Think about others

Engaging with needy or unhappy customers shouldn’t be viewed as a chore, as your team should look at them as an opportunity to grow your customer base. Instead, respond swiftly to customer complaints to increase the chances of these customers purchasing your products again.

Time has come for firms to cull clients

Ask a room full of accounting firm leaders if they are feeling overwhelmed this fall, and you will find a room full of heads nodding in agreement. One reason is that firms today see tremendous opportunity in the market but don’t have the time or capacity to capitalize on it.

Firm leaders can employ all sorts of capacity-building strategies including outsourcing, offshoring, hiring non-CPAs for service delivery roles, hiring outside your geography, implementing efficiency-building technologies, and more. These strategies work, but they take time and resources to plan and implement — and everyone today is short on both.

There is one strategy that firms can implement immediately to significantly improve capacity before the next busy season. This idea is one we’ve talked about for decades, but only the bravest and most committed have ever followed through.

• Your people are tired of feeling overwhelmed. They are worried that the turnover you’re experiencing will make the next busy season worse than the last one. And we haven’t even hit the peak "quitting month" of November yet. If you’re like many firms, you don’t have the right headcount for your current client load, and you’ll risk burning out your best and brightest if you don’t make an immediate shift.
• The 80/20 rule indicates you have cuttable clients. In most firms we analyze, 80% of a firm’s revenues are generated by 20% of their clients, and the other 80% of the clients make up 20% of the revenue. This big group of small clients are the "tail that wags the dog," and they require an immense infrastructure to manage. The cost to set them up in your systems, deliver services to them, and then bill and collect from them can outstrip the revenue they produce on an individual basis. As your firm grows, your ideal target client and engagement size grows, too. Serving clients that don’t fit any longer does not serve them or you.
• Your people have clients they don’t want to work with. These clients may be mean, be disorganized, feel risky, have an unappealing environment to visit, fail to value your services, or pay slowly or not at all. They are the D-level clients you know you shouldn’t serve. These D clients are definitely working against you as you fight to keep your people in your firm and in this profession.
• We have entered a seller’s market for services. Firms don’t have the capacity to take more work in certain areas. When demand is up and supply is down, fees go up. This is a perfect time to downsize your client base to let go of those unwilling to pay your fees, or who meet some of the other criteria outlined above.
• You can achieve bigger growth with a smaller client roster. When you increase capacity, you’ll have time to implement other capacity expansion ideas. This will give you increased room to grow your business in areas that appeal to you and your team. You can expand services with existing clients, providing them more advisory services and making a bigger difference. Or you can go after more targeted "ideal" clients who fit your profile for an A client and who will bring more joy into your life and the lives of your team members.
• You can bring real hope to your talent. When you cull clients and increase capacity, your people will see that you’re serious about changing your underlying business model to improve everyone’s quality of life.

