Dave O’brien has been an accountant for over 40 years. In that time, he’s worked with many top firms including KPMG Peat Marwick (Now KPMG) in Boston and Isner & Lubner in New York City. Currently, Dave specializes in taxes. Given his expertise, as well as a very important tax season, he finds no shortage of freelance work.
Throughout your forty year career as an accountant, what strategy has helped you generate new business?
Word of mouth… all referral based. The accounting business was strictly referral business.
Where did you meet your connections and referral partners?
I tried several networking groups over the years. At one point, we even started our own meet up group. We had an insurance guy, an attorney and so forth. It was a great idea but eventually the group broke down due to our busy schedules. It was very difficult to get everyone at the meetings.
I wish I had a tool like Referral Key thirty years ago.
How have you helped build your reputation over the years?
Its about recognizing your strengths and referring clients to the right people whenever possible. I worked with a lot of new businesses and clients looking to incorporate. I would send them to the right people because I knew that my reputation and the possibility for a long term relationship, were contingent on my associate’s ability to provide the clients I was referring to them, with the best possible service.
I would refer them to lawyers that could best serve the clients and their needs, not the lawyer. When I first started, there were a lot of lawyers that would help you incorporate but only authorize a limited amount of shares in small increments. This would allow them to accrue more fees over time because inevitably, the business owner would be interested in acquiring more shares.
I would also send the same clients to banks that were receptive to their needs, not a bank that would be unresponsive when the client needed a new loan a few months down line.
Can you think of any bad referrals that stand out?
Ha ha ha… yes, the client didn’t pay.
What is the most important advice you could give an accountant who’s just starting out?
Get out there and build strong relationships. That’s the key. Also, to avoid situation where client’s don’t pay you for your services, you should check with their previous accountant to ensure you’re dealing with the right people.
