How To Take Your Professional Services Business Online
In today’s example, I’m going to use accounting professionals as the example.
I’ve previously done this using insurance professionals as the example. You can read that article here.
This video shows you what your business can look like under the new rules of COVID-19.
The camera is located where Stephanie's client would normally sit. So in this video, you are seeing exactly what you would see if you were sitting in Stephanie's office.
There's no part of a tax consultation that actually needs to be done face to face.
That means Stephanie can deliver the exact same service that she always has, without putting herself and her clients at risk.
How Do You Do This?
You start by educating your clients on how to do digital record-keeping so they can provide you with all their info without a physical handoff being involved.
That means they can send you all their documentation, you can process everything, and then you can do their tax appointment via web conference.
That also means you can service clients in any state.
You don’t have to be Nostradamus to see that paperless record-keeping is where we were ultimately going to end up anyway. COVID-19 is just forcing us to get there a lot faster.
Tax preparers who adapt to the circumstances will do just fine.
Tax preparers who do not adapt will lose clients to the tax preparers who do.
Don’t Test Your Clients’ Loyalty
It’s really quite simple: Customers will go with whichever service provider can deliver the service they need.
I, personally, will not be going to in-person tax appointments or any other kind of in-person appointments that could be done just as effectively via web conference.
An in-person appointment is an unnecessary risk of death and I will happily work with people like Stephanie who do not require me to take such a risk, even if that meant leaving my existing service provider.
My primary loyalty is to me. And the same applies to your customers.
Fortunately, I was already working with Stephanie, so I didn’t need to switch tax professionals.
The question is how many of your clients are going to switch to someone like Stephanie because you’re not offering a solution that they find acceptable?
Next Tax Season Will Be Here In A Blink
And COVID-19 will still be here.
In fact, the way the infection rate is going in the U.S., coronavirus will be worse next year than it was this tax season.
With every client who comes to your office, you run some risk of exposure to COVID-19. As a result, each client who comes to your office runs some risk of exposure from you.
Educating your clients on how to do business virtually is how you keep yourself, your family, and your clients safe and how you keep your business operating in a world where COVID-19 is running rampant.
Be A Guiding Light In A Sea Of Darkness
Everybody is looking for solutions right now.
People who show up with solutions will always be able to make money.
Make things easy for your clients and potential clients by telling them what apps or online services you think are best for paperless record-keeping.
You know exactly what is required for meeting IRS requirements. Use your professional expertise to evaluate some software solutions and choose two or three that you believe make it as simple as possible for people to their record-keeping.
This kind of client-focused, solution-oriented additional service is how you separate yourself from all the other tax professionals who do the bare minimum. And it doesn’t cost you anything to do it.
This is how you sell without selling by staying in front of your target audience with useful info.
As a tax professional, you have an opportunity to use this strategy to pick up clients all over the country and come out of 2020 with even more clients than you would have otherwise had in 2020.
This Is Not Just For Accountants
Many services-based businesses can actually grow larger because COVID-19 has forced everything online, which means you can service clients all over the world.
This is what I’m doing with my business.
Before coronavirus, I only operated locally.
Since quarantine began, I developed virtual service offerings for my business and I’ve had more consultations with people outside my local area than I’ve had with local people.
Pivot And Prosper
You can use COVID-19 as a catalyst for building a better business than you otherwise would have built.
That’s how you pivot and prosper.
