I don’t consider myself a good accountant…
But when I was running an accounting firm, clients always wanted to speak with me.
I was able to explain the value of our services, put clients at ease, and keep them happy. 🙂
(That also allowed me to take my firm from scratch to seven figures.)
You already know how to do great work.
But when you know how to communicate effectively, that’s when you can start to see real firm growth.
And in this article, I’ll discuss how you can become a more effective communicator with clients and your team.
Let’s go!
Why Communication Skills Matter More Than You Think
Most firm owners underestimate how much communication affects their bottom line.
(Some don’t even think about it at all.)
Many of them think they aren’t getting clients or increasing revenue because they’re not offering enough services or using enough tools…
When the problem is that they just can’t communicate well.
Reason #1: “Good Work” Isn’t Enough to Keep Clients
Clients don’t stay because you have great technical skills.
They don’t care about what you do at all.
For example, I once hired an accounting firm that had everything figured out.
Great tech, automated workflows.
Everything was efficient!
But I parted ways with them.
Why?
Because the experience didn’t feel warm.
There wasn’t a person who communicated with me throughout the process.
I was being passed around, pushed through a pipeline.
That’s the thing about client retention most firm owners miss:
Clients stay because they feel taken care of…
Because you respond quickly, explain things clearly, and make them feel like they matter.
The technical work has to be good, obviously.
But that’s just table stakes.
What keeps clients is how you make them feel.
Reason #2: Your Team Can’t Read Your Mind
You know exactly what you want done and how you want it done.
Your team doesn’t.
I made this mistake a lot over the years…
I’d get frustrated when someone wasn’t doing something the way I wanted it.
Then I’d realize: I never communicated what I wanted well enough.
When someone’s underperforming, it’s usually not because they’re lazy or incapable.
It’s because you haven’t communicated your expectations clearly enough.
You’re thinking about the big picture, the end goal, all the context that led to this task…
But they’re just seeing the task.
This is why I posted on LinkedIn that, if you want to create a better environment for your team, you have to overcommunicate.
The sooner you accept that unclear communication is your fault and not theirs…
The sooner your team starts performing better.
Reason #3: You Can’t Charge Premium Prices If You Can’t Communicate Value
Even if you provide great services and know the real value of those services, you need to communicate that to prospects.
Otherwise, they won’t pay you what you’re worth.
Here’s an example I shared in my Future Firm newsletter:
Let’s say you’re charging $1,500 for a business tax return.
Most firms would present it like this: “Business tax return: $1,500.”
But is it really a $1,500 service?
If you think about it, here’s what you’re really providing:
- A business tax return
- A tax return review meeting
- Semi-annual strategy calls
- A monthly tax savings report
- Unlimited year-round questions
- etc.
When you itemize what you’re giving clients, it becomes clear that the same work can easily be a $4,000 service.
Same amount of work, but 2.67x the price.
The difference?
How you communicate it.
If you can’t explain why you’re worth $3K when another firm charges $500, you won’t get the $3K client.
Honestly, I think communication might be one of — if not the — most profitable soft skills for accountants.
The difference between premium pricing and racing to the bottom is how well you articulate what clients actually get from working with you.
Not what you do…
But what they get.
How Can You Communicate Better As an Accounting Firm Owner?
Alright, let’s get into the practical stuff.
You don’t need to master every communication technique out there.
Focus on these, and you’ll see the difference in your firm:
1. Listen More Than You Talk
This is one of the most important verbal communication skills you can develop.
It’s even one of the most important leadership skills.
Most people think good communication is about talking well.
That’s true, but it starts with listening well.
When you really listen, everything else gets easier:
- You understand what your clients actually need instead of what you think they need.
- You catch problems with your team before they become major issues.
- You pick up on what prospects are really asking for when they say they “need bookkeeping services.”
This is what good communication skills are built on.
Think about it…
In your last client conversation, did you talk more than they did?
In your last team meeting, did you spend more time explaining than asking?
If yes, you’re doing it backwards.
These soft skills matter more than technical skills when you’re trying to grow a firm.
If you can do this one right, you can do everything else better.
2. Talk Like a Person
You may not know this, but I worked as a telemarketer for five years.
It mainly taught me how to communicate on the phone.
But more importantly, it taught me how to sound like an actual person.
Most accounting communication is stiff, formal, and boring.
People connect with people, not corporations.
When your writing has personality, clients actually read it.
They respond, and they feel like they know you.
This is especially important in written communication.
It’s hard to convey tone in writing, but it’s a skill you can develop.
How?
Write like you talk.
Break up your thoughts into digestible chunks instead of giant paragraphs.
For example, here is one of the emails from my newsletter:
I bet this doesn’t sound “professional” at all…
But since it sounds like a person, my readers love it:
Test this by reading your last email out loud.
Does it sound like something you’d actually say to someone’s face?
If not, rewrite it.
Your clients don’t want to work with a faceless accounting firm — they want to work with you.
Let them hear your voice, even when you’re writing.
3. Ask Better Questions
The best way to communicate with your team isn’t by having all the answers.
It’s by asking the right questions.
The goal is to have people thinking for themselves.
For instance, I kickstart conversations with my Future Firm team with this question:
“What’s on your mind?”
I learned it from The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier, which I recommend.
Here’s what it does:
It bridges what you want and what the other person wants.
How?
Let’s say you’re drowning in a specific type of task and you want to delegate it.
Instead of just pushing it onto a team member, ask them:
“Where do you see yourself heading in this firm?”
If they say they’re interested in that same type of work, then you can say:
“Great, I’ve got this task that would help you develop that skill.”
