6 Tips for Upselling to Existing Accounting, Taxation, and Bookkeeping Clients

While a lot of CPAs and accounting firms in the United States practice upselling to boost revenue, some have no idea how to go about the same. If you are one of them, keep reading!

In this blog, Finsmart Accounting – trusted for accounting outsourcing in India –  will share useful tips and techniques for upselling your accounting, bookkeeping, taxation, or AR/ AP services to existing clients.

Best Upselling Tips for Accounting Firms

The following are the best upselling tips for accounting and bookkeeping firms in the United States to get started:

#1 Get organized

It can be really difficult to plan and deploy an upselling strategy when your focus is everywhere. Therefore, our first and foremost tip to upsell your accounting services is to get organized. Conduct a portfolio review of your clients and categorize them.

To make the grouping task easier, ask yourself questions like:

• What industry does the client belong to?
• How big is their business?
• What services am I already offering them?
• For how long has the client been associated with the firm?

By organizing clients and categorizing services offered, you will begin to identify upselling opportunities and discover gaps in the scope of value creation.

#2 Understand your client’s needs 

Can you buy a laptop without specifying your requirements or budget to the seller? While it might be possible for some, the answer will be NO for most of us! That’s why it is important to learn about your client’s requirements.

Once you are done compartmentalizing clients, try to understand what each client might want in addition to the services being availed and what they will be willing to pay for. Asking questions like these may help:

• Do you have an accounting upgrade in mind?
• What’s challenging for you in the accounting field?

Being mindful of your clients and their vision for the future is the key to successful upselling. Once you get the drift, tailor your upselling pitch to your client’s needs.

For example, if a bookkeeping client confides that payroll is becoming a challenge due to team growth, you need to craft a payroll solution that fits your client’s needs. That way, you will be able to build trust and succeed with upselling.

Useful tips to scale up accounting business during peak tax periods

#3 Limit the number of options 

Imagine visiting a car dealership to buy a new car for your daughter. You have found the right automobile and are about to put pen on paper when the salesperson recommends 3 other cars that could turn out to be a good option. You will feel overwhelmed, right?

While it is true that we love variety, a lot of it can be confusing and makes it difficult to come to a conclusion, resulting in decision fatigue. Clients really seek ease and simplicity. Therefore, keep it short and sweet while making an upsell bid for your accounting services.

First, consider the previous point to find the right suggestions. Create a list of two or three service packages. By keeping this upselling tip in mind, accounting firms are able to perfect their upselling pitch and close the deal.

#4 Use evidence to back up your reasoning 

This is literally one of the most important upselling tips for accounting businesses to consider in 2023. Can you hire a candidate without looking at his or her work history, experience, skillset, or educational qualifications? Of course not!

Similarly, if you are telling clients that you can help their businesses streamline accounting, payroll, or bookkeeping functions, you have to exemplify how you will do that, especially when you are asking them to pay more money for additional services. Share case studies, process flows, and testimonials with clients to shed light on how exactly your accounting firm was able to help CPAs and accounting firms in the past.

Collect service-specific reviews and push them through social media to communicate your diverse expertise to existing clients. Once they see how beneficial an upgraded solution has turned out to be for someone else, they’ll be keener to consider it for their business.

#5 Don’t be pushy 

While upselling requires perseverance, you have to keep in mind that there’s a fine line between being an assertive seller and a pushy one. If you become the latter, you may end up pestering otherwise happy clients. The trick is to deliver the upselling offer to your clients at the right time.

In case your service upsell needs a detailed discussion, ask the client for a time slot. This is a much better option than starting with your pitch randomly. This upselling technique may seem obvious but trust us, exhibiting the offer at the right time can double the chances of success.

A comprehensive guide to making your startup recession-proof

#6 Be transparent 

Dalai Lama once said, “Lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity.” What he said is 100% right! Don’t scare away your clients by upselling covertly. Truth is, no one licks to be tricked or manipulated into a sale. Instead, be honest and direct with your approach.

Simply talk with your existing clients about additional services you are offering, how they can create value, and what additional investment might be needed. Pull the pricing to bits to ease off concerns they may have about hidden charges.

Upselling tips for accounting firms 

Above are some tips and techniques for US-based CPAs and accounting firms to upsell their accounting, bookkeeping, or taxation services in 2023. Convincing existing clients to invest more in your business doesn’t have to be a struggle. Although upselling can be tricky, you are likely to find more success for your business as well as clients after considering the aforementioned tips and ideas.

Got any queries to ask? Send them to info@finsmartaccounting.com and have them answered by our accounting experts.

Also read:

Strategies to expand accounting business

A guide to hiring the best outsourced CFO  services

Discover outsourced bookkeeping services in India

India entry services to expand and scale in India