Episode Summary

In this episode of Advisory Secrets, I explore one of the most powerful skills any accountant or bookkeeper can develop when moving into advisory: the ability to ask better questions.

Many professionals believe that becoming a trusted advisor requires more technical knowledge, more qualifications, or more experience. Whilst those things can certainly help, I've found that some of the most valuable advisory conversations begin with a simple question.

The reality is that advisory isn't about having all the answers. It's about helping clients think more clearly about their business, their challenges, and the decisions they need to make.

In this episode, I share why great advisory conversations start with curiosity, how asking the right questions can uncover opportunities hidden beneath the numbers, and why listening is often more important than speaking.

We explore practical questions that can help business owners think differently about success, profitability, growth, time, and decision-making. Most importantly, we discuss why understanding the person behind the numbers is often where the real value of advisory begins.

When we stop focusing on providing immediate solutions and start focusing on understanding the bigger picture, our conversations become more meaningful, our client relationships become stronger, and our advisory impact increases significantly.

Ultimately, the quality of your advice is often determined by the quality of the questions you ask first.

Key Takeaways

• Becoming a trusted advisor is not about having all the answers. It's about asking better questions.

• Great advisory conversations begin with curiosity and a genuine desire to understand the client's situation.

• The most valuable insights often come from the client's own answers rather than the advisor's recommendations.

• Understanding a client's goals and definition of success creates more meaningful and impactful conversations.

• Questions help uncover challenges, opportunities, and priorities that may not be visible in the financial reports alone.

• Listening is one of the most important advisory skills because it allows clients the space to think, reflect, and explore their options.

• Advisory conversations become more valuable when they focus on outcomes, decisions, and future goals rather than historical information alone.

• Curiosity creates better conversations, and better conversations create better advisory relationships.

• Understanding the person behind the business is often the key to delivering meaningful advisory support.

Resources Mentioned

Website: debhalliday.co.uk

Website: theaccountsoffice.co.uk

Facebook Community: Advisory Teams

About Advisory Secrets with Deb Halliday

Advisory Secrets is the podcast for accountants, bookkeepers, and financial professionals who want to move beyond compliance, develop stronger advisory skills, and become trusted advisors to their clients.

Each episode shares practical insights, real-world experiences, and lessons learned from working with business owners, helping you build confidence, improve client conversations, and create more value through advisory services.

Foreign.

Welcome to Advisory Secrets with Deb Halladay, the podcast for accountants and bookkeepers who are ready to move beyond compliance work and step confidently into advisory if you ever felt there must be more to your role than year end accounts, tax returns and deadlines, you're right.

In this podcast, I'll share the strategies, insights and real world lessons that help accounting professionals transition from technician to trusted advisor.

We'll explore how to lead better financial conversations and deliver real value to clients.

I'm Deb Halliday, author and creator of training programs for accounting professionals, and this is Advisory Secrets Foreign.

Of the most powerful tools any advisor has.

Questions.

Not spreadsheets, not reports.

Not software questions.

Because over the years I've discovered that the quality of our advisory conversations is often determined by the quality of the questions we ask.

And yet it's something many accountants and bookkeepers never receive training on.

We're taught how to prepare accounts.

We're taught tax rules.

We're taught compliance.

But very few of us are taught how to lead meaningful business conversations.

The good news is that becoming a better advisor doesn't always require more technical knowledge.

Sometimes it simply requires asking better questions.

Why questions Matter One of the biggest mistakes advisors make is believing they need to have all the answers.

We've talked about this in previous episodes, but what I've learned is that the best advisors are often the most curious.

They're not rushing to provide solutions, they're trying to understand what's really happening.

Because if we solve the wrong problem, even the best advice won't help.

Questions help us uncover the real issue.

Questions create clarity, questions encourage reflection, and often the most valuable insights come from the client's own answers.

Start with the bigger picture.

One thing I see regularly is advisors jumping straight into the numbers.

The problem is that numbers without context only tell part of the story.

Before we talk about profit, cash flow, pricing, or growth, I like to understand the bigger picture.

Questions such as why did you start this business?

What does success look like for you?

What are you trying to achieve over the next few years?

What would you like the business to provide for you personally?

