Clients that haven’t had an accountant before may not realize what a critical role an accountant can play in their business. They may wonder how a person goes about selecting a good accountant. Before advertising your services as an accountant, you have to decide how you want to present yourself to potential clients.
Here are six important questions to people usually ask themselves when deciding to hire an accountant.
Can the accountant speak my language? – Is a sheet at the end of the month with a bunch of numbers what clients are expecting from an accountant? Or are they expecting someone who knows the business world and can guide them on an ongoing basis? In order to decide what clients need from their accountant, you will need to be in tune with the business needs of those in the community you’ll be serving.
Value as well as compliance – You’ll always be expected to be in compliance with federal, state, and local rules and regulations, and perhaps even international rules and laws. Determine whether your clients are likely to have businesses that require interstate or even international tax and income reporting laws to be adhered to.
Pricing of services – Will clients need to hear from you daily? Will they have enough work for that type of an arrangement, or should those duties be done by a bookkeeper?
Type of technology – Do clients in your area expect you to be up on the latest technology or do they prefer hard copy record keeping for everything?
These are some of the important considerations to make when choosing how to market your services to clients. It is important to know your market – is it a working class area where you’ll serve individual clients employed in the same industry? Or, is it a major metro area in which you’ll be serving the business needs of an assortment of tech-savvy clients. Being in touch with the needs of your potential client base will help ensure you build a successful practice that will serve your community for years to come.
