the 4 new growth engines in today’s marketplace
things are changing and the old growth model no longer fits.
by gale crosley
crosley + co.
growth
2016 outlook: no end to mergers in sight
a buyer’s market is on the horizon.
they say “past results are no indication of future performance.” maybe. maybe not. but if anyone should know, it’s our panel of experts, their comments drawn from the new edition of the rosenberg map survey. these are their bullet points and comments, verbatim, looking back at the last 12 months and looking ahead to 2016. – rick telberg, ceo
by gary adamson
adamson advisory
lessons from 2015:
merger mania continued over the last year for several reasons:
- continued slow post-recession organic growth,
- thousands of baby boomers with no internal succession plans in place and
- competition heating up for middle-market clients (the big firms want our biggest and best clients!).
more from the rosenberg map survey: why outsourcing beats unicorn hunting | 2016 battleground: aging leaders vs. emerging leaders | private clouds on the rise | firms growing, still face talent challenges | outlook 2016: another economic storm coming? | how succession issues are driving desperation mergers | outlook 2016: change catches up with auditors | strategic plans undermined by out-of-control partners | growth, succession plans critical for firms | talent wars go from white gloves to boxing gloves | trend outlook 2016: change agents needed
firms are improving profitability with per-partner income rising while the talent wars that we saw pre-recession are returning.
read more →
how to choose clients right
questions to ask, plus a welcome letter for those who make the cut.
by michelle long and sandi leyva
the ultimate accounting virtual conference
you really need to have confidence when you’re discussing your fees with your clients and realize that you may lose some clients. that’s okay because they’re probably not the kind of client you want to have anyway.
more small firm growth strategies: how to handle price sensitivity | how to handle referrals – and how not to | trashing the spreadsheet: best practices in modern expense management | how to find hidden money for your clients | why clients need dashboards | 3 ways to implement value pricing | how small firms can use value pricing | 3 ways to raise your prices | building reputation to build your business | 3 killer lead generation channels | your existing clients are your best leads | need more business? focus on referrals
i had one conference participant say, “many ask about price but i now see it as an opportunity to explain the value i can provide.” that’s great, i like it. someone else suggested saying, “it seems like responding to price is your primary concern.” that puts it back on them to let them explain it and so that’s a good idea as well.
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how to handle price sensitivity
“have you ever known anyone to go up to an attorney and say, ‘why do you charge so much?’”
by michelle long and sandi leyva
the ultimate accounting virtual conference
how comfortable do you feel when a potential client asks you how much do you charge?
more small firm growth strategies: how to handle referrals – and how not to | trashing the spreadsheet: best practices in modern expense management | how to find hidden money for your clients | why clients need dashboards | 3 ways to implement value pricing | 3 ways to raise your prices | building reputation to build your business | 3 killer lead generation channels | your existing clients are your best leads
don’t you love that? you answer the phone and the first question is how much do you charge? how do you feel about this? are you very comfortable, somewhat comfortable or somewhat uncomfortable or very uncomfortable?
of our conference participants, 37 percent are somewhat uncomfortable and another 9 percent are very uncomfortable when someone asks about their fees. so that’s almost half of us are uncomfortable discussing our fees. only a fourth of us, 24 percent, are very comfortable.
how to handle referrals – and how not to
start with the warm introduction, then thank the source.
by michelle long and sandi leyva
the ultimate accounting virtual conference
we’re talking about client communication and all kinds of different things about communicating with our clients because sometimes as accountants and bookkeepers this is an area we might not be quite that great in.
more small firm growth strategies: trashing the spreadsheet: best practices in modern expense management | how to find hidden money for your clients | why clients need dashboards | 3 ways to implement value pricing | how small firms can use value pricing | 3 ways to raise your prices | building reputation to build your business | 3 killer lead generation channels | your existing clients are your best leads | need more business? focus on referrals
we want to start by talking about the art of a referral. that’s not exactly client communication but it certainly helps us get clients.
