Consultor tributário: uma análise das táticas de persuasão nas interações contenciosas com o cliente

Abstract

In Brazil, studies dedicated to the analysis of business consultant interactions, specifically tax consultants and their clients, are still incipient. It is observed that the tactics of persuasion used by tax professionals incorporate a prominent contentious component, related to the controversy of decisions involving tax issues, largely due to the tax complexity environment. This research aims to analyze the types of persuasion tactics and in which situations these tactics are necessary in the tax consultancy's contentious interactions with clients. To obtain the results, we adopted a qualitative study based on interviews with a sample of tax professionals in Brazil. The results of the study confirm the premises of the literature, pointing out that controversial customer problems are complex events and are more likely in longer-lasting relationships. The results also show that the most used persuasive tactic is based on authority, informing the client of the risks or the legal basis for such a position. The results provide tax professionals and consulting firms with practical implications, firstly, more experienced professionals indicate that they experience more ambiguous interactions and spend half their time persuading clients, secondly, only 27% of professionals in our study indicate that they carry out training on how to handle customer negotiations. The study also sought to identify advice from the professionals interviewed to less experienced professionals and there was an emphasis on professional training through technical study, care with the image (knowing how to sell yourself, relationship, humility, social networks, empathy) and the search for tax specialization (notably, due to the complexity of Brazilian legislation).