The Client Interview
Your success with a client begins in the very first appointment you schedule. When you interview clients in order to determine their business practices, you establish a working relationship through which you gather the information necessary to successfully organize and manage their financial data. The more effectively you conduct these interviews, the more successful you will be. The following 5 tips should help you do just that:
1. Get personal. You’ll have difficulty connecting with your clients unless you make a genuine attempt to get to know them. At the beginning of your appointment, take some time to chat about their interests, their families, their likes and dislikes. Listen attentively. This demonstrates consideration and respect, which will put clients at ease for the remainder of the interview.
2. Establish trust. It’s important that you tell your clients, upfront, that you will safeguard their privacy at all costs. While most of them are aware that you are required to do so, mentioning it specifically will give them peace of mind and enable them to continue the interview without hesitation.
3. Determine why they’ve come to you. You should talk about their previous experience with accountants and bookkeepers. Will you be the first one they retain? If not, what provoked them to retain your services over another’s? Understanding their previous relationship with financial professionals will help you establish and meet their expectations.
4. Ask your questions. Before the meeting, determine what, exactly, you need to know. Then ask your questions, being sure to note all the answers and drilling deep with follow-up questions when necessary. Don’t be afraid to rephrase questions when you don’t get complete answers from your clients. However, be patient and continually show respect.
5. Act professionally. From what you wear to the manner in which you speak with clients, all your interactions must reflect true professionalism. This will enable you to build a solid reputation in your community; it will also be the basis for which you will be known in referrals and word-of-mouth marketing.
Your relationship with clients begins in your very first meeting; the client interview. Take the time to adequately prepare and establish an effective exchange which will launch both you and your client toward success.
Mastering QuickBooks
It’s important that you continually look for ways to improve your skill-set. UAC’s Professional Bookkeeper’s Guide to QuickBooks (PBG) will enable you to master this accounting software, saving yourself time and energy as you work with your own and/or your clients’ accounts. To become more efficient by learning all the time-saving features QuickBooks offers, enroll in the PBG Program today! Call Universal at 1-877-833-7909.
