From enquiry to engagement: a 5-stage pipeline for tax practitioners

A business owner gets your number from his cousin, who has been your client for six years. He calls on a Tuesday afternoon, asks about GST registration and monthly returns, and you have a good ten-minute chat. You say you will send him the details. Then the week gets busy. By the time you remember, he has gone to someone else, or simply stopped asking.

Most tax practitioners do not lose new work because they are not good enough. They lose it because enquiries come in at random times, through random channels, and there is no simple way to keep track of where each one stands. A referral from a happy client is one of the most valuable things a practice can receive. It deserves better than a note on the back of a visiting card.

This article sets out a simple five-stage pipeline that any CA or tax office can run, whether you get two enquiries a month or twenty.

A word on ethics first

Chartered Accountants work under the ICAI Code of Ethics, which places clear restrictions on advertising and soliciting clients. Nothing in this article is about chasing strangers, cold-calling, or pushing your services on people. A pipeline here is only about handling the enquiries that already come to you, through referrals, existing clients, and people who reach out on their own, in an organised and professional way.

Done well, this is simply good client service. The person who called you asked for help. Responding promptly, clearly and courteously is what they expect from a professional.

The five stages

Every enquiry moves through the same five stages. Some move quickly, some stall, and some drop out. That is normal. The point is to always know which stage each one is in.

Stage 1: Enquiry received

The moment someone asks about your services, write it down. It does not matter whether it came on a call, on WhatsApp, at a family function, or through a client who said "my friend will call you".

Record at least these:

• Name and phone number
• Source: which client or contact referred them, or how they found you
• What they asked about, in their words ("GST return for a small shop", "ITR with capital gains")
• Date of enquiry
• Who in your office will handle it

The source matters more than most people think. Over a year, it tells you which clients refer you regularly, and those are relationships worth looking after with extra care.

Stage 2: First discussion

This is where you understand what the person really needs. Often the first question is narrow ("Can you file my GST return?") but the real need is wider (books are not maintained, TDS has never been looked at, a loan application needs financials).

Questions worth asking

1. What type of entity is it: individual, proprietorship, partnership, LLP or company?
2. Which services do you need now, and which might come up during the year?
3. Roughly how many transactions or invoices a month?
4. Who handles your accounts today: in-house staff, another CA, or nobody?
5. Is there anything urgent or pending?
6. How would you prefer to share documents and communicate?

Note the answers right away. They become the basis of your proposal, and they save you from asking the same questions twice.

Stage 3: Proposal sent

Put the scope and fee in writing, even for small work. A short, clear proposal protects both sides and looks professional. Record the date you sent it, what you quoted, and how long the quote is valid.

Send it with a short covering message:

The last line matters. It sets up the follow-up without being pushy, and the client knows to expect your call.

Stage 4: Follow-up

This is the stage where most enquiries quietly die. Not because the person said no, but because nobody asked again.

A gentle follow-up routine looks like this:

1. Day 3 to 5 after sending: a short message asking if they had a chance to look at it, and offering to clarify anything.
2. Day 10 or so: a phone call, if they have not replied. People often have one small doubt they have not asked about.
3. Day 20 or so: a final courteous note saying you are available whenever they are ready.

After that, mark the enquiry as lost with the reason "no response", and let it go gracefully. Never pester. Remember that this person came to you; your job is to make it easy for them to say yes, not to pressure them.

Stage 5: Won or lost, and why the reason matters

When the person decides, close the enquiry and record the outcome. If you won the work, move them into your client list and start onboarding. If you lost it, write down the reason in a few words.

Common reasons in tax practice include:

• Fee felt high compared to what they were paying earlier
• They decided to continue with their existing CA
• Timeline did not suit them
• Scope was not what they wanted (they wanted only filing, not bookkeeping)
• No response after follow-ups

Why bother? Because after six months or a year, these reasons start to show a pattern. If most losses say "fee felt high", perhaps your proposals do not explain the value well, or you could offer a smaller starting scope. If many say "no response", perhaps you are taking too long to send proposals. You cannot improve what you do not record.

Keeping the whole pipeline visible

For a handful of enquiries, a simple sheet with one row per enquiry and a "stage" column works fine. If you prefer, a CRM like Nexus can hold each enquiry with its stage, next follow-up date and lost reason, so you can see the whole pipeline at a glance. Either way, look at it once a week and ask: which enquiries have not moved?

In short

• Record every enquiry the day it comes in, including who referred it.
• Move each enquiry through five stages: enquiry, discussion, proposal, follow-up, won or lost.
• Always send a written proposal and say when you will follow up.
• Follow up gently two or three times, then close with a reason.
• Review lost reasons every few months; they will tell you what to fix.