Golden Practices

If you think your website exists primarily for clients, think again.

A lot of firms think about investing in pricey features that would be in a client-only portion of the website. Did you know that only about 1% of clients return to a firm’s site after hiring them? And when they do, it’s usually to find an address or phone number.

Firms think about adding a payment feature or a document storage tool where clients can get their electronic documents without bothering the firm to send copies. Yikes, how firm-centric are these ideas??

With an international practice, I travel often. I’m always happy to discover tips and ideas that make traveling a little easier, so I hope you’ll enjoy some of my favorite findings.

AIR TRAVEL

One Bag: http://www.onebag.com
Doug Dyment has tons of packing lists and info about how to travel light, things to be aware of, and where to find some of the supplies he recommends. This site intrigued me for a couple hours! It is rated by PC magazine as a Top 100 Can't Live Without site.

Seat Guru: http://www.seatguru.com/

You work in a firm, not a Firm.

I think the reason accountants and lawyers excessively capitalize has to do with legal documents (contracts and engagement letters) you know, “This contract is between Smith, Evans and Jones (herein after referred to as “the Firm”) and ABC Company, Inc. (hereinafter known as “Company”)…”

So firms got used to capitalizing both words, "Firm" and “Company” (<-- or whatever word you use to describe a client's business like "Bank" or "Agency" or "District" or ...

Rare is the firm that hasn't yet addressed controlling Internet usage, text messaging, instant messaging (IMing), and other forms of communication. This topic can quickly become heated, with some partners feeling very strongly that most, if not all, Internet activities are unproductive. A couple of comments like "Chris is checking Hotmail" and "Pat is on Facebook," and it isn't long before a policy is issued:

Access banned to third-party e-mail Web sites, instant messaging, blogs, and all social media sites.

If you'd like to read a detailed and quite fascinating :) article about client selection, CCH published my article, "Who ARE Your Best Clients? And What Do You Do Once You Know?" in their Feb 2007 issue of CPA Practice Management Forum.

It is loosely based on my presentation called "Evaluating Your Clients, Why and How" from Assoc.