How To Build Your Reputation As An Accountant

Starting out as an accountant can feel like a slow climb to where you want to be, but you will get there eventually. The key to reaching your goals as a successful accountant is partially through your reputation. In a service industry, where you provide important financial work for clients, reputation can make or break your chance to impress existing clients and attract new ones.

With all of that in mind, you want to build a strong reputation so that you are considered the go-to accountant for anyone’s financial needs, and these tips can help you get there and improve your overall abilities. Here are four ways you can build that reputation you need.

1. Seek Advice from Established Accountants

You might be very accomplished in your own, or at least on track to be, but there will always be someone out there that is better than you. This is just the nature of how things work, especially in competitive careers. However, competition does not mean that these professionals are not willing to help.

This is very useful for newly certified accountants or those opening up their own business. Seeking out the advice from established accountants will only help further your reputation as you become known for your willingness to learn from others. Humility goes a long way, so showing you are able to sit down and listen to advice is a great start for building your reputation.

2. Take Your Services Online

The internet has improved the ability of businesses to reach bigger audiences in nearly every single field. Accounting is no different, as online services are helping expand clients, and allowing for ease of access to financial help.

Creating a website has also become easy, so it only makes sense that using this to your advantage can improve your reputation as you take on more clients, or provide consulting work. Accounting sites improve client relations, which is a foundational aspect of reputation-building.

Without your clients, your firm or business is nothing, even if you are well experienced. Expanding this audience, or at least providing an easier way for people to get help from you, pays off well in the long term.

3. Building a Brand for Yourself

Creating a website and taking your services online is one thing, but you also need to create a brand. Branding does not just apply to social media influencers. In fact, nearly every business that is successful has some kind of brand. Sometimes they are big corporations, which we associate with certain ideas, and other times it can be about a logo or a person.

Accounting businesses can have brands, too, which helps build a connection with the services. One good way to brand yourself is to put a face to the name. People like to interact with or do business with an establishment when they know who is behind the name. Using promotional images on your site that shows a professional individual can attract people because they make an association between your work and you personally. Reputation relies a lot on the psychology of relationships, and branding is the art of doing so in the realm of marketing.

Related:

• 10 Branding Hacks for Solopreneurs
• 7 Ultimate Branding Tips for Your Small Business

4. Helping Spread Word-of-Mouth

Word-of-mouth is one of the oldest forms of marketing, and one of the most effective ways to up your reputation. It simply means that you are relying on people talking about you, your products, or your services to their friends and family, and that leads to increased interest.

Word-of-mouth for accounting is actually quite simple: provide good service. As with any client-based service, finances means you want to give your best work to help people succeed. Nothing says you care more than being committed to improving other people’s lives with your work, and good work is always something people appreciate.

So it goes without saying that you should always give your best work to those in need, but it also enhances your reputation. Social media has allowed for a wider spread of word-of-mouth as well, so asking clients to leave a review on your site or elsewhere can be beneficial too.

Improving your reputation as an accountant is quite simple really. Most of the tips here are basic marketing tips that apply to any business. Going online to increase your audience, building a brand, seeking expert advice, and using word-of-mouth tactics can go a long way in helping you build an image that you can be proud of and inspires confidence in potential clients.

By Steve Jones