So much chatter about why the percent of women on the earth isn't the same as the percent of women in this business or that industry or the boardroom down the hall.
Reach back and dust off something we were ALL told, probably sometime between ages 3 and 5:
Boys and girls are different.
When we were told this, we were NOT told that one was better. Because one isn't better. Just different. So what.
We can keep making a big deal out of how we are different and why we are different, and how to "fix" or "equalize" it (God help us) or we can accept and embrace the simple fact that boys and girls are different and SHOULD BE. Know why? Because PEOPLE are different. So what.
Love the differences. Work with the differences. Respect the differences. And quit obsessing about HOW & WHY people are different.
In a very vulnerable and real piece by my refreshingly unlawyerly friend Heather Bussing, I think you'll find the reasons to celebrate and love the difference.
"Being a woman is a million different things, and nothing in particular. Labeling work and life questions as women’s issues is at worst, a distortion; at best, a distraction."
Setting people up for success is something of an art.
Bob had it down pat; he was the consummate professional. He’s retired now, but his reputation of wisdom and effectiveness was earned over decades of consistently demonstrating both of these traits. In his role as a senior partner of his midsized CPA firm, he was kind but firm, and always sincere. Bob never said something unless he meant it.
Bob’s exactly the kind of guy you don’t want to disappoint. And exactly the kind of guy people want to hire.
It was almost noon and I stood in his firm’s lobby awaiting my lunch mates. As I waited, I witnessed one of the finest business lessons I’ve seen.
A somewhat shy new guy—a bright young auditor right out of college—stood near me. Let’s call him Dan. It was Dan’s first day so he’d been hurriedly introduced to everyone in the office. Now he was waiting for some of his team members to take him to lunch.
Bob entered the lobby from the interior offices right as a couple people came in the front door. Bob warmly greeted the clients who appeared to be meeting him for lunch. Always thoughtful, Bob turned and introduced the receptionist, then me. Then, he did something pretty extraordinary.
Without missing a beat, Bob took a couple steps positioning himself beside Dan and, in a fatherly sort of way, put his hand on Dan’s back, kind of behind his shoulder. Smiling, he announced proudly:
“And this is Dan! He is going to be on your audit team this year and you’ll be in excellent hands with him.”
Several great things had just happened.
First, Dan stood tall. He shook hands and learned the clients’ names. Running through his mind was something like: I’d better do a great job…Bob just personally endorsed me and made me look really good!
Through the clients’ minds went something like: If Bob says this guy is good, then by golly, he is.
Bob created both the strong desire in Dan to excel, and a reason for the clients to feel confident about Dan being on their team.
The introduction could have gone so differently and in most firms it would have. Dan had only met Bob that morning. It’s kinda remarkable that Bob even remembered his name. In some firms, the partner would have just left with the clients, introductions skipped. A huge opportunity missed.
Otherwise, a probable scene would have been for the partner to greet the clients, and indicate toward Dan: “This is our new guy. He’ll be on your audit this year.” In this scenario, you can almost feel Dan shrinking back a little. And clients might be thinking, Oh, great, another new auditor we get to train.
But Bob knew exactly what he was doing.
In a single moment, Bob created the perfect environment for a positive experience on both sides. He inspired Dan to want to impress the client and make the partners proud, to live up to his words, and to earn Bob’s advance expression of trust. Bob put his reputation on the line and Dan did not want to let him down.
A company’s reputation is always on the line when employees represent it, right?
To inspire the very best from people, we have to believe in them. Bob’s way is is the most effective way to get what we need from others. Conversely, when we hire someone and think, well, I sure hope she can do the job, or I hope he doesn’t embarrass me, it seeps through in our demeanor and we’re much more likely to create the very result that we fear.
Bob understood something that most of us never consider. What he knew was that people actually want to do great work. In fact, until or unless we give someone a reason not to, they will continue to want to. Anyone worth their salt, anyway. (This is intrinsic motivation, discussed in the book Drive by Dan Pink.) Bob got great results from people because he knew they would want to do their best not just for him and clients, but for themselves, too.
It’s our job, as owners and managers, to expect their success and to keep that spirit alive in them. If that spirit was there once and died, it’s probable that we somehow squelched it (certainly without meaning to).
