Issue 3 - December 2002

 

 

 

 

More electronic
newsletter articles:

Wilson's Writings and Metzler's
Musings

Leadership Lessons

Practice Perspectives

Marketing Matters

Successful Strategies

New News


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Successful Strategies - Developing CPA Alliances

Business Technology Solutions is a technology consulting firm specializing in accounting and human resource solutions. Because CPA alliance development has been a core strategy over the last two years, Business Technology Solutions has over 35 alliances in place. The more successful alliances have generated significant opportunities, with one CPA alliance who has referred 7 opportunities to the company, resulting in 6 closed engagements.

Lissa Johnsen, President and CEO of Business Technology Solutions, attributes her CPA alliance success to her understanding of how CPA's work. It helps that Lissa is a CPA herself with experience working within CPA firms for 14 years including 7 years with Price Waterhouse.

When asked to share her "success formula" for alliance development, this is what Lissa had to say:

"CPA's must first be assured that you are their ally in helping them support and service their clients. They will want to understand what they will have to invest, both time and money, in this relationship and what they (and you) can expect. This is important, as most CPA's are risk adverse. You can do this a number of ways, including identifying and communicating what's in it for the CPA firm and for their clients. This could include free CPE, technical support for their in-firm solutions, discounts for their clients or referral fees. You should clearly articulate what the CPA firm can expect from your firm and outline in writing how you will work together.

Another factor is ensuring that CPA alliances feel confident in your capabilities before they refer clients to you. It's our job to help them feel comfortable by sharing our proven track record with them. They need to know that their recurring revenue stream [their client] is protected. Business Technology Solutions is strictly a technology consulting organization, but if your firm is a CPA firm that provides technology consulting or other niche services, consider creating a simple non-compete agreement that assures the CPA firm that you are neither a threat nor competing for their traditional services.

One of the most successful aspects of Business Technology Solutions' CPA alliance program is keeping CPA's in the loop about their clients. Business Technology Solutions communicates to the CPA alliance through all stages of an engagement with their client. "We even include them as a billable participant in project areas that make sense, such as setting up the account structure, reviewing reports or other services that affect their accounting relationship. The most important thing we do is stay in communication by proactively updating our CPA alliance about the status and progress of an implementation, and if any issues arise, we communicate with the CPA alliance first so they have a heads up to the situation."

While building CPA alliances and committing to them as a key strategy requires consistency and a significant time investment, Business Technology Solutions' success story illustrates how these relationships pay off. At ConvergenceCoaching, we recommend you create a plan for incorporating CPA alliances in your marketing strategy. The plan can be simple and should include:

  • Who in your organization will be primarily responsible for building your CPA alliance strategy
  • The benefits your CPA alliances will receive
  • Your goals which will primarily focus on the number of CPA contacts, personal meetings and other trade events you plan to participate by month, quarter or year
  • The actions you're committed to with assigned owners and due datesR
  • Review your plan and your successes on a regular basis.

The old saying goes, "It's not what you know, but who you know." While this isn't applicable in all aspects of our businesses, it really does apply to marketing and selling. If you're in IT consulting, accountant alliances can ease the way with prospective clients by increasing your credibility, providing you with qualified opportunities and assisting you in better understanding your clients' businesses so that you can develop the best solution for them.

Begin leveraging and investing in the relationships available to you! If you would like more information about methods, tools and training available to help you build CPA alliances, contact your ConvergenceCoaching project manager or Tamera Loerzel at tamera@convergencecoaching.com.