Golden Practices

Contribute to a Study? (just takes a minute) - Part 1

My friend Suzanne Lowe of Expertise Marketing is gathering data for her upcoming book, "The Integration Imperative" and is asking professional service firms to contribute to four VERY brief (3 questions) surveys.

The first is live now (closes next week) and the others will follow (I'll post them, too) over the next couple months.

She writes:

Many professional service firms (PSFs) still haven't figured out how to get fee-earners and revenue-generating practitioners to truly embrace marketing and selling their services. Sure, more PSFs are employing carrot-and-stick programs to encourage fee-earners to market and sell.

But how many firms have intentionally re-tooled hiring guidelines to hire professionals who want to market and sell?

This first survey [take it here] is on deliberately hiring people who want to market and sell. If you take her one-minute survey, she will share the results with you.

The next three surveys will be on:

• evolving the scope of sales and marketing functions at PSFs
• how sales and marketing work with other departments, and
• how integrating sales and marketing benefits clients

Make Every Date a First Date

Did you see Seth Godin's recent post, The Last Interaction?  Great stuff!

The last interaction Marketers (and high school kids) focus a lot on the first date. After all, you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

I recently had some waterproofing done in the basement. The first date was great. The company was professional and had every single element down, from their AdWords to the web site to the way they interacted on the phone and in person. I think that stuff is pretty important, but I'm way more interested in the last interaction than I am in the first (and if you care about word of mouth, you should be too).

After they finished the job, they left my basement a mess. Forever, my only memory of the job is going to be the mess. Forever, the only thing I'll talk about is the mess.

The last interaction, in my experience, is responsible for virtually all of the word of mouth you're going to get, positive or negative.

That free muffin at the restaurant or the lollipop at the barber or the call from the Realtor a week after the house is sold and contracts are signed and the movers have left... believe it or not, it matters.

PS - The waterproofing guys took the time to call me before I did this post, and that call led to a new last interaction... my bad feelings are already fading, because they stepped up and took action. More proof that it matters.

As much as we pay attention to that "elevator speech" and how we are going to introduce or describe ourselves, we seldom spend much time preparing our closing remarks, or that last brilliant tidbit we are going to leave behind...

So many times, as Seth describes, we do whatever it takes to win that new business, meanwhile long-time, loyal customers may be underserved or even downright neglected. It's true that there is a thrill of the chase, and a definite "high" in landing that new customer.

It might seem less exciting to keep that romance going with the long-time client. But never take them for granted! This is not the era of my grandparents who would never change a doctor, dentist, lawyer or accountant...even if they complained about them mercilessly (and they did!).

Today, there are far too many others out there getting a thrill out of chasing YOUR clients. Don't let your guard down! Don't stop wooing that once hot prospect. Don't forget to do the courteous "little things" that attracted them to you in the first place.

Sound like marriage counseling? Maybe so. Suffice to say, in business, the same rules apply...well, most of them, anyway!

Cool New CPA Blog

A cool new CPA firm blog by my friend, Mark Bailey, and his team out in Reno. It's called "Innovative Practice Management."

Mark is a recovering hourly biller. He converted to value pricing and I think he's been a little blown away by the depth of the changes that converting has invoked. Primarily with people who are pounding down his doors to come work there. Especially those desperately coveted laterals from Big firms.

That's all I really need to say...Mark and his team will say the rest.

Add this one to your feeds...and wish them luck with their new blog...

A Year's Worth of Marketing

Gainer Donnelly & Desroches is a CPA firm in Houston that is decidedly different from other firms.

While Sam Gainer and his wife, Norma, travel the world, Sam captures dynamic people and scenes through his camera lens.

For years, Sam's photos have graced the office walls and he's shared his art with clients. A tradition that began with featuring a photo on the firm's holiday card grew into production of an exquisite calendar.

Each calendar has a theme. This year's theme is "Castles & Palaces of the World."

The first year Gainer Donnelly & Desroches made the calendar for their clients, they printed 3000. Demand has grown and requests come in from all over. The firm printed over 10,000 of the 2008 calendars! Sam has recently been approached by Houston Museum of Natural Science regarding an exhibit related to the theme of his 2006 calendar, "Natural Wonders of the World."

The current Houston Business Journal contains a story about these calendars (account needed to view full article) mentioning a debate the firm faced about whether or not to spoil the photos by punching a hanging hole in the calendar. A number of people like to frame their favorite pictures.

To solve the dilemma, the firm has provided downloadable, high-resolution versions of the 2008 featured photos right on their lovely, new website. Desktop sized images are also offered. All smartly branded with the firm's logo!

Brilliant. And beautiful. My desktop features November's castle.

So, great talent and uniqueness provide a huge differentiating factor. Who says personal interests and business can't mix?

By the way, their sleek new website is pretty nice. I love the ever-so-subtle movement they've included in the way they use still photos...see the office tour.

Hmmm, I wonder if Sam was the photographer??

Anniversary Impression on the Web

How cool is this? (worth the wait for it to load)

HEMA, a Dutch department store

How'd they do that??

5 Interview Tips from the Master

I think a lot of my friend and fellow-fellow (at VeraSage) Christopher Marston. I've talked to Chris many times, emailed with him more, and read his blog since its inception (he's not quite that much of a smart-ass in real-life, by the way). He's brilliant and worth listening to.

