In today’s episode of ‘From the eLearning Trenches,’ we asked one of our learners to consider how client managers and partners can effectively incorporate client feedback on service levels as part of client meetings
Learner Reflection
We currently do this in end of year client meetings when we discuss the end of year financials and go through queries then sign off and pay our invoices.
The questions we ask are:
- How is everything going?
- Do you have any feedback about our staff or services?
- Has anything changed in your personal or financial situation in the last year or looking ahead 1 year?
- Would you like us to review your superannuation / home loans / life insurance / business structure?
- Would you be interested in leaving us a Google Review?
Depending on the client’s response will determine the actions and after every meeting we follow up with an email including the discussion points, next steps and action items with associated timeframes.
Feedback from our experts
Managers and Partners often lose the opportunity to get real, valuable feedback from clients on service levels and future opportunities when they avoid specific questions asking clients what they think. Sometimes this is because they believe clients will let them know if there are any issues, or perhaps they are reluctant to ask because they don’t want to hear the feedback.
The truth is that client seldom tell their accountant or advisor exactly what they think if they are not asked. A formal set of questions at the annual tax planning or client review meeting creates the opportunity to ask not only about past levels of service but what clients may need in the year ahead. It should form part of a discovery conversation separate to the end of financial year tax planning discussion.
In the example above, the learner is taking the response and formalising it in an email acknowledging the feedback and confirming next steps. It’s just a 10- minute exercise that can significantly enhance the client relationship.
What questions should you ask your clients at an annual discovery meeting?
Consider the following questions:
- How’s the business been doing this past year? Any big changes we should know about?
- Have your financial goals shifted at all recently, either personally or for the business?
- How are we doing in terms of the services we provide? Anything you think we could do better, or anything new you’d like to see from us?
- Are there any new developments that might affect how we handle your finances?
- Any big purchases or changes in the works for the business that we should be aware of?
- Any surprises—good or bad—pop up that we should chat about?
- Are there any specific reports or financial info you’re craving more of?
- Any cool new services or areas of finance you’re curious about diving into?
- On a scale from “totally chill” to “bit of a hassle,” how would you rate our communication and responsiveness this year?
- Anything else we can do to make sure we’re helping you achieve those financial goals next year?
Key takeaway: Client engagement is all about feedback. The more questions you ask, the easier it is to identify new opportunities to add value to your clients.
This assessment task and response is taken from the Client Concierge eLearning course (assessment task 4.2). Click here to explore this course
Also, take a look at the Responsible Workflow Management eLearning course.
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