• Ask your partners to identify 10% of their clients under management for reduction. They can choose to reduce their client load based on engagement profitability, likability, fit for the firm’s overall product/service mix, payment habits, ease of working relationship, or any other criteria that they choose. Make it mandatory that each partner (or client owner) submit a list that tallies 10% of their client base to your management or executive committee by a certain date — quickly — for review.
• Execute this strategy soon after Oct. 15 — or another fall finish line — and before the next cycle of service begins. Clients should be told of your plans to transition them to a new provider, so you can assist them in moving in advance of their next engagement period.
• Use a uniform position statement to help make the communications smoother and more consistent. Some clients will need to be told "live" by phone or video based on their relationship with the firm, but most can be informed via letter or email. Consider using language like, "As you are likely aware, the accounting profession has been under immense pressure with continuous legislation and change, increasing client needs, and decreasing availability of talent. We have reached a point that requires us to examine our service commitments to ensure a quality work life for our team members. Through this analysis, we have determined that we cannot continue to deliver your [insert work type] services going forward. We are truly sorry to be at this juncture. We are happy to make a referral to another provider if you’d like, and we will work with you to make a smooth transition to whomever you choose to work with next." You may choose to leave the offer to refer the client to another provider out of any communication in the case of your most difficult clients.
• Remember that a client who isn’t ideal for your firm due to size, niche, or service needs may be ideal for another. Identify firms that specialize in the type of clients you’ll be transitioning so you can actively refer those clients to quality providers that are seeking to grow their bases.
• Remove financial disincentives. Most partner compensation and deferred compensation systems have some tie to the size of clients under management or book of business. If all partners reduce across the board, it makes any "haircut" that might be taken universal, so it keeps the playing field level. But if you aren’t able to get all partners to partake in this critical capacity-building strategy, make sure those who do let clients go are not negatively affected financially.
• Don’t miss the chance to transition clients out of the firm when their primary provider is retiring. We see firms that transition "so-so" or even "bad" clients to new client servers in their firm. This is so disheartening to the future leader taking over these clients and not the right use of their talent. Instead, as you consider forthcoming retirements, identify at least 10% or more of your retiree’s client base to refer elsewhere. You can use some of the suggested language above, and include something like, "upon Partner X’s retirement, we are no longer able to serve you. Instead, we’d like to refer you to [outside provider Y]."

Customer Base vs. Installed Base

The installed base refers to the group of customers within your customer base who are actively using your products. Unlike the customer base, this group excludes people who have not recently made a purchase or are not engaging with your business’s offers. Identifying these customers will help your company provide timely service to improve retention.

However, HubSpot’s installed base would only consist of the customers currently using HubSpot products in their day-to-day workflow. By highlighting this subsection of our customer base, we can personalize our marketing, sales, and customer service offers to fit the specific needs of our active users.

While lead acquisition is essential for building a customer base, it’s not enough to build your installed base. If you want your business to be successful, define the most effective way to balance lead acquisition and customer retention, and both your customer base and installed base will grow.

Authorship:

https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2021/oct/right-size-firm-client-base.html
https://blog.hubspot.com/service/customer-base

Students tend to lose consciousness about eating habits due to stress. Your diet can either increase your brainpower or drain your mental energy. A healthy diet can function as one of the great stress management techniques for students. Improving your diet can prevent you from undergoing diet-related mood swings, light-headedness, and more.

Top Stress Management Techniques for Students

Verywell Mind articles are reviewed by board-certified physicians and mental healthcare professionals. Medical Reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Learn more.

Most students experience significant amounts of stress, and this stress can take a significant toll on health, happiness, and grades. For example, a study by the American Psychological Association (APA) found that teens report stress levels similar to that of adults.

That means teens are experiencing significant levels of chronic stress, and that they feel their levels of stress generally exceed their ability to cope effectively. Roughly 30% report feeling overwhelmed, depressed, or sad because of it.

Stress can affect health-related behaviors like sleep patterns, diet, and exercise as well, taking a larger toll. Given that nearly half of APA survey respondents reported completing three hours of homework per night in addition to their full day of school work and extracurriculars, this is understandable.

What is Stress?

Stress is the natural defense mechanism in our bodies. The brain identifies a stressful state or a potentially stressful situation and releases hormones that prompt the adrenaline rush in our bodies. There are various triggers of stress that vary across each individual. Our personal experiences, environmental effects, media consumption, genetics, personality, and other factors influence how much stress can we cope with. The intensity of stress also differs across various situations.

However, evolutionary theories suggest that stress activates a “fight or flight” mode in our bodies in response to a dangerous situation and activates our immune system. This helps us respond quickly to dangerous or threatening situations. Often stress helps us in a positive way to fight and overcome the state we are in. We tend to push ourselves to study better, score better, and achive better. But, too much stress can leave us overwhemed which makes us unable to cope with it.

Causes of Stress in Students

At the same time, they have to navigate through social challenges inherent to the schooling experience. Making new friends, handling more workload, being without parental support sometimes are a part of the social experiences.

