august2021 - 12

THE LEADERSHIP ADVISOR
A GUIDE TO BETTER
Client Communication
In an accounting world obsessed with advisory services, it's
strange that we tend to overlook the foundational aspect of
relationships: communication.
YOU DON'T NEED to be a research expert to find countless articles online detailing the
vital importance of advisory services for accounting firms preparing for the future. As
AI and machine learning advance, the thinking goes, compliance accounting based on
computational accuracy and efficiency will become less valuable, forcing firms to lean on
consultative services to generate value. The logic makes perfect sense, but knowing you
need to improve and having the tools to do it are two entirely different matters. And when it
comes to advisory services, no tool is more important than effective client communication.
What's important to note here is
that successful communication for
advisory accounting is much more
complicated than what's required
for compliance services. When your
main job is making sure documents
get filed on time and the
numbers add up,
your main job as a
communicator is
to be timely, succinct,
and clear.
However, when
you want to actually
help your clients
improve their businesses,
you need a greater range of
communication tools.
To frame it another way,
you can't just be a good
service provider; you have
to make a real connection
and be a trusted confidant.
That trust is built through multiple
interactions and conversations, and
if you have the tools to make the
most of those conversations, you'll
be more helpful as an advisor.
With that in mind, here are some
ironclad communication tips for the
advisory era.
ASK QUESTIONS EARLY
AND OFTEN
Whether you're having a first
sit-down with a new client
or chatting with a
business owner you've
known for years, you
need to ask pointed
questions in order to
learn about the client's
business. Understanding
the mission and values of a
business allows you to animate
your analysis with knowledge of
the qualitative parts of running
a company. Similarly, learning
the pain points your clients deal
with regularly will help you
provide individualized advice.
No business owners want to feel
like they're getting cookie-cutter
suggestions.
You have to be willing to dig
deeper for detail and reframe
12 AUGUST 2021 ■ www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
questions when you're not getting
enough information. Taking the
time to really investigate your
clients in as many ways as possible
shows that you care and are
invested in their success. It will also
provide a much clearer picture of
their operations.
COMBINE DATA AND
NARRATIVE
As an accountant, you know how to
look at numbers and see the story
they are telling. Many clients don't
share this skill. You can't just show
a client a spreadsheet and expect
the client to figure out its deeper
meaning. To close that gap, it's so
important that you contextualize
numbers in order to help the client
make sense of your advice. The hard
truth is that the quality of your
advice or its basis in statistical fact
doesn't mean much if you cannot
present it in a compelling way. If
you've done your homework and
asked good questions, you'll be able
to attach your findings to a story
AMY VETTER, CPA.CITP, CGMA
Mindful Technologist &
Keynote Speaker
@AmyVetterCPA
that resonates with the client.
Becoming too reliant on narrative
is also a problem, though
perhaps one fewer that firms fall
victim to. Nevertheless, you can't
offer advice based on hunch or gut
feelings alone. The data has to tell
the same story you are. Finding the
right balance between numbers
and narrative will strengthen the
impact of any consultation.
ADAPT STYLE TO CLIENT
PREFERENCES
In some ways, clients resemble your
friends and relatives. Like those
in your personal life, your clients
will each have individual ways of
communicating. Some clients will
prefer unvarnished honesty in
the simplest terms possible while
others may require a more delicate
touch. Delivering advice to clients
in the style that makes them feel
comfortable and cared for will go
a long way in them acting on it. In
this respect, some clients may prove
much more difficult than others. If
you want to succeed in advisory,
though, you have to make the effort
to find the communication methods
and styles that work best for the
people you serve.
There
are many ways
to
strengthen the suite of advisory
services at your firm, but none will
have as wide-ranging effects as
focusing on the basic necessity of
effective communication. ■

http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

august2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of august2021