In this episode, we are meeting with Jon May, Director at the Chamberlains law firm. Chamberlains is a full-service law firm with niche expertise in the cryptocurrency sector, drawing on knowledge from its commercial, tax and litigation teams. The firm has been helping clients in the sector for some time but is now accepting payments in most major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Chamberlains Law Firm was the Australiasian Law Awards Law Firm of the year in 2020 and has kept cumulating industry awards throughout the years.
Jon has been a lawyer in the Australian Capital Territory since 2007, during which time he has run some of the largest litigation in the ACT. Jon applies a practical client-focused approach to each case, which means that he works closely with his clients to achieve the best result in each case. This approach is borne out of Jon’s ability to problem solve difficult legal issues in highly litigious circumstances. Jon is known for his ability to run complex estate litigation matters and also medical negligence claims. He has run some of the most complex medical negligence litigation in the ACT and in doing so has achieved many great results for his clients.
In the Spotlight
In the Spotlight recognises legal and accounting practitioners who demonstrate innovation, success, and commitment throughout their work.
Each month, we select individuals or firms to acknowledge the positive impact they have had on their community or their industry sector. If you think you know someone who fits the bill, please send us a 100-word summary to media-au@quickfee.com telling us why they deserve recognition.
Submission criteria:
The legal or accounting professional has shown an unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction while still assuring the profitability and viability of their business or profession.
They have helped a client turn around business profits with innovative business opportunities.
They have outperformed their peers in their sectors, market segments and geographical areas in terms of community service.
Alistair Marshall has huge empathy with professionals who never get taught how to build their practice and this challenge has been exacerbated with the arrival of Covid 19 which has restricted the availability of random acts of coffee and lunch.
He has more than 30 years of experience in business development. His fast and proven solutions have helped law firms, accountancy practices, banks, engineers and other professionals to quickly attract new clients and win more new business.
Alistair has worked in business development for multi-national corporations, with responsibility for budgets in excess of A$100m.
Professional Services BD
Professinal Services BD specialises in helping professional services firms to become more successful.
They provide business development services to lawyers, barristers, accountants, bankers and wealth managers, infrastructure and engineering firms, digital agencies, ICT and software consultants.
In the Spotlight – David Dahm, Health & Life This month, we are meeting with David Dahm, Chartered Accountant, CEO and Founder of Health and Life. David Dahm deeply cares about healthcare and ethics, and has incorporated his beliefs and principles into his accounting practice. With a passion for finance and health, David brings a different perspective on accounting services.
David is recognised as a national healthcare expert and trouble shooter for medical, allied health practices and public hospitals. David has conducted, over 460 articles and media interviews. He has presented as a keynote speaker at conferences and presented over 950 presentations in his over 25+ year career. David has appeared in the Australian, The Australian Financial Review, Sydney Morning Herald, The Advertiser, The Medical Journal of Australia, Medical Observer, Australian Doctor, Readers Digest and In the Black. He also has performed audio interviews for GP Business Essentials.
In the Spotlight
In the Spotlight recognises legal and accounting practitioners who demonstrate innovation, success, and commitment throughout their work.
Each month, we select individuals or firms to acknowledge the positive impact they have had on their community or their industry sector. If you think you know someone who fits the bill, please send us a 100-word summary to media-au@quickfee.com telling us why they deserve recognition.
Submission criteria:
The legal or accounting professional has shown an unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction while still assuring the profitability and viability of their business or profession.
They have helped a client turn around business profits with innovative business opportunities.
They have outperformed their peers in their sectors, market segments and geographical areas in terms of community service.
In this second episode of In the Q, Bruce Coombes and Alistair Marshall discuss the importance of setting your fees high enough and getting paid what you’re worth.
Find out why discounting your fees won’t necessarily help you gain more clients and how you can, on the contrary, be more profitable by charging a premium fee.
Bruce and Alistair also discuss the importance of specialisation, especially when it comes to professional services business development.