Fear of Failure: students are always stressed about whether they will pass the exam. What if they aren’t able to understand and fail in school? They fear the consequences because they aren’t reminded their strengths. They often feel they aren’t studying or scoring enough.

Peer Pressure: The most common causes in peer pressure. Elder often unintentionally compare students with other and expect them to be equally focused and score higher than other kids. This makes students lose confidence and lower their self-esteem.

Feeling of Uncertainty: Sometimes students go through a feeling of what will happen after studies? Will they get admitted to the best college/University? These thoughts trigger stress during their school life.

Where Can Students Go for Help With Managing Stress?

Stress can rise to dangerous levels, threatening students’ physical, emotional, and mental health. But nobody has to face stress alone. Here are some organizations and resources you can contact to receive treatment and support for managing stress in college.

On-Campus Mental Health Services

If you need immediate assistance, contact your school’s student services. This department can direct you to appropriate resources, such as mental health clinics, online screening, and individual or group counseling. Taking advantage of these services can improve your mental health, allowing you to thrive academically and socially.

Off-Campus Centers and Hotlines

Other external resources include 24/7 hotlines. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 gives students space to talk with trained professionals about suicide ideation and conditions such as severe stress, depression, and anxiety.

Similarly, The Trevor Project offers many support services, including a 24/7 crisis counseling center and hotline, for LGBTQ+ students experiencing stress and other mental health challenges. For help, text START to 678678.

Frequently Asked Questions About Managing Stress in College

If left unaddressed, stress can lead to depression and anxiety in students. This can, in turn, negatively impact school and work performance and personal relationships with family, friends, co-workers, and peers.

Many factors contribute to rising stress levels in college students. For one, college continues to grow more and more expensive, which can pose financial obstacles to students and lead to stress and anxiety. Other common causes of college stress include challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, rigor of coursework, struggles making friends, homesickness, and housing and food insecurity.

Students can manage stress in many healthy ways, such as by pursuing a new hobby, building a support system, and working on time-management skills. Other stress-management techniques include journaling and seeking counseling or medical help. Students should refrain from using drugs and alcohol to manage stress.

DISCLAIMER: The information provided on this website is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Readers of this website should consult with their physician to obtain advice with respect to any medical condition or treatment.

With COVID-19 exacerbating stress levels and challenges for students, colleges need to start thinking about how they can leverage services to support learners. Learn the signs and symptoms of the most common mental health conditions among college students, and find resources for support. Research indicates that more and more college students are thinking about suicide. Learn how to recognize the warning signs and get help.

Sources:

https://www.verywellmind.com/top-school-stress-relievers-for-students-3145179
https://leverageedu.com/blog/stress-management-techniques-for-students/
https://www.bestcolleges.com/resources/balancing-stress/

Being assertive at work can be really hard, and this is something many people struggle with. Our insecurities, perceived weaknesses, motivations and goals can all stop us from being assertive when we need to be. In this article, Charlotte Scott explains why we need assertiveness, what it actually is, and how to be assertive.

How To Be Assertive at Work in 7 Steps (With Tips)

Assertiveness is one of the skills that can help you advance your career and achieve the professional goals that you want. Using the right amount of assertiveness in the workplace makes it easier to negotiate a salary, earn a promotion and build long-lasting relations with your co-workers. Some people are naturally assertive, but you can also learn to be assertive over time, so knowing what steps to take to be assertive is the key to success. In this article, we share how to be assertive at work in seven steps and explore how using it can help you succeed professionally.

Assertiveness is a key communication skill that allows you to speak openly about yourself, your goals, opinions and ideas without worrying about what others might think about it. Being assertive is therefore having the confidence to express yourself freely and taking care of your personal and professional needs while staying respectful and appropriate. This skill is especially useful in the workplace. Assertive employees are typically more focused on accomplishing their goals and can easily say ‘no’ to things that limit their growth without feeling guilty.

