Tell Your Clients, 'You're Fired !'

[kcjenkins]

11/01/2013

By Natalia Autenrieth

It won't be long before tax season gets underway again, and before that I encourage you to reflect. Think about your clients because, after all, they're the people who contribute significantly to making your busy season what it is, in all its glory and misery.

My question for you is: Which three clients are you going to fire?

Wait a minute, you might say. What do you mean by "firing" a client, let alone three of them? Isn't it hard enough to get clients in this economy? And isn't it the goal of one's practice to have as many clients as one can squeeze in? Sure, those few troublesome clients might be consuming an inordinate amount of your time, energy, hope and sunshine. But how do you decide if - and when - to draw the line?

Allow me to offer a roadmap. Feel free to redraw it to suit your own practice, tolerance levels and ultimately your vision for what you are trying to build.

1. DEFINE 'FIRE-ABLE' OFFENSES

Walking away from a paying client (they were paying you, right?) can be scary. You probably won't feel completely secure about firing clients until you have a well-oiled marketing machine or referral network, bringing in bigger, faster, better clients at the push of a button.

Setting aside the scary factor, remember that the true performance standard in an organization is "whatever does not get you fired." The same could be said about the standard of your client roster. So, what will get your client fired? While specific criteria will vary from practitioner to practitioner, here are some ideas to get you started:

The client lied to you. It does not matter whether the lie was a big or a small one. The lack of integrity on the client's part opens you up to unanticipated risks and second-guessing. Do you want to be associated with a client you cannot trust?

The client is verbally or physically abusive. Nothing sucks the hope and sunshine out of the office faster than an abusive client. Negativity ripples through the office, potentially compromising your relationships with staff members, and the service delivered to other clients.

The client has unreasonable expectations and is never satisfied. Take it as a sign that this client is probably not a good fit for your practice. Perpetual complainers don't make the best referral resources, either.

2. IS RETRAINING AN OPTION?

You have worked hard to build this client relationship. Can it be saved? It depends. Remember that in training clients, as in parenting small children, being selective and consistent about rules is the single most important variable that you can control. Be crystal clear about where you draw the line and be prepared to defend it, politely and firmly, every single time it is crossed. As with parenting, setting a boundary that you are not committed to enforcing is worse than not setting one at all. However, persistence and patience have shown good results in the following areas of infraction.

Is the client habitually late? Do they delay their deliverables and then come up with last-minute requests, making your team scramble and work until midnight to get the return in on time? Perhaps this is the time to redefine the deadline. Set the deliverable due date 30 days early, and be clear that missing that deadline will mean that the return will be filed late. Be prepared to stand your ground: Clients can be just like toddlers in pushing the boundary to see whether you really meant it.

Is the client a habitual time thief? Do they cause a "caller ID cringe" across the office? Try opening the call with, "I only have a couple of minutes. How may I be of service?" to help them get to the point. If they fail to do so in a reasonable time (my threshold is 90 seconds), tell them that you have another client commitment, and ask them to summarize their question in an e-mail.

Does the client make uninformed judgment calls? These can often make your job harder. Consider ways to help them make better decisions. Encourage them to consult with you when in doubt.

Will some of your clients walk as a result of this game-changer? Maybe. However, look at them one by one as they leave, and ask yourself how hard you want to work to keep them. Because your next step is to get even better clients!

3. GET PERFECT CLIENTS

Keep your marketing and referral machine going no matter how busy you get, or what the economy is doing. Flow creates hope. Having too many qualified prospects is not a bad problem to have!

As a general rule, as much as possible, only keep the clients who are a good fit for you. They are the only ones that will stick with you for the long term and will be solid referral sources. Unless you have a great personality fit with a client and a genuine desire to serve them, friction, lack of care and disinterest will eventually result in things slipping through the cracks.

For larger, well-established practices that are running at or close to capacity, consider using the 80/20 rule. What are the characteristics and qualifications of the clients in your top 20 percent? Only hire the new clients who have those qualifications. And every time you do that, fire someone in your bottom 20 percent. As you do so, the inherent quality of your practice -- and your life -- will soar!

