Episode 412: The Disruptors: Martin Bissett Argues for the "Commercialization" of the Tax and Accounting Profession

With Liz Farr for CPA Trendlines

More here: https://cpatrendlines.com/?p=96260

To win the staffing wars, accountants must develop a talent pipeline, practice advisor Martin Bissett tells Liz Farr in this exclusive interview.

The firms winning in recruiting and retention are using a portfolio approach to nurture prospects who might be ready to join the firm at some point in the future, a world-renowned sales and marketing consultant, a long-time contributor at CPA Trendlines, and, most recently the co-host of the UK-based Accounting Influencers podcast.

More Take-Aways from Martin Bissett:

• A growing trend in the UK is the “commercialization” of the profession, where private equity firms invest in accounting firms, especially at the mid-tier level. With a change in governance to boards and a CEO/COO/CFO/CMO structure, firms are changing from accounting practices into accounting businesses. 

• A desired result of commercialization is that clients will be better served: more financially literate, fewer insolvencies, and more economic prosperity for all, developing young professionals into commercially minded people who create value rather than provide services. 

• What’s never been in place at most firms is discipline around business development, marketing, and selling, which we have labeled as ‘soft skills.’ If accountants don’t have skills in selling and marketing, how can we expect our clients to regard us as trusted advisors who will help them generate more sales? 

• If you want to win clients of a higher caliber, you need to communicate why they are better off with you than where they are now because they will have to break a loyalty barrier to leave their current accountant. 

• Most accountants have never been taught, coached, or trained to run a commercial enterprise. Likewise, most clients have no experience with firms that offer any kind of value proposition. Then the deciding factors are how close they are, how much they are, and do you get on with them.  

• When you are providing a commoditized service, price is your enemy. Providing the additional value that justifies higher prices has not been part of the training or the education for accountants and is therefore not known. 

• When you chase deadlines for a living and hire people to chase deadlines, that doesn’t allow for innovation or value creation. Instead, be willing to think about whether what you are doing is what you want to do. At what level of pain is it better to tolerate the discomfort of change so you can create something better?

Martin Bissett is the author of

• Winning Your First Client,
• Passport to Partnership,
• Meet Your New Best Client and
• Business Development on a Budget

Shop the Martin Bissett Practice Growth Collection

He is the founder of The Upward Spiral Partnership Ltd., the UK-based consulting firm that specializes in the implementation of professional selling and leadership skills in the next generation of accounting professionals.

And he is co-founder of AddviserPlus, a training and consulting hub for accountants and bookkeepers who are ready to go beyond commoditized compliance and technology-based services and embrace the prosperity and rewards from providing high-value advisory services, one client at a time.