Being assertive can help you better guide your career because it allows you to focus on your goals, talk openly about your plans, ask for help when you need it and recognise when someone’s taking advantage of you in the workplace. Here are seven steps that can get you closer to becoming more assertive at work:

1. Work on your confidence

Learning how to be self-confident is an essential step in developing assertiveness because it makes it easier for you to advocate your ideas and opinions if you’re not satisfied with the ideas of others. When you’re confident, it’s easier to receive criticism because you’re not as tempted to take things personally. A proven technique to become more confident is looking back at your accomplishments and analysing them to see how your skills, experience and knowledge helped you achieve those things. This also allows you to learn more about yourself and your goals.

How to be Assertive in a Relationship

Being assertive in a relationship is not that easy. However, it is a technique that could be learned. Evolving assertiveness in oneself could be started by a good understanding of yourself and the beliefs you value. With these simple steps, you can build the basis of self-confidence. Assertiveness not only builds your self-confidence but also provides various other perks for refining your relationship at the office as well as other spectrums of life.

People with an assertive personality manage to get what they want at work. Assertive personalities will speak out and ensure that they are heard. While the assertive people who could not communicate confidentially or hesitate in stating their point often fall to the curb. Their points are out sided as they are observed as uncategorized, weak, and uncertain.

Assertive personality workers try to be assertive but end up being aggressive while keeping their point, while others go to the other end of the side completely. Hence, it is very important to manage the assertive personality in yourself so that you could stand out amongst such colleagues and depict better skills of professionalism. It is imperative that you be assertive personality without going overboard or without being feared.

Assertive personality is a technique of speaking the truth to get what you want while exhibiting a confident and reliable professional image. The task is not simple, but by following a few methods, you can learn to be assertive as well as professional. In the present day work life, we juggle deadlines, multiple projects, changing priorities, constant interruptions in the assertive personality, and fewer resources. According to the recent assertive personality, people face difficulty in negotiating limits on their workload, specifically when the request is impossible or unreasonable. While some have difficulties in giving feedback without forming disharmony in their working relationships.

Situation: It’s Time for a Raise, But Your Boss Isn’t Making Any Moves

After asking for a raise during a check-in with your boss, she says that [you’ll have to wait at least another six months](https://www.themuse.com/advice/how-to-stay-motivated-when-youre-not-getting-a-raise]. The company’s just not able to give raises right now, but she assures you your performance is such that you’ll be considered for a salary bump when the time is right.

Passive Approach: You swallow your disappointment and nervously utter, “Oh, that’s fine—no problem,” to assuage the awkwardness of the situation. But later, you go home and complain about it for hours, because you feel it’s completely unjust.

Aggressive Approach: After being told you’ll need to wait for a raise, you inform your boss that you’re going to begin to look for opportunities elsewhere—where someone will treat you like you deserve to be treated.

Assertive Approach: Because you respect yourself and your need to be compensated fairly as much as you want to understand your boss’ reasoning, you don’t let your bruised ego get the best of you and lash out. Instead, you ask for more clarity on the company’s future and define tangible goals and targets that you can review when you revisit your salary request down the road.

In the assertive approach, you’re showing resilience by responding in a proactive, future-oriented manner, signaling maturity, level-headedness, and a commitment to the company.

Some additional tips you should consider while learning to be assertive at work.

So it is clearly evident that you could manage to get what you want at your workplace by simply bringing assertive change in your behavior and way of speaking. Just work on your assertive skills and make time to time modifications in the manner you keep your point in your work. This small step could benefit you in several ways of building your career and work relationship.