So, which three clients will you fire? And what does your perfect client look like?

Natalia Autenrieth has audited Fortune 500 clients as part of a Big Four team, built an accounting department as a controller of a large hospital, and served as a CPA consultant to municipalities. She continues to consult with and coach high-achieving CPAs for sustainable growth, helping them build highly profitable careers, avoid burn-out, and have more fun.

[JohnH]

Very good article, only weak on one point. The writer suggest tolerating phone calls up to a point, then asking the client to summarize in an email if they run too long. That's an outdated concept. I suggest the reverse - condition the client to use electronic communication in the first place. Why have them taking up your time on the phone when they can send you an email or text ?

I do everything I can to keep my clients out of my office so I can get some work done. The second thing I do is use every available means to keep them from taking up my time on the phone.

Besides, starting a conversation with "I only have a minute" is downright rude. May as well say, "My time's way more important than yours - let's get this over with.." If I feel comfortable treating a client in that manner, I may as well fire them.

[Guest Taxed]

I agree with JohnH. Try to get as much communication done via e-mail and I archive that. Talk is cheap and they usually change the facts to suit their purpose!

The calls that I hate most: Are you busy, can we swing by your office for 5 minutes of your time?? 5 minutes is really 25 minutes.

I wish I could bill them like a lawyer

[MAMalody]

I agree. My practice is totally Internet based..It is a small practice, will do about 250-270 returns this year (still working on some), however, I have only seen two people face-to-face. My phone log only shows about 12 to 18 calls, somewhere in that area. Now, it does take time to handle 30-50 e-mails a day, but it is a lot more efficient. Also, with e-mail at the chief means of contact, i can do those at any time fo day or night, and the client can respond at any time of day or night. This also forces most docs to come in as e-mail attachents. I think I receive paper docs in the mail for only about 25 people. Of course, all my clients us the ATX Tax Organizer.

[taxxcpa]

Clients tend to call when I'm not in and I return their call and they are not there. Someone called recently and wanted to ask a question about dependents, and after several rounds of phone-tag, I told them to send an e-mail. I did send them a page or two from The Tax Book re dependents, and haven't heard any more from them.

I can't always answer every question off the top of my head.

Often the questions they have requires research. Even if I know the answer, I prefer to double-check just in case the law has changed since the last time I read about the subject.

[MsTabbyKats]

My clients are about 90% internet based. Of the other 25%.....about 75% of them drop their papers off at my husband's store, and pick them up from there. The other few "come to my home office" and I do it on the spot.

So, last year I decided no more of the "home office visitors" unless absolutely necessary.

When people call me, I tell them to send me an e-mail and I'll get right back to them. I also don't know every answer off the top of my head.

One of my issues is that a large percentage of "my people" are foreign....(and they call me from cell phones)......and I just don't understand them. I don't even understand the name....and it gets very embarrassing.

I've been weeding out over the past few years, and not accepting new clients with certain criteria for a while. I dropped one woman this summer for no reason other than I found her "condescending".

[Guest Taxed]

>>> One of my issues is that a large percentage of "my people" are foreign....(and they call me from cell phones)......and I just don't understand them. I don't even understand the name....and it gets very embarrassing.

I have around 6 or 7 clients all with the last name "Lee". I run into the same issue when one of them calls. So I have them spell the first name because I have to retrieve their file, that way I know who it is.

[JohnH]

My response time is my greatest incentive to get people to use email/texting. I tell them that if they call & leave a message on my voice mail, I'll reply by the end of the busiess day, or next business day a the latest. But if they email/trxt I usuallyi respond with an hour - most of the time almost instantly. And I stick to that routine.

In the aprox 75% of the cases where I know the answer, I send a reply and we;re done. In the other 25% where I neeed to do research or need more info, I either respond telling them what I still need from them, or that I need to look into this and will get back to them. THAT'S when the decision is made on whether a phone call needs to take place, but I make that decision - not them. Most cllients are content to wait for an answer, as along as they have the assurance that their tax preparer is aware of their question and is thinking about it. And if the need for info is truly urgent, this is the best process by far for ferreting out those situations.

