Artwork for podcast The Connected Accountant
Being Intentional with Partnerships: From Random Networking to Systemised Partnership Plans
Episode 61st May 2026 • The Connected Accountant • Wayne Findlay, Talila Kroy, Ian Aldridge
00:00:00 00:27:12

Share Episode

Shownotes

Most accountants have been told to build partnerships. Almost none of them know what to actually do on a Monday morning.

The advice is everywhere — partnerships are your big rock, partnerships are the growth lever, go and build some partnerships. But when the room empties and the week starts, what does that actually look like? Talila Kroy, Wayne Findlay, and Ian Aldridge have all built their businesses through intentional, systemised partnerships — and the gap between what they're doing and what most accountants are doing is significant.

There's a reason referral clients convert at 80% while cold leads sit at 20%. There's a reason some firms attract clients who pay on time, respect their staff, and act on advice — while others are stuck managing difficult relationships that drain morale and headspace. It starts with one thing, and it's not networking harder.

The panel also gets into two new tools that are about to remove every excuse accountants have ever had for not doing this properly — and why, as AI takes over the transactional work, the one thing it still can't do may be the most valuable thing an accountant has left.

KEY LEARNINGS

  • The Monday morning problem — why every business coach says "build partnerships" but almost no-one tells you what that actually means when the week starts
  • The 80/20 reality — the conversion rate gap between referral clients and cold leads is not a small difference, and Ian's experience reveals why it exists
  • The Partner Suitcase — Talila's systemised approach takes partnerships from vague intention to a structured process, but the starting point isn't what most people expect
  • Jerry — Wayne's new white-label software tool is designed to be offered through accounting partnerships, and the reason it could change how accountants position themselves is worth understanding
  • InPartner — Talila's platform is being described as the HubSpot for partnerships, and what it does to the bottlenecks most firms quietly struggle with is worth a closer look
  • The accountant-lawyer problem — Ian explains why 200 years of friction between accountants and lawyers has been doing real damage to clients, and what it takes to actually change it
  • What AI still can't do — the lateral thinking and proactive relationship-building that distinguishes great accountants from replaceable ones isn't a soft skill anymore

KEY QUOTES

"Almost every business coach I've ever met has on their thing, 'You should build partnerships.' But what do you actually do on a Monday morning? How do you do that?" — Talila Kroy
"The clients that came from referral partners were just so much higher quality — easier to work with, pay our bills on time, respectful to our staff, listen to our advice, take our advice, and act on it. The conversion rate was sort of 80% as we worked out instead of 20%." — Ian Aldridge

Roundtable Events

Information, including registration details, for Roundtable events for Accountants: https://thebackroomop.com/thepartnershipeffect 

Panelist Information:

Talila Kroy - Emple

Wayne Findlay - The Back Room

Ian Aldridge - Progressive Legal

Production:

Co-host - Anthony Perl - Podcasts Done For You


Transcripts

Anthony Perl:

Being intentional with partnerships.

2

:

Welcome to the Connected Accountant,

the podcast where we explore

3

:

how strategic partnerships can

transform your accounting practice.

4

:

I'm your co-host Anthony Pearl,

and today we are discussing the

5

:

importance of being intentional

with how you build partnerships.

6

:

Moving beyond random networking

to systemize sales engines

7

:

and strategic partner plans.

8

:

Talila Kroy: You go out, you get the

tree, you dig the hole, you plant

9

:

the tree, you nurture it, you water

it, you grow it, you got fruit.

10

:

Simple, straightforward.

11

:

It's all relationships.

12

:

Nowadays, marketing the old

fashioned way, let's say it was like

13

:

three or four years ago, is gone.

14

:

It's all relationship based now.

15

:

People will need to trust

who they're working with.

16

:

Ian Aldridge: Both the accountant

and the lawyer can get together

17

:

and then present that advice to the

client together to say, Hey, don't

18

:

worry, we've worked this out for you.

19

:

Anthony Perl: Joining me today are

our three regular panelists who

20

:

bring their incredible expertise

to the Connected Accountant.

21

:

We have Tal LaCroix from ple, Wayne

Finley from the backroom, and Ed

22

:

Aldridge from Progressive Legal.