This is a guide How to be Assertive at Work. Here we have discussed the 9 most important skills of assertive at your work with some additional tips. You may also read about assertive personality-

How to be assertive in five steps:

1. Be curious about the other person’s point of view. Even if they are not acting professionally, they will have reasons for their behaviour or opinion. Ask open questions and really listen to understand what they have to say. If people are being unreasonable, listening to their needs and expectations can be really challenging. But if you ensure they feel listened to and respected, the conversation can shift to a more positive dialogue.
2. Speak up and express yourself. People can’t read your mind, so be honest and specific. Use “I” language to avoid sounding critical. For example: “I have another suggestion” rather than “You’re wrong”. Or “I noticed the deadline wasn’t met” instead of “You didn’t meet the deadline”. If you have a hard time turning down requests, learn to say no, not yet, or not now. Saying no is not selfish, it shows you are able to prioritise and can set healthy limits. Remember, every time you say yes to something you are saying no to something else. Saying no therefore also enables you to say yes to the things that matter most. Explain your perspective and ask for help if needed. Keep any explanations short and simple.
3. Watch your tone: It not just what you say but how you say it. Keep your tone of voice and body language open and warm. You don’t want your message to get lost because people are reacting to your delivery. We read a great deal into the way something is said, not just the words people use. When you are preparing for an assertive interaction, think ahead about your body language and how you can show you are OK and so are they. Pay particular attention to your facial expressions, arms and posture.
4. Think win-win: don’t assume the other person is aiming to undermine or belittle you. Even if they are, don’t sink to their level, don’t treat them badly, and don’t withdraw from the conversation. Build on their ideas rather than dismissing them. Offer potential solutions and ask the other person to help you shape an answer that works for both of you. Work together on the challenge or issue, exploring it from all sides, finding common ground and a way forward that deals with both of your concerns.
5. Respond, don’t react: if you find yourself feeling strong and unhelpful emotions in an interaction, it can be really hard to stay assertive. Take a deep breath, pause and think. Your feelings and emotions are entirely valid, however assertiveness means not allowing those feelings to drive your behaviour.

References:

https://uk.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-be-assertive-at-work
https://www.educba.com/assertive-at-work/#:~:text=Some%20additional%20tips%20you%20should%20consider%20while%20learning,to%20day%20connections%20with%20assertive%20people%20at%20work.
https://www.themuse.com/advice/how-to-be-more-assertive-at-work-without-being-a-jerk
https://www.educba.com/assertive-at-work/
https://www.managementcentre.co.uk/insights/assertiveness-at-work-explained/

1. Work with a sense of urgency.  Have a plan and work the plan. It works if you work it!
2. Make a commitment to earn the best grades that you possibly can during your senior year. Get a tutor for the subject that you need help in at the beginning of the school year.
3. Make it your goal to apply for three to four scholarships per month. No amount is too little to apply for because college is expensive. Unlike public schools, you will have to buy your books and all required classroom supplies in college.
4. Attend local college fairs in the fall and talk to college recruitment representatives.
5. Narrow of list of schools down to 3-4 colleges by Thanksgiving break.
6. Start collecting your letters of recommendations from your teachers and community leaders in the fall.    Last minute requests oftentimes go unfulfilled.
7. Apply for FAFSA in January of your senior year. Next, check your e-mail account every week for correspondence from FAFSA or your prospective college  financial aid office. Your financial aid is not fully processed until you receive an awards letter from the college stating what they are willing to offer to you in the form of grants, scholarships and loans.
8. Take the ACT or the SAT test in the fall of your senior year of high school if you did not take it during your junior year.  Do not be satisfied with an average test score.
9. Do your research. Make sure that the college you want to attend offers your desired major. A great deal of your college success begins with finding the right fit (college) for you.
10. Participate in a college tour if you have the financial resources to do so.
11. Write three scholarship essays that you can tweak based on the scholarship’s criteria. Please have your essays proofed by your English teacher to check my essay for errors.
12. Remove inappropriate pictures and comments from your social network accounts.
13. Create a professional e-mail address  for communication with your college advisor.
14. Decide which college you will be attending by March or spring break and submit your college application.
    If you are an athlete you will need to be certified by the NCAA Clearing House to play sports. See your counselor and head coach for more information regarding this process.

    Submit your freshman orientation and housing fees in March or April.