Excelling at Personal Business Development

May 2015

Leading Edge Alliance

Presented by Art Kuesel

Art Kuesel, President

EXPERIENCE

Sales Executive3 years inside $60M CPA firm5 years inside $25M CPA firm6 years at PDI/Koltin Consulting2 years at Kuesel Consulting

EXPERTISESales CoachingSales/Marketing Training

EXPERTISE (Cont.)Keynotes, Presentations, Workshops on GrowthGrowth Plan Development/ImplementationManaging Partner CoachingSales & Marketing Recruiting

STREET CRED→Top 100 Most Influential Person in Public Accounting: 2014→In-house and external experience→Clients include scores of T250 Firms including a third of the T100→Frequent writer and blogger for Accounting Today→Accomplished speaker and presenter on growth trends

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Workshop Agenda

1. Accelerating your career path

2. The four quadrants of personal business development

3. Top strategies and tactics for success in each quadrant

4. Next steps

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Accelerating your Career Path

Career Accelerants in Public Accounting Throughout History

Before the Great RecessionTechnical KnowledgeClient Service

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Since the Great RecessionTechnical SpecialtyClient Development

PLUSStaff DevelopmentNew Business Development

Career Accelerants in Public Accounting Throughout History

Before the Great RecessionTechnical KnowledgeClient Service

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Since the Great RecessionTechnical SpecialtyClient Development

PLUSStaff DevelopmentNew Business Development

Four Quadrants of Personal Business Development

Four Quadrants of BD Success

Q1: Client Development

Q2: Referral Development

Q3: Personal & Professional Development

Q4: Prospect Development

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Polling Question #1

1. What isn’t one of the four quadrants of personal business development success?

a. Referral developmentb. Prospect developmentc. Client developmentd. Advertising

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Top Strategies for Success

Q1: Client Development

1. Relationship Depth

2. Relationship Breadth

3. Cross-Selling

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Q1: Client Development

1. Relationship Depth

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Q1: Client Development/Relationship Breadth

Partner

Manager

IT Consultant

Accounting Services

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CPA Firm Client

Generation 1 Owner

CFO

Generation 2 Owner

Office Manager

Q1: Client Development/Relationship Breadth

Partner

Manager

IT Consultant

Accounting Services

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CPA Firm Client

Generation 1 Owner

CFO

Generation 2 Owner

Office Manager

Q1: Client Development

3. Cross-Selling

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Q2: Referral Development

1. Access your client’s COI

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Q2: Referral Development

2. Aim for 10 “A’s” and think broadlyAn “A” RS sends you one good client/yearMost accountants only have 2-3 “A’s”Think beyond bankers and attorneys…You will need to meet 25-50 people (or more) before you find ONE “A”

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Q2: Referral Development

2. Aim for 10 “A’s” and think broadlyAn “A” RS sends you one good client/yearMost accountants only have 2-3 “A’s”Think beyond bankers and attorneys…You will need to meet 25-50 people (or more) before you find ONE “A”

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Q2: Referral Development

3. Touch your “A’s” quarterly!A good referral source for you is a good referral source for your competitor“last touch” does influence referralsLunch, coffee, cocktail, thought leadership, event invitation, etc.Plan and execute effectively

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Polling Question #2

2. How often should you touch your “A” referral sources?

a. Only when they call meb. 4x yearc. 12x yeard. 24x year

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Q3: Personal/Professional Development

1. Find a few trade/civic/business groups to join

2. Find a niche and specialize (personal brand)

3. Find a sponsor within your firm

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Q3: Personal/Professional Development

1. Find a few trade/civic/business groups to join

High quality target audience Frequent meetings (8-12x/yr) Vendor member friendly Low competition Opportunities to get involved, promote,

share thought leadership

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Q3: Personal/Professional Development

2. Find a niche and specialize (personal brand)Specialization is the futureNiche expertise

influences decisionsSpecialists deliver

greater value…Charge more…Earn more

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Q3: Personal/Professional Development

3. Find a personal sponsor within your firmWho’s looking out for you?Who has your back when you’re not in the room?Who can advocate for you?Who can coach and support your career development?Meet with your coach quarterly!

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Q4: Prospect Development

1. Define your target market

2. Touch these targets frequently

3. Succeed at the sales process

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Q4: Prospect Development

1. Define your target market Size Industry Geography # Employees Now, identify your “top 25”

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Q4: Prospect Development

2. Touch these targets frequentlyResearch connections on LinkedINCirculate your list to your partners, referral sources, clients, etc.Make value added touches

based upon your researchBe persistent and patient!

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Q4: Prospect Development

3. Succeed at the sales processFacilitate an effective discovery meetingCreate compelling value propositions by asking great questions during the discovery meeting!Skip the old quality, service, and relationships pitch and create unique value propositions that prove you’ve been listening

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Q4: Prospect Development

3. Succeed at the sales process

ASK:

What do you expect from your CPA/advisor?

What do you like/dislike about your current firm?

What’s missing from your current relationship?

What’s the biggest change on the horizon?

What are you most concerned about?

How will we be evaluated/What do we need to do to earn your business?

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Polling Question #3

3. From the prospect perspective, what differentiates your firm from others in your marketplace:

a. Serviceb. Relationshipsc. Qualityd. None of the Above

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What’s Next?

What’s Next

1. Find a BD buddy

2. Commit to increasing your personal BD activities Staff/Senior Supervisor

2-4x Month Manager

2-3x Week Director/Senior Manager/Partner

1x Day

3. Ask to be more involved!

4. Resources @ www.kueselconsulting.com/LEA

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What’s Next

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Thank you!

Resources for you at www.kueselconsulting.com/LEA

Art Kuesel

art@kueselconsulting.com

312.208.8774

www.kueselconsulting.com