I finally met Chris in person last October when VeraSage Institute held our first ever meeting of the minds in Las Vegas. Over a lovely Indian dinner with his Exemplary team, I learned what they have done to improve the interview process from the employer standpoint, driven partly out of boredom of interviewing several hundred attorneys and screening out many times that number.   

Can you imagine how bored you would become interviewing that many people? Asking, and answering, the same ol' questions over and over...

So, they started to spice it up. They got really good at identifying, from the letter, from the call to bring the person in, from the first impression, and from the interviews themselves, how to decide who was worthy of serious consideration and who was a dud.

I won't give away their true personality detection techniques (they are GOOD!) in case their candidates happen to see this blog when they do their research (but if you call them, maybe they'll share some tips with you).

Fascinated, I asked Chris' colleagues Jessica, Kim and Steven, what their own interviews were like. What Chris (and the team) put each, in turn, through (OMG, the stories are amazing!) and the challenges they faced, actually intensely attracted each of them to pursue their career at Exemplar. Hmmm.

Without necessarily trying to, they illustrated for me that the interview is very much a two-way sales process!  For a great long-term fit, it really should be, shouldn't it?

All this to preface that Chris's recent post: "5 Interviewing Tips Never to Forget" is not to be taken lightly. His post is as useful to the interviewER as the interviewEE. Enjoy and think about how these tips can help you spot the character and charisma you really want to bring into your firms.

And if you are a job candidate looking for your next great career move, heed his words!

CFO Turbulence: More SOX Fallout

Saw this post yesterday at Guerilla Marketing for Consultants and it caught my eye. I'd mentioned The Changing Roles of CFOs back in March of 2006, but when I saw this story again, I couldn't help but think of the startling parallel with defections in public accounting firms, as well.

CFOs Are Restless

CFOs are jumping ship in record numbers. According to a study by Liberium Research, in 2006, more than 2,300 CFOs of public, North American companies bailed out. That's a 23 percent rise from 2005.

The churn at the top is accompanied by a drop in average CFO tenure to roughly 30 months, which is a 50 percent decline from five years ago.

Consultants who can help their clients ease the CFO transition process, whether the CFO is coming or going, will likely find a receptive audience. And keep close tabs on your CFO relationships. Your former client may be facing new challenges in a new position.

This isn't fresh data, having been reported in 2006 and picked up liberally at the time on sites like CFO.com. When I poked around just now, I found this article on TreasuryandRisk.com who further reported that in the first quarter of 2007, defections slowed down, however:

Despite the slowdown, notes Liberum, the overall level of turnover among CFOs remains high.

While the disenchantment in the years following passage of Sarbanes-Oxley and other government regulatory burdens is well known, Liberum also attributes the continuing high numbers in turnover to growing competition, both domestically and internationally, and increasing complexity of business.

“We attribute much of the rise in CFO turnover to the burdensome aspects of Sarbanes-Oxley,” says Richard Jancovitz, senior vice president and director of research at Liberum Research. “The regulatory aspects of the job made it more difficult for them to take a strategic approach and emphasized the bean counter aspect of the role, especially at some of the midsize and smaller companies. But now I believe that the pendulum is swinging back so that CFOs are able once again to take a more strategic approach.”

Still, an entrepreneurial strain among CFOs has been driving some to hedge funds and private equity groups, where there is almost no regulation and lots of opportunities to turn strategies into profits.

Hmmmm, sounds like a big ol' case of boredom to me. Seems a desire for "interesting work" isn't just for Gen X and Gen Y, is it?

It amazes me how some CPA firms hail SOX as the best thing that ever happened to the profession. And others, including my colleagues at VeraSage Institute, are confident it is a death knell. Where do you stand?

A New Value Based Law Firm (alt: What Pat Lamb is Up To)

Legal blogger and friend Patrick Lamb has been noticably absent from his blog lately (he promises to return when he remembers how to login write).

His absence isn't surprising when you learn what he's been up. Effective today, Patrick launches Valorem Law Group (valorem being latin for value) in downtown Chicago. The firm's placeholder website (at www.valoremlaw.com) will go up later this week.

Pat has been leading Butler Rubin which has stood out among similarly sized firms for its ability to compete with the big guys as a powerhouse litigation boutique. Pat is a believer in value pricing -- something Pat has demonstrated his curiosity and passion about on his blog, In Search of Perfect Client Service, but his collegues wouldn't go where Pat wanted to go with regard to VP.

In his own words, he describes the situation and his motivation to start Valorem, "...while many changes were instituted, the firm remained committed to working by the hour, and like other firms, its hourly rates continued to escalate with no end in sight. [He believes] that fees should be fixed, margins managed, and that performance should be a key factor in pay,"

I'm very happy for Pat who, along with two equally passionate members (and one more coming in April) starts this innovative new firm. They also begin with one full-time contract lawyer, two paralegals and an administrative assistant.

On a call with him yesterday (while he pretended to be sad about getting out of was distracted from moving into his new space) he told me about the 1920's era building they are moving into on Wacker with like-sized offices for all, lots of open collaborating space, a mock courtroom, and an edgy, high-tech set-up. Can't wait to see it!

You can read about his changes on Pat's Linked In profile.

Let's keep our eye on this firm; it will be one to watch as these lawyers set some precendent on the course toward the Firm of the Future. Happy 2008 Pat!!