Episode 86: Mastering Client Experiences: Unveiling Secrets to Winning Proposals and Satisfaction with Christy Bowie

Oct 2

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Alyssa Lang interviews Christy Bowie, CPA and Founder of Christy Bowie Financial Solutions and the "In the Know" newsletter, on getting through the challenges of team management, leveraging productivity tools like ClickUp, and providing a luxury client experience in the financial industry.

In this episode you’ll hear:

How to create a good client experience and what that actually looks like
What an outstanding proposal process looks like
How to connect clients with the right team member to better serve your clients
How to create an excellent client experience for your clients

Resources mentioned in this episode:

💻 Kickoff with Asana for Bookkeepers & Accountants

⚙️ Asana

⚙️ Dubsado

⚙️ ClickUp

💻 Breakthrough for Bookkeepers & Accountants

🗞️ Christy’s In The Know newsletter

⚙️ Notion

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Introduction:

Hey everyone! In this week’s podcast episode, I got to sit down with the amazing Christy Bowie, the owner and founder of Christy Bowie Financial Solutions. Christy is a powerhouse CPA and financial consultant who has mastered the art of delivering a luxury client experience. We covered so much in this episode, from creating a stellar client experience to building a smooth proposal process and connecting clients with the right team members. In this blog post, I’m breaking down all the highlights for you, plus sharing some of the tools Christy uses to keep everything running like clockwork.

How to Create a Good Client Experience:

Christy really emphasized that a great client experience goes beyond just crunching numbers. It’s about making clients feel heard, seen, and supported—the kind of stuff that keeps clients coming back.

As Christy put it:

“Your clients don’t always know how good you are at your job—they just know how you make them feel.”

So, what’s her secret sauce?

Personalization: Christy makes sure she knows each client’s unique needs and addresses them upfront.
Clear Communication: She’s all about transparency, making sure clients know what they’re getting and how it’ll help them.
Follow-Up and Care: Regular check-ins so clients always feel in the loop.

A Personal Example:

Christy shared a great story about a client who was totally overwhelmed by a proposal. They thought she was trying to upsell them on stuff they didn’t need. Instead of just leaving it at that, Christy took the time to explain each service and how it would benefit them. Once the client understood, they felt confident moving forward. That kind of personalized attention makes all the difference!

What an Outstanding Proposal Process Looks Like:

Let’s talk proposals—Christie’s secret weapon for kicking off a great client experience. She doesn’t just send a generic PDF. Oh no. She creates customized proposals in Canva that explain not just what she’s doing for clients but why it’s important.

Here’s what makes her proposals stand out:

Introduce the Firm: Christy starts with a page that talks about her firm’s values, like being a U.S.-based, women-led business. Right from the start, her clients know they’re working with a team that’s aligned with their values.
Client Goals Front and Center: Instead of boring lists of services, she makes it personal. Christy highlights each client’s specific pain points and shows how her services solve them.
Break It Down: Christy doesn’t throw industry jargon at clients. She breaks everything down into simple terms. Clients need to know what services they’re getting and how it will help them, without needing an accounting degree to understand it!
Set Expectations: Finally, Christy lays out the next steps—what’s coming, when to expect things, and any extra costs (like QuickBooks subscriptions). No surprises, just clear communication.

To manage all of this, Christy swears by Dubsado, which she uses to streamline her proposal process and manage client communications. If you’re looking to master client management, Christy recommends Kickoff with Asana for Bookkeepers & Accountants—a game-changing course for setting up your own workflows and systems using Asana.

How to Connect Clients with the Right Team Member:

As Christy’s business grew, she learned that one of the best ways to level up the client experience is by matching clients with the right team member. It’s not just about the skillset, but also about finding someone whose personality clicks with the client’s needs.

Here’s how Christie makes it work:

Assess Client Needs: During onboarding, Christy takes note of what each client really needs—whether it’s technical expertise or someone who can offer a little emotional support.
Match Personalities: Christy’s team has a range of personalities, and she’s great at pairing clients with the right team member. Got a nervous client? Christy knows just the person who can calm them down and make them feel confident.
Stay Involved: Even though her team handles a lot of the day-to-day, Christy stays involved, making sure the clients are getting exactly what they need.

To keep all these moving pieces organized, Christy relies on ClickUp to automate task assignments and track progress. By using tools like ClickUp, she can scale her firm while maintaining that personal touch clients love.

Tips for Creating an Excellent Client Experience:

Creating an excellent client experience isn’t just about responding to emails on time. It’s about making clients feel genuinely cared for and valued.

Here are some tips Christy shared that have made all the difference:

Personalized Touchpoints: Christy takes notes on clients’ personal lives—whether they’re getting married or have a new puppy—and sends personalized follow-ups or even small gifts. She keeps all of this info organized in Notion, so no detail slips through the cracks.
Templated Processes: Christy’s team uses templates for everything, from onboarding to client communications. This keeps everything consistent and smooth while giving her more time to focus on those personal touches.
Automate, Automate, Automate: Christy uses ClickUp and Dubsado to automate as much as possible. This frees her up to focus on client relationships instead of being buried in administrative tasks.

If you’re looking for more ways to streamline your workflows and grow your business, Christy recommends checking out Breakthrough for Bookkeepers & Accountants. It’s a killer program for optimizing your offers, managing your team, and scaling to the next level.

Stay In the Know:

Christy isn’t just all about client work—she’s also got a great resource to help you stay on top of tax law, financial trends, and industry updates. It’s called In The Know, and it’s a weekly newsletter that keeps bookkeepers, accountants, and financial professionals up to date on everything they need to know. For just $15 a month, you get a curated selection of important updates, tips, and resources. Definitely worth checking out!

Conclusion:

At the end of the day, creating a great client experience is about more than just doing good work—it’s about making clients feel like they’re your priority. From crafting a killer proposal that shows value, to pairing clients with the right team members, Christy’s approach is a perfect example of how to do it right.

Want to take your client experience to the next level? Follow Christy’s lead: focus on personalization, transparency, and automating the parts that don’t need your hands-on attention. And don’t forget to subscribe to her In The Know newsletter for ongoing insights to keep you ahead of the curve!

About Our Guest

Christy is a CPA & Financial Consultant who empowers service-based entrepreneurs to grow their business by taking away the stress of finances & creating strategic plans to scale. After starting her career serving some of the world's largest private equity companies as well as high net worth business owners and investors, Christy learned the powerful strategies that successful CEOs use to scale. Christy has served hundreds of small businesses in various industries, stages of businesses, and revenue ranges and has a passion for helping founders build legacy businesses that can provide generational wealth and a lifestyle they love. Christy’s goal is to help you feel empowered as a business owner & get back to being the CEO instead of stressing about details.

Connect with Christy Bowie:

Follow Christy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itschristybowie

Check out her newsletter: https://learn.christybowie.com/in-the-know/

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