Alistair Marshall has huge empathy with professionals who never get taught how to build their practice and this challenge has been exacerbated with the arrival of Covid 19 which has restricted the availability of random acts of coffee and lunch.
He has more than 30 years of experience in business development. His fast and proven solutions have helped law firms, accountancy practices, banks, engineers and other professionals to quickly attract new clients and win more new business.
Alistair has worked in business development for multi-national corporations, with responsibility for budgets in excess of A$100m.
Professional Services BD
Professinal Services BD specialises in helping professional services firms to become more successful.
They provide business development services to lawyers, barristers, accountants, bankers and wealth managers, infrastructure and engineering firms, digital agencies, ICT and software consultants.
We are launching our new podcast: In the Qwith BruceCoombes. Bruce welcomes thought leaders to discuss the best business advice for accounting and law firms. Tune in while you’re “In the Q”, waiting for your coffee in the morning or during your commute to work, and be inspired to grow your practice at the start of your day.
For our first episode, our Managing Director Bruce Coombes sits down with Alistair Marshall, Director of Professional Services Business Development, to chat about utilising your support staff to build strong client relationships. Watch the episode here: https://youtu.be/sQTeSPk7yGg
Alistair Marshall has huge empathy with professionals who never get taught how to build their practice and this challenge has been exacerbated with the arrival of Covid 19 which has restricted the availability of random acts of coffee and lunch.
He has more than 30 years of experience in business development. His fast and proven solutions have helped law firms, accountancy practices, banks, engineers and other professionals to quickly attract new clients and win more new business.
Alistair has worked in business development for multi-national corporations, with responsibility for budgets in excess of A$100m.
Professional Services BD
Professinal Services BD specialises in helping professional services firms to become more successful.
They provide business development services to lawyers, barristers, accountants, bankers and wealth managers, infrastructure and engineering firms, digital agencies, ICT and software consultants.
This month, QuickFee is launching In the Spotlight to recognise legal and accounting practitioners who demonstrate innovation, success, and commitment throughout their work.
Each month, we will select individuals or firms to acknowledge the positive impact they have had on their community or their industry sector. If you think you know someone who fits the bill, please send us a 100-word summary to media-au@quickfee.com telling us why they deserve recognition.
Submission criteria:
The legal or accounting professional has shown an unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction while still assuring the profitability and viability of their business or profession.
They have helped a client turn around business profits with innovative business opportunities.
They have outperformed their peers in their sectors, market segments and geographical areas in terms of community service.
In the Spotlight – Michelle Messer, MJM Accountants
Michelle Messer from the QLD-based accounting firm MJM Accountants is our first to be In the Spotlight. MJM Accountants, founded in 1992 by Michelle and her parents, focuses on bringing colour and fun to the accounting industry. Michelle’s vibrant personality brings a breath of fresh air and just seemed like the perfect way to launch our new Spotlight series.
It’s fair to say that Michelle likes to do things a little differently. Whether she is running the practice, painting watercolours, or creating comic books, Michelle manages to be both effervescent and down to earth at the same time – which is an approach that she has carried through to her practice.
From the vibrant and engaging superhero theme branding to their love of a good night out, this is one firm that doesn’t fit the cookie-cutter mould of most suburban firms. Their website even challenges this stereotype by asking, “Who says accountants are boring?”
Beyond being a successful business owner, Michelle ensures that fun is the core of everything she does, which means that the team at MJM Accountants also does things a little differently.
The team has built a profitable book of clients who love working with them while maintaining their positive outlook and creating a sustainable work/life balance.
They are firm believers of flexi-time, and for every minute someone works over their contracted 38 hours each week, they get time off as compensation. They also don’t hesitate to cross over roles within the team, with everyone jumping in to answer calls or complete admin work or anything else that needs completing. Michelle says that this all-hands-on deck model works so well because they don’t have any deadwood in the team. Instead, every team member wants to be there and support each other and the company.
