Creating and selling advisory services
Running a small business is fraught with danger, so it’s normal for a business owner to worry about making wrong moves. Consequently, many business owners want the kind of expert advice and insight only an accounting professional can provide. And they’re willing to pay for it. That’s good news if you want to shift the […]

Understand what your clients want
Usually, small business owners want to build the best business in their industry, maximize profits, free their time, or prepare the business for sale. Your advisory service can help them achieve all four objectives or just one objective. The better your ability to help the client reach these goals, the more they will be willing to pay you. Ask your clients what they want to achieve.Sell insights
Clients want the kind of insight that an accountant’s business-minded analytics can provide. Your advisory service can provide insight into the client’s business performance and benchmark it against their industry. Repeated insights (monthly, quarterly, or annually) will provide clients with helpful measurement data they can use to chart progress and make operational improvements.- Identify government sources of industry data that you can use to benchmark a client’s business performance.
- As part of your advisory service, you’ll need access to monthly or quarterly financial data so you can analyze the numbers.
- Strengthen your professional network of experts including lawyers, realtors, financial advisors, and business valuators so you can bring additional insights to your clients.
- Learn more about this topic by attending a free Sage marketing webinar for accounting professionals—click here for details.
Sample advisory service pricing
Offer your advisory services as a package, expressed monthly, quarterly, or annually. For example, $199 monthly advisory service may include:- Monthly analysis of business financial performance with key observations and recommendations.
- Monthly telephone consultation with the client.
- Industry benchmarking report.
- Progress review against stated goals.
- Response to client email questions within 24 hours.
Name your new service
Apply some branding to your new service to make it more saleable. For example, call it something like ‘Monthly Business Monitor’ or ‘Performance Advisor Consulting Package’. Describe what the service does and list all of the features.Give your clients a sample
Introduce your new advisory service by giving clients a taste of it.- Come prepared to a presentation meeting with some financial observations about the client’s business and some industry-specific metrics (e.g.) “Did you know businesses similar to yours operate with 20 percent less cost?”.
- Having something tangible to show your client will help them to notice the value you can deliver.
- Tell stories that highlight previous successes with other clients.