Capstone Conversation With Bethany Silvis

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Hello, this is Jean Caragher, president of Capstone Marketing. It is with extreme pleasure that I am speaking today with Bethany Silvis, marketing supervisor for Kerkering, Barberio & Co., who was recently named the Association for Accounting Marketing Rookie of the Year.

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Bethany joined her firm in 2018 as the marketing coordinator. She took KB’s social media activity to a whole different level and manages digital webinars and presentations. She learned Camtasia to edit videos for the website, social media, and specific campaigns, including a series they called “A Day in the Life of a CPA,” which was used as a recruiting tool.

Bethany is now focused on client experience. Very smart move there, Bethany. She sits on the University of South Florida Muma College of Business Customer Experience Advisory Board as a program advisor and has completed the customer experience course provided at USF. Bethany, congratulations on being named Rookie of the Year.

Bethany: Thank you so much.

Jean: Now, I was at the celebration in Louisville. I was disappointed that the award winners didn’t get an opportunity to say anything, to speak to us. So, when you won, when you heard your name, what did you think?

Bethany: I was completely in shock. I was standing with a group of my peers. As I’m hearing this, it took a second. It was probably 20 seconds into them reading their script. I was like, “I think that’s me.” I turned and I looked at Fonda, and she was like, “Is that you?” I was like, “I think so.” She started recording. So, I have my reaction on camera. I’m smitten. I am so excited, because as they read more, I was like, “Oh, yeah, that sounds like me. Okay.” Then, Eric Majchrzak turned around and looked at me right as they were saying my name, and he had a smile. I was like, “Oh, yeah, that was me.” I was excited, and just completely taken by surprise.

Jean: That’s fantastic. You’re naming some of my favorite people, too. I know lots of folks are really happy to be able to go back in person to Louisville. For me, I wouldn’t describe people as happy, but I think a lot of people, they were just so full of joy that they were seeing people in person. I had some folks say, “Yeah, I’ve been in this AAM Circle with this person for two years, and I’m finally meeting them live.” It was wonderful.

Bethany: It was fantastic. It was so nice to be in that environment and see all these people you get to interact with digitally, but to see them live and have these conversations is just…you can’t replicate that experience.

Jean: I totally agree. So, we can’t have a Capstone Conversation these days without mentioning COVID. Even though we’re more than two years past it, it’s still lurking. I can attest to it. Think about this COVID crisis we’ve had and how your firm has responded. Tell us a little bit about what you’ve learned about yourself, your colleagues, or your firm that you think is going to help you in the future.

Bethany: I’ve thought a lot about this, and I think it’s our communication and flexibility. You always hear so much about how these things…how you have to be a strong communicator, and how you have to roll with the punches and be flexible. I think COVID just amplified that by 100. Things were changing minute by minute, hour by hour. I was working both with our external communication and internal communication, making sure our team members were on the same page, but also getting the newest information out to our clients. That was no easy feat. We were having webinars at 8:00 p.m. to get to the people who couldn’t join during the day, because their schedules were busy.

“We were having webinars at 8:00 p.m. to get to the people who couldn’t join during the day, because their schedules were busy.”

So, being a strong communicator within our team, to make sure that everybody’s on the same page was incredibly important. We had to get it checked off by certain people, and hope that it was approved before things changed again. We ended up putting in “this information is valid until XYZ time,” just to make sure we were as current as we could be.

Then, being flexible, because when you’ve just spent six hours working on one e-blast that needed to go out, and you go to send it and everything’s changed, now you have to change it completely. I think being flexible, and not letting that stuff get you down, and just rolling with the punches.

Jean: Probably being really patient, too, because as you’ve just described, when you’ve worked really hard on something and then realize, “oops!” We have to go back to it again and update it, right? That could be frustrating at the same time, I would think.

Bethany: It sure can but having trust in our team members to know that everybody has their strengths… they knew the tax law, they knew what was changing. I knew how to distribute it, and how to write on that. Relying on others for their strengths, so that they could rely on me, I think that it required a lot of trust between the two of us, or all of us. There was a whole team of people, but I think that’s really important.

Jean: Now, I know that you’ve been with your firm since 2018. So, there was a bit of time that you worked at your firm before the pandemic hit. I’m going a little off script here. Do you see a change in perception, either for you, or the marketing function, from your partners and staff since COVID? Marketers were jumping through hoops for a lot…and to some extents still are, but fortunately, not to the degree that you were in spring of 2020 or summer 2020, right? Has there been a change of perception that you’ve noticed?

