The accounting industry is relationship-driven, with referrals representing the majority of new client acquisition across firms of all sizes. According to industry sources, nearly 90% of CPA firms cite referrals as their top source of new business. However, many accountants approach networking without a clear goal and treat relationship-building as an afterthought rather than a core business activity.
This reactive approach leaves major opportunities on the table.
We recently hosted Trent McLaren, co-founder of Vinyl and veteran of the accounting software industry, to learn how he built one of the most extensive networks in the space over his 15-year career. Let's examine his most important strategies for turning relationships into competitive advantages.
The importance of strategic networking
Most networking feels transactional because it really is transactional: people show up to events with the sole purpose of collecting contacts, pitching their services, or hunting for immediate business opportunities. This approach creates an uncomfortable dynamic where conversations feel forced and relationships remain surface-level.
On the other hand, Trent discovered early in his career that his networking success wasn't built on traditional sales skills or technical expertise:
“It wasn't like I was really good at anything. It was just that I was the one who met everyone in person before anyone else did.”
This realization became his competitive advantage. Trent concentrated on becoming the connector, aka the person who knew more people than anyone else in the room.
The corporate card years
The distinction between being social and being strategic lies in intention and follow-through. Trent's networking strategy reached its peak during his time at Intuit, where he had access to a corporate card with a strong monthly limit.
The corporate budget taught him crucial lessons about networking ROI that most professionals never learn. Every dinner, every conference attendance, every strategic meeting had to justify its cost through measurable relationship-building outcomes. This forced discipline around tracking which activities produced the strongest connections and which investments paid dividends over time.
Take regional travel as an example: Trent would stack meetings during the day for business development, then organize dinners at night for relationship building. This dual approach maximized both immediate business outcomes and long-term relationship development:
“In many cases, that investment goes much further than sending nice emails or gift cards, because it allows people to genuinely connect with you. In this industry, so much depends on relationships and word of mouth, and those are built through the kinds of activities that foster real connection.”
Trent adds that social networking involves showing up to events and hoping something good happens. On the other hand, strategic networking requires identifying specific people you want to meet, understanding what value you can provide them, and creating systematic ways to maintain those relationships over time.
Networking without the corporate budget
The transition from corporate-funded networking to bootstrap budgeting reveals what actually drives relationship value. A telling example emerged from a customer breakfast event that cost under $300 for a small group of people: the intimate breakfast setting created deeper conversations with existing clients and even resulted in them volunteering to help at industry conferences.
The ROI calculation was straightforward: $300 divided among participants, measured against the lifetime value of strengthened relationships and future referrals generated from those connections. The point is that effective networking doesn't require expensive dinners or corporate budgets, but rather systematic approaches that maximize relationship-building opportunities wherever you are.
The following tips can help improve your networking efforts:
- Use LinkedIn's location search: Before traveling to any city, search your first connections in that location to find people you haven't seen recently.
- Create your "Dream 100" list: Identify 100 people you'd genuinely benefit from knowing and focus your outreach efforts instead of investing in random networking attempts.
- Improve your personal outreach message: Write messages that couldn't be copy-pasted to anyone else. For instance, reference mutual connections or explain your specific interest in their work.
- Be upfront about your intentions: Be really clear and straight up about why you want to connect. Don't dance around it with corporate speak and don't pretend there's nothing in it for you.
- Offer genuine value exchanges: Always consider what specific value you can provide rather than just what you hope to gain from the relationship.
From relationship building to business building
Trent McLaren spent over a decade in the accounting technology space before launching Vinyl, his meeting intelligence startup. What made the difference wasn’t just product vision, but the relationships he’d invested in for years. It was exactly those connections that turned into early adopters, investors, and advocates.
Here are some lessons you can apply without needing a corporate card or 15 years of history.
1. Treat every role as relationship equity
Almost anyone can become a future investor or advocate, including your clients, colleagues, peers, and sometimes even competitors. The value of a good interaction often shows up years later in unexpected ways.
2. Build before you need it
Finally, don’t wait until you’re fundraising or launching to start networking. As Trent noticed, relationships that feel ready-made in business moments usually took years of consistent interactions:
“We’ve picked up investment from all the people I’ve worked with during my journey… They’ve seen how we operate and they know what to expect.”
3. Design your cap table like your customer base
Another interesting insight is that the best investors are often those who understand your industry. If you’re building vertically, bring in people from that vertical who can accelerate distribution as well as provide capital.
4. Build in public
Sharing progress openly (even when it’s far from perfect) helps people feel like they’re part of the journey. Here’s the idea: when the time comes to ask for support, they already know your trajectory.
Turning insight into action
The throughline in Trent’s story is that relationships are an asset class, just like capital or technology. That’s why they grow in value when you invest consistently and with intention.
The challenge now is yours: don’t just read about relationship-building, put it into practice. We encourage you to start with one small step such as inviting a client to breakfast or reconnecting with an old contact. Over time, those small actions become the network equity that might drive referrals and perhaps, even fund new ventures.
