Hinge Marketing’s Lee Frederiksen is a leading expert on helping professional services firms to grow. Lee and Hinge have spent 10 years working on 16 studies which include +18,000 firms --this work has fueled 5 books. Lee delivered a powerful presentation about High Growth Firms at a recent NACVA conference… We’ve unpacked key parts of his presentation, and here are some takeaways.
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The good news from Hinge’s presentation is that accounting and financial services firms are growing. Almost a quarter of firms are generating ‘High Growth,’ defined as 20%+ annual compound growth.
What about your firm? Have you compared your growth to your competitors and to the market at large? This graphic gets you there.
Copyright 2018 Hinge
How do High Growth firms do it? How do they see the world? To begin with these firms can answer 7 critical questions.
Copyright 2018 Hinge
Would it interest you to know that High Growth Firms are actually implementing several of the best practices that CoreValue-powered advisors use with their clients? Let’s look at the first 4:
- “Why do your best clients choose your firm?” Your best clients choose your firm because you have a proven track record of helping them achieve their goals, right? (If not, let's talk.)
- “Who are your real competitors?” Are you looking across the street at a firm just like yours, or are you looking at other professional groups? Food for thought: Strategic Consultants are targeting CPA firm clients for non-tax/audit services; Financial Advisors are delivering an Operational Strength and Value Report to business-owning clients --normally a Management Consultant gig. Does your real competition look like you, or are they different pros who are taking advantage of holes in your service suite?
- “How do potential clients see their greatest challenges?” CoreValue Discover, the initial assessment of company strength and value, starts the business consulting conversation by identifying your client's greatest challenges. Would quickly showing your clients their biggest challenges and how your services can help make them want your services? You bet it would.
- “What is the real benefit your firm provides?” What if you can show your clients the benefit you provide, in dollars and cents of growth? Will they buy more services and refer you to their friends? You bet right again.
By the way, about that “greatest challenges” thing, here’s an example of what you can learn easily about your clients and prospects by using the CoreValue Discover 10 minute initial assessment:
Copyright 2018 CoreValue, US Patent 9,607,274
The top 5 “greatest challenges” for the above companies are Sales & Marketing, Recurring Revenues, Operations, Product Differentiation, and Growth. Imagine these are your prospects, and ask yourself: would blogging, talking, sending articles, making referrals, and delivering your own services into these 5 areas be smart? Winner again. Do this, and join the ranks of High Growth Firms.
Related: Webinar "CoreValue Demo: Build a Thriving Consulting Practice" July 11 @ 12:00 ET
Let’s shift gears and talk about the top 3 things that Hinge found High Growth Firms are worried about --and are therefore working to solve:
Copyright 2018 Hinge
Let's look at these in order. First, you cannot control unpredictability --it’s in the name. But you can flip the page, and focus on the predictable. What do almost all companies want to do? They want to grow --and pros that can help them grow will always have work.
Second, how do you insulate yourself from increased competition? By diversifying your services, offering specialty services, and by quantifying your results.
Third, need for new skills... You are not going to become a subject matter expert on several specialty services overnight. But you can become the trusted advisor who shines the light into every corner of your client's operation, who creates an executable growth plan, and who helps manage the plan's execution. You can harness technology to drive high margin strategic consulting engagements.
Lee also delivered advice on protecting your client base, expanding services into your hard-won accounts, and expanding the number of accounts you serve. Here's his funnel:
Copyright 2018 Hinge
Attract Prospects: this is where you can get traction easily if you invest a few minutes analyzing the health and strength of your client’s company. This analysis will help convert prospects by helping you market to the specific problems your clients share with you.
Build Engagement by showing them the holes in their operations that your service can help fix --bench marking them against their peers, and showing them what their operational weaknesses cost in lost opportunity and unrealized value.
Turn Opportunities into Clients by converting a deep-dive analysis of their company into an executable growth plan, and by showing them the growth they’ll see by working with you. Makes it a no-brainer for your client to hire you, right?
Saving maybe the best for last, check out this chart.
Copyright 2018 Hinge
Like the High Growth firms, you should be offering specialized services --this differentiates your practice, and allows you to deliver additional services into existing clients. You may serve a specific industry already, but are you serving a specific org function? Would you like to work as a peer to the CEO, helping design and deliver the changes needed to unlock growth? And what hero status will you earn as you solve specific problems which not only make the company more valuable, but unleash revenues? Ask us how to get there.
Imagine what your life would be like when you have a specialized service that every client needs, that solves quantified problems and unlocks your client’s growth. You're winning engagements, your clients are happy, your practice is thriving... Life is good. I’m sure there’s an emoji for that.
Want to learn how CoreValue can help your firm become High Growth? Come to a free webinar, or schedule your 1-1 meeting here.
Please forward this to your colleagues and friends. We’d love to know what you think, you can comment here or email blog@corevalueforadvisors.com
