TTPP106: My Worst Client Experience and 5 Takeaways to Improve Your Tax Advice

Back in 2018, I had a bad client experience that ended up being the richest learning experience to improve my tax advisory skills.

Technically, I was strong, and I’d been told many times that good tax advice is much more than just being technically correct

 I knew that was true, but I didn’t understand the full extent of it – until this experience.

I share the story in this episode and then share 5 takeaways, 5 lessons, from that experience to help you provide better tax advice.

Click the play button above to listen or click on of the below links to go to the podcast player:

I hope you like this one. For the first time on the podcast, I’ve spent hours crafting the story so that I told it more interestingly and engagingly than I naturally would and so that the key message sticks in your minds better. That’s the idea anyway.

Please do let me know what you think: jack@thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com

Me – Jack Bonehill

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackbonehill94/

Email: jack@thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com

Timings

  • Episode intro
  • (5:15) Story about a bad experience relating to a bad tax-advisory client that I had back in 2018, which was the richest learning experience for me re improving my advisory skills
  • (10:00) Five lessons/takeaways from the experience to help you become better at providing tax advice:
  • (11:00) Lesson 1: Being technically correct doesn’t make the advice good – it’s just an essential part
  • (12:00) Lesson 2: Your advice should be workable and what is meant by this
  • (13:00) Lesson 3: Your advice should be definitive 
  • (14:00) Lesson 4: You should talk in the client’s language and bespoke your advice in all respects
  • (15:15) Lesson 5: Longer advice does not equal more valuable advice

What does practical tax advice actually look like??

  • Clients will like you more – and therefore working with them will be more enjoyable
  • Clients will be more likely to work with you again (which means more client fees without salesly BD)
  • Clients will be more likely to refer you (again, more client fees without salesly BD)
  • Generally speaking, you will be in high demand

The Tax Advice Masterclass teaches you basically everything I know about providing good tax advice It’s taken me 9 years to learn, and I take it from my head and put it into yours.

You get the knowledge on HOW to provide high-quality tax advice. All you have to do is then implement it and practice.

Many advisors are good, but few are excellent. Hopefully you want to become the latter.

Here’s the start.