When it comes to business development, do you struggle with walking that fine line between trying to move the sales process forward and being perceived as too aggressive? Accounting services, especially the more complex non-compliance engagements, are often married to a long sales cycle. In trying to close these deals, everyone involved naturally has an expected, different weight of their foot on the gas pedal. Press the accelerator too much and you run the risk of driving the prospect away; don’t hit it enough and you potentially lose the sale. To do it right, it’s literally like walking on a high wire while keeping a sandwich on your head.

I was reminded of this “line” on Saturday morning when my wife and I were running some errands, including going to a big box electronics retailer. Normally, I avoid retail stores like the plague, ordering everything online. However, I was the Robin to her Batman on this day, so into the massive store we went. The salesperson was so overly aggressive that we had to leave, forcing us to purchase the product elsewhere. This scene reminded me that accountants, by and large, do not want to be “sold to.”

If your firm is in a business development slump, perhaps you’re crossing the line too far—or not even getting close to it? Welcome to struggleville, population “many.”

*****
As a reader of this blog, hopefully, you are also a member of iShade. If you’re not, please sign up right now (it’s free, cheapskate). iShade’s BulletIN is THE accounting news source…keep it open on your computer every day.
http://www.ishade.com/bulletin.php