23

:

Let's get into what will make

you the connected accountant,

24

:

so Wayne and Tila.

25

:

We've gotta talk about a topic that

I think is a really important one,

26

:

which is being very intentional with

how you are building partnerships,

27

:

particularly for accountants.

28

:

Tole.

29

:

I know this is a topic that's

incredibly dear to you because of

30

:

the partner suitcase that you are

doing at the moment with accountants.

31

:

So tell me how that whole idea of being

intentional is so intrinsic to this.

32

:

Talila Kroy: Well, firstly, the whole idea

of doing it with accountants and lawyers

33

:

came from, lastly from Wayne and Ian.

34

:

'cause they were both did, did

our partner suitcase in:

35

:

And of all of the businesses that

did benefit from it, those who were

36

:

professional services and who are

seen to gain immediate traction

37

:

and the most traction, and that's

obviously because they all rely on

38

:

one another and their things overlap.

39

:

But the point about being intentional is

almost every business coach I've ever met.

40

:

Has on their thing.

41

:

You should build partnerships.

42

:

Partnerships are your big rock.

43

:

Go and build some partnership.

44

:

Partnerships are great and then, but what

do you actually do on a Monday morning?

45

:

How do you do that?

46

:

And so people blunder around with

these networking conversations

47

:

or they go to, you know, BNI.

48

:

And BNI is not right because it just

forces people to refer people they

49

:

don't even know that aren't even in

their ecosystem, that aren't even a

50

:

natural fit for their clients sometimes.

51

:

So even though it's a good idea, a

lot of times it causes more grief

52

:

than, in my view, than it should.

53

:

So how do people do it?

54

:

So our approach was simple and

it's how we built PLE was because

55

:

we systemize sales engines.

56

:

This is what we do.

57

:

We built systemized sales process.

58

:

We systemize partnerships in exactly

the same way, which means that you have

59

:

very clear on your ideal client, very

clear on who you need as a partner, and

60

:

you go out and have structured strategic

conversations with them that end up in

61

:

a partner plan in ideally embedding.

62

:

It takes them from beginning to end,

and then it's like you, you go out,

63

:

you get the tree, you dig the hole, you

plant the tree, you, you nurture it, you

64

:

water it, you grow it, you got fruit.

65

:

Simple, straightforward.

66

:

Anthony Perl: Wayne, if I can bring

you in here as well, because when you

67

:

talk about building with intention,

there is also what value can you

68

:

offer your partners and ultimately.

69

:

You know, what value can

that offer to clients?

70

:

And I think you are been doing something

in terms of building intentionally

71

:

to benefit accountants as well.

72

:

Wayne Findlay: Yeah.

73

:

We've been busy on the, the

software front, building a

74

:

tool that accountants can use.

75

:

And every accountant will need this

tool as far as, it's just part of

76

:

what we call the review process.

77

:

So we call it Jerry, and so probably

be released in a week or so.

78

:

So you'll see it out there.

79

:

But what we've done is we've gone

to our groups of accountants that

80

:

we deal with and given them the

opportunity to, to white label.

81

:

Under their brand.

82

:

So it's something that they can then

use within their client bases and

83

:

offer it to all the firms and to all

their clients, and that way they can

84

:

position themselves, you know, with

something that they're offering.

85

:

To their clients as well.

86

:

So it's just the way that we've

used software and used it through

87

:

our partnership network, and

it's proven really popular.

88

:

Talila Kroy: It's very clever.

89

:

I feel like today's top is software

because of course we've built the

90

:

in partner platform, which is like

the HubSpot for partnerships, which

91

:

takes clients all the way through

partners, you know, users, all the

92

:

way through to having a partner

ecosystem and managing it strategy.

93

:

Process and then value and assets.

94

:

And one of the things that we do

is identify what's the exclusive

95

:

value that we can offer to partners.

96

:

And the thing that Wayne said with that

incredible AI tool that can be white

97

:

labeled, is one of those things that one

would identify and offer and lead with.

98

:

So we can't underestimate the power of

systems and the capability that they have.

