Business Development During the Busy Season

For many firms, January through April is the most critical time of their year, with most of their revenues derived from year-end financial statement work and tax compliance services. The long hours leave staff and principals exhausted and often overwhelmed. During this period, maintaining a business development mindset can be vital, especially for practices that perform a wide range of services.

In our fifteen years of evaluating practices, we have seen varying extremes in revenues per client. Our experience has shown that the more profitable practices are paying attention to client development during the busy season. If these competitors are in the market when you are not, they will get the new clients you are seeking, and perhaps will get your clients over time.

This tax season will be demanding, but it does not have to be chaotic. Spending time planning, educating the staff and developing a business development strategy will increase:

• Profitability
• Sales per client
• Potential referrals

This is the time of the year where your clients, the public, and the business world are all paying attention to accounting. There is a tremendous opportunity to grow your practice.

Firms need to look at the busy season as a stepping stone for 2010, while your clients are focused on taxes/accounting more than any other time. Benefits from maintaining a business development strategy are numerous and include:

• Accounting draws attention: The tax season is the time where you get the opportunity to meet your clients in person. Accounting is an important issue that, generally, captures an audience.
• Competitive advantage: Firms that make an effort at marketing during the busy season gain a competitive advantage over other firms who are not in the marketplace.
• Strengthened relationships: It is an opportunity to further strengthen relationships with existing clients.
• Increased referrals: Strengthened relationships will improve both quality and quantity of referrals.
• Accelerated growth: It offers opportunities to increase business and should not be wasted.

How does an accounting or tax firm develop business during tax season? It certainly is a challenge.  If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. There are a numerous ways, but none of them will be successful without the proper foundation; planning and preparation.

We will address other business development issues that your firm can employ to go from busy season to always busy and enhance your firm’s value in greater detail in our blog during the weeks to come.