What is one thing you can easily miss in the tax return delivery meeting with your clients?

You are in full on survival mode with a week left in tax season. Maybe dreaming of when you can leave the office and dip your toes in the sand or take that vacation you so desperately need.

In that mode of just getting 1040s out the door, it’s easy to overlook one key thing that could make THE difference in selling the profitable advisory services that provide steadier revenue vs. a season of chaos that burns you and your staff out every year.

That key thing is curiosity.

Think about the clients you actually meet with to review their returns. That meeting should be about more than just reviewing the return. Rather, be curious.

Mrs. Smith, what are your goals for that side hustle you’ve got? 

Mr. Jones, how are you feeling about what you are putting away for retirement?

Ms. White, are you still thinking about buying a beach house? 

Mr. Andrews, how are things going in your business? What are you trying to accomplish this year?

Your lowest hanging fruit.

Certainly, you are already doing this for clients you have on retainer. But, what about the ones you only do tax returns for that represent more opportunity?

As a sales professional for almost 3 decades, I have learned a few things about where the lowest hanging fruit lies. It’s current clients. They know you and trust you. The conversation is so much easier than approaching a prospect you’ve never done business with. While the same principle of curiosity applies to prospecting, it is so often overlooked when you think you know your existing clients.

Build your advisory services business during tax season without adding more to your plate.

Wouldn’t it be terrific to secure new retainer clients by being intentional about asking a few curiosity questions during the delivery meeting?

For example, how about that couple you do a return for every year who have small side businesses? Do they have goals for those businesses you could help them achieve? Are you talking to them about a monthly maintenance retainer or a business advisory fee that wraps in tax planning and business strategy work? They’ll pay for it.

90% of the work is just summoning the courage to ask for the business after you ask the curiosity questions. So what if the answer is no? It may just be no right now, and yes as circumstances change and they are aware of what you can do for them.

Now, I’m curious. 

What about YOUR business? (BTW the wrong answer is, “I’ll think about that after 4/18.”)

What are your plans to grow your advisory business this year? Time is running out. In a year of many mergers and acquisitions, the ‘maybe next years’ could cost you profitable clients.

Be curious in every delivery meeting and watch your business expand.