6 Habits To Retain Clients

Successful Bookkeeper and Accounting PracticeClient retention is a principle that is often overlooked or underestimated, but it’s vital for the healthy success of any business. If you are a small business or an independent accountant this can be especially true and critical. The smaller you are, the more important client retention will be for you.

Maintaining good client relations will mean profit in the long run and, surprisingly, bring you new business. We can help you spot trouble in retaining your own clients and help you form better habits for maximum client retention.

  1. Assess Needs – From the earliest stages it is critically important to understand the needs of your client. You must resist the urge to assume you know what is best for them or to give them the same packages or options as other clients. Figure out individual needs first, then do what you can to meet them.
  2. Get Personal – Taking some time to get to know your clients builds a more lasting relationship, and don’t forget to let them get to know you too. Share small snippets of your life and leave some time for small talk when possible. Let them see you’re a real person, and that you know they’re real people too.
  3. Be Prompt – Create habits of fast response and punctuality. Respond to calls and emails as quickly as possible. If you make an appointment for a meeting or call, commit to it and be on time. You are creating a reliability that keeps your client trusting you.
  4. Reward Loyalty – Rewarding clients who stick around is a great way to keep them sticking around. It fosters more enduring loyalty and will definitely be shared to attract new clients.
  5. Check the Temperature – Frequently check the happiness and needs of your clients. This can be done via email, surveys, or regular phone calls to check in. Allow them opportunities to give you constructive feedback, and then do your best to make necessary changes.
  6. Communicate – It’s important to keep your client posted on what you’re doing. Most Americans would say that they prefer to be informed about what services they are getting, so let them know when you make a decision for their business or get good news about a financial or legal matter that concerns them. When they feel like you’re honest and informative, they’ll stick around.

Can you see any weaknesses in your own business? Adopt as many of these habits as you can for your small business and soon your new clients will be lifelong assets. It’s time for you to become an Accountrepreneur.

 

How To Become A Growth & Profit Expert

Growth & Profit – the buzzwords to make any businessman start salivating. Growth and profit are the left and right hands of any successful business, yet they can be elusive or confusing. How do I create sustainable growth? Can I maximize my profits without changing my processes? How can I create a business plan that can get me where I want to go in a year or five years?

Or maybe you are a seasoned business expert, ready to move beyond the everyday administration of your company in favor of passing along vital knowledge and creating greater value. There is a huge need for business coaching and consultation – but not from just anyone. What businesses need now are Profit & Growth Experts.

What is a Growth & Profit Expert?

More than just a business coach or generic consultant, a Growth & Profit Expert is specifically trained and certified to provide greater value and increased profits for clients.

Profit & Growth Experts are businessmen and women who have learned a lot through their own experience and want to share it with others. They work side-by-side with clients to create plans for manageable growth, yearly goals, and profit increases.

A Profit & Growth Expert can offer services alongside normal bookkeeping or accounting, adding increased value to clients and increasing their own earnings through the advanced certification.

How To Become a Profit & Growth Experts

Becoming a Profit & Growth Expert is a fast, affordable, and easy way. You can become a Profit & Growth Expert without taking time off of work, without traveling, and without set class times. Universal Accounting offers Certified Value Builder Training completely online, at your own pace. The tuition involves a competitive payment plan and even scholarships.

UAC Value Builder CertificationCertified Value Builder training is only 16 hours of instruction – all on your own schedule.  You can complete it all from your couch on your own time, while continuing all your normal work activities. Becoming a Profit & Growth Expert can happen quickly, and as you offer your regular services to your clients. In turn, once certified, you can begin offering your clients more intensive Profit & Growth consulting that can change their business in a meaningful way. Simultaneously, your value increases as you become a Profit & Growth Expert.

If you’re ready to offer more, or looking for ways to increase your value to your clients or potential customers – it’s time to consider Certified Value Builder Training.

 

5 How To Build A Client Pool

Your client pool is your lifeblood. Without a strong client pool your business will always operate under the stress of needing more. Instead, a strong and ever-growing client pool takes your business into the black with ferocity. Unfortunately, many small accounting or bookkeeping firms struggle to maintain and build a client pool that will meet their needs. Today we can show you some principles for building a strong client pool for your small business.

