek out opportunities to provide this higher value advice in their specialist niche areas.

Instead of focusing on their recurring client work each year they will operate more like lawyers and they will be more profitable, more fulfilled and more in demand.  Do you agree? Let me know what you think.

The above comments follow on from recent blog posts and are taken from the final section of my contribution to a report, ‘GRF is killing the profession‘,  recently published by Bob Harper. He says it contains contributions from “leading thinkers, advisers and consultants to the accounting profession.”  (Ron Baker, Bob Harper, Dennis Howlett, Mark Lee, Mark Lloydbottom, Michael McKerlie, Finola McManus, Steve Pipe and Paul Shrimpling)

Many accountants focus on the recurring work that each client requires and the recurring fees that this will earn the practice. This is understandable upto a point.

The busier the accountant becomes the more there is a tendency to avoid opportunities to give ad-hoc special advice. And if it is provided there is a fear that if a high fee is charged this will scare the client off. And then the recurring fees will be lost.

This is a point I alluded to in yesterday’s blog post in which I noted a common reluctance among many accountants to seek specialist support when clients require advice that goes beyond the accountant’s day to day experience.

A focus on recurring work and the associated recurring fees is also doomed to change in the near future. There are an increasing number of alternative, low cost and professional alternative service providers. Those clients who perceive that all their accountants do is produce accounts and tax returns will be at risk. At the moment there is just a trickle of a move to online, cloud solutions and DIY compliance. This trickle will increase starting at the lower end but across the board as everyone looks to get more value (for which read ‘advice’) from their accountant.

Do you agree? Let me know what you think.

The above comments follow on from yesterday’s blog post and are taken from my contribution to a report, ‘GRF is killing the profession‘,  recently published by Bob Harper. He says it contains contributions from “leading thinkers, advisers and consultants to the accounting profession.”  (Ron Baker, Bob Harper, Dennis Howlett, Mark Lee, Mark Lloydbottom, Michael McKerlie, Finola McManus, Steve Pipe and Paul Shrimpling)