There are certain client calls you know will be uncomfortable before they’re even a twinkle on your calendar…
You have to tell a client their fees are going up
You need to explain why their bill was higher than expected
You have to push back on their investment strategy
You have to remind someone, once again, that you really do need their documents by the deadline
You know you need to make the call. You probably even know what you need to say. But that doesn’t mean you’re excited to pick up the phone.
So what if you could practice it first?
Using an AI Coach
Imagine telling an AI coach: “I need to tell Fred our fees are going up 12% next year, and I need to hold the line if he pushes back on the value.”
Then you tell it who Fred is. Maybe he’s skeptical or price sensitive. Maybe he’s warm but distracted. You can even tell the AI what you’re trying to get better at, like handling objections, asking better questions, explaining your value or actually setting next steps before the call ends.
Then you have the conversation. No, not with the real Fred. (Not yet, at least.) You practice with the AI playing Fred.
And maybe AI-Fred pushes back: “Twelve percent? What exactly am I getting for that?”
Now you have to answer the question instead of just thinking about how you might answer it. You have to explain the value you delivered this year. You have to listen instead of immediately getting defensive. You have to get comfortable sitting in that uncomfortable moment.
Practice, Get Feedback & Try Again.
And when the practice call is over, AI can tell you what actually happened.
Maybe it’s something like:
You talked 71% of the time
You never clearly explained the value
You handled the price objection really well
You completely forgot to establish the next step
So you practice again and it goes a little better this time.
It may still be a bit uncomfortable when you call Fred, but you’re more prepared, more confident and a lot less likely to panic when he pushes back.
AI Should Make You Better, Not Replace You
That’s a different way of thinking about AI. The goal isn’t to have AI call Fred for you. It isn’t even necessarily to have AI write a perfect script that you read to him. The goal is to use AI to make you better at having the conversation.
We don’t practice this stuff in accounting. We’re really into technical skills and CPE. Most of us learn communication skills on real clients, in real time, with real money and relationships on the line. No wonder we’re nervous!
A Safe Place to Be Bad at Something
AI can give us a safe space to be bad at something before we really need to be good at it. And unlike outsourcing the conversation altogether, practicing it actually builds your skill. You learn what an objection sounds like. You get more comfortable answering difficult questions. You hear yourself overexplaining. You learn to stop talking and listen.
Eventually, you don’t need the nudge telling you what to say next because you’ve developed the muscle yourself.
Practice Before the Stakes Are Real
AI gives us something accountants have never really had before: a place to practice before the stakes are real. So use it.
Before the next uncomfortable client conversation, don’t just rehearse it in your head. Don’t ask AI to write you a script. Have the conversation, let yourself stumble and get the feedback. Then do it again.
You don’t have to focus solely on getting better at using AI, but you do to need to get better at the part of the job your clients will still need you to do.