In other words, if we believe people will achieve, we foster their success. And if we watch for them to fail, they will. Initially it's fairly easy. But over time, the key is in handling mistakes. Don’t give up on people when they make mistakes. Continue to know that they’ll master it after a few tries.
Think of your baby learning to walk. When he takes those first steps, teeters, and falls, you clap in celebration and encourage him to try again. He grins in glee, pulls himself up, and repeats until he's a walker. When he falls, what you don’t do is declare: “Gee, walking is obviously not your thing. You should probably just stick with crawling." This is because you absolutely know that he’ll master walking. And your trust in this urges him on. This applies all through the parenting years.
And it applies just as much in business, too.
To make this work, trust has to be paid forward. And it has to be sincere. Words of trust must be heartfelt, they can't be faked. People can sense when you don’t trust them. Little things like eye contact, tone, and body language convey the truth. The small but meaningful detail of Bob standing beside his newest team member, literally “backing him” with the gesture of support on his shoulder, spoke volumes to everyone in the room.
It’s a lucky few who have a Bob around as they start their careers. But even for those of us who did not, it’s never too late to take a cue from this wise and successful nurturer of good employees and future leaders.
Whether you’re a man or woman, aspire to be a Bob.
*Bob's name has not been changed for this story. How can you do better than Bob??
Law and accounting grads are consistently over 50% female, yet the percentage of female firm owners has just reached 20%, up from 19% several years ago.
It's easy to blame the mommy track for high female turnover. Or maybe discrimination. As a fix, firm owners and consultants strive to "retain women" and to make women more "promotable." To this end, they create women's support groups and development programs, both centered on the "unique issues that women face."
Despite the good intentions, I believe these women-oriented programs miss the mark. In fact, they hurt more than help. I'll explain why I think that, explore what it is that firms are actually trying to accomplish, and offer up some alternate solutions.
The Women's-Issue Myth
When you look at the topics of these women-only programs, you'll see that every issue or situation they address exists for men, too.
All the issues named as "women's issues"—save one—are actually just people issues.
The one unique-to-women issue? Nursing moms need a comfortable, private room at work in which to pump. Otherwise, men and dads today face the same difficulties—and the same balancing-act challenges—as women and moms.
Please name any other need that only women have in the workplace that they cannot capably see to themselves.
If you'd say that woman aren't as promotable, I'd say hogwash. Women's advancement potential is now no different from men's. Maybe you'd say that partnership isn't very desirable to women. But I know plenty of men who don't want to be owners either.
Both men and women defect from firms at an alarming rate—nearly 85% exit law and public accounting by their fifth year.
And of those who stay, do women actually need different professional skills than men?
Lawyers and accountants of both sexes generally lack management skills. It makes sense since they went to school to learn law or accounting, not management or business development—the themes of most women-oriented education.
Both men and women need additional skills and support. Every entrant into these professions now needs marketing skills. Most need management skills. And some need to become leaders.
Focusing on women's issues in the business world is actually divisive.
Since women's skill needs and life-work balance accommodations aren't unique, claiming they are unique is inaccurate and exclusionary to men. Especially to single dads. And it's insulting to women—as if we're incapable of succeeding without special accommodation or tailored skill development.
To make matters worse, some of these formal programs include wardrobe advice and shopping excursions. As a woman—even one who enjoys fashion—this horrifies me. People are supposed to take such a program seriously?
Yet firm owners feel obligated to support women's or diversity programs or they could appear insensitive. It's why these programs increase in number; a trend that doesn't solve the problem.
These programs widen the gap rather than close it. Divisive indeed.
What Problem Are We Trying to Fix?
We fret over fewer female employees and partners than male so, naturally, we seek to balance the proportion. What's our purpose in having more female leaders? Have we identified the right cause?
Are we worried about discrimination in promoting women?
I'm inside a lot of firms and I don't think that's it. I've not yet encountered a firm that failed to see the strengths that women can bring to the boardroom.
And discrimination isn't just a female problem—it occurs based on all sorts of impressions and biases from appearance (sloppy or sophisticated), personality and style (abrupt or shy), communication ability, education, age, size, race, and religion.
Besides, isn't promoting women primarily to equalize the numbers discrimination, too?
Are we seeking to correct too little diversity?
We know that firms pursue "diversity" to appear more attractive to current employees, certain clients, or future recruits as if to say: "See? Women can advance here!"
Sadly, this, too, misses the mark. When we seek diversity