Running a successful tax practice depends on your ability to persuade potential clients that your services are valuable. This requires a keen awareness of their needs. In order to determine whether or not your services are a good match for their needs, you must initiate a sales conversation that enables you to ask key sales questions. To begin your sales conversation we suggest you apply the following three tips:
Be friendly, not schmoozey. When you are friendly it puts potential clients at ease. Make sure that you are sincere; be yourself. Consider this individual your friend, someone you can help. And remember that while they will have to pay for your services, the time and energy you will save them, in addition to your ability to make them more profitable, is well worth your fee.
Show evidence. You’ve heard it all before. You should not only talk the talk, but you should walk the walk. If you’re attempting to persuade potential clients that your services will enable them to become more profitable, you must provide concrete examples of how you can do that. And if you can, provide examples of how you’ve made that happen with other clients. As they say, the proof is in the pudding—you need to show them some pudding.
Exude enthusiasm. Your passion for what you do is often more convincing than any logic or evidence you may present. When you exude enthusiasm you convince your audience that there is conviction in your message. And when they believe that you believe what you’re saying, you will have gained a measure of trust.
Now it’s time to get busy and ask those crucial questions. In a recent Inc.com article, author Geoffrey James shares “15 Perfect Sales Conversation Starters.” Here we share 6 of those questions which fall under three distinct categories:
Assess Needs
- What do/don’t you like about what you’re currently doing?
- What would you like to enhance or improve?
Budget Allocations
- What can you tell me about your priorities?
- How do you handle budget considerations?
Confirm the Buying Process
- What can you tell me about your decision-making process?
- What obstacles might get in the way of moving this forward?
These questions are a great start in helping you determine a prospective client’s needs and whether or not your services are a good match.
Allow Universal to Help
Universal Accounting is an IRS Continuing Education Provider which enables students to use their Professional Tax Preparer program to desiring to fulfill their CE requirements in order to become Registered Tax Return Preparers.
The IRS oversees the approval of all CE providers. Because Universal’s tax training was already recognized as a sponsor of Quality Assurance Service (QAS) self-study courses, after meeting the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy’s (NASBA) rigorous standards, the Professional Tax Preparer program was easily adopted by the IRS. Universal is happy to act as an IRS-approved Continuing Education provider and is confident that its tax training will enable countless graduates to advance their careers in the finance industry.
If you would like to learn how the Professional Tax Program can enhance your career as a paid tax preparer, call Universal Accounting at 1-877-833-7909.
Resource
James, Geoffrey. “15 Perfect Sales Conversation Starters.” 25 October 2012 Inc.com