Incidentally, I've noticed a technology-driven change in this matter over the past couple of years. Two years or so back, I would only have referred to email. But with younger clients, they are abandoning email and they text almost exclusively. Older clients are a little slower to adopt texting, but even they are moving in this direction. So anyone who does a lot of business with younger clients needs to be aware of what mode of communication works best with them if you are interested in keeping them as cllients long term.

I keep pounding this drum and some accountants/tax preparers don't like it because they're stuck in an outmoded paradigm, but it' a reality. If I retired today and decided I need to find an accountant/tax preparer, I wouldn't even consider one who doesn't communicate via email.

[Guest Taxed]

I have completely stayed away from texting and don't even give out my cell# anymore.

I am not in the habit of checking texts every 10 minutes as many do. As a matter of fact I keep my cell phone off most of the time, unless I am out of the house.

[MsTabbyKats]

Most of my clients are "younger"....and a good percentage IT professionals.

But, I have a policy....my husband and my son have my cell phone number. Clients have my land line....so no texts!

I don't give out my cell number because I don't want to be bothered when I'm not in "the office": 1-I'm busy doing something else and 2-I don't have my files in front of me.

I really don't want people to think they can contact me "live"....24/7. Is there really such a thing as a tax emergency? I had one client that called me on the cell for years...despite repeatedly asking him to call me on the land line because I don't hear the cell all the time, and I rarely check it. So, when he had "an emergency" (needed a copy of a return for (not tax) court the next day..and again called me on my cell....he learned his lesson.

With e-mails, I get back to them asap...even if only to tell them that I got the message and will get back to them.

Phone calls...take a little longer. When they start rambling....I ask them to e-mail me the question.

[JohnH]

That may work for you now, but I believe you will both lose clients in the future (or fail to gain some potential new clients), based on your philosophy regarding texting. This will be confined mostly to the younger potential clients. It may not matter to you, depending upon the maturity of your practice and how earnestly you desire new clients. But it is a reality, especially for anyone seeking to grow their practice.

If I were trying to expand my practice, one of several criteria for anyone I hired would be their willingness & ability to use a company-provided phone to respond to emails and texts. Not necessarily 24/7, but definitely more than 9-5. A "no" answer to that question would be an automatic rejection, regardless of their qualifications in other areas. I'd also build into their compensation package some sort of metric to evaluate that aspect of their work.

Incidentally, that client who repeatedly called you on your cell phone should never have been allowed to bother you ms Tabby Kats. Any decent cell phone these days has the ability to add a name to the incoming phone number. If you see a name you don't want to answer, or if you see a number that isn;t familiar, a click of a button diverts them to your phone voice mail. Technology is great, if you use it to your advantage.

[Guest Taxed]

I agree with JohnH that younger people prefer texting to e-mails or voice mail. So If I want to grow my business with more young people I do have to keep that in mind. With that said, I will be investigating options after this tax season to see if I can get their text message into my e-mail or some other method so that:

1) I am not checking my cell phone every 10 minutes for text.

2) I am not considered to be available 24/7 to answer tax questions.

I do respond to e-mail and voice mail within 24 hours max. even during the height of tax season. Off season usually within a few hours.

Just about to respond to a voice mail I picked this morning.

[Jack from Ohio]

After hours calls are BILLABLE at my overtime rate. Just a few of those bills and the after hour calls get reduced greatly. Try it. It works.

It also reinforces the fact that our time and knowledge have value that we are not afraid to charge for.

Try calling any other professional after hours....

[MsTabbyKats]

That may work for you now, but I believe you will both lose clients in the future (or fail to gain some potential new clients), based on your philosophy regarding texting. This will be confined mostly to the younger potential clients. It may not matter to you, depending upon the maturity of your practice and how earnestly you desire new clients. But it is a reality, especially for anyone seeking to grow their practice.

