It is important for your client to gain value when they leave a meeting with you. This means that there are things that you should be preparing before they arrive at your firm’s office.
When you put together a meeting agenda, consider some of these factors for a successful and valuable meeting between your CPA firm and your client:
Goal Review
You must go into every meeting with a goal in mind. A goal-less meeting is typically very unproductive. Does your agenda and goal cover what your client is coming to discuss? Make sure your clients objectives line up with yours.
Current Performance
Present your client with a current snapshot of their companies comprehensive performance. Some important things to cover are profit margins, liquidity, sales and assets, and debt management.
Areas of Excellence
Next, you should go over where you see their company excelling the most. Saying that their companies sales have grown over time is not enough. Pull up real numbers and show the increased cash flow with real data. There is always room to improve, so if you have additional suggestions this should be the next step in the meeting.
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Areas for Improvement
Put simply, there is always room for improvement. Show your client what he or she could be doing to improve in certain areas. Although not everything can be fixed at once, encourage them to work on these things over a given period. Showing your client where things are going wrong may help them realize what they need to do to stay on track.
Benchmarks and KPI’s
Use key performance indicators to gauge your client’s companies performance and give them a benchmark of where they should be at. This will help you and your client understand how the company measures up to other companies in their industry. Give your advice and suggestions and be encouraging and your client will be more motivated to improve in areas that are needed, and continue to excel in areas of excellence.
Last Minute Questions
Before ending your meeting, make sure that all of your questions have been answered, and every important area has been covered. Here are some things that you should not leave your meeting without discussing.
-Liquidity
-Profit and Profit Margin
-Borrowing and Debt
-Sales and Sales Goals
-Asset Management and ROI
-Employees and Workforce