99

:

And I think that any excuses that people

have that they can't do partnerships

100

:

because they don't have time or they're

too disorganized, so they dunno where to

101

:

start, are now over the systems and the

tools are there and people can do it.

102

:

Ian Aldridge: Yeah.

103

:

That end partner software that

you're building, that integrates

104

:

with a LinkedIn as well, right.

105

:

Talila Kroy: Yes.

106

:

It's also got a tool that

integrates with LinkedIn to call

107

:

on the networks through the white

label of the My Most Trusted app.

108

:

It's just one of the little things that

it does, but the overall software is

109

:

basically like a HubSpot for partnerships.

110

:

I think both of your teams have now had

a view because both of you did Partner

111

:

Suitcase with me in 2025 while I was.

112

:

Conceiving this and some of your feedbacks

and the things that you got stuck on or

113

:

that were problems for you, like, oh,

now we have to duplicate the partner cac.

114

:

Okay, we have to prepare the deck.

115

:

Oh, we have to.

116

:

Who should we go for?

117

:

Should we go for them or

should we go for them?

118

:

Who's most important to focus on?

119

:

It's all gone.

120

:

It's all part of the system.

121

:

It's all systemized.

122

:

It's effortless.

123

:

So I'm very excited about it.

124

:

And of course, we've got seven

businesses working through it.

125

:

Six in financial services, one in

professional services, and they're

126

:

battering it so that by the end

of May it will be more on wide

127

:

release and, uh, very exciting.

128

:

Wayne Findlay: That's awesome.

129

:

Great till we, congrats on that.

130

:

I think we're waiting for

bated breath and to use it.

131

:

'cause I, I love having something

that simplifies the process.

132

:

I know Angie, who deals with

their partnerships, we have a de

133

:

dedicated person, um, to do that.

134

:

She's, she's gonna be.

135

:

Loving it.

136

:

Talila Kroy: She's actually coming

in next week at start learning how

137

:

to use it and we're, and she's,

she'll be adopting it That's right.

138

:

Wayne Findlay: For the back room.

139

:

It should sit, streamline stuff for you.

140

:

And Ian will grab Sarah as well if

she's available and do the same thing.

141

:

So yeah, it'll be great.

142

:

Anthony Perl: I think it's one of

the incredible things that's happened

143

:

with the, you know, particularly with

AI coming and becoming so much more

144

:

accessible, is that the ability to

create things that improve relationships,

145

:

that improve your ability to deliver

work, improve life for clients,

146

:

improve life for partnerships, is huge.

147

:

And it's actually, there's more time that

needs to be spent on that creativity.

148

:

Because that's the way forward, isn't it?

149

:

To, or, I mean, you, you have to

focus on some of those things.

150

:

Talila Kroy: You do.

151

:

I mean, it's a very intense thing to build

a software, and I'm sure Wayne found the

152

:

same thing, but it's never been easier.

153

:

It hasn't

154

:

than it is now.

155

:

No.

156

:

Yeah, so the tools are there.

157

:

If you've got the methodology and

you already know exactly what you

158

:

want to achieve, you can make it

a lot easier for the people that,

159

:

for everyone to follow, essentially.

160

:

Which is I think what both Wayne

still and mine does, so yeah.

161

:

Anthony Perl: And Ian, I might go back

to a comment that I know that you made

162

:

in a previous episode, but I think

it's worth raising again here is that

163

:

building things is great when you've

got software and things, but it doesn't

164

:

necessarily replace the core thing.

165

:

You don't want to be building or using

a chat GPT, for example, to answer

166

:

your legal questions, but it is how

it enables you to function better.

167

:

There's a difference

between those two, right?

168

:

Yeah.

169

:

Ian Aldridge: Absolutely.

170

:

And there's actually a case law from

the US and I'm sure it's probably

171

:

gonna be just a matter of time here

as well too, with people using chat,

172

:

DT and other software for legal advice

or sending that legal advice to chat

173

:

DT or Brock or whatever, Gemini, and

that legal privilege being lost, so

174

:

discoverable in legal proceedings.

175

:

Because it's not come

from a lawyer anyway.