They are a tightly bonded group that is intent on having fun. Like the time that the whole firm rented camper vans and took a road trip to Melbourne – alternating driving duties with completing tax returns – so that Michelle could don a horse costume and take part in Hamish and Andy’s Race That Slows Down the Nation. Their clients loved it, with many following them along the way on Instagram.
Their culture is founded on having fun, and they are so serious about maintaining a positive culture that they don’t tolerate demanding customers. Therefore, all potential clients need to meet with the firm in a two-way interview process whereby the team must agree they are the right fit before coming on board. By doing this, Michelle says they ensure they have a great group of clients who refer other great people.
Through initiatives like this, Michelle has built a loyal client base and an even more loyal team that genuinely enjoys the work they do and the people they work alongside.
But Michelle’s work-life looked very different seven years ago.
Her days were filled with back-to-back client meetings and phone calls, and to get the work done, she was consistently having early starts and late finishes – all with a young family at home. So, Michelle knew there had to be a better way of doing things.
It wasn’t until she attended a few medical appointments that she noticed that most specialists have specific days each week when they see patients – a very standard practice in the medical field. Which begged the question… if a patient is happy to accept this from their doctor – why would they not accept the same from their accountant?
So, in 2015 Michelle’s practice implemented something they call Client Days. These are two scheduled days per week purely dedicated to meeting with clients, meaning the remaining days are free to spend getting through the workload. With balance restored to their days and stress levels lowering, the team also decided to start sending two team members into every client meeting so that the client always had multiple people to contact if they needed help. It also meant that if someone wanted to take leave or was off sick, the client’s needs were still being met, and the business could keep ticking along.
This simple change instantly impacted the staff and created a lifestyle change that allowed for greater productivity and flexibility – while still delivering high service levels to their clients. With their streamlined processes, the team can balance their work and home lives and thrive in both.
Michelle has a lot to be proud of, from their humble beginnings in 1992 to the vibrant business they have built today. So, on the 16th of Sept 2022, MJM Accountants will celebrate its 30th year in business, and true to Michelle’s style the party will be a big one.
Join the Elites – Insights from the minds of the super successful
Our Managing Director, Bruce Coombes, was recently invited to participate in the first-ever episode of the webinar series Join the Elites. Host Taryn Holman, National Sales Manager at Seamless SMSF, is joined by a different accounting industry expert each episode to hear about their formula for success and seamless profitability.
According to Bruce, the accounting formula that gives you less frustration, more profits, and more time to yourself is one where you position “the right customers, the right staff, doing the right things that you want to do. So it stops being work and starts becoming fun.”
With 42 years of industry knowledge, Bruce outlined his key insights to help you get to that end goal and enjoy yourself along the way.
Surround yourself with good people
With the amount of time you spend at work, it’s essential to surround yourself with good people. Most successful businesses will agree that it is easier to find good clients than find good staff. However, once you find nice clients, they will gladly refer like-minded people if they are happy with your service. Likewise, nice employees will refer good people to work with you if they feel valued. Ensuring you invest the time to keep good people by investing in your culture and refining your processes builds an environment where you have the right people in the right positions doing the right jobs with a positive mindset.
Don’t try to solve all of the problems
The impact of the pandemic on Australian business has unfortunately meant an increase in the number of business closures. The flow-on effect to the accounting industry has been significant in terms of work volume. Accountants across Australia have been working tirelessly to support their clients as we work through the economic impact of the pandemic. According to Bruce, the “sheer fatigue in our profession needs to stop” as you can’t solve every problem for every person.
Being realistic about what clients should be a part of your practice is vital to the long term success of your business, and you will need to manage your clients to ensure you have the right ones on board.
Triage your clients
Helping struggling clients is one thing, but when you overload your books with too many of these clients, you will start to see the impact on the macro level. You are a business, not a charity.
Bruce identifies three criteria for good clients;
They have the ability to take advice
They have the capacity to listen
They pay
Simply put, clients that don’t take your advice or don’t pay should not be your clients.
