CPAs and Selling – Not Always a Perfect Match

                                                                     

In one of the classic scenes of the 70s sitcom “Happy Days,” Richie Cunningham is on a dating dry spell and his self-confidence is hovering at an all-time low. He enlists his pal and womanizer Fonzie for help to jump-start his love life but to no avail. When Fonzie instructs him to approach a pretty girl in a booth at the local greasy spoon, he responds with an opening line of “You don’t want to go out with me do you?”

Some folks are simply not salespeople – whether selling themselves or services. Throughout my career I have met more than a few of what I would call “platinum-level” salespeople. During a  brief job tenure at a health club chain many years ago, the head of sales was a sultry, turquoise-eyed redhead named Joan, who literally could market a lifetime membership to the folks starring in the reality show “my 600-pound life.”

With a husky voice reminiscent of a prime Lauren Bacall and the body of a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, she had most drooling male members signing on the dotted line within minutes. And truth be told, she was equally effective with potential female members as well. It was no surprise she easily led the company in sales year after year.

Ditto for a salesman at a local car dealership. While my wife and I waited “on deck” to be waited on, I watched as he not only closed a deal in minutes but got a young couple to agree to every conceivable upgrade that model could offer. The dealership manager later confided to us that the man sold 267 vehicles the prior year, which comes out to 1 sale every 1.4 days.

Sadly, salesmanship is not a skill that most CPAs possess.

To be fair, it’s not something they learn between auditing and tax classes, nor is business development taught in many accounting curricula. And as most of us know, business development – particularly in light of the current economic and health climate -- is critical for the future of many firms.

Some firms have circumvented the often, uncomfortable situation of having their partners mine for new clients by hiring business development specialists. But for the smaller firms without the financial and staff resources of their larger counterparts, it traditionally fell onto the shoulders of the owners or managing partner to go out and find business.

I read an article recently which advised CPAs to sidestep the typical sales pitch and instead go for what she termed, the “value” pitch. Steer the conversation away from your firm and instead focus on what the client expects out of the relationship in terms of THEIR goals.

Obviously not everyone with a CPA credential will suddenly morph into the aforementioned health club and auto salespeople, but it’s too critical a skill ignore.

I’m sure even Fonzie would attest to that.