176

:

It's something that will definitely

be coming out in Australia, but the

177

:

US courts are, are now upholding

that What we all as lawyers would've

178

:

suspected that that that was gonna

happen, which is really unfortunate.

179

:

Anthony Perl: It's the hard thing, right?

180

:

I mean, it's like it's been happening

for years in terms of Google, right?

181

:

People go to a doctor and they've already

Googled it and said, well, I think I'm

182

:

pretty sure I've got this, this, and this.

183

:

And the doctor has to spend some

time kind of dismissing those

184

:

things and talking around it.

185

:

And I know I was at an

A GM at the end of last.

186

:

Year and someone walked in and they'd

done their chat GPT and said, you

187

:

need to change the Constitution

and do all of these things.

188

:

And we sort of went, well, we, we

might just sit down and talk to our

189

:

lawyers about that rather than just

acting on that in one foul swoop.

190

:

But I think putting that stuff

aside, and I mean, I think there's a

191

:

value in developing things that are

going to help your client doing it

192

:

with the intention of helping them.

193

:

And if you can do it with

a partner, even better.

194

:

Ian Aldridge: Yeah, we found that

in Tom, Dick and Harry and Stacy,

195

:

and Karen and Richard off the net.

196

:

We really have to vet them very, very

hard to make sure that they're gonna

197

:

be the right fit for us and make sure

that they're gonna be a, a good client

198

:

because we just value our morale

and the team so heavily now and we

199

:

know what horrible clients do to the

team, to morale, to accounts, to us.

200

:

Management just takes up so much

head space 'cause they're more

201

:

likely to have issues, more likely

to complain or act inappropriately.

202

:

And that they're like little mini black

holes that you know, you have to like

203

:

just deal with and it sucks everyone

in for a little bit and then move on.

204

:

And it's hard for us to some, as

I'm sure it is, for accountants

205

:

to terminate retainers of clients.

206

:

You know, we sort of

give them three strikes.

207

:

Because we know that everyone can have a

bad day, but obviously depending on the

208

:

conduct, but we just found the clients

that came from referral partners, were

209

:

just a, so much higher quality of client.

210

:

Easier to work with, pay our

bills on time, respectful to

211

:

our staff, listen to our advice,

take our advice, and act on it.

212

:

And it's chalk and cheese really,

when you're looking at the broader

213

:

community from those that, and there's

the trust, obviously, that's being

214

:

referred from a referral partner.

215

:

And also too, there's some

accountability for them too, that

216

:

they can't act like a, you know what?

217

:

Without that getting back, there's

some reputational risk there.

218

:

It's not just with us, it's

also with their accountant.

219

:

And so they know they need to be

not on their best behavior, but at

220

:

least, you know, be respectful and

respect that relationship as well too.

221

:

'cause they know that that feedback

will happen if they behave really poorly

222

:

and we dunno what people like, but at

least with a referred clients from great

223

:

referral partners, you're more likely to

have a really better quality of client.

224

:

You still have to do all the rest of it.

225

:

And the conversion rate was sort of

80% as we worked out instead of 20%.

226

:

Funny about that.

227

:

The Pareto, Pareto we're all end.

228

:

Talila Kroy: It's a little bit like

those internet trolls, isn't it?

229

:

Like when you haven't got a

personal connection to someone,

230

:

you can get really unpleasant.

231

:

People can be very unpleasant.

232

:

Ian Aldridge: We just got a one star

review from someone from Thailand who

233

:

tried to engage us and we weren't able

to help them and then left a one star.

234

:

We didn't even, we didn't even

give 'em any advice and they

235

:

left us a one star review.

236

:

It's just horrible.

237

:

Talila Kroy: Yeah, it's not fair.

238

:

It's totally unfair.

239

:

And Google reviews are an interesting

one because I have a Google review

240

:

from a client that I've worked with

for five years and probably made $5

241

:

million for, and another one from a

client that's just like a team member

242

:

that I worked with for three months.

243

:

And in Google reviews, you just

don't know what's behind that review

244

:

and they all give you five stars.

245

:

Some of them should be worth this

much, some of them should be worth that

246

:

much, and there's no way to do that.

247

:

So.

