Accounting Revolution: How To Instantly Connect With Your Clients In a Way That Makes You Money

By Lynda Steffens

This book is a must-read guide for any accountant wanting to evolve their current business model and run a powerful high-level accounting and business advisory service.

Accounting Revolution incorporates Lynda Steffens' program The Small business Project. This is an advanced three-phase program incorp

• Language: English
• Publisher: Intuitive Practice Pty Ltd
• Release date: Aug 31, 2021
• ISBN: 9780648696322

Lynda Steffens

An Accountant with over 30yrs public practice experience Lynda helps Accountants in practice transition into a true Advisor role with their clients, communicate their value and develop lasting advisory relationships right from the first meeting. She shows you how to convert compliance clients to valuable ongoing advisory services without resorting to sales tactics that don't work for Accountants.

Book preview

ACCOUNTING

REVOLUTION

By Lynda Steffens

____________

First published in 2019

PrintPublish Pty Ltd

1300 98 94 91 [e-mail]

Design and layout by Leanne Thompson, PrintPublish

Copyright © Lynda Steffens 2019

All rights reserved

This book is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher.

All inquiries should be made to the author.

Printed in Australia.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:

ISBN 978-0-6486963-1-5

Testimonials

Thank goodness for Lynda and her passion for business. I’ve engaged a number of business coaches over the years, but nothing has revolutionised my business like Lynda’s program has. If all accountants did this, the world would be a much better place for us small business owners. Accountants, get on board, you’d be crazy not to.

— Nik Cree, Owner, Positive Business Online.

From the way that Lynda communicates, it is easy to see that she is passionate about the accounting industry. It is Lynda’s passion, paired with her practical experience in the industry, which resonates and will make this book one for the collection.

— Brendan Corino, Accountant, Fay and Redman.

Lynda is absolutely passionate about what she does and has such an incredible knowledge of the accounting industry. Lynda has changed my life. This book will change yours.

— Jeannie Anderson, Partner, Mayberry Meldrum Anderson.

Lynda is such a buzz to be around. Her experience within the accounting industry is evident in her knowledge of what a current accounting practice should be run like. She is passionate about passing on this knowledge to fellow accountants. I am looking forward to getting my hands on her new book as a motivator for myself. You should get one too.

— Robert Hills, Founder, The Exit Accountant.

Lynda’s accounting industry knowledge is highly regarded and respected by those in the profession. Her ability to see through the issues being experienced and provide clarity on challenges faced in our industry is insightful, refreshing and very much appreciated. Lynda is truly a gift to the industry.

— Sonia O’Donnell, Director, Contego Accounting.

Finally, someone is delivering the HOW for accountants. We’ve heard all about the why and the what but that doesn’t help with just getting on with it, refreshing!

— Greet Recoules, Owner, GreetYourBrand.com.

Business owners want and expect more from their accountants. Numbers aren’t inanimate; they tell a story and good or bad, clients want to hear that story from their accountant. Lynda Steffens knows how to take you to that place where you have the time and the know-how to engage your clients with the story. Read this book carefully, then call Lynda and engage her services

— James Yuille, Owner, Mediaglue.

It has been an absolute pleasure working with Lynda. Her positivity and drive towards business success is infectious. I have personally switched to a new accountant who has worked with Lynda as I have seen first-hand the benefits which her program offers small business owners. I’m so happy I now have an accountant who provides coaching and is dedicated to the success of my business

— Cheryl Ambler, Owner, C & CO Marketing.

When you read this book you are learning from one of the best in the industry. With understanding, patience, good humour, and honesty, Lynda is incredibly passionate about sharing her expertise and knowledge with fellow accountants and systematically revolutionising the accounting industry through her proven methodology

— Pip Meecham, Founder ProjectBox.

CONTENTS

Testimonials

Dedication

What is Accounting Revolution?

How to Get the Most out of this Book

1 Sex Lies and Revolution

Let’s Talk About Coaching

My Key Learnings About Coaching

The Urban Legend that is Advisory

Action!

The Real Accountant

Actions to Take After Reading This Chapter

2 Business Metamorphosis®

Reliance on Compliance

The Business Metamorphosis® Model

Using the BM Model: A Story

Concerns?

