‘Business only happens where there is trust’

Lyn Bromley and Donna Whitbrook head up First Impressions consultancy, pointing accounting and finance professionals in the right direction with their people skills. “We continue to help our clients to manage their personal impact ensuring it is appropriate, consistent and memorable,” says Lyn.

“We’re a training company that specialises in people. We help them to build outstanding client relationships and deliver world-class service to your clients. Businesses benefit by increased sales, better customer service levels and improved client satisfaction.”

Here Lyn and Donna, who have co-written a book, Trusted, about building client relationships, talk to Accounting Insight News Editor Ian Moss about their business lives… and what they do with their time off.

The here and now….

How did you get into this business?

Lyn: When I was an accountant and subsequently a senior professional services manager in the software industry I realised that the most successful consultants or project managers were the ones who had excellent technical skills and excellent behavioural and relationship building skills.  I started to learn how I could coach my team members who lacked these skills and that took me on a journey of training with First Impressions and eventually loving is so much, I bought the company in 2010!

Donna: Throughout my professional career, it has always been apparent that a business can have a great products and great processes, however the differentiator is how they stand out in the market – through having great people in their teams. I trained with First Impressions three years ago and joined the corporate associate team.

What’s the deal with trust?

Business only happens where there is trust.  Trust is a feeling, not a behaviour and it needs to be built internally through the culture, values and standards of behaviour within an organisation.  This feeling of trust and the trustworthy behaviour will then be felt by prospects and clients, leading to deep and long-standing business relationships.

What have accountants got to learn about personal branding?

All of the recent reports and research looking into the future of auditing and accountancy report that, amongst other things, accountancy professionals need to increase their empathy, soft skills and understanding of culture and behaviour in order to continue to succeed.  Personal brand, quite simply, is what people say about you when you are not in the room.  Your brand is therefore built upon a number of factors which we cover in our ÓT-Spot model: mindset, communication, interaction, behaviour and professional image.

And what can you teach them?

We can teach accountants how to improve their communication skills, how to build better relationships internally and how to engage with clients to build trust and long and prosperous relationships.  We enable them to identify behaviours that could be damaging their credibility and reducing the organisation’s profits and to implement new behaviours that will improve their credibility, their relationships and their profits.  The way we do this, is by implementing the elements of our unique ÓT-Spot Model.

Does the idea of information overload concern you?

We are very adept at processing large amounts of information and data, especially in the digitised world we live in.  We help people to manage their mindsets, so if they do experience a feeling of overwhelm, our techniques will help them to manage those feelings before they escalate to become a problem.

What’s on the horizon for you and the sector?

We are really excited to continue to work with our long established clients and to engage with new clients who have a head for business and a heart for their people.  We are regional partners with University College Birmingham and we are determined to make a difference by passing on our skills to graduates and future business leaders to ensure that they are adept at bringing the human approach to building outstanding client relationships in a digitised world.

Do you think women are well-represented in the industry?

Women are represented reasonably well in accountancy. Typically, there are fewer women in senior positions, so we would like to see a change to that in future to provide gender parity.

As an influential voice, what impact do you want to have on the profession this year?

We believe that in a world of increasingly digitised interactions, connecting on a human level is more valuable than ever.  The technological advances have enabled us to connect with people all over the world and our virtual presence has increased.  This has negatively impacted our ability to connect in person and build strong relationships.  Technology needs to assist relationship building and the delivery of excellent client service, not to hinder it.

Early Days

Where did you grow up?

Lyn: I grew up in Tamworth, in Staffordshire

Donna: I grew up in Staffordshire, near the beautiful cathedral city of Lichfield.

Were you any good at maths at school?

Lyn: Pretty good, I didn’t enjoy it though and was amazed to pass my O Level!

Donna: Yes, I’ve always loved numbers and number crunching. This helped me in my banking career.

Trivia/Miscellany

What’s your favourite film? (you’re allowed more than one)

Lyn: It’s a Wonderful Life.

Donna: The Green Mile.

What’s your favourite book? (you’re allowed more than one)

Lyn: For fiction I love a good thriller and Erin Kelly, He Said/She Said is my current favourite as I have just read it.  My favourite business book is The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks.

Donna: Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Simon Sinek’s Leaders Eat Last.

What’s your favourite type of music?

Lyn: I have an eclectic taste in music. I enjoy pop, jazz, classical and opera.

Donna: R & B

What’s your ideal day out?

Lyn: I love driving round Europe exploring in the sunshine, stopping for good food and good wine with my family.

Donna: A day out in London with friends – a visit to the V&A museum, lunch and people watching in Covent Garden, a trip to the theatre followed by dinner at the Wolsey.

What’s your ideal holiday?

Lyn: Total relaxation in the sun with my family or an action-packed exploring holiday depending upon the time of year.

Donna: The beautiful city of Verona in Italy’s Veneto region. Famous for being the setting of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, its artistic heritage, Roman ruins and Veronese food. A trip to the open-air amphitheatre to be swept away by a spectacular operatic performance is essential.

Is money the root of all evil?

Lyn: Absolutely not, money, if treated right, can buy you freedom.

Donna: No. The pursuit of material wealth and greed can drive some people to behave in despicable ways. Money doesn’t change people, it reveals who they are. Money can achieve great things, fundamentally it can save lives.

Do you support a football team?

No, neither of us can stand it!

Do you have a heroine or hero?

Lyn: Maya Angelou and Professor Stephen Hawking for their brilliant minds, their strength in adversity and their pursuit of something greater than themselves.

Donna: Professor Stephen Hawking – He not only transformed our view of the universe, he taught the universe that no-one needs to lose hope.

Lyn and Donna will be speaking at Acccountex London 2018 in the Future and Development theatre at noon on Thursday 24 May.