Accountants are one of the best strategic partners for business coaches. Often, you work with clients who have the same kind of business profile, you’re both invested in their long-term success, and you want to guide them to smart, strategic business decisions. That makes them excellent candidates for a strategic partnership I like to call “co-coaching.”
There are basically two types of accountants: tax compliance accountants, and accountants who add value doing something they typically refer to as management consulting.
A lot of times, accountants want to move toward management consulting, but they don’t know how. That’s where you come in—as the co-coach!
Here’s how I introduce the topic with potential accountant partners.
First, I ask them about their business and what they like about it. Then I ask, “Look, if you could change anything about your business in the next two to three years, what will it be?”
Most of them say that they’d love to be more involved with their clients, but they struggle to know how to deepen the relationship.
That’s when I reply: “Would you be interested in generating an additional $30,000 per year with your existing client base?”
The answer is usually a resounding yes. 🙂
How to Present Yourself as a Co-Coach
That's when I reply: "Would you be interested in generating an additional $30,000 per year with your existing client base?" The answer is usually a resounding yes. 🙂
The proposal I make to them is this:
First, I ask them to think of the top ten clients who could benefit most from business coaching or management consulting. Usually, they don’t have difficulty coming up with these prospective clients. They know off the bat who needs help and has the budget to accommodate coaching.
Ask the accountant to reach out to them. Have them use this script:
ACCOUNTANT: Hey guys, I wanted to let you know that I met this business coach who’s amazing! If I set up an opportunity for her to do a complimentary coaching session at no charge at my office would you be interested?
CLIENT: Tell me more about this coach!
ACCOUNTANT: She’ll take you through a detail of financial analysis to help you find areas of hidden profit in your business, and show you how you stack up compared to your competitors. Very powerful and she actually agreed to do this for you at my special request! I’m not doing this for all my clients, but I’m doing it for you because I think it would be great for you. What do you think?
Split the coaching fee. Offer to give 25% of the coaching fee to the accountant. To become a true co-coach, suggest that the accountant run the coaching call once per month as a deep dive into their financial performance. Some accountants may not want to co-coach, and that’s okay, too: offer them a flat referral fee or a smaller percentage of the revenue you earn from the client you share.
This is a powerful business-building strategy that has worked wonders in my own practice, as well as those of my business coach clients! Give it a try.
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