Purpose-Driven Training: May #PEXCardChat with Joe Woodard

Every month, PEX Card hosts a monthly conversation on Twitter called #PEXCardChat. It’s designed to help business owners run better companies. In our May #PEXCardChat, we spoke to Joe Woodard, an accounting technology consultant and Intuit training partner. He is also host of the 2015 Scaling New Heights Conference for Pro Advisors. The conference takes place June 21-24 in New Orleans this year, and PEX Card is thrilled to both sponsor and exhibit. Our discussion with Joe focused on purpose-driven training for accountants, CPAs, and Quickbooks Pro Advisors to help them run better businesses. We also talked about the upcoming Scaling New Heights.

PEX Card: What is “Purpose-Driven Training”?

Joe Woodard: Purpose-driven training focuses on one’s practice goals, not simply on the topics or presenters that interest them most. To achieve purpose-driven training, create one and two-year strategic plans, then select the training that you need to work on the plans. With purpose-driven training, accountants should strongly consider the current tech disruption impacting our profession.

PEX Card: What's the secret sauce to great client service?

Joe Woodard: As with training, one secret sauce is purpose. Discover your professional purpose and design your services around this purpose. At Woodard, our purpose statement is “We Empower Small Business Advisors.” This infuses passion into everything we do. A vision statement and a mission statement are two other secret sauces for great client service.

PEX Card: What makes a successful mission statement?

Joe Woodard: A mission statement must include a description of what your firm does, and connect those actions to the firm's purpose. It must also be achievable and measurable…not lofty (e.g. “We maximize tax deductions for our clients”). One action in our mission statement is: We conduct the highest quality learning experiences for small business advisors

PEX Card: What makes a successful vision statement?

Joe Woodard: Unlike your mission statement, a vision statement should not be achievable. If you can achieve it in your lifetime, then it’s too small. A vision statement is directional, not measurable. It is the “true north” for both your practice and your life. Our statement at Woodard is: To positively & radically impact the way small businesses operate working with small business advisors.

PEX Card: How can accountants create a successful purpose statement?

Joe Woodard: Accountants should identify their clients' greatest collective pain and their own greatest professional passion. The intersection of the two creates their purpose statement. Accountants should make their purpose statement global in application and simple in conception. Begin a purpose statement with the word, “We.” The second word should be a high impact verb. Let the rest flow from there.

PEX Card: How does purpose-driven training produce a measurable ROI for #ProAdvisors?

Joe Woodard: Purpose-Driven training focuses on practical ways to increase value for your clients which should equate to increases in revenue. Purpose-Driven training equips you to provide brand new billable services to your clients (and increases in revenue). Lastly, purpose-driven training hones your professional skills, allowing you to work more efficiently (creating greater profitability).

PEX Card: What’s happening at the National Advisor Network Institute these days?

Joe Woodard: The National Advisor Network launched the NAN Institute this past year, an intensive coaching community for small business advisors. Last week, we launched our first international NAN Group in Canada, led by Marnie Stretch. NAN has grown to over 1,200 certified Pro Advisors, making it the largest worldwide network of its kind.

PEX Card: Let’s switch over to your Scaling New Heights conference in New Orleans. Will it have sessions on purpose-driven training?

Joe Woodard: Scaling New Heights will provide training that fits into each Pro Advisor's purpose-driven goals, including technology, practice development, & more. The conference will cover all of the official Pro Advisor certification exam prep (QB Desktop, QB Online, QBPOS, and QB Enterprise).

PEX Card: What can Pro Advisors do to make the most of their conference experience?

Joe Woodard: Pro Advisors can participate in as many networking events as possible at the conference. They should make purpose-driven session selections and leave prepared to offer more valuable services or additional services. Lastly, don't miss the main stage events! The general sessions at this conference are high impact and incredibly exciting

PEX Card: Any final thoughts for accountants and Pro Advisors today?

Joe Woodard: There is strength in numbers. Pro Advisors should leverage networking relationships (local/global) to grow their practices. Embrace the cloud and fully leverage it to better serve your clients, and streamline processes. The cloud, & QBO, is our friend. Pro Advisors should branch out and add management consulting in addition to QB consulting and bookkeeping.

PEX Card: Thanks again, Joe, for being our guest on #PEXCardChat. You had some great tips for Accountants!

Stay tuned for next month's #PEXCardChat!