A business that can balance helping clients in crisis and getting paid what they deserve will survive and thrive. Ultimately, you have an obligation to your primary stakeholder – your family. However, you do not have an obligation to a failing business that will not take your advice.
Finding good clients makes it easier for you and your team to do the work they enjoy. Don’t put up with the difficult clients – if they don’t align with your vision and culture, help them find a better-suited firm.
Don’t undervalue yourself
Consider this analogy, would you choose a discount heart surgeon or the best, most expensive one when it comes to your health? There is no doubt that surgeons deliver fantastic value to their clients – but they do not do it for free, and nor should you.
When you lower your costs, you undervalue yourself and the service you provide your clients. Which is a trend that Taryn says is all too common in accountants as, by and large, they are genuinely caring, good people and feel that minimizing their costs is the best way to help their clients. Remember that your clients are not paying for an hour of your time – they are paying for your experience.
Book a meeting with yourself
There will always be something that demands your attention, but according to Bruce, “being busy is not a badge of honour”. Instead, ensure you block time in your diary to allow yourself time to think and reflect. By taking back control of your time, you have the chance to properly digest information and create the opportunity for innovative thought.
Rules for scaling your business
According to Bruce, there are two basic rules for scaling your business.
“Growth for growth’s sake is absolutely pointless. There is no point in having a chart that goes up and profit that doesn’t move. You are in business to make money.”
You are in business to make money!
These rules mean that you simply will not stay in business in the absence of making money, and to stay in business, you must have a clear vision of your end goal in mind, value and invest in yourself, and surround yourself with good people.
About Seamless SMSF
Seamless SMSF is an Australian, privately owned Self-Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF) Audit Firm that offers SMSF Audit services to accounting firms. Having built a Live, Fully Integrated Workflow Portal, accountants can access contractors who supply back-office labour to assist them with functions necessary to run their accounting businesses successfully. This unique portal, paired with outstanding service, has made Seamless SMSF Australia’s #1 SMSF provider for accounting firms, now auditing in excess of 19,114 funds. Click here to enquire.
It is no secret that competition to win accounting clients is getting fiercer and fiercer. With accountants acting as the gatekeepers of small businesses, we look at what technology has come into the market for accounts over the last few years?
One of the greatest changes that has happened in the accounting world is the cloud.
The shift to the cloud has been enormous across the board. It has impacted our ability to work on any file, at any time, in any place. Meaning you could work on client matters at home, during a lockdown, at the office or even the beach.
The sheer volume of accountants and their clients embracing Xero over the last ten years has been transformational. Before Xero came along, how would you have gone through a lockdown situation without being able to see how your business is performing? The number of companies embracing Xero now and creating plugins is significant.
Futrli helps their clients save money by analysing and finding gaps in their cash flow and then helps them to plug that gap. That not only helps the accountant, but that information can be passed onto the customer, who in turn, can do their own cash flow analysis. It aids the accountant by enabling them to have a visual conversation with their client rather than a spoken one.
It’s not all about tech! The accountant’s job is to interpret what comes out of the tech, and Swoop helps the business to access the money and services it needs to grow. Whether that be funding via government grants, savings on international money transfers or a range of other options that can be better prescribed when you are using the right analytical tools in the first place.
Practice Ignition takes the routine and mundane tasks of sending and following up on client proposals and makes it seamless – the time-saving value of that alone is significant. In addition, the proposals themselves are put together in such a fantastic way with second to none presentation. Being able to plug into Xero, QuickBooks and MYOB is also invaluable.
Accountant’s love getting paid and love seeing their clients get paid. If there is a technology that allows your clients to have a positive experience when paying a bill, then that is a game-changer. QuickFee allows your clients to pay in the time they need. Knowing that both you and your client is taking care of is phenomenal.
Business Fitness has end to end technology that creates efficiencies. The How Now document management product takes the standardised processes and creates productivity.
Paytron automates and simplifies processes. They also allow you to handle the international payment all on one platform. It’s convenient and solves a problem that is annoying by taking away the static and friction in a business process and allowing the business to do what it’s good at doing.