These questions immediately move the conversation beyond compliance, because every decision in a business should ultimately support the owner's goals.

Yet many business owners have never been asked these questions.

Understanding Current Challenges Once you've established the bigger picture, the next step is understanding what's getting in the way.

Some of my favourite questions what's your biggest challenge right now?

What's keeping you awake at night?

What's frustrating you most in the business?

If you could solve one problem this year.

What would it be?

These questions often reveal far more than the financial statements ever could.

Because clients don't usually buy advisory services to improve a KPI, they buy advisory because they want to solve a problem.

Questions Around Profitability Many business owners focus heavily on revenue.

But revenue isn't usually the problem.

Profitability is.

When discussing profitability, I often ask which services are most profitable?

Which clients are most profitable?

Are you charging what you're worth if you increased your prices tomorrow?

What concerns you most?

Where do you think profit is leaking from the business?

These questions encourage business owners to think differently, and often the answers reveal opportunities they hadn't considered before.

Questions About Time One of the things I've learned is that business owners often talk about money when the real issue is time.

Questions like how many hours are you working each week?

Could the business operate without you for a month?

What tasks are you still doing that someone else could do?

If you took four weeks off, what would happen?

These questions can be incredibly revealing because sometimes the business is successful financially, but the owner is exhausted and that's not sustainable.

Questions about Growth Growth is another area where assumptions can be dangerous.

Many business owners tell me they want growth, but when we explore it further, that's not always what they mean.

Questions I often ask include why do you want to grow?

What would growth actually give you?

Do you have the capacity to grow?

What would need to change for growth to be successful?

What risks come with growth?

Sometimes the conversation reveals that what the client actually wants is more profit, more freedom, or less stress.

Not necessarily a bigger business.

Questions about Decision Making Advisory is ultimately about helping clients make better decisions.

Some powerful decision making questions what are your options?

What's the worst thing that could happen?

What's the best thing that could happen?

What happens if you do nothing?

What would future you thank you for doing today?

These questions help clients step back and look at situations differently.

And often that's where breakthroughs happen.

The most Important Question if I had to choose one question that has consistently created the most value over the years, it would probably be this what does success look like?

It's such a simple question, but the answer changes everything.

Because if we don't know what success looks like for the client, how can we help them get there?

Success is different for everyone.

For one client, it might be growth.

For another, it might be freedom.

For another, it might be security.

Our role isn't to decide what success should look like.

Our role is to help them achieve it.

Listening matters more than asking.

Of course, asking good questions is only half the equation.

And the real magic happens when we listen.

Truly listen.

Not listening to respond.

Listening to understand.

Often, the most important information comes after a pause, after the client has had time to think, after they've moved beyond the first answer.

That's why silence can be one of the most powerful tools an advisor has.

Building Confidence through Curiosity Many accountants tell me they don't feel confident enough for advisory but here's the thing.

You don't need all the answers to ask a good question.

You don't need to be the expert in every aspect of business.

You simply need curiosity.

Because curiosity leads to better conversations.

Better conversations lead to better understanding, and better understanding leads to better advice.

Final Thoughts if there's one thing I'd like you to take away from today's episode, it's this.

Advisory isn't about having a script.

It's not about impressing clients with technical knowledge.

It's about understanding people.

And understanding starts with questions.

The better your questions become, the better your conversations become.

And the better your conversations become, the more value you create for your clients.

If you'd like to continue developing your advisory skills and learn from other accountants and bookkeepers on the same journey, I'd love you to join our Facebook Community Advisory teams.

It's a place where we share ideas, experiences, challenges and practical ways to become more valuable advisors.

Simply search advisory teams on Facebook and come and join us.

And if you've enjoyed today's episode of Advisory Secrets, please subscribe and leave a review.

Join me over on Advisory Conversations with Tim Seymour.

Thanks for listening and I'll see you in the next episode.

Thank you for listening to Advisory Secrets with Deb Halliday.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you follow the podcast so you don't miss future insights on building your advisory role.

For more resources, training and support for accounting for professionals stepping into advisory, Visit debhalladay co uk or the accountsoffice.co.uk until next time, Keep building a practice that creates real value for your clients and the lifestyle you want.