If I were trying to expand my practice, one of several criteria for anyone I hired would be their willingness & ability to use a company-provided phone to respond to emails and texts. Not necessarily 24/7, but definitely more than 9-5. A "no" answer to that question would be an automatic rejection, regardless of their qualifications in other areas. I'd also build into their compensation package some sort of metric to evaluate that aspect of their work.

Incidentally, that client who repeatedly called you on your cell phone should never have been allowed to bother you ms Tabby Kats. Any decent cell phone these days has the ability to add a name to the incoming phone number. If you see a name you don't want to answer, or if you see a number that isn;t familiar, a click of a button diverts them to your phone voice mail. Technology is great, if you use it to your advantage.

Oh....if I heard the phone ring, I knew it was them and I ignored the call. They would leave voice mails...and I'd ignore them too.

This...I may add...is a PITA who I tried to drop...for other reasons than the phone issue.

The "I have to go to court tomorrow" was the last straw...and time to teach them a lesson. AFAIK....you have more than a one day warning to go to court. (I think it was family court....for a custody issue.)

I have a land line....I want all business calls on that. People can wait until I get home...and I can have my files and my research resources right in front of me.

If a client can text me from their cell phone...they can certainly e-mail me.

[Jack from Ohio]

Second cell phones are cheap. No need for contracts or monthly bills. Phones and texts only. A phone is $20 and time can be as cheap as $.04/minute with texts costing $.012 each. Different number to give out. The phone also has an off button.

Tracfone.

[MsTabbyKats]

LOL....I don't think you are getting my point.

I don't want to be bothered when I am out. I don't want anything forwarded to me....because there's nothing I can do about it.

There is nothing that can't wait until I get home.

This is how I train the clients. Those "untrainables" will need to find someone else.

[JohnH]

Oh....if I heard the phone ring, I knew it was them and I ignored the call. They would leave voice mails...and I'd ignore them too.

This...I may add...is a PITA who I tried to drop...for other reasons than the phone issue.

The "I have to go to court tomorrow" was the last straw...and time to teach them a lesson. AFAIK....you have more than a one day warning to go to court. (I think it was family court....for a custody issue.)

I have a land line....I want all business calls on that. People can wait until I get home...and I can have my files and my research resources right in front of me.

If a client can text me from their cell phone...they can certainly e-mail me.

So the main problem never was the phone calls in and of themselves.

The real problem was you needed to get rid of the client and haven't bitten that bullet.

You said you have a land line and you want all calls on that. No problem there, if that's how you want to operate your business. You just need to be aware that this policy is limiting your potential client base to some degree or another, and that lost base will include some high-income, high-fee clients. As long as you are aware of that limitation and are OK with it, then it's an informed business decision.

(Looks like you just said the same thing in the reply you posted while I was typing this one. Absolutely nothing wrong with limiting your potential client base if that's your choice. I'm doing the same thing, except in reverse. I'm moving in the direction of easing out the non-technology savy clients)

[MsTabbyKats]

No...I don't want cell phone calls from ANYONE. But, all the others learned quickly....call on the land line! This one guy wouldn't learn...this went on for a few years...him and his wife. (I wanted to drop him for many reasons....nothing to do with the phone.)

I am not looking to increase my workload. If anything, I'm phasing out.

A client who needs to speak to me while I am out having dinner etc....is not the client I would want. I fully understand this.

I also don't want clients who absolutely need to meet me. That means I have to "clean the apt."....or change from my sweat suit...when I could just do the work "as is" if that client would e-mail/fax it to me. I lose several "potential clients" every year because of this.

LOL....my "business" was just supposed to be a hobby...while my son was in school. It was never supposed to be "my life". But, it snowballed....!!!!

[Guest Taxed]

I think the bottom line issue is we have to manage our clients expectations. Cell phones, texts, e-mails are all forms of communication that many of our clients may prefer but at the end we are the ones responding to them.

Depending on your client base you could take Jack's position that calls after hours are billed at overtime rates or JohnH who will respond quickly if he gets a text.

I tend not to take a very harsh position with my clients especially those that came as referrals because it is more than one client that are connected in that relationship. I certainly don't want a reputation that I am difficult to approach because I have gotten many referrals and the reason they came to me was that they became just another transactional customer with their last tax preparer. Some of them have a bigger shop than mine and probably more experience also!