If we look to the future – what sectors of the accounting industry may be ripe for disruption in the next few years? Anything routine such as simple data matching processes will likely be replaced. A computer can do a routing process better than any human can, leaving people to what they are good at.
You’ve probably been faced with payment objections more than once. We’ve all heard it before: “The price is too high for me”. This can be one of the most frustrating situations for businesses, especially those who are selling services and can spend a considerable amount of time preparing a quote.
Fee objections are common in sales. There are several reasons why prospects would reject a quote. Sometimes, it is only part of an expectation that pushing back on cost will get them a discount. However, a ‘no’ can also mean that the person doesn’t understand the “value” they are getting for the cost.
Whatever you’re selling, the best response to a price objection is to showcase the most valuable parts of your products/services. You don’t need extensive training to learn how to handle payment disputes. You simply need to further investigate the reasons behind your clients’ objections.
What Motivates Clients To Reject An Offer?
Businesses are in need of advice now more than ever, from legal and accounting to communications and crisis management. Meanwhile, outsourced professional services are often seen as “optional” by prospects who don’t understand how important it is to seek expertise. The ones that need your services the most would often be the most hesitant and reluctant to pay for it.
It is however important to not undervalue the service you are offering as a first approach. While discounting has its place in the sales process, being too keen to reduce your margins could lower your service perceived value. You should get paid what you are worth, and fee rejection offers you a window to really demonstrate your true value.
Price disputes are normally the results of one of these three circumstances:
Unrealistic expectations. One of the reasons why your client might be declining your fees might be that they don’t understand the full scope of what they are paying for. If they say that your fees just seem high, this might mean that they don’t understand the ROI they might get from your services. It puts you in a position to objectively define what is included in your offer. Make it clear what you can accomplish on a short and long term for them and their business. Using clear and concrete examples, or introducing case studies and other clients’ success stories as proof points can reassure them.
Cash flow and budget problems. If your client affirms that they can’t afford your services at the moment, it is important to get a better understanding of where the issue is truly coming from. First of all, you can ask them if the price is the only thing that’s keeping them from signing. This gives the person the opportunity to express any other concerns they might have.
Once you’ve cleared all other objections, it is time to explore how you can make your fees more affordable. An easy solution to cash flow problems is to offer flexible payment solutions. QuickFee offers client-centric flexible payment solutions that let your clients pay over time instead of in a lump sum.
Alternatively, you can also explore solutions to fit your services into your clients’ budget. You can ask how much your client is ready to pay and redefine the scope of a project accordingly. If you decide to discount your price, make sure that it serves your business long-term strategy. You can offer a lower fee for a period of time for example and then default back to your normal price, or accept to discount under the condition of signing a longer term agreement.
Competition. Your client might already satisfied with their current providers or they might have found cheaper quotes online. “Expensive” is relative. Once you find out what the person is comparing your product or service fees to, you can then uncover what extra value you’re bringing to justify the extra cost. You must put on your investigator hat to discover your client’s true needs and see if they are being met. Once you find the gaps, you can customise your offer and differentiate on value.
How To Showcase The Real Value Of Your Services?
Lack of trust in your brand or services might be the underlaying problem behind a fee objection, as well as not understanding the need or urgency for a specific service. To convince a prospect, the first step is to address the above.
Improve Trust In Your Expertise And Your Brand Improving your ability to present yourself as a trustworthy expert in your field starts by showing empathy, listening carefully to your clients and prospects and investing in your own brand.
It is important to understand that a sale is not about you, but about your client. Make empathy a priority during sales meetings. A sale starts by building the relationship with the client. Put yourself in your prospects’ shoes and turn the conversation towards their own needs instead of defending your products or services. The key is to not to try too hard to impress and only offer advice once your client had a chance to thoroughly explain their situation. Positioning yourself as someone who can listen and acknowledge your client’s concerns will present you as a trustworthy, genuine advisor. This quality will increase the value of your services in the eyes of your prospect and help reduce friction when discussing fees.