Actions to Take After Reading This Chapter

Additional Information/Resources

3 Time to DISCOVER

Tip 1: DISCOVER Is All About Questions, Not Answers

Tip 2: There Is Only One Solution

Tip 3: Reasons Are Emotional

Six-Step DISCOVER Meeting

Before the Meeting

Step 1: Rules and Expectations

Step 2: Now

Step 3: Proof

Step 4: Future

Step 5: Desire

Step 6: Next Steps

Summary Tips

Need More Help? Book a Workshop

Actions to Take After Reading This Chapter

Additional Information/Resources

4 Time to DIG

The 12-Step DIG

Before the DIG Session

What to Include in Your Basic DIG Package

A Word on Pricing Your Basic DIG Packages

Pricing a DIG Session

Actions to Take After Reading This Chapter

Additional Information/Resources

5 Time to DELIVER

Step 1: Automate, Automate, Automate

Step 2: Follow Up, Follow Up, Follow Up

The Advisor Follow-Up

Step 3: Accept and Celebrate, Celebrate, Celebrate

Why Admin is So Important to DELIVER

Good, Better and Best Options

Monthly Meetings with Your Clients

Actions to Take After Reading This Chapter

Additional Information/Resources

6 Find Your Superpowers

The Real Accountant

Your Superpowers Detailed

Tips for Honing Those Superpowers

Questions and Red Flags

Coming Up

Actions to Take After Reading This Chapter

7 Leading Edge Business™

The 5Ps

When to Introduce Leading Edge Business™

The Next Steps

Actions to Take After Reading This Chapter

8 PLAN: The Master Plan

Before the Meeting

During the Meeting

The 10-Step PLAN

After the Meeting

Actions to Take After Reading This Chapter

Additional Information/Resources

9 PROTECT and POSITION

P2: PROTECT

Objective One: Clean, Correct, Timely, Reliable Data

Objective Two: The Power of Numbers

P3: POSITION

Actions to Take After Reading This Chapter

Additional Information/Resources

10 PROGRESS and POWER

P4: PROGRESS

How to Get Started with PROGRESS

P5: POWER

Actions to Take After Reading This Chapter

11 Ready Set Coach™

Before Starting Ready Set Coach™

The 3Ds

During Ready Set Coach™

After Ready Set Coach™

Optional Modules

Actions to Take After Reading This Chapter

Additional Information/Resources

12 Step Up to Stand Out

Actions to Take After Reading This Chapter

Additional Information/Resources

Afterword

References

About the Author

Programs and Offers

What is Accounting Revolution?

As an accountant, and an introvert, I’ve written this book for other motivated accountants. You’re keen to learn, to do better for your clients. You’re seeking a different way to connect with your clients, a way that expresses the true value of what you do.

Let’s address the elephant in the room, shall we? We live in a world that looks up to extroverts. Communicating the value of what we do by changing our conversations sounds a lot like selling. Sales is the domain of the extrovert, and accountants for the most part are introverts. Accountants can’t sell, in fact we stink at it. We stink at it because we’re trying to use methods developed and taught by extroverts! To top it all off, when we fail, it reinforces the idea that we can’t sell and that we should just give up.

NO, you absolutely, categorically, can’t give up!

Let’s be realistic. We’re not going to succeed using sales processes developed by extroverts. That’s all sales is, a process. All it takes to change our conversations is to follow a process, a process developed and written by an introvert – me!

I was sick and tired of seeing my friends, clients, colleagues, and my industry struggle with communicating the value of our services to clients and the resulting stress and pain driving amazing professionals from the industry. I had to find some way to help. I know the incredible value an accountant brings to a business and the untapped potential in that value, but clients don’t. Why?

In short, we need to change our conversations.

I’ve dedicated the last 10 or so years to finding out what makes accountants tick, how we learn, how we adapt, what our strengths and weaknesses are. It’s been a wild ride and a massive learning and personal development journey.

Most of us drawn to the accounting industry have a distinctive profile:

We love information and detail. We’re like the squirrel in Ice Age who covets the acorn. Information is our acorn of choice. We seek it out, collect it, hoard it – the more detailed, the better.

We love using systems and processes to analyse this information, make sense of it, and keep it in check. With the massive amounts we collect, we’d be in real trouble if we had no way of organising it.

We tend to be risk averse and of the mindset that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. We’re not fans of change. No human is, but we’re certainly on the lower end of the spectrum when it comes to adapting to change. This makes us measured and conservative in how we think and act, exactly what business owners want and look for in a financial advisor. They know we’re not going to lose our heads over the latest fad.

Amazingly, we have the ability to solve complex problems in our minds. This is one of our superpowers. I bet you’ve often felt you’re three steps ahead of someone in understanding a concept or explaining something – that’s our superpower minds at work. We’re totally solution-focused and when left to our own devices we find it very difficult to be any other way. Therein lies one of our biggest issues. Solutions don’t equate to an expression of value. We don’t explain why, we just provide the solution.

Instinctively, this is who we are. It’s in our DNA, the markers of who we really are, the Real Accountant. And it’s all these traits, and more, that make us absolutely perfect for the job we do. BUT … you knew there’d be a but, didn’t you … we can’t do our jobs in the best possible way unless we connect with our clients in a way that communicates our value. A way the clients can understand, so they see the value in what we do and want to work with us.

That’s what this book is all about.

How to Get the Most out of this Book

Here are some tips.

Accountants love structure. So do I, so the book has a pretty solid structure.

This is a how-to book and I haven’t held anything back. The detail is extensive, so you will find headings and sub-sections within the chapters to make it easy to locate the detail you need.

Three of the chapters are huge – Chapter 3 Time to DISCOVER, Chapter 4 Time to DIG and Chapter 8 The Master PLAN. These chapters cover the most implementation detail, and if you do any of my three-day workshops we dedicate more than half a day to learning and practising the techniques within each of these chapters. I recommend you don’t skim-read them and expect to implement the processes. I know you’re a skim-reader because I am too. It won’t work. All the chapters are important but these three are vital to the process. You will need to read them thoroughly and most likely a number of times.