248

:

Anthony Perl: It's an accountability

when it comes to, to those things, which

249

:

is why the trust factor in building.

250

:

You know, we go back to this whole idea

of building with intention and building

251

:

trust to gain clients by building

relationships with partners is a much

252

:

better way to go because if you're

reliant completely on Google reviews.

253

:

You really are quite vulnerable unless

you've got lots of people giving

254

:

you lots of reviews all the time.

255

:

So the one bad review that you

get doesn't really have an impact.

256

:

But I wanna come back to you, Wayne,

as well, when you built this piece of

257

:

software and how intentional it was in

terms of listening to partners and what

258

:

they needed because you're delivering a

tool for them, but how intentional did

259

:

you have to be in the build process?

260

:

Wayne Findlay: What's the build

process with what we're building?

261

:

It's adaptable.

262

:

You know, the software nowadays is,

you know, it's so easy, you know,

263

:

to build stuff compared to what it

was like, you know, five years ago.

264

:

So, you know, with white

labeling, et cetera, it's

265

:

quite easy to do for us anyway.

266

:

You know, we, I must admit, we do have a

team about four or five developers there.

267

:

We're not your typical accounting

firm that probably hasn't got

268

:

one, but it was an opportunity for

us to create something and then.

269

:

Build it out.

270

:

And we had that in mind when we built

the product as well, that we could

271

:

build it so it could be white labeled

and bought across all these accounting

272

:

partnerships that we deal with.

273

:

So I think the proof in the pudding

that released in a week or so.

274

:

So I'm a bit like Tila.

275

:

It's in beta mode now.

276

:

And.

277

:

And that software game is a

lot different to the accounting

278

:

game, I've gotta tell you.

279

:

It's a lot more scarier with all

your security and everything.

280

:

You just have to be on top of things.

281

:

So yeah, it's gonna be interesting.

282

:

Ian Aldridge: I would imagine

Wayne, as well too, just to ask

283

:

a quick question, having that, I

presume that that software's gonna.

284

:

Obviously it's been automated and

then suits out a report, it's gonna

285

:

spit out a report to the accountant

for them to then stick their logo

286

:

on it and send it to the client.

287

:

Talila Kroy: Yeah.

288

:

Ian Aldridge: It's almost invariably

gonna lead to more work, right?

289

:

Talila Kroy: It will.

290

:

The, the biggest thing that will create

is, you know, better quality of state

291

:

financial reports, and it's gonna speed

up a big bottleneck in accounting, which

292

:

is the review process of draft financials.

293

:

So it means the accountants.

294

:

They're gonna have more capacity

to spend more time with their

295

:

clients doing business advisory.

296

:

You know, estate planning is, uh,

there's so much that a client needs

297

:

nowadays compared to what it was,

you know, five, six years ago.

298

:

So I think creating that capacity,

which is what we're all about, is

299

:

with our offshoring or with our

software, is creating time and.

300

:

So I think when you utilize that time,

it could be bringing in new clients or it

301

:

could be working with your existing ones.

302

:

And I think too, that time is the

thing that we're all looking to create.

303

:

That's the number one thing.

304

:

And the one advantage that

we can use AI for is figuring

305

:

out how to do that software.

306

:

And then the other thing is

the software is not lateral.

307

:

Where we as humans come in is our ability

to think laterally and proactively.

308

:

Like you've probably asked

A-G-P-T-A question and it's given

309

:

you a bunch of answers and then

you figure out yourself that you

310

:

could have done it a different way.

311

:

So why didn't you tell me that?

312

:

Well, you didn't ask me that.

313

:

So we are much more creative and lateral.

314

:

We've got this right back

brain capability that.

315

:

We can see different parts of things and

where that comes into partner ecosystem

316

:

is going and the relationships is going,

oh, I think you need this help here.

317

:

I, I think this will support you.

318

:

I think we can work

together on that thing.

319

:

And that's, that's not

something that AI can do.

320

:

So the more we move into that space

and become proactive rather than

321

:

reactive, it's better for everyone.

322

:

I think you're right.

323

:

It's all relationships nowadays.