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ready for tax season? not so fast
4 resolutions to keep as you prepare for busy season.
by sandi leyva
the accountant’s accelerator
i’ve worked with a lot of accountants who do not realize how valuable their skills are in the marketplace. most people can’t do what we do with numbers. we need to shake any self-limiting beliefs we have in this area because it limits our ability to serve more clients.
more on small-firm growth strategies: make your services an investment, not an expense | how a spreadsheet can help stop leaks | 9 ways to boost your value (and your fees) | 9 ways accountants throw away profits
if you were making resolutions for the accounting industry, what would you suggest? the first resolution i’d make is:
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trashing the spreadsheet: best practices in modern expense management
how digitizing can benefit clients – and you.
by michelle long and sandi leyva
the ultimate accounting virtual conference
in this session on trashing the spreadsheet, stories in expense automation, we’re going to hear a lot about best practice. we know a lot of you have clients who have expense automation needs.
more small firm growth strategies: how to find hidden money for your clients | why clients need dashboards | 3 ways to implement value pricing | how small firms can use value pricing | 3 ways to raise your prices | building reputation to build your business | 3 killer lead generation channels | your existing clients are your best leads | need more business? focus on referrals
today, we hear from jason mills, director of customer experience at expensify. read more →
make your services an investment, not an expense
5 value-added service areas to suggest.
by sandi leyva
the accountant’s accelerator
every business needs to do some level of bookkeeping for a couple of reasons:
- various government agencies require reporting and payments based on the company’s results.
- the owner needs a certain amount of information to manage their business and keep it profitable.
more on small-firm growth strategies: want more clients? take these 5 steps | do you want to do compliance your whole career? | 7 ways to get new revenue from old clients | how to work the same hours and make more money | four ways to stop leaving money on the table
many business owners hire us grudgingly for compliance work because they have to. and they consider what they pay us as an overhead expense that is a required cost.
how to find hidden money for your clients
data will lead you to opportunities if you know how to use it.
by michelle long and sandi leyva
we’re talking about using dashboards to make more money with mike milan, the senior vice president of finagraph.
more small firm growth strategies: why clients need dashboards | 3 ways to implement value pricing | how small firms can use value pricing | 3 killer lead generation channels
mike milan:
how do i use this dashboard to talk to an individual? every business may be a little different but you can always start from the same template and then add in or take away.
set fee by focusing on value first
the right time to talk about your fee is not as soon as a potential client calls.
by sandi leyva
the accountant’s accelerator
how do you talk to a prospect or client about your fee?
more on small-firm growth strategies: prospects like a little wooing | 9 ways to boost your value (and your fees) | two daily rituals: focus and measure | how to calculate your ‘opportunity number’
some of the answers i have heard are:
- “it depends.”
- “tell them and get off the phone as fast as possible.”
- “i don’t know.”
- “what is your budget?”
most accountants spill the beans about their rates way too early in a conversation with a future client. so when should you talk rates?
why clients need dashboards
it’s all about packaging the information they need in an easy-to-digest format.
by michelle long and sandi leyva
the ultimate accounting virtual conference
we were talking about using dashboards to make more money with mike milan, the senior vice president of finagraph.
more small firm growth strategies: 3 ways to implement value pricing | how small firms can use value pricing | 3 ways to raise your prices | building reputation to build your business | 3 killer lead generation channels | your existing clients are your best leads | need more business? focus on referrals
mike has entrepreneurial experience, has created his own businesses and business ventures and helped others as a consultant. he’s known for crafting ideas into million-dollar companies, which is a really great skill to have. here are excerpts from our conversation:
mike milan:
if you look at my background i’ve been part of nine different startups, five different transactions with three on the sales side and two on the buy side. in between doing finagraph and selling my business i did some consulting. and so i had some boots on the ground or life in the trenches that i really would like to impart and share with the group.
10 ways to build a better firm
by august j. aquila
creating the effective partnership
as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. your vision is a journey to some place in the future. it’s not where you are today. it may even take generations to get there. it becomes even more compelling when it’s somewhere your people want to go.
more on leadership: the 4 best ways to use your senior partners | how to tell a culture change is due| today’s top six partner compensation trends | 11 steps to building a better partnership team | why your firm should be a republic | 8 financial ducks to line up now |partnership is about persuasion | 6 things leaders must do | it’s not always about money: 16 tweaks for your comp system | how to build a growth-centric pricing strategy | how to combine two firms after merger: carefully
while it’s the ultimate destination that people engage with, the journey there is also important. if the endpoint is exciting and has benefits that your people share, they will be more engaged in the journey. and, when partners are engaged with the firm’s future, they perform better.
so, how do you create a firm where all of the partners work to create an even better firm?
here are some ideas:
caragher launches capstone community
capstone marketing, which is operated by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 contributor jean caragher, is rolling out the capstone community, a new network of managing partners interested in education and collaboration in cpa firm growth and client retention. a two-year program that will … continued