Would your staff recognise an opportunity to cross-sell more services to clients?
In some respects, your staff should be effective ambassadors for your practice. They should be able to spot billing opportunities with their eyes closed, but unless you have struck lucky, you will have to train them to be responsive to client’s needs.
How can you do this?
Obviously, you will need to ensure that your staff are aware of all the services you provide. Internal staff training should take care of this.
Another option is to link specialist staff training to practice service promotion. For example, our new InforLearning service provides staff with a structured, CPD, online training that will test their tax knowledge and keep them up to date. It also incorporates a client facing question that asks the staff member if they are aware of clients that may be affected by the tutorial content.
Partners should mentor their staff: share with them how they promote the practice to clients and prospective clients.
When you take on new staff be on the lookout for individuals who are empathic as well as proficient with computers…
The key to cross-selling is to spot those fleeting comments, when made by clients that indicate they are in need of help. Encourage staff to listen to clients and ask open questions.
Finally, put in place formal processes so that staff members know how to record and feedback these practice development nuggets. Our InforLearning service provides such a structure.
If you are not getting regular leads from your staff you may be missing out. A small investment in your time to encourage these processes should more than pay for itself in increased fees. And, of course, your clients will be thankful that you have solved their problems and will be less likely to go elsewhere for advice.
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