324

:

It it, the marketing, the old way of

having ads and placements and marketing

325

:

the old fashioned way, let's say it was

like three or four years ago, is gone.

326

:

It's all relationship based now.

327

:

People would need to trust

who they're working with.

328

:

If you've got a new client that's

new to town, they're gonna go and

329

:

ask someone who's their accountant,

you know, who do they like them?

330

:

Who do they deal with?

331

:

So it's always about relationships and

trust, and so marketing is just is now.

332

:

I think it has to be positioned that way

and you need to be able to build these

333

:

networks, so you need to create time.

334

:

So that's the biggest thing,

is create this time and then

335

:

you can go out and build these

relationships with your partners.

336

:

People still, still may ask chat

GPT, who's a good what bookkeeper.

337

:

Yeah.

338

:

And they won't value that as much

as someone they trust telling them

339

:

who's a good, good bookkeeper.

340

:

You won't get the conversion will you?

341

:

Like the conversion rates are a lot lower.

342

:

I sent someone to Anthony's bookkeeper the

other day and they asked, they were in a

343

:

networking group who's a good bookkeeper.

344

:

So I, I recommended mine and Anthony's,

'cause I know they're both really good and

345

:

I think Anthony's bookkeeper now has that.

346

:

You couldn't.

347

:

So the point is they

could have asked Chat GPT.

348

:

They're very, very savvy people,

but they know that it's better to

349

:

ask people that have experienced the

bookkeeper than to ask a machine.

350

:

So.

351

:

Ian Aldridge: Who has the most content

online and who appears to be we, we get

352

:

some referrals from gr We got a, we got

a, um, referral from them the other day.

353

:

Um, it's fi it's really

weird, you know, that Oh yeah.

354

:

I've asked, you know, who was this,

this, this, and this, and, and, and

355

:

you came up in the top five and I

called all five and you were the only

356

:

one that actually called me back.

357

:

All

358

:

Talila Kroy: done is now your

partner, crock, is now one of

359

:

your, uh, referral partners.

360

:

Ian,

361

:

Ian Aldridge: I should, I

should, uh, I should send, um,

362

:

Elon a, um, Christmas card.

363

:

Talila Kroy: Yeah, should.

364

:

Ian Aldridge: Thank you.

365

:

Thank you.

366

:

A voucher, a voucher

367

:

Talila Kroy: person.

368

:

Probably didn't have any humans to ask.

369

:

That's all I'm gonna say.

370

:

It's still good

371

:

Anthony Perl: and tila when it comes

to being intentional about all of these

372

:

things, it's a probably in a fancy way of,

of saying that s word that people like to

373

:

avoid more these days, which is strategy.

374

:

But you do have to be strategic, right?

375

:

In business and you, you have to

look at where you want to be and what

376

:

is going to get you there, and how

intentional you are with the kind of

377

:

relationships that you are building,

particularly around partnerships.

378

:

Talila Kroy: You can choose your

s word pretty much, Anthony.

379

:

You can either have strategy or you can

have the other one that I'm probably not

380

:

allowed to say on this podcast, but that's

what's gonna, that's the difference.

381

:

Like you don't go out and build

a house just with a drawing

382

:

on the back of an outcome.

383

:

You actually architect it,

and that's the strategy.

384

:

Perhaps you don't do anything

without having clarity on the

385

:

outcome and, and, and what has

gotta be the same as sales process.

386

:

Absolutely even more so.

387

:

The same with partnerships.

388

:

Partnerships, clarity ends

up with partnership success.

389

:

It's actually a fast lever.

390

:

It's in a very impactful lever, and

as long as you're good at what you

391

:

do, like Ian is fantastic law firm.

392

:

Wayne is an incredible company to deal

with, makes all their accountants sappy.

393

:

As long as you're good at

what you do, partnerships will

394

:

serve you better than anything.

395

:

Simple.

396

:

Just gotta have the right strategy.

397

:

Anthony Perl: Ian, in your case,

you deal quite directly with a lot

398

:

of accounting firms all the time.

399

:

How intentional have you found them

and how do you actually change that

400

:

so that they are more intentional

if they're not that way inclined?

