How to Be Successful as an Advisor

Welcome to The CFO Project Podcast, where host Adam Lean helps accountants and CFOs escape the “accountant’s trap” and build thriving, profitable firms through real-world strategies. Each week, Adam interviews industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and CFOs who share their best insights on running a business, building advisory services, and adding lasting value for clients.

In this episode, Adam is joined by Roger Knecht, President of Universal Accounting, to break down what it really takes to be a successful advisor. They explore how the accounting profession is shifting from simply reporting the past to helping clients shape the future — and how firm owners can seize this opportunity. Roger explains the two key factors that determine advisor success, why business owners care more about benefits than features, and how to overcome imposter syndrome by taking action before you feel “ready.” If you want to build confidence, connect with business owners on a deeper level, and position yourself as their trusted guide, this episode is packed with practical advice you can implement right away.

Transcript

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Unknown
In this episode of the CFO project podcast, we discuss how to be a successful

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advisor.

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Unknown
Welcome to the CFO project podcast. Today we're talking all about how to be a successful advisor to small businesses. To help with the discussion. I've invited Roger Connect of Universal Accounting to the show. Roger, welcome. Yeah, so we've known each other for a while, and I love what you guys do at universal.

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Unknown
For those that are not familiar, tell us about universal. Tell us about yourself and why you got into this.

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Unknown
Nice. So what is your favorite place to travel?

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Unknown
Oh, nice.

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Unknown
So Roger you go to the accounting professional a profession almost three decades.

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Unknown
were the three decades? What is the biggest shift that has happened in the accounting profession that that accountants and bookkeepers need to jump on board, or they're just going to be left behind? What is that? If anything. Okay.

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Unknown
Yeah.

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Unknown
Yeah.

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Unknown
Yeah I agree with you. I definitely agree that business owners want their accountant and bookkeeper in their life to help them figure out how to have a better tomorrow, rather than just tell them what happened yesterday. And I do agree with you that that that is a huge shift. That is a huge shift in a, in a it's a lot of potential for the accounting industry.

00:04:04:11 - 00:04:28:17
Unknown
But I don't feel that everybody has accepted it, honestly. I've talked to I talked to a lot of accountants and they seem to be completely fine with just being a recorder of the past, as if that's what their clients care about. And, you know, it's important obviously, from a tax standpoint, compliance standpoint, to be to, to to ensure the books are accurate and timely and all that.

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Unknown
But at the end of the day, business owners don't necessarily care as much as accountants think they should, and the business owners want paying you. So if you want to make more money, you've got to be able to do something that business owners care about, right? Which is, Yeah.

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Unknown
Yeah.

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Unknown
Yeah.

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Unknown
Yeah.

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Unknown
Yeah.

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Unknown
Totally. Yeah. So I mean essentially business owners today want an advisor. They want it they want to surround themselves with advisors essentially. And so that sort of brings me to our next question for you

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is the word advisor is a big, big giant word. What does that mean. And what is the difference between an advisor and and like a coach or a CFO or a mentor?

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Unknown
You know, there's a big giant words that people throw around and what let's define them. What

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in your view, what is that?

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Everybody listening. If you haven't already, sign up for our five minute weekly email with practical tips for accountants and bookkeepers to escape the accountants trap. Go to the CFO project.com/newsletter.

00:09:51:01 - 00:10:45:21
Unknown
So, so an accountant or bookkeeper listening that that wants to offer some sort of advisory service. What would you recommend then.

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Unknown
Yeah.

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Unknown
Yeah.

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Unknown
Yeah. Yeah. I think you, you said something very important. You have to understand the value that the business owner has on whatever services you offer. That value has to be there. And what you know and almost where whatever you whatever you pitch, whether you pitch a coaching service, consulting service, advisory service, CFO services, regardless, the value has to be there in the eyes of the business owner or otherwise.

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Unknown
They're not going to pay you. Right. I mean.

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Unknown
Right.

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Unknown
Exactly.

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Right.

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Totally.

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Unknown
Yeah. Absolutely. And I think half of our job, even more than half of our job is to try, is to position things in a way that just makes sense. If it has to make sense to a business owner who is typically a non numbers non accounting person. Just.

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Unknown
Right.

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Unknown
Yeah.

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Unknown
Totally.

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Unknown
Right.

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Unknown
Totally. And articulation is the key. We have to connect the dots. And we have to remember that there's a giant difference between features and benefits. And features of a service. Whether it's accounting, bookkeeping, advisory could be things like bookkeeping cleanup and ratio analysis and forecasting and all that. Those are features that are usually important and needed, but they're not benefits that move the needle benefits or what like gets a client excited, a prospect excited.

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Unknown
A benefit of US advisory type services have a peace of mind and knowing what to do to make sure your business never fails to have more money in the bank to to to be more competent, to enjoy your business, get those are benefits and that's what gets business owners excited. And to your point, you have to be able to connect those dots.

00:14:26:07 - 00:14:56:20
Unknown
You have to position your services, whatever you call them, in a way that resonates. And that is huge. And I think that's something that the accounting profession as a whole just struggles with. Because to your point, earlier to the past 50 years, we've been relegated in the accounting profession to be just compliance taker's compliance. Processors, what do you think?

00:14:56:22 - 00:15:03:11
Unknown
Yeah.

00:15:03:13 - 00:15:20:17
Unknown
Totally. 100%.

