Questions from clients

How do you all deal with questions from new or potential clients? I find that I'm more comfortable answering questions by email or even having a person's topic of concern before speaking with them. However, there are times when you don't have advance notice and get asked a flurry of questions perhaps in an area you are not well-versed in. As a solo this could be especially challenging. Questions asked by email, by phone or in person? Which do you prefer and how do you handle these kinds of situations?

Most people will have more respect if you are honest and just say, with the volume of tax laws, I don't know every single thing, but I know how to find the answer. I will have to research that topic and get back to you.

If it's something I don't know 100% I usually something like, things are always changing so let me double check on that, I don't want to give you the wrong information.

I really try not to give out detailed, specific advise unless they are a client. For prospects I tend to be vague, like every situation is different so I would need to look at your specific information to give you an answer. Either they say yes and become a client or not.

If you prefer email, just let them know that if they send you their questions, you won't miss something and they will have it to refer back too.

If I know we're getting into billable consulting time, I tell the client that sending questions beforehand will make the call more productive.

For a prospect, I just "freestyle" on the phone. Not that I make things up, I just don't really prepare. Really a discovery call with a prospect is about determining if we're a good fit. Sure, having the chance to display knowledge helps make that decision on the clients' side, but I'm not going to be giving any detailed, fact pattern specific advice on a prospect call. And I'd like to keep my time investment to a minimum until engagement letters are signed. If a prospect sent a laundry list of questions, I'd quickly browse it, but wouldn't give it a lot of thought.

Most people will have more respect if you are honest and just say, with the volume of tax laws, I don't know every single thing, but I know how to find the answer. I will have to research that topic and get back to you.

I would piggyback on this and I have developed the policy that if I do NOT know the answer and have to look it up, it is billable.

I say, for 1/2 hour of my time I can get that for you.

What drives me nuts are simple questions that google can provide, they still ask us.

I use two different methods:

1) Questions from Prospects

2) Questions from Tax Prep clients

The first group I am more on a fact finding mission so I am actually asking followup questions to every thing they arsk and my answers are of general nature with a caveat that in tax law there are many exceptions etc. so we need more details and a lot of that will come from documentation. Hence let's book a consulting appointment. I NEVER give any answer in writing UNTIL I have been engaged.

The second group varies from good clients getting a quick answer to an easy question that I already know or can look up relatively quickly, to more detailed discussion on the specifics that gets the clock started.