401

:

Ian Aldridge: Yeah, I think it definitely

starts with a conversation breaking

402

:

down that barrier as fast as you can.

403

:

Emails are fine, but like just

get in front of them however you

404

:

can and, and show that you're a

person and that you're relatable.

405

:

You're there to work with them for

the client and having that, trying

406

:

to just form that relationship

and bond as soon as you can.

407

:

And we obviously have this like horrible

thing with accountants and lawyers

408

:

that, um, that I keep banging on about

over, you know, it's obviously been

409

:

rotten over the last 200 years and

hopefully our generation can change this

410

:

'cause it really needs to change where

ultimately we, we, we wanna serve the

411

:

client, we wanna make sure the client

is happy and, and we wanna make sure

412

:

the client's getting the best advice.

413

:

And the only way that really can happen is

if both the accountant and the lawyer can

414

:

get together, stick their heads together,

and then, and then present that advice

415

:

to the client together to say, Hey, don't

worry, we've, we've had a chat between

416

:

us and we've worked this out for you.

417

:

So the client's like, oh, great.

418

:

Awesome accountant and a lawyer

can get along with each other.

419

:

Fantastic.

420

:

The more and more I practice, the more

I realize how fundamental that is for

421

:

a business success and getting the

right advice from the right people

422

:

at the right time as Tolia was.

423

:

Talking about before, like that's been

a key to pretty much all of my client

424

:

success, and that's advice from many

different aspects, business success,

425

:

so, but yeah, just having that intention

of like making that relationship really

426

:

solid right from the start, getting off

on the right foot is really important too.

427

:

That first impression.

428

:

You only get one chance at a

first impression, you might

429

:

be able to make up for it.

430

:

But yeah, you really need that

first impression to go well and make

431

:

sure you get off on the right foot.

432

:

'cause being professional services and

advising, advising the client about the

433

:

same thing, coming from two different

angles, that's always led to a rub.

434

:

And I think historically, you know,

it's just because the lawyer and the

435

:

accountant don't talk to each other.

436

:

That's created so much friction

and annoyance for clients.

437

:

That's for sure.

438

:

And then no one wins.

439

:

Everyone's unhappy, especially if

there's a difference in the advice.

440

:

Talila Kroy: Yes, but I do think, Ian,

that both your account managers, BBMs

441

:

and, and Wayne, you know, your dedicated

partnership person are quite structured

442

:

in the discovery pool that they hold

now in terms of talking to new partners

443

:

and finding out exactly, you know,

who their clients are, what they need,

444

:

what value they can offer one another.

445

:

It's all very structured and I feel

like that structure helps a lot as

446

:

well as being a human because you end

up knowing so much about those people.

447

:

That you can then take to the

next step and be relevant to them.

448

:

And that's, I think, a big

part of the whole thing.

449

:

Ian Aldridge: The partnership presentation

really wows potential referral partners.

450

:

It really does.

451

:

Like, they really see this like, oh

wow, this is really professional.

452

:

This is really structured, and

we all crave structure, right?

453

:

As humans, we're, we're,

we're just animals.

454

:

You know?

455

:

We love structure, we love routine.

456

:

Just like you've dog and your cat.

457

:

They love the routine, they love,

you know, and kids as well too.

458

:

They need routine.

459

:

We all do.

460

:

And, and when we don't, when the routines.

461

:

Whack them.

462

:

You know, we, you know, some of us just

discombobulated, but, so this routine and

463

:

this structure and this, you know, very

consistent process and a follow up booked

464

:

and having that consistency and that

cadence and rhythm as speaks about, it's

465

:

very, very important to keep that going so

that don't just up and vanish in the wind.

466

:

Talila Kroy: That's too

Why, why you, Wayne?

467

:

The big accounting groups like you is that

structure that you bring, that everything,

468

:

the structures and systems protect them.

469

:

Every of the areas that are a

risk ai, you've got that covered

470

:

security, you've got that cover.

471

:

All the different structure elements are

there for those big accounting firms that

472

:

you partner with to make it easy for them.

473

:

And like Ian said, we like structure,

we humans, we like structure.

474

:

Well, maybe we think we don't.