You might also want to build more brand awareness and create content that showcases your expertise. Case studies and clients’ success stories are a good way to prove the quality of your service. You can also produce white papers, e-books or video clips which include free advice. Building expert content will help back up your claims and show evidence of your expertise. Brand expert Stephen King once said: “A product can be copied by a competitor; a brand is unique. A product can be quickly outdated; a successful brand is timeless.” Make sure to emphasise the authority your business has in the market. Positioning your brand right can help convince your prospects of the extra value you offer and justify higher fees. Reinforce The Need And Urgency Of Your Services For Your Clients
Are your services truly aligning with the needs of your prospects?
Pause and listen to your clients before responding to understand your client’s needs. Once you’ve acknowledged your client’s objections, ask open-ended questions to clarify and understand what are their current objectives. They might not realise how much added value your services could bring to help them reach their goals faster.
If you see an opportunity, present them with an overview of what results they could get by hiring your services. Make sure to give concrete examples and include numbers if possible. It is also time to share relevant stories and expert content you might have created. Relatable clients’ testimonials can create more confidence in your services.
Offer Your Clients Flexible Payment Options
If cash flow problems are still an issue, expanding your payments options could help you win more clients and reduce payment objections. QuickFee offers a wide range of flexible payment options that suit every client’s needs.
If you’d like to learn more about flexible payment options, schedule a demo with one of our experts to learn more.
Why Payment Options Should Be Part of Your Legal Marketing Strategy
The 2020 annual benchmarking study conducted by the Australasian Legal Practice Management Association (ALPMA) has identified revenue growth, cashflow and lock up as the main financial challenges for law firms, with work in progress (WIP) and debtor days often exceeding 90 days.
As clients seek certainty in fees and flexibility when it comes to payment, many firms had to move away from traditional billing, looking into alternative to ensure their practice’s profitability. With the impact of COVID-19 and many clients accessing Government stimulus and Job Keeper programs, it is now, more than ever, time to rethink your payment collection strategy.
Consumers are making decisions based on their favourite payment methods, so offering greater flexibility can help you convert more prospects. Best of all? It’s incredibly easy to include payment options in your legal marketing strategy.
4 Easy Steps to Showcase Your Payment Methods
Step 1: Offer alternative payment methods.
Want to really stand out from the competition? There are several flexible payment frameworks offered on the market. If you are seeking a client-centric approach with payment plans specifically created for legal services, QuickFee offers solutions adapted to your client’s needs. Here is a list of the different payment solutions currently offered:
Non-recourse, interest-free and credit risk free monthly instalments – for firms of all sizes
Generic legal fee funding services – for firms with a revenue over $1M
Step 2: Create a dedicated payments or pricing page on your firm’s website.
Did you know that pricing and payment pages tend to be the most visited spots on websites? All you have to do is add an online payment portal link or payment landing page to your site’s navigation bar. It’s not the only thing prospective clients will consider, but it might help get them in the door. See an example here
Step 3: Give your clients a payment link at every single touchpoint.
Online payment methods are appealing because they’re convenient. Increase that convenience by adding your online payment portal everywhere. That means including it on invoices, flyers, and any other communications so that the link will always be available. As a bonus: This can also help reduce your accounts receivable over time.
It’s a good idea to include your payment link(s) in all the following places:
Invoices
Emails
Web pages
Banners
Table tents
Flyers
Step 4: Include payment methods in your call-to-action.
If your firm is already committed to a strong legal marketing strategy, it’s even easier to start promoting payment options in your PPC campaigns. Add “Now accepting flexible payments” to every call-to-actions, on your forms or web pages.
Professional Services BD
This month, we are meeting with David Dahm, Chartered Accountant, CEO and Founder of Health and Life. David Dahm deeply cares about healthcare and ethics, and has incorporated his beliefs and principles into his accounting practice. With a passion for finance and health, David brings a different perspective on accounting services. 