00:15:20:19 - 00:15:46:15
Unknown
Right. That's right. Case in point, yesterday I had somebody on LinkedIn. I don't I don't know how he found me, but he said he owns a $4 million revenue business. A it's, you know, $4 million in revenue is a tech company. And he says he needs a CFO, and he says he doesn't know what a CFO does, but he says he was told it needs to be somebody who has all these credentials, like four years of big Four accounting experience and all this other stuff.

00:15:46:16 - 00:16:08:16
Unknown
And he said, do you? Can you help or do you know anybody that can help me? That is a bait. That is a that is a trap. That question is a trap. Because then I would probably disqualify myself for this is I've never worked for a big four accounting firm, and I don't know that many people that are that do advisory services that that could take this on.

00:16:08:18 - 00:16:26:09
Unknown
It's a complete trap. I needed to understand why he wanted a CFO in the first place. So I just responded and I said, that's a great question. I said, but let me ask you, if you could wave a magic wand in your business and solve one problem, what would it be? And now I'm starting to have a conversation.

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Unknown
He told me the problem that he has the the. Now I can frame the conversation around what he wants and it almost doesn't matter about my qualifications or about any accountants qualifications in his eyes. Now the only qualification is can I solve that problem?

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Unknown
Yeah. Make.

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Unknown
Right.

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Unknown
Totally.

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Unknown
Right.

00:17:40:15 - 00:18:11:19
Unknown
Yeah.

00:18:11:21 - 00:18:41:12
Unknown
Yeah, totally. And and you know, to your point, when business owners hear CFO, they think immediately either head accountant or expensive accountant, they immediately think accounting which we all like you just said. It's it's CFO is way more than just accounting recording in the past. But that but most business owners especially non non non finance oriented business owners typically business owners that owned businesses doing less than 5 million annual revenue.

00:18:41:12 - 00:19:00:06
Unknown
They did mom and pop type business owners. They think Becky in my office does the books. I don't need a CFO. My $4 million construction company doesn't need a CFO. But when we explain it, going back to our earlier point, when we connect the dots, make it clear what this is. In my experience, at least, they all want it.

00:19:00:07 - 00:19:21:20
Unknown
They are like, yes, I need this, I need this or this. Because we have to remember a business owners, a business owners business is their livelihood. It literally is the thing that puts food on their family's table. It has to work and they are looking for somebody to help them. They just don't know what or how that that works.

00:19:21:22 - 00:19:42:01
Unknown
And that's why we as accountants have a massive opportunity to be that person, that backstage, that guide, that confidant, whether we call ourselves an advisor or CFO, coach, consultant, it almost doesn't matter in a sense. We just got to be that person and be there for them and and speak in clear language and help them get what they want.

00:19:51:23 - 00:19:55:02
Unknown
Yeah.

00:19:55:04 - 00:20:09:20
Unknown
Totally.

00:20:09:22 - 00:20:33:07
Unknown
Yeah.

00:20:33:09 - 00:20:35:17
Unknown
Yeah. I completely agree with.

00:20:35:17 - 00:21:11:16
Unknown
Hey, before before we started recording here, you mentioned that there were two key things that determine someone's success as an advisor. And you didn't tell me what those two things were. And I'm very curious. What are the two things?

00:21:16:13 - 00:21:38:04
Unknown
Yeah.

00:22:32:03 - 00:22:56:11
Unknown
I love that. I love that. Have you heard of the competence confidence loop. An advisor told me a long time probably five years ago about this concept competence. Confidence Lou. Most people think that before they do something this this is what the advisor said. And I researched it and it totally makes sense. Most people think that before they attempt to do something, they have to have competent competence in it.

00:22:56:12 - 00:23:23:14
Unknown
Right. Well, but nobody just wakes up and is born with competence in a specific topic. The first thing you have to do is take action towards getting competence. Then once you get to some competence, you start gaining confidence. And then as you gain more confidence, you'll continue to take more action, which will give you more competence and confidence, which just creates this spiral loop that goes that just gets better and better and better.

00:23:23:18 - 00:23:38:09
Unknown
So in other words, start with action. Taking action before you think that you have the competence to do something.

00:23:38:11 - 00:23:49:07
Unknown
Oh my goodness. Yeah.

00:23:49:09 - 00:23:57:13
Unknown
All right.

00:23:57:15 - 00:24:09:07
Unknown
Yeah.

00:24:09:09 - 00:24:34:20
Unknown
Yeah. Yeah I completely agree. Couldn't agree more. And I do agree with you. Imposter syndrome is very real. I would argue that that most high achievers have imposter syndrome or should have imposter syndrome. It's the people that don't have imposter syndrome that they gotta be worried about because their confidence is so high and it's probably unfounded. But that's a that's a topic for another another day.

00:24:34:20 - 00:24:54:23
Unknown
But, Roger, tell us more about universal accounting and how somebody could find out more about what you guys do.

00:26:29:04 - 00:26:40:09
Unknown
That's awesome I love that term accounting. Preneur. Roger, thank you so much for being on the show today. It was a pleasure.

00:26:40:11 - 00:26:59:21
Unknown
I do you're going to say that is fantastic. And we'll put you will put all those links and all that everything you mentioned to in our show notes below. So, and everybody, if you haven't already, sign up for our five minute weekly email. Make sure you do. So we, we have, weekly tips, practical tips for accountants of bookkeepers to escape the accountants trap.

00:26:59:21 - 00:27:06:11
Unknown
Just go to the CFO project.com forget newsletter. See you next time on the CFO project podcast.