As a financial advisor, you’ve heard countless times that CPA partnerships will elevate your client service and grow your practice. Indeed, there are plenty of scenarios that have both tax and financial-planning implications – and therefore an opportunity to add value.
Having recognized the myriad benefits of an advisor-CPA collaboration, here is how to embark upon the process of finding the ideal partner. Success is never a straight line. It requires navigation and a roadmap.
But in this era of GPS, most of us prefer more than just a roadmap. With that in mind, here are my turn-by-turn directions to put your road to success on autopilot:
1. Ask your clients: This journey begins by discovering who your clients turn to for tax-preparation services. Chances are if a CPA is working with one of your clients, they are working with other people who you can help.
2. Do your research: Before you reach out to a possible CPA partner, do some Googling. Find out if they have a niche like yours and identify how you might be able to work together to help one another’s clients.
3. Get to know them: Success begins with conversations. Invite a prospective CPA partner out to dinner and explore the problems you can help solve together. Success and referrals require two important “Rs”: Relationship and rhythm. If you build a good relationship and offer solutions regularly (there’s another R word), you’ll develop a rhythm whereby reaching out will become routine (there’s a fourth R word.)
4. Be the easy button: People love working with partners that make their lives simpler. A relationship that is easy gets more referrals, so think about ways you can make a CPA’s life easier. That means collecting, collating and delivering important tax documents and investment statements. Be proactive every step of the way.
5. Discover their drive: With a relationship established, ask more probing questions of the CPA. Are they interested in growth? Do they want to generate more revenue? If the answer is “yes,” then chances are you have found a potential partner.
6. Look for red flags: Finding someone who’s looking to grow is an important step, but it isn’t the last one. The prospective partner might be ready to grow, but they might not be ready to grow with you. Ask questions about:
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- Potential conflicts of interest;
- How they talk to clients; and
- Their vision for success.
7. Figure out where you rank: Be wary of CPAs that talk about providing referrals to a litany of advisors. This creates additional hurdles for long-term success. You want to be the go-to advisor, not just a face in a crowd
8. Preparers versus planners: As conversations with different CPAs progress, success often comes down to one big question: Do they see themselves as a tax preparer or a tax planner? Tax planners open more opportunities for deepening client relationships through wealth management. Those are the partners you want.
I have helped advisors partner with amazing tax professionals for decades – because I love helping growth-minded partners with an abundance mindset. It might initially feel impossible to get your foot in the door of a CPA’s practice, but by asking the right questions and offering solutions to problems that feel overwhelming, you can quickly become essential. It is all about identifying great CPAs, getting to know them and uncovering their biggest challenges. From there, the roadmap to success is as easy as going from point A to point B.
Paul Saganey CFP® is president and founder of Integrated Partners.
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