Taxes, Sales and Referral Value 
I remember years ago taking my shoebox full of papers and receipts and anything else I may have thought would be needed for tax purposes to Jim my Accountant or maybe better said Tax Preparer. Many times it was just days before the deadline. (I guess I have always been one to procrastinate.)
Jim was our accountant for many years. He almost seemed like family. Jim was always available for questions and advice. For many years, after tax season he and his family would go to our house in the mountains for a much needed rest. Jim was someone we knew, liked and trusted.
As we all know things change. Jim retired several years ago, sold his practice and referred me to another local accountant.
Here’s where the story begins:
The next tax season I got a form letter from the new accountant advising me of the changes (which I already knew) and letting me know I needed to make an appointment to meet with him to discuss my taxes. I did as requested.
A couple of weeks before the tax deadline (not days as I had done in the past) I called and made an appointment to meet with my new accountant to discuss and hand over my tax shoebox. When I arrived I quickly realized that he was very busy and I was just one of many. What a difference. The accountant had his processes and one of them seemed to require sitting in the waiting area for long periods of time.
Once I finally made it back to his office, I was greeted with stacks and stacks of paper mostly bound by large rubber bands. Thinking about it now I’m not quite sure I saw any shoeboxes like mine.
After a very brief introduction, he asked to see what I had brought. He barely knew my name and he was asking me to hand over my most personal information. Heck, I guess that’s why I was there but I remember that feeling uncomfortable as I did as requested. As I pushed my Tax Shoebox across his desk he gave me that look like “you got to be kidding”. You would have thought he had never seen the shoebox filing system I had in place at the time. (I now use a 8×11 envelope as my taxes have gotten much simpler.)
He quickly shuffled through my information, slapped a sticky note on the box, pulled out one of those large rubber bands, wrapped it around my tax box and told me he would give me a call when my tax return was ready.
That was it!
No questions asked, didn’t ask if I had any questions, just said he would call when the return was ready.
A few days before the 15th I got a call from his office letting me know my taxes were ready and to just drop by and pick them up.
When I dropped by his office my taxes along with my Shoebox were waiting for me at the receptionist desk. Again no questions asked, didn’t ask if I had any questions just a thank you along with the bill and out the door I went.
I realize I was not a Dream Client (probably an understatement) and I had no problem with the work he did (with the exception of the deduction for a home office he must have felt I needed and the IRS didn’t). But with that said, I never went back.
Since then I have had opportunities to refer customers and friends for accounting and tax services and never once have I included his name. In fact, when his name is mentioned my response has been “I was less than impressed with him.”
So what does an accountant and a tax shoebox have to do with sales?
I suspect he was ever bit as good of an accountant as Jim (maybe better) judging by the busyness in the office. He did what he said he would do and had my taxes done before the 15th and I had no problems with the price he charged.
However, I think the sales lesson is, even though he did what he felt was expected he didn’t meet my expectations. Never once did he consider any future value I might provide other than next year’s tax preparation fee.
I was looking for not only someone who could do my taxes correctly but someone I felt knew me, someone I liked and most importantly someone I could trust.
I know and I’m sure he knew that I was never going to be a high fee client. My shoebox method of filing certainly left him “less than impressed”.
But what he and I think many of us in sales and services fail to consider is the “referral value” of our customers.
Referral Value is the value a satisfied customer provides by referring their customers, friends, family and associates to our products or services.
I believe we “earn” referral value by exceeding our customers expectations and creating a trust that makes our customers eager to recommend us to others. We can’t create referral value by not meeting or just meeting expectations.
Though hard to put a hard dollar amount to how much a referral brings to ourselves and our company, it is something that we must consider.
How many times do we miss the opportunity to create a relationship that could provide “referral value” for years to come?
With a short term approach to sales and “make the sales numbers this month” attitude I wonder how much money we are leaving on the table by forgetting the value a satisfied customer can bring just by mentioning or referring us to others? Especially the right others!
Are we putting in the effort with our customers and people we meet to build relationships where comfortable asking for referrals?
Probably not!
We all know the damage a dissatisfied customer can do but are we overlooking the “referral value” of a customer that knows, likes and trusts us?
Probably so!
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Thank you for taking the time to read this article.
Now let’s get out there and over-deliver!
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