The Coach Approach

The book covers the essence of my three-phase program ‘The Small Business Project’, which combines the power of accounting and the best of coaching into one powerful modality. Throughout the book, I’ve highlighted the best bits of coaching – which I refer to as The Coach Approach – so you don’t miss them or skim over them. These parts will help you revolutionise the way you engage with clients, so keep an eye out for them.

Rinse & Repeat

Sometimes, the only way something cements itself in our understanding is to read it, read it again, read it another seven times, then hear it, hear it another time, and on the third time, usually from another person, we might have an epiphany, an aha moment. Epiphany is one my favourite words, I think because it’s the realisation that change is necessary. Besides, it sounds super-cool. Epiphany. I challenge you to use it in a sentence today. See how you go!

There are concepts in the book that will be foreign to you. Very few people have written sales processes with introverts in mind, and certainly no-one has written a sales process specifically with introverted accountants in mind. I recognise it’s difficult to change, particularly due to our profile, and that it will take effort, time, and resources, both personally and professionally, but it’s worth it.

Tricks of the Trade

We learn by making mistakes, so I’ve made sure to share mine with you. When I was formulating The Small Business Project program, I was also learning, working by trial and error and making plenty of mistakes. My Tricks of the Trade will allow you to fast-track and avoid some of them.

Actions and Additional Resources

The actions at the end of each chapter are designed to help you implement the processes you’ll be reading about. They’re short, sharp, and most take only 5–10 minutes each. They pack a punch when it comes to implementing The Small Business Project.

The book is also bursting with free additional resources. By purchasing the book, you have access to all the bonus material on my website: https://lyndasteffens.com/bonuses The first time you click on the link you’ll need to nominate a user name and password. After that you can just log in at your leisure.

When writing this book, I was very happy and motivated and I know this shines through. I am happy to share The Small Business Project with you. Expect it to challenge norms, test your boundaries, and confront your pre-conceptions. There’s no magic pill for change but ‘through change comes freedom’, so hang in there and enjoy the ride. Hold onto your hat … here we go!

Lynda Steffens

1

Sex Lies and Revolution

Truth is not what you want it to be. It is what it is, and you must bend to its power or live a lie

— Miyamoto Musashi ¹

1 Musashi and Harris, 2004

We’ve been kidding ourselves if we think we’ve been doing the best job possible by our clients, but the biggest calamity with all our industry posturing and lies is that we’ve let ourselves down. We’ve forgotten why we wanted to be accountants, and why we started out doing what we do. I believe business should be profitable, rewarding, and fun – even accounting. Otherwise, why do it at all? There is a hell of a lot of risk involved, both financially and emotionally. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve been doing a great job, and a necessary and important one, but let’s find our passion and motivation again because I believe we can do better.

I’m here to help you do just that.

Do more of the work you love. Think about the days you bounce into work. You know, those days you have the interesting jobs to do, the ones you can really sink your teeth into. Think about doing more of them.

Earn more money from clients who value what you do and will happily pay you for it. Yes, those clients exist, and you probably have some of them already. Imagine a business where you worked with these clients every single day doing work you love. Wouldn’t it be amazing to go to work knowing that you attract clients you want to work with, doing the work you want to do, not just clients using your services because they have to for their tax returns and financials to stay compliant?

And what about your team? If you’re happy and engaged, working with clients who value what you do and doing work you love, your team will also be happy and engaged. Employees can cause a lot of stress for business owners, and daily struggles and time spent managing people and your team can get you right off track. Imagine if your team was happy and engaged and they bounced into work just like you, doing the work they love with the clients they enjoy working with. With all the new clients you’re attracting, the team have amazing opportunities to learn and to grow as professionals. A happy and engaged team is the dream.

Have a great work–life balance and reduce your stress. Many accountants I talk to are stressed because they work very hard, and often long hours, and do not have the balance they would like for spending time with their partners, families, and friends.

Future-proof your business. Changing your conversations is the key to delivering advisory services consistently, which in turn means growth and success for your business. You’ll be doing the best job possible for your clients.

A recent Accounting Today survey reported that the two biggest concerns for the accounting industry today are the impact of technology and accountants’ ability to adapt to the rapid pace of change and remain relevant. How are you going to remain relevant?

The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old but on building the new

— Socrates ²

2 Hutyra, 2019

If you don’t change the way you do business, you will be forced to continue with clients who do not value your work, who question everything you do, and who try to negotiate fees. It’s simply not a sustainable business model. You’ll remain stressed, overworked, and underpaid, with little or no work–life balance.

None of this paints a picture of a profitable business, a rewarding one, or a business that is in any way fun. You can’t continue to rely on compliance and be forced to compete on price because it will simply become too hard to stay in business.

Let me ask you a question. Do clients value your work?

Accountants have traditionally provided a