[Catherine]

While I may be limiting my client base -- I won't take ANY tax information by cell phone. Those few who have sent such to me, I have requested they re-send by email. Why? Too many of those text messages have text problems. I'm not going to put a number in for real estate tax (for example) based on a text message, only to have the client later get letter and then, once the message is gone, it's a he said/she said. Text messages are not stored for long and you can't print them to pdf! I get emails, save them as pdf's, and then know where my numbers came from.

If I can't keep a copy of the electronically-provided number, I don't want it and won't put it in a return. Send it by email.

[JohnH]

I'm absolutely convinced of how texting/email resonates with the younger clients. So anyone seriously committed to growing their practice had better master it or accept the fact that they will lose valuable business. In my experience, the majority of the young clients who don't email & text are the lower-income, lower profit clients. With older clients it's a mixed bag.

Several comments in this conversation already show me that there's a lack of understanding of how to manage it, especially when it comes to texting. Rather than impinge upon your free time, it is actually liberating. In my case for example, it enables me to be out of the office a total of 8-10 weeks out of the year and not be faced with a desk full of snakes & alligators when I return. And, as Jack has pointed out, the phone has an off button. In my case, my mute button is my off button - that's all I need to keep me fully informed and in control of my time.

[JohnH]

Catherine: FYI, there are several ways to print a text. The simplest is to "copy" it and then "paste" it into an email to yourself, then print the email. On most smart phones (iPhone & Android in particular), you can also save a screen shot to your photos and then print the photo. or email the photo to yourself and then print it. There are other ways, involving using the "edit" feature, but they're a little more complex and generally don"t preserve date info.

here' a video:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DZI92vh3EvA&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DDZI92vh3EvA

[mcb39]

I give out my cell phone number NOW because with the family plan that we have, we now have unlimited texting and minutes. They can leave a message there as well as on my landline. Since I am out of town most weekends; I want my clients to always feel that I am available. If I don't want to take the call, I wait until later, listen to their message and call them back. Because I also have a tablet, I still have the old style cell phone that is not texting friendly. I rarely SEND a text. I OFTEN send e-mails in response to calls or texts. I will always get back to my clients the same day or the next day at the latest. Because I encourage them to call me if they have anything out of the ordinary, I have to be receptive to their calls. I don't like getting surprises in Feb or March. Good PR is one of the most important aspects of my business.

[Guest Taxed]

Anyone use Google voice for business? Can it take a voice mail and transcribe it to an e-mail and send it to an e-mail address.

I know it can transcribe into a text message.

[MsTabbyKats]

I'm absolutely convinced of how texting/email resonates with the younger clients. So anyone seriously committed to growing their practice had better master it or accept the fact that they will lose valuable business. In my experience, the majority of the young clients who don't email & text are the lower-income, lower profit clients. With older clients it's a mixed bag.

Several comments in this conversation already show me that there's a lack of understanding of how to manage it, especially when it comes to texting. Rather than impinge upon your free time, it is actually liberating. In my case for example, it enables me to be out of the office a total of 8-10 weeks out of the year and not be faced with a desk full of snakes & alligators when I return. And, as Jack has pointed out, the phone has an off button. In my case, my mute button is my off button - that's all I need to keep me fully informed and in control of my time.

But...if someone can text....why can't they e-mail? Would it really make a difference to the client?

I have many many many (probably 50) clients who are IT/Computer Software developers...who I am sure text all day long. E-mailing me has never been an issue with any of them.

Believe me....I don't lack understanding of management. I was probably one of the first tax preparers to do internet based clients. And I had the prototype cell phone (over 25 years ago!)

It really comes down to what someone prefers. I like e-mail. I can receive it world wide. But, when I'm "out of the office".....I have the auto-reply that says I'm on vacation...and I'll be back "whenever". I add a few days to "whenever"....so nobody frets if I don't respond the second I get home.

One of the things my clients like is that I return all e-mails/land line calls....asap. Nobody waits........