When you ask questions about their goals first, it’s easier to effectively communicate opportunities that align with what they’re already interested in.
Plus, it also shows active listening.
That’s how you build trust and confidence with your team.
That said, having coachable team members helps a lot.
(Coachability is one of the most important characteristics I look for when I hire.)
But you need to be able to communicate well to coach them in the first place.
4. Always Provide Context
If you need to explain something or provide feedback to your team…
Don’t write three paragraphs.
Instead, record a short Loom video showing exactly what you mean.
When you use tools like Loom, you’re not just explaining…
You’re also showing your technical expertise in action.
Your team can learn from watching how you actually do something, not just hearing you describe it.
That’s great collaboration.
If you do need to stick with written text, write well-formatted messages:
- Use bullet points
- Include visuals when possible
- Make your ask clear
Give them everything they need to understand and act.
Not everything they might possibly need to know.
Just what they need right now to move forward.
5. See Things From Their Side
This doesn’t mean agreeing with everyone.
It means understanding where someone’s coming from before you respond.
When a client is stressed about a tax bill, they don’t need you to explain tax law.
They need you to acknowledge it’s stressful first, before laying out how you’ll fix it for them.
When a team member says they’re overwhelmed, don’t immediately try to give them time management advice.
Help them get a zoomed-out view of their workload, and find out where you can ease things.
This is the approach I took when Kaz Jaffer, a firm owner struggling in his business, reached out to me:
I didn’t tell him to join my Future Firm Accelerate program right away…
I wanted to understand his situation first, so I asked him two questions:
- What does your ideal situation look like?
- What do you enjoy doing best, and what are you best at in your firm?
When he got back to me with answers, I recorded a six-minute Loom video addressing his concerns.
After watching the video, he joined Future Firm Accelerate. 🙂
And after two months, he sent me this email:
Can you imagine what would’ve happened if I pitched my program to him without even asking about his situation?
He might never have gotten back to me…
Because people don’t want to be lectured, they want to be understood.
You can give the most technically correct advice to a client and still lose them…
Why?
Because you jumped straight to the solution without acknowledging the problem first.
The client will feel dismissed, not helped.
Same thing happens with team members.
You can have the perfect solution to their problem…
But if you don’t first show you understand what they’re dealing with, they won’t hear it.
People stay when they feel understood, not when they feel corrected.
6. Solve Problems Instead of Listing Services
I posted on LinkedIn about things to avoid if you want to keep your clients happy.
Avoiding the use of complex accounting jargon was one of those things.
(If you’re interested in this, free to check out my article on accounting client retention strategies.)
How do I know this?
Because when I was starting out as an accounting firm owner, I would talk about our services and how great they were.
“We provide bookkeeping, tax prep, CFO services, payroll…”
It didn’t work.
If they asked me why they needed those services…
I’d say something like:
“Uh… because you need someone to do your books?”
(Yikes!)
I didn’t get those clients.
Here’s what I learned:
Everything you do in your firm is sales.
Good communication in sales is never about listing what you do.
It’s about solving problems they have.
Here are a few examples:
| Instead of saying… | Say… |
| “We provide financial reporting.” | “We’ll make sure you know exactly where your cash stands at any moment, so you can make decisions with confidence.” |
| “We do bookkeeping and reconciliations.” | “We’ll keep your books accurate and up-to-date, so you never get surprised by your numbers.” |
| “We offer tax planning services.” | “We’ll help you pay the lowest legal amount in taxes and ensure you’re compliant so you’re much less stressed.” |
| “We provide CFO advisory.” | “We’ll give you a clear financial roadmap so you know exactly when you can hire, invest, or take money out of the business.” |
| “We handle payroll processing.” | “We’ll make sure your team gets paid on time, every time, and handle all payroll taxes and compliance so you don’t have to worry.” |
See the difference?
They don’t care about the service, they care about the outcome.
You don’t need to impress them with complex financial concepts — they don’t need to know how sophisticated your process is.
Prospects don’t buy services.
They buy peace of mind, clarity, and the feeling that someone finally gets what they’re dealing with.
7. Learn to Tell People What You Do (In a Minute or Less)
AI is pushing people to connect in person more than ever.
You can take advantage of this to market your services.
In my podcast, I mentioned that in-person marketing is inefficient.
But boy, is it effective.
It’s still one of the best ways to find and connect with clients.
It leads to referrals and opportunities you won’t get otherwise.
For instance, I’ve been going to Intuit Connect since the first one in 2014:
And I’m still making new connections every year!
But here’s the problem:
Most firm owners can’t explain what they do clearly and concisely.
They ramble, use jargon, and lose people in 30 seconds…
Because accountants are often natural introverts, this is one of the key communication skills that’s often overlooked.
But if you want a successful career as a firm owner, you need to learn this.
Practice a 60-second elevator pitch.
Not a sales pitch — just a clear explanation of what you do and who you help.
Here’s mine:
“I help accounting firm owners build more profitable, less stressful firms. I’ve been running firms for 10+ years and now I help other owners unlock freedom and growth.”
That’s it.
The more you connect, share, and collaborate, the more doors open for partnerships, talent, and growth.
Strong communicators naturally attract strong networks.
And that starts with being able to explain what you do.
Pro tip: Work your elevator pitch into your LinkedIn profile so people who find you there can easily understand what you do.
Here’s mine as an example:
Turn Better Communication Into Firm Growth
There you have it!
These communication skills helped me build a seven-figure firm.
Your technical skills got you this far, but having strong communication skills will take your firm to the next level.
Now, I’d like to hear from you.
What did I miss?
What communication skill has made the biggest difference in your firm?
Let me know in the comments!