Bethany: I absolutely think so. Marketing was never, in my experience, looked down on. I’d hear some others that are like, “Oh, it’s just marketing.” Luckily, our firm never really felt…I never felt that way from our firm, but it became, “Oh, marketing makes things pretty,” to, “Oh, marketing is a channel to get information out. We’re relying on marketing to communicate with our clients.” We were making a lot of videos because it was easier to explain in video. So, they relied heavily on what I do. You saw a huge shift. All of a sudden, our website had a resource page, like many others. So, they saw the power of what marketing can do. I think that kind of shifted some of the perspective.

“…it became, “Oh, marketing makes things pretty,” to, “Oh, marketing is a channel to get information out. We’re relying on marketing to communicate with our clients.”

Jean: That’s wonderful. I think maybe you have a different experience than lots of other marketers, but there’s nothing like a pandemic to change people’s thoughts about how important the marketing function is. At the end of the day, I think it’s all been positive from the perspective of how marketing and business development is viewed.

Let me ask you, that was a mouthful about USF, and the course, and the certification with client experience. Tell us what prompted you to focus on client experience, and has that changed your role within the firm?

Bethany: A few things went into it. And yes, I think it has shifted my role a little bit, or at least, it shifted how I perceive my role. The first AAM conference I went to was in 2019. I was a brand-new, six-month-in marketer, and I was in Las Vegas, listening to client experience. It was the first time that I had really heard, what is client experience? What is the human experience, user experience? All of those things. It stuck with me. I said, “I want to do everything that has to do with the client experience.” I’ve learned everything we do is client experience, whether we focus on it or not. Every piece of work that we do, every client we work with, is experiencing something. We might as well make a focus on that, to make their experience the best that it possibly can be.

When USF, the local college around here, sent out, “Hey, we’re doing this course,” I was ecstatic. I said, “I love it.” A few people in the firm also got that email. It was a big e-blast. They all sent it to me, and they said, “Are you looking at this? Are you interested in this?” I was like, “Yes, I am.” I shared it with my boss, and she was like, “Absolutely. Do whatever you need to do to get involved. Join.” I’m fortunate enough that the firm paid for me to get certified, so I went through it. It is an 80-hour course. It had fantastic information, and I loved it. Now that I’ve completed that course, we’re looking at how can we implement that. What are little phases that we can do to equal big wins, to make the client experience even better.

Jean: When you think of it as a whole, I imagine it could be daunting, but if you’re creating your plan and breaking it down into smaller steps, you can have an idea of where to start, and then what the next phase is, and the next phase, and so on.

Bethany: Of course, I think being flexible with that. We had a plan at the beginning of the year of what client experience might look like, and things have shifted so dramatically that I think if you can be flexible and change your plan mid-course, it’s a benefit.

Jean: Bethany, I think that’s one of your strengths, because you’ve used the word flexibility several times already, so I think that’s something that you must be very good at.

Bethany: I try.

Jean: You’ve been with your firm a few years now. Obviously, you’ve met a lot of talented accounting marketers with your networking with AAM, and with your network and all. What do you think is the biggest challenge of marketing an accounting firm?

“…everybody I’m talking with, they’re having issues with client work and staff capacity, and how does marketing fit into that …”

Bethany: I think right now is capacity. I think everybody I’m talking with, they’re having issues with client work and staff capacity, and how does marketing fit into that, because unfortunately, not unfortunately, but the billable hour is always going to trump marketing efforts, and how to work within that, what we can be doing. Shifting our perspective of how we can still make marketing helpful with the firm, and what that looks like. I think that’s the biggest challenge, how to reposition marketing across the board.

Jean: Right. That could be helping them create a process for client acceptance. So, you’re accepting better clients, and not all clients, and perhaps helping them strategize on which clients to fire or transition out. We both know you can’t stop focusing on new clients. Otherwise, it’s really hard to start that machine again, but you could make the process better.

Bethany: Absolutely, and how that rolls into our employee experience. What can we do for people filling out those intake forms? Can we make their process better and more efficient? You really have to look at all of it. I agree, taking it in, just client onboarding alone can be very overwhelming, but if you can break it down into little phases, like the onboarding sheet, and then how to implement that, different things like that, you can really make a difference.

Jean: What factors or skills do you think enable accounting marketers to be successful? I know you’re building your network and all. What do you notice?