5 How To Build A Client Pool

  1. Start With What You Have. If you fail to take care of the clients you have right now, your client pool may shrink to a puddle. Meet your client’s every need. Improve your service and ask what you can do better. It’s time to create a strong reputation. Give surveys and regularly check in with each of your clients for satisfaction guarantees.
  2. Increase Referrals. Your existing client pool is your best source for new business. Their referrals carry more weight than any advertisements. Create incentives for your clients to refer their friends or to share information about your business. Of course, this only works if you’ve successfully tackled Step One. Simply enjoying the services you offer and trusting you is the best possible chance for a referral.
  3. Diversify. It can be risky to build a client pool of homogenous groups. Instead, use your current client pool to identify the groups you are missing. You can target other types of entrepreneurs, small businesses, corporations, and more. That way economics, seasonal swings, or industry shifts can protect your business.
  4. Increase Your Presence. Show up online, in print, in advertisements, and in community spaces. When you are more present, more potential clients have the opportunity to find you. Create social media accounts, consider online marketing, and place ads where possible. You may also consider volunteering with business organizations or charities.
  5. Treat All Equally. Small potential clients and big, old customers and new. Treating each individual with high potential and quality will help you build trust and attract new clients. Building your reputation is critical for building your client pool. Be willing to customize your approach for individuals.

Finally, none of these steps are quick fixes. They work best when you set aside time each week to dedicate to growing and retaining your client pool. If you are still struggling to grow a client pool for your accounting business, Universal Accounting School offers a guaranteed success path to a vital client pool and increased revenue.

 

3 Reasons You Should Get Your Professional Tax Preparer Certification

In the world of accounting, there are far too many who limit themselves to what they learned getting their CPA degrees. They enter the workforce and find an acceptable job and stay relatively comfortable for their entire career. While this can be safe and expected, it may also be limiting your earning potential, dreams, and future possibilities.

At Universal Accounting, our entire mission is to help you continue your education to become the best accountant you can be, and to keep your options wide and lucrative. One of the best options is to become certified as a professional tax preparer.

What is a Professional Tax Preparer?

A professional tax preparer has particular skills and knowledge applicable to the tax code and can use careful training to prepare taxes more effectively for themselves and clients. More than just your family or business accountant who is taking care of your finances, a professional tax preparer is well versed in all the different tax benefits and programs which can benefit citizens or businesses.

3 Reasons You Should Get Your Professional Tax Preparer Certification

  1. Further Specialization. This certification allows you a deeper insight into the American tax code and federal laws surrounding it. You will better understand how to file your own taxes and how to help others. You can maximize your tax filing for profits, and become a better accountant in the process.
  2. Career Value. By taking this step, you immediately become more valuable. If you work for a firm or company, you become an asset that can earn them more money through tax filing – which often leads to a raise or promotion. If you work for yourself, you now have more clout and reputation you can use to increase your client pool .
  3. Increased Revenue. It may come in the form of a raise from your very happy company. It may come in the form of being able to break out into your own firm and maximizing your own profits. It may come through taking on private clients during the tax season and helping prepare their taxes as a side hustle or temporary gig. No matter what, this certification spells major dollars and cents for all who achieve it.

What are you waiting for? Professional tax preparer certification makes all the difference for accountants who are stagnant or bored in their current jobs, or for people looking to make a career change. And we can help you do it.

 

Two Major Keys To Success In Accounting

Universal Structured Power Coaching, Coach FeedbackAs you pursue your career in accounting, there are so many paths to take. You may want to own your own firm one day. Find a promotion. Land a big raise. Regardless of your goals, there are some basic keys to your success in the field of accounting, and every single successful accountant can boast of these characteristics. You can do well with one or the other, but only together do they cooperate for success and freedom in your accounting future.

First you should take some time to address where you are now. Are you a beginner? Experienced? Expert? What are your future goals in your career of accounting? Are these goals available to you at the current time or will you need a big change to achieve your goals? You need some clarity for what you want before you can fully develop these traits. Then when you’re ready you can begin working on these two critical keys to success in accounting.

Competence

The primary key to success in accounting is of course competence. You must be good at your job. You need to be able to work efficiently, meet deadlines, think critically, and make effective decisions for your company or clients. You can begin working on your competence by reviewing your strengths and weaknesses in your current accounting position. Identify ways to strengthen your weaknesses and to display your strengths. Universal Accounting courses are available to bolster your accounting skills to maximize profits for yourself and your clients.

Confidence

This trait is by far the most lacking in the business of accounting. Most accountants believe that their work will do the talking, and that confidence is a trait for salesmen and athletes. If you do your job right you’ll have success right? Maybe. But the only way to truly guarantee success in your accounting career is to pair competence with confidence. Display your skills and speak up. Share your confidence with your superiors and clients. Believe that you can find creative solutions to any accounting problem, and that any endeavor you assume will be successful. Confidence transforms a mediocre accountant to a star accountant. Clients and firms will be attracted to your confidence and find more value in your efforts.

Are you lacking in competence? Feeling less-than-confident? Universal Accounting School is here to help. We offer courses and materials to help you flesh out both traits in your accounting life. You can become any accountant you want – we can make you a successful one.  Now is the time to become a Profit & Growth Expert and then a successful Accountrepreneur.

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