The Blueprint to Selling Advisory Services
Accountants Minute 425
Becoming a Key Strategic Partner
A recent Intuit QuickBooks SMB Navigator Report (2025) revealed a sobering statistic: only 15% of the 500 SMEs surveyed considered their accountant to be a true “key strategic partner.”
For the Australian accounting industry, this is a wake-up call. It echoes the challenge raised by former Deloitte insolvency partner Eddie Senatore, who questioned whether firms have truly earned the right to call themselves “trusted advisors.”
At ESS BIZTOOLS, we believe this is where the opportunity lies. To bridge the gap, accountants and bookkeepers need more than good intentions — they need structure, preparation, and the right tools to demonstrate value beyond compliance.
A Practical Framework for Accountants, Bookkeepers, and Advisors
Compliance is no longer enough. SMEs are asking for help with pricing, cash flow, growth strategies, and leadership rhythm. The firms that thrive are those that confidently position, package, and sell advisory services as a core part of their offering.
This article explores the key strategies behind selling advisory services and provides a practical framework to build your confidence.
Here are the practical framework designed to help you build confidence in selling advisory services.
1) Positioning: Outcomes, Not Extras
Old approach: “We can add advisory if you’d like.”
Better approach: “We’ll implement a 90-day business cycle with KPIs, weekly profitability checks, and monthly leadership sessions so you see issues early and act faster.”
2) Packaging: Make it Easy to Buy
Advisory should be packaged, not billed by the hour. Create clear tiers that match client needs:
✅ Stability: Monthly session + Characteristics of a Well-Run Business (CWRB) diagnostic → clarity and focus
✅ Performance: Fortnightly scheduled meetings + Debtors Management + KPI review → faster cash, stronger margins
✅ Leadership: Weekly huddles + Predictive Accounting + pricing calculators → confident growth decisions
Naming packages by outcome (Stability, Performance, Leadership) makes them easier to sell.
3) Pricing: Anchor to Value, Not Time
✅ Present one packaged fee tied to outcomes, not hours
✅ Anchor with a single quantified win (e.g. 6 fewer debtor days = $10k+ in freed cash)
✅ Offer a 30-day fit guarantee to reduce perceived risk
4) The Repeatable Advisory Sales Conversation
Confidence grows when you follow a structured guide:
✅ Frame the discussion and set expectations
✅ Diagnose using the CWRB checklist
✅ Vision: ask what impact fixing gaps would have
✅ Design: recommend a tier + cadence that fits
✅ Commit: set the onboarding plan and first milestone
This approach feels natural, outcome-focused, and professional.
5) Resources that Build Confidence
You don’t have to sell advisory “from scratch.”
The Boss Factor (Trevor Marchant): proven conversation frameworks, coaching prompts, and confidence-building sales scripts
ESS BIZTOOLS: practical frameworks like CWRB, Debtors Management, Predictive Accounting, Weekly Profitability Reviews, and Charge-Out Rate calculators
Together, these resources give you structure, credibility, and tangible deliverables that help clients immediately see value.
6) Delivery Rhythm: Create Habits, Not One-Off Projects
Advisory works when it becomes routine:
✅ Week 1: CWRB workshop + 90-day action plan
✅ Week 2: KPI shortlist and scorecard
✅ Week 3: Debtors sprint
✅ Ongoing: Weekly profitability reviews + monthly leadership sessions
This rhythm turns advisory into a business management system clients rely on.
7) Communicating Value to Clients
Advisory isn’t just about insights; it’s also about communication. Our Business Plus+ Newsletter helps firms consistently showcase their broader expertise to clients, while Client Mentoring & Coaching Modules and Client Seminars/Webinars provide structured ways to engage both clients and prospects. These tools position firms as proactive leaders — not just compliance processors.
The ESS BIZTOOLS Commitment
Our goal is simple: to help accountants and bookkeepers achieve the Key Strategic Partner status highlighted in the QuickBooks research. With the right preparation, training, and communication systems, firms can build lasting credibility and deliver measurable impact to SMEs.
The Bottom Line
Selling advisory with confidence doesn’t require slick pitches – it requires a repeatable framework that produces visible results. Use Boss Factor to strengthen your sales conversations and ESS BIZTOOLS to deliver on promises. Done right, advisory becomes your firm’s growth engine and your clients’ most valued service.
Join the Webinar
How to Sell Advisory Services with Confidence
📅 Wednesday 24 September 🕒 11am AEST
Learn the scripts, workflows, and resources to make advisory a repeatable, profitable part of your practice.
Visit our website – www.essbiztools.com.au – to discover the detailed overview of the services provided by ESS BIZTOOLS. You are also welcome to contact us on 0418 190 181 or email .
Free Webinar by ESS BIZTOOLS
How to Sell Advisory Services with Confidence
📅 Wednesday 24 September 2025 | 11am AEST
ESS BIZTOOLS Podcast
Peter Towers – Managing Director of ESS BIZTOOLS, and Darren Gleeson – Founder of Tax Fitness, presented a live podcast on moving beyond once-a-year compliance to true strategic partnership.
The podcast covers the following:
✅ Why so few SMEs see their accountant as a key strategic partner—and how to change that.
✅ A simple advisory rhythm: quarterly/monthly reviews, onsite conversations, and deep client discovery.
✅ Turning plans into numbers: collaborative business plans that feed predictive accounting (budgets, cash flow, projected balance sheet) and weekly performance.
✅ Benchmarking that drives profit: focus on a handful of KPIs vs the top 20% in your client’s industry.
✅ Faster cash: tighten debtors days with practical steps.
✅ Packaging & capacity: tiered offers, client selection, and standing up an advisory division.
This podcast episode provides a crisp blueprint to shift firms from compliance-only to ongoing advisory – powered by metrics, quarterly reviews, and benchmarks that matter.
Listen to more Accountants Minute Podcast episodes here
Want to know more?
Visit www.essbiztools.com.au.
If you would like to have a discussion about how this concept of virtual CFO services can be supplied by Australian accounting firms please ring our Managing Director, Peter Towers, on 0418 190 181 and we will arrange a complimentary 45-minute Zoom meeting to discuss your firm’s position and to give you our advice.
We believe that this is the blueprint for the delivery of an enhanced range of services by Australian Accounting and Bookkeeping firms to assist SME businesses to add value to their businesses and to assist accountants and bookkeepers not only to attract but to retain outstanding talent who want to be involved in the delivery of “real accounting services”.
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