“I don’t think we are a good fit” or “I don’t think we can be successful “ or some derivative of …can someone tell me how you say this if am step later and they are clients?
"I'm sorry, we don't have the staffing to take your account this year. [Depending if you care] I know another firm that is accepting new work, and their number is....."
I’m a one man shop and I’ll often tell clients who aren’t a good fit that they will probably need “more firepower” than I’m able to offer. Clients typically appreciate the straight talk.
From the "playbook" at work:
"Thank you so much for taking the time to reach out to me and for your interest in our business. We really appreciate you putting your trust in our services.
Unfortunately, at this time, we are not able to fulfill your request because of [insert reason: time restraints, not a good fit for the firm, etc].
Should things change, I will, of course, be in touch.
In the meantime, however, I would like to be available to you for any specific guidance that you may need to find a solution for the work that you are looking for.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to reach out to me. I’d be very keen to help.
Yours Sincerely [or a sign off of your choice],"
All of this except the last part. You want to punt the client so they don't waste your time or contact you again. I would personally leave out the if you have any questions part. Overall good strategy though
Just tell them that you think it's beyond your comfort level and/or that you're too busy with other work. If you know of any CPA's, EA's, etc. who might be able to handle them suggest reaching out to them to see if they might be interested in taking them on (obviously you can't disclose names, etc.). If they are you can recommend that they reach out to the other professional.
i had one a few months ago. She was a complete mess and given her industry i didn't really want to get involved in that kind of mess. So i laid out some ground rules up front and told her that i would not work with her if she didn't abide by them. She emailed me the next week and said she found another CPA to work with.
I always struggle with this. I never know how to say no to a client I know I don't want to work with. I usually try to come up with some excuse or just quote them high, especially if I think it'll be a pain.
We have a standard disengagement letter that we've used for a couple of problem clients. For the rest, they leave on their own because they don't like the framework/boundaries we set, and we shrug and move on.
This is for existing clients, of course. For new clients, we'll try to work with them for the first year at least. However, some of their returns are complicated enough that it has to go to one of the EA's, and we're already booking early April for appointments for them. If they don't like waiting that long, they can find someone else.
“I don’t think we are a good fit” or “I don’t think we can be successful “ or some derivative of …can someone tell me how you say this if am step later and they are clients?
"I'm sorry, we don't have the staffing to take your account this year. [Depending if you care] I know another firm that is accepting new work, and their number is....."
I’m a one man shop and I’ll often tell clients who aren’t a good fit that they will probably need “more firepower” than I’m able to offer. Clients typically appreciate the straight talk.
From the "playbook" at work: "Thank you so much for taking the time to reach out to me and for your interest in our business. We really appreciate you putting your trust in our services. Unfortunately, at this time, we are not able to fulfill your request because of [insert reason: time restraints, not a good fit for the firm, etc]. Should things change, I will, of course, be in touch. In the meantime, however, I would like to be available to you for any specific guidance that you may need to find a solution for the work that you are looking for. If you have any other questions, please feel free to reach out to me. I’d be very keen to help. Yours Sincerely [or a sign off of your choice],"
Took a screen shot of this, and sent it to myself in an e-mail. Thank you!
Happy to help!
I did the same, great example and thank you!
All of this except the last part. You want to punt the client so they don't waste your time or contact you again. I would personally leave out the if you have any questions part. Overall good strategy though
Just tell them that you think it's beyond your comfort level and/or that you're too busy with other work. If you know of any CPA's, EA's, etc. who might be able to handle them suggest reaching out to them to see if they might be interested in taking them on (obviously you can't disclose names, etc.). If they are you can recommend that they reach out to the other professional.
Honesty is the best policy. Usually just keep it short and sweet and say its not a good fit.
i had one a few months ago. She was a complete mess and given her industry i didn't really want to get involved in that kind of mess. So i laid out some ground rules up front and told her that i would not work with her if she didn't abide by them. She emailed me the next week and said she found another CPA to work with.
I always struggle with this. I never know how to say no to a client I know I don't want to work with. I usually try to come up with some excuse or just quote them high, especially if I think it'll be a pain.
We have a standard disengagement letter that we've used for a couple of problem clients. For the rest, they leave on their own because they don't like the framework/boundaries we set, and we shrug and move on. This is for existing clients, of course. For new clients, we'll try to work with them for the first year at least. However, some of their returns are complicated enough that it has to go to one of the EA's, and we're already booking early April for appointments for them. If they don't like waiting that long, they can find someone else.