How a CRM helps attract and retain tax clients: A case study from L&J Tax

Taxes are definitely one of those subjects that many of us would have liked to learn at school.

Not a lot of people can say, hand on heart, that they completely understand how the tax system works.

That’s why there’s a big demand for tax advisors. And one of the main differentiators in this industry is the quality of services.

We talked to Laura Lynch, Partner at L&J Tax, about the importance of being proactive and the role a good CRM system plays in this.

Cultivating human-to-human relationships

L&J Tax is one of those companies that put their clients at the heart of everything they do. For them, it’s important to empathize with clients, understand where they are coming from, and find the best solution to their problems.

In an industry where numbers and regulations play a huge role, a human-to-human approach can go a long way.

And this is exactly what Laura and her team at L&J Tax try to achieve. They provide an exceptional level of service quality while maintaining a human touch.

“We humanize it,” Laura says.

And OnePageCRM helps them do this in multiple ways.

Leveraging CRM for sales success

Here are a few ways how OnePageCRM helps tax advisors rise above the competition and nurture strong client relationships.

Attention to detail

Before implementing OnePageCRM, Laura tried to remember important details about all of her clients and keep this information at the back of her mind.

But if you have dozens or hundreds of clients, this can get unnecessarily complicated. This memory game gets even trickier after a conference or a networking event. How do you remember to follow up with all of the leads and potential partners?

David Allen is famously quoted as saying “Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.”

Now Laura can easily record every important detail inside her CRM: from recent call notes to email threads — and add reminders next to any contact in her database.

And there’s a huge benefit to this: Freeing your mind from remembering daily tasks can help you be more creative and productive.

The power of referrals

Referrals are as good as gold in the tax industry. So it’s important to analyze where your best referrals are coming from and double the efforts on getting more leads from this channel.

By implementing a CRM system, you can segment your contact database in a more efficient way and fill up the top of your sales funnel much quicker.

Smooth project management

Entrepreneurs reach out to tax advisors for a variety of reasons but in many cases, they are looking not only for advice but also for help with execution.

L&J Tax finds it’s one thing to send a report with advice for clients to follow; it’s another for the client to follow through and implement their recommendations. As business owners themselves, clients often prioritize their business over their own needs and what’s urgent tends to get done.

That’s why the team at L&J Tax deliver their services beyond an advisory role.

By using the pipeline feature in OnePageCRM, they can see the stage of every project and decide whether they need to provide a client or another member of their advisory team with more details, clarifications, reminders or anything else.

It also helps to visualize what needs to be re-arranged in order to get the project all the way through the pipeline.

A proactive approach to client relationships

Imagine having a tool that motivates you to reach out to clients regularly. This is what OnePageCRM is about. It is a combination of a simple contact database and a powerful follow-up tool.

The benefits of such a proactive approach are two-fold.

From one side, the client feels that the company cares about them and follows through. But from the other side, it also gives the company valuable insight into the project.

So next time the company takes on a similar project, the team will be much more prepared to handle any existing or potential challenges.

This approach helps the L&J Tax team stand out from competitors. They don’t just sit and wait for clients to come to them with problems.

Better task delegation

A good CRM should also have proper collaborative features that help you fairly distribute the workload among team members and ensure that you meet deadlines.

As a small team, L&J Tax are very selective about the projects they take on. But once they agree to a project, they put in all the effort.

Besides, the pipeline feature and reporting tools can help you visualize your expertise. For example, by keeping your work organized, you can notice that you’ve been getting more projects in one area which means that you are getting a market reputation there too.

This is a business insight that you can use to penetrate a new market or expand your operations.

Healthy work-life balance

Founders and entrepreneurs know how hard it is to switch off from work and take a well-deserved break.

That’s why so many small business owners like OnePageCRM. It is not just a contact database but also a productivity tool.

Simplicity

A CRM system doesn’t have to be a complex tool with thousands of features and add-ons. Clunky software will slow down your business growth and have an adverse effect on your personal productivity.

Using a CRM for tax advisors

By implementing a proper CRM system, tax advisors can focus on building long-term relationships with their clients and providing high-quality services.

A good CRM acts not only as a contact database but also helps with project management and promotes a proactive approach across different areas of your business.