475

:

We wanna not have it, but it

actually, we thrive in it.

476

:

So, yes.

477

:

Anthony Perl: Wayne, can I just bring

you in because I think what's really

478

:

interesting here as well is do accountants

actually realize how much that other

479

:

businesses want to partner with them and

that they have such a huge opportunity?

480

:

Because you know, there's a lot

of intention, and Ian's a good

481

:

example, being very intentional and

wanting to partner with accountants,

482

:

but do accountants realize.

483

:

That opportunity that exists there.

484

:

Talila Kroy: I think by

and large they don't.

485

:

And these are an opportunity within itself

is just to create those partnerships and

486

:

to, and also remember in your accounting

firm, you go from your partners through

487

:

to your senior managers and your

accountants and your junior accountants,

488

:

though, there's an opportunity to

partner right through those roles.

489

:

So I think leveraging

your accounting firm.

490

:

Everybody in your firm

to form partnerships.

491

:

There's a big opportunity.

492

:

So don't just think partners think

they're different layers because they

493

:

all bring in different types of clients.

494

:

You junior, your accountants, bring

in the young up and coming businesses.

495

:

You know, you want those type of,

you don't wanna be a accounting

496

:

practice that it is, has all your

clients the same age as your partners,

497

:

which may be, you know, 55 plus.

498

:

Then you haven't got longevity.

499

:

So you need to be able to

mix and match a little bit.

500

:

Ian Aldridge: And your focus

goes, your clients flow, right?

501

:

Talila Kroy: Yeah.

502

:

You get different tools, you know,

your, your young business people are

503

:

more open probably to the different

tools that you can bring through.

504

:

Now with AI and older clients, they need

help with planning and exit strategies,

505

:

you know, so there's different needs

for different types of clients.

506

:

Different partners you need for different.

507

:

Ages, appliance or skills.

508

:

Perfectly true.

509

:

Perfectly true.

510

:

Actually, one of the clients that we have

in the Partner Suitcase Accounting and

511

:

Advisory and Partner Suitcase specifically

loves the fact that this software makes it

512

:

possible for them to have multiple people

using the same process, because otherwise,

513

:

it's often on the principle or the senior

person to just do it by themselves.

514

:

And this means that anyone

can, anyone in the team who's

515

:

well spoken and well connected.

516

:

But sure enough can also build

partnerships, not just the lead person.

517

:

Anthony Perl: I think Wagner, we talk

518

:

Talila Kroy: about a

519

:

Anthony Perl: lot of partnerships.

520

:

I mean, people might forget the fact

that partnering with a business like

521

:

yours is incredibly powerful because

the partnership enables them to grow

522

:

at a much faster rate because you can

bring extra resources and people in.

523

:

Wayne Findlay: Yeah, we talked

about the time factor, so creating

524

:

that time is what we're about, is

creating capacity, and that goes.

525

:

Right throughout your firm, your, your

onshore firm, you know, compared to what

526

:

we are the offshore firm, so having more

time available onshore means everybody

527

:

can go out and create partnerships

and create the scale, you know.

528

:

Create, you can grow your business.

529

:

I think it's important to recognize that.

530

:

Very

531

:

true.

532

:

Anthony Perl: Well, that's all we have

time for in this conversation, but there's

533

:

plenty more coming up in the connected

accountants, so you definitely wanna

534

:

make sure you never miss an episode to

help you implement what we've discussed.

535

:

You can download a workbook from

this episode via the show notes.

536

:

It includes specific questions for

you to answer the quotes from the

537

:

conversation and action steps you can

take right now a reminder about some

538

:

of our exclusive round table events.

539

:

For accountants, visit the show notes

for dates and registration details

540

:

or contact information for Tah.

541

:

Wayne and Ian are also there as well.

542

:

This is a Partner Alchemy podcast

for thought leaders, a joint

543

:

venture between Pel and my team

at Podcast done For you.com

544

:

au.

545

:

I'm Anthony Pearl reminding you

like, share, comment, and subscribe

546

:

so you never miss an episode.

547

:

See you next time on the

Connected Accountants.

Links

Chapters

Video

More from YouTube