Many firm owners hold back from advisory meetings because they worry they won’t know what to say. What if the client asks something you can’t answer? What value can you add beyond the financial statements?
Marilyn Melendez, EA, President of Dalia Tax & Business Advisors in West Palm Beach, Florida, has a different starting point. She opens each client relationship by asking why they do what they do. Her bilingual firm serves second-generation owners, women entrepreneurs, and Spanish-speaking owners new to doing business in the U.S. She makes a point of skipping technical jargon so clients understand their options.
Below, we’ll cover how to reframe the financials, which questions to ask, how to stay neutral with family businesses, and how choosing the right niche makes all of it easier. Prefer to watch? Here’s the full conversation.
The P&L, balance sheet, and tax return are the core of what accounting firms deliver. Marilyn doesn’t downplay them, but she frames them differently for her clients. “They’re not the goal. They’re not the purpose. They are a byproduct,” she says.
That shift changes the conversation. When the numbers are a tool rather than the point, you have room to talk about what the client is trying to build.
Marilyn sits down with each client and asks about their motivation. Often the question is direct: “Why do you work the crazy hours?” Every client has their own story. She tells them, “I’m here to hear your story. Don’t think of me as just your accountant.”
Her reason is practical. Advice only helps if you and the client want the same outcome. “I can’t give you business strategy if my goal for you is growing, and your goal for you is making it more manageable,” she says. “We have to be in alignment.” A few questions can open that conversation:
Rachel Dillon, who leads Dillon Business Advisors with Marcus Dillon, CPA, and co-founded Collective by DBA, says much of an advisor’s value comes from listening. “So much happens when someone just talks through something out loud,” she says. “So many times you don’t have to necessarily provide the answer. They almost arrive on their own. You just have to ask the questions.”
When clients hear their ideas out loud, they can tell which ones hold up. Your role is to guide that process and confirm what they’ve landed on. That takes some of the pressure off advisory meetings.
Many of Marilyn’s clients are family businesses or husband-and-wife companies. In those settings, she often becomes a confidant. She’s clear with owners about her role: “I’m not there to serve them as individuals. I’m there to serve the wellbeing of the business.”
“I’m the voice of the business,” she says. That stance helps her stay neutral when owners disagree. It also gives clients a perspective they rarely get from a typical accountant.
She acknowledges this approach fits her personality. “I get people on planes telling me their life stories, and I’m like, ‘Really? Say more,’” she says. If you’re not someone who enjoys going deep with people, this style may not suit you, and that’s fine. You can still apply the core idea of advocating for the business as a whole.
Advisory is easier when you understand the people you serve. Many owners assume that means picking an industry like dentistry or construction. Marilyn’s niche is built around a type of person instead. She serves owners facing the same challenges she lived through, especially second-generation owners taking over from a parent.
Rachel points out that people are often best equipped to help those who are where they once were. “We shouldn’t pigeonhole ourselves,” she says. Industry niches still make sense when specialized software or expertise is required. Even within an industry, you’ll still have an ideal client.
Marilyn has also learned which business size suits her style. Her sweet spot is companies with $1 million to $3 million in revenue and about 25 employees or fewer. When a company has too many layers of management, she can’t get close enough to the owner’s goals.
Once you know who you serve, Marcus says, marketing gets simpler. “This is who we’re best equipped for. You market to it, you talk about it,” he says, and that’s who you attract.
Some owners worry about losing clients as those businesses grow. Marilyn sees it as a sign her work succeeded. “I feel so proud when people outgrow me,” she says. Whether a client is ready for a bigger firm or ready to sell, she counts it as a win.
She doesn’t expect clients to stay forever out of loyalty. When someone suggested they should, her response was simple: “No, they don’t.” What matters to her is the progress they made together. “I was a part of their story,” she says.
Marcus sees a similar pattern at DBA. “Some of our best clients, they just become your friends,” he says. That kind of relationship is hard to replace, and it starts with caring about what the client wants.
You can start using this approach in your next client meeting.
Starting advisory conversations is easier with a clear process and the right clients. Collective by DBA’s advisors can help you define your niche, structure client meetings, and build advisory into how your team serves clients. Schedule a call with Collective by DBA to talk through your plans.