š„ Real Impostor vs Impostor Syndrome
PLUS: Tips to boost your confidence and how to get a client to take your advice.
Hey there š,
In today's email, hereās some tips to help you escape the accountantās trap.
š„Real impostor vs impostor syndrome
š„The cash flow driver of the week
š„5 tips to boostĀ your confidenceĀ
š„How to get clients to take your advice
š„60-second ideas from a CFO/Advisor
Whatās the accountantās trap?
You're in the trap if the only way to get paid more is to work more hours or take on more low-value and high-demanding clients.
At the same timeā¦
You can't raise your fees because there's always a competitor willing to do the same work for less.
REAL IMPOSTOR vs IMPOSTOR SYNDROME
Did you knowā¦
70% of adults experience impostor syndrome at least once in their lifetime. High-achievers, such as financial professionals and advisors, experience it more often.
Impostor syndrome isā¦
A psychological occurrence in which an individual doubts their skills, talents, or accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a fraud.
In other wordsā¦
People with impostor syndrome say to themselvesā¦āI think Iām a phony and itās only a matter of time before everyone finds out.ā
A real impostor isā¦
Someone who doesnāt doubt themselves. Someone who doesnāt wonder if theyāre qualified. Someone who doesnāt experience impostor syndrome.
In other wordsā¦
Real impostors donāt experience impostor syndrome.
šThe Bottom Line
If youāre feeling like an impostor, itās a strong sign that you arenāt one.
You can now breathe easierā¦
Check out this article written by a cognitive-behavioral coach with a Ph.D. in clinical psychology to learn more about impostor syndrome.
CASH FLOW DRIVER OF THE WEEK
The #1 Job of a CFO/Advisor
āļøOur job is to do one thing: help our clients have a growing and successful business.
A Successful Business is Defined Asā¦
š„AĀ business that is generating positive cash flow on a consistent basis.
How to Help Your Clients Be a Successā¦
šBy helping them improve the ādriversā of cash flow. Hereās one of them.
āļøDriver of the Week: Leads
Leads are the number of ideal customers that have been made aware of your client through any marketing efforts.
This drives revenue because more leads, ideally, will result in more paying customers, which will improve revenue.
For example, a HVAC business posts an ad online (e.g., Google Ads) for HVAC services and a potential customer sees it. Only when the customer calls your client are they considered a lead.
Your clients improve leads by optimizing marketing. Any money they spend on marketing should have a direct impact on the leads received (and, of course, a positive ROI).
THE TOP 5 LIST OF THE WEEK
5 Tips to Boost Your Confidence
We asked Lisa Dy, a mindset coach for financial professionals, how to get out of the accountantās trap. Sheās says itās all about confidence.
She gave us five tips anyone can use to boost their confidenceā¦
ā”Tip #1: Acknowledge Your Achievements
Take a moment to reflect on your journey, and no matter how seemingly small, acknowledge each achievement.
ā”Tip #2: Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
The comfort zone is a cozy cocoon where we feel safe and familiar. Yet, true growth and self-discovery happen outside this limited place.
ā”Tip #3: Practice Self-Compassion
Treat yourself with the same kindness and understanding that you extend to others.
ā”Tip #4: Surround Yourself with Positivity
The company you keep plays a significant role in shaping your confidence. To truly flourish, surround yourself with individuals who uplift, encourage, and support you.Ā
ā”Tip #5: Embrace Failure as a Stepping Stone
Failure is not an endpoint; itās an integral part of your journey toward success.
šThe Bottom Line
To escape the accountantās trap, you must overcome mental barriers - such as gaining confidence.
A gift for youā¦
Lisa, CPA, MBA owns Boundless Potential Coaching - a mindset coaching practice for accounting professionals. Sheās helped professionals:
Reduce stress and overwhelm
Improve their confidence
Pursue their passions
Lisa has opened a few spots on her calendar just for you for a complementary 30-minute call to help you overcome these and other mindset barriers.
If youād like to schedule a call with her, click here.
HOW TO GET CLIENTS TO TAKE YOUR ADVICE
As financial professionals, it can be painful to give clients advice for them to leave your office (or Zoom room) and simply not take that advice.
Hereās 3 ways to get clients to take your advice:
āØWay #1: Youāll have a bigger impact by looking ahead, not behind.
Clients want someone they can trust (you!) to tell them what to do to have a growing and successful business. They want a growing and successful businessā¦in the future.
So, instead of focusing on what your client did in the past simply tailor your advice so that it helps them have a better future. Your clients will appreciate that advice way moreā¦and will most likely take it.
āØWay #2: Donāt focus on numbers.
You know who loves numbers? Us.
You know who doesnāt love numbers? Most of your clients.
A sure-fire way to get a client to ignore your advice (or not even want it in the first place) is to talk numbers.
Although they donāt love talking numbers doesnāt mean that clients donāt love understanding whatās going on in their business. If you explain their business in a way that makes sense to them, they will more likely than not take your adviceā¦precisely because the advice will finally make sense to them.
āØWay #3: Give specific, actionable advice.
Weāve got to clearly communicate our advice in way that gets them to take action. To do that, we must give specific, measurable, and actionable advice delivered in an understandable way.
Your advice must beā¦
ā¦as specific as possible. Tell them exactly what they need to know, and nothing more. They donāt need or want all the details.
ā¦measurable and actionable. They have to know exactly what do to, and you have to be able to measure if they achieved it. Simply saying āGet more salesā is advice anyone can give but rarely achieved. Instead, tell them the exact next step they need to increase sales and theyāll likely achieve it.
ā¦delivered in an understandable way. Getting bogged down in the financial details is an easy way to bore your clients into inaction; instead, you need to give the advice in language they understand.
šThe Bottom Line
Getting people to follow your advice is difficult, even when itās good advice and they asked for it. To really have an impact, you need to give adviceā¦
ā¦by looking ahead, not behind.
ā¦by not focusing on numbers.
ā¦by giving specific, actionable advice.
The CFO Project put together a framework to give advice that your clients will pay attention to. Itās called the The One Clear Path.
Theyāve put together a mini-training on The One Clear Path. If youād like to take this self-paced training, click the button below.
60-SECOND IDEAS FROM A CFO/ADVISOR
We recently sat down with a CFO/Advisor to small-to-medium sized businesses, Lacey Harnar, and discussed four big ideas. Here they areā¦
ā±ļø60-Second Idea #1: Lacey realized that clients wanted her to be their advisor for their entire business rather than just being their tax advisor.
ā±ļø60-Second Idea #2: Lacey learned that business owners donāt really care about tax services as much as she thought. Hereās what they value insteadā¦
ā±ļø60-Second Idea #3: Lacey learned how to communicate info to her clients in a way they want.
ā±ļø60-Second Idea #4: Lacey shares her thoughts on where accountants will be in 10 years.
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