Bethany: I think being open-minded and willing to learn. I think that’s my biggest…I think what’s made me the most successful is wanting to learn more, being willing to listen to a variety of ideas, and it’s not a one-size-fit-all. What works for one firm isn’t going to work for another. So, taking pieces and building that, but being willing to learn about what makes others successful, so you can make your firm successful.

Jean: When I’ve asked this question, more than several times I get the feedback of being curious, which I believe is just what you said using different words. To really be curious and want to know more about different things or different areas of practice, or whatever it might be.

Bethany: Of course.

Jean: That’s really important. It must have been a Capstone Conversation with Jack Kolmansberger at Herbein. I included it in the Rookie Workshop this year. I quoted a bunch of people. He said that it really annoys him when someone attends a conference, and attends a session, and they leave and say, “Oh, I knew all that stuff already.” Or “This is all stuff that I already knew.” Jack was like, “That really annoys me because if you really listen to the speaker, it’s going trigger something, even if it’s one thing, it’s going to trigger something that you’ll be able to use at your firm,” or at least put on your list to look into more. I think that aspect of being curious and really wanting to know more is really, really important.

I think you’ve touched on this a little bit, but personally which of your skills do you think has really come into play for you?

Bethany: We touched on flexibility is key, being patient. One piece of feedback I get constantly that I really started to take to heart is being a team player. That looks differently throughout the year, but it’s just in my nature. I’m always willing to jump in wherever somebody needs help. You can find me up front answering the phones if things are crazy, or getting client information, if necessary, and being willing to do whatever, whenever, and with a positive attitude. That’s something I bring to the table most days. Not every day, but most days, and just being as positive and helpful as you can be.

Jean: Put on your thinking cap, and tell us your best, based on your experience and all, what is your best piece of advice for other accounting marketers?

Bethany: I have two pieces. The first one I just learned at AAM Summit, and I’m really hoping to implement this throughout the year, is don’t mix a great idea with bad timing. I think that is something that we can all hold true to, even if it’s just by an hour or so, like, don’t touch somebody you’re trying to pitch an idea to at the wrong time. That’s one that I haven’t fully implemented yet, but it’s stuck with me, that I hope to.

“…learning how to translate what we do in marketing to how it benefits them as accountants…”

The other is to learn how to translate what makes sense to your firm. What I mean by that is accountants don’t necessarily wear their marketing hat most days. It can be very challenging for them to think through a marketing lens. So, learning how to translate what we do in marketing to how it benefits them as accountants. How our website can benefit them, what numbers they might be curious about, why writing an article matters, and things like that. So, learning that language, to really make a mutual benefit relationship.

Jean: Let’s turn it on to the other side. What would be your best piece of advice for managing partners?

Bethany: I am incredibly fortunate. Our managing partner is incredibly involved. He joins our bi-weekly marketing meetings, he knows what we’re doing, and then he can also help us. If we want to do something in marketing, he can make sure we’re staying aligned with the business needs and what the overall firm goals are. So, that would be my advice, for managing partners to be involved, whether that’s joining a marketing meeting, or talking with your marketing team to know what they’re doing. It’s made such a big difference. Then, we’re all cheering for the same team. It helps us stay aligned.

“…for managing partners to be involved, whether that’s joining a marketing meeting, or talking with your marketing team to know what they’re doing.”

Jean: That’s great, too, because just to have the ear of the managing partner so he or she really knows what you’re doing, is making sure that what you’re doing is aligning to the firm’s strategy. That you’re focused on the correct things. I love the line about the timing. What was that? Repeat that to me again.

Bethany: Don’t mix up a good idea with bad timing.

Jean: Good idea with bad timing. I’m going to have to sew that on a pillow. Sometimes we get excited, right? We’re not thinking about, maybe I really need to wait a month, or six months, or whatever it is, to pitch it to be successful with it instead of letting your excitement overcome the best opportunity.

Bethany: And pitching it in the right channel. Does somebody want an email to see the bullet points? Do they want to have a face-to-face conversation? Making sure that you’re hitting all the marks to be as successful as you can be.

Jean: That’s a great point. Wonderful. We have been talking today with Bethany Silvis, marketing supervisor at Kerkering Barberio, and the 2022 Association for Accounting Marketing Rookie of the Year. Bethany, thank you so much for your time today, and congratulations again.

Bethany: Thank you so much for having me.

A Capstone Conversation With Bethany Silvis