Latest / Advisory Secrets with Deb Halliday / Building Trust through Accountability in Advisory

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Building Trust through Accountability in Advisory · Advisory Secrets with Deb Halliday

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  Foreign.
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  Welcome to Advisory Secrets with Deb Halladay, the podcast for accountants and bookkeepers who are ready to move beyond compliance work and step confidently into advisory.
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  If you ever felt there must be more to your role than year end accounts, tax returns and deadlines, you're right.
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  In this podcast, I'll share the strategies, insights and real world lessons that help accounting professionals transition from technician to trusted advisor.
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  We'll explore how to lead better financial conversations and deliver real value to clients.
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  I'm Deb Halliday, author and creator of training programs for accounting professionals, and this is Advisory Secrets.
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  Foreign.
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  To talk about something every accountant, bookkeeper and advisor has experienced, you have what feels like a great meeting with a client.
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  The conversation flows well.
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  You identify opportunities.
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  You discuss solutions.
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  The client agrees with them.
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  Everything you're saying.
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  They nod enthusiastically.
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  They tell you it's exactly what they needed to hear.
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  You leave the meeting feeling positive.
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  And then nothing happens.
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  No action, no implementation, no change.
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  A month later, you're having exactly the same conversation again.
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  If you've ever experienced this, you're not alone.
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  In fact, it's one of the most common frustrations advisors face.
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  The interesting thing is that the problem usually isn't the advice.
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  It's something much deeper, the mistake most advisors make when clients don't take action.
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  Many advisors immediately assume one thing the client didn't understand.
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  So we explain it again with more detail.
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  More numbers, more evidence, more reports.
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  But understanding is rarely the problem most clients already understand.
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  The challenge is that understanding and action are two very different things.
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  Think about it in your own life.
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  Most of us know we should exercise more, eat better, save more money, spend less time on our phones, go to bed earlier.
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  The issue isn't knowledge is action, and business owners are no different.
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  People don't make decisions based on logic alone.
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  One of the biggest lessons I've learned over the years is that business decisions are rarely purely logical.
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  As accountants, we love logic.
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  The numbers make sense, the evidence is clear.
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  The answer seems obvious.
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  But people are emotional.
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  Business owners are emotional.
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  Every important decision carries uncertainty, risk, fear, doubt.
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  And sometimes those emotions are stronger than the logic sitting in front of them.
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  I've had clients who knew they needed to increase prices.
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  The numbers clearly showed it.
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  They Their profits were under pressure, their workload was increasing, their competitors were charging more.
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  Yet months later, they still hadn't increased their prices.
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  Not because they didn't understand, because they were afraid.
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  The real barriers to action when clients don't act, it's usually because one of four things is happening.
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  They don't believe the problem is urgent enough.
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  They don't feel confident enough, they don't know where to start, or they're afraid of the consequences.
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  And none of those issues are solved by another spreadsheet.
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  This is where advisory becomes far more than numbers.
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  Because often our role is helping clients work through uncertainty, helping them gain confidence, helping them take the first step.
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  The difference between advice and Accountability One thing I've noticed is that many advisors stop too soon.
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  They provide excellent advice, then they move on.
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  But advice alone doesn't always create change.
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  Sometimes clients need accountability.
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  Not pressure, not judgment.
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  Accountability.
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  Someone checking in, someone asking how it's going, someone helping them stay focused on what they said they wanted to achieve.
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  This is often where the greatest value is created.
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  Not during the meeting, but afterwards.
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  Small steps create momentum Another mistake advisors make is assuming every recommendation needs to be implemented immediately.
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  Sometimes the advice is simply too big, too overwhelming, too uncomfortable.
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  Instead of helping clients tackle everything, help them identify the next step, the smallest action they can take.
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  The first conversation.
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  The first price increase.
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  The first hire.
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  The first system improvement.
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  Because action creates momentum and momentum creates confidence.
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  Why Business Owners Need Clarity Most business owners are busy.
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  They're juggling staff, customers, suppliers, cash flow, deadlines, and everything else that comes with running a business.
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  By the time they sit down with you, they're often overwhelmed.
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  That's why one of the most valuable things we can do is simplify, not complicate.
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  Clients don't need 20 recommendations.
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  They need one clear priority, one next step, one decision, one action.
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  And the clearer the path forward becomes, the more likely they are to take it.
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  The questions that Create Action I found that some of the most powerful advisory questions aren't technical.
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  They're behavioral questions like what's stopping you from doing this?
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  What concerns you most about making this change?
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  What would happen if you did nothing?
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  What would success look like six months from now?
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  What is the first step you could take this week?
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  These questions help uncover the real obstacle.
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  And once you understand the obstacle, you can help the client move beyond it.
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  Sometimes the timing isn't right.
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  This is another important lesson.
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  Sometimes clients aren't ready.
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  And that's okay.
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  Not every recommendation will be implemented immediately.
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  Not every client will take action today.
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  Part of being a trusted advisor is understanding where people are in their journey.
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  Our role isn't to force decisions.
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  Our role is to help clients think clearly enough to make good decisions when they're ready.
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  Sometimes planting the seed is enough.
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  The best advisors focus on progress.
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  One thing I've learned is that progress is often more important than perfection.
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  If a client moves one step forward, that's a success.
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  If they become slightly more confident, that's progress.
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  If they make one better decision this month than they made last month, that's progress.
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  Too many advisors focus on the gap.
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  The best advisors focus on the movement because small improvements repeated consistently create significant results over time, the relationship changes.
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  Something interesting happens when you help clients take action.
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  Trust grows because clients stop seeing you as someone who gives advice and start seeing you as someone who helps them make progress.
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  That's a very different relationship, and it's often the point where advisory becomes truly valuable.
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  Final Thoughts if there's one thing I'd like you to take away from today's episode is this.
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  Clients don't always need more information, and most of the time they already have enough information.
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  What they need is confidence, clarity, accountability, and support.
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  The role of an advisor isn't simply to provide answers, it's to help clients move forward.
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  And sometimes the most valuable thing you can do isn't giving better advice, it's helping someone take action on the advice they already have.
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  If you'd like to continue developing your advisory skills and connect with other accountants and bookkeepers on the same journey, I I'd love you to join our Facebook Community Advisory Teams.
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  It's a place where we discuss advisory client relationships, confidence, leadership, and practical ways to create more value for your clients.
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  Simply search advisory teams on Facebook and come and join us.
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  And if you've enjoyed today's episode of Advisory Secrets, please subscribe and leave a review.
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  Join me over on Advisory Conversations, where I chat with Tim Seymour Everything Advisory.
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  Thanks for listening and I'll see you in the next episode.
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  Thank you for listening to Advisory Secrets with Deb Halliday.
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  If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you follow the podcast so you don't miss future insights on building your advisory role.
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  For more resources, training and support for accounting professional professionals stepping into advisory, visit debhalladay co uk or the accountsoffice.co.uk until next time.
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  Keep building a practice that creates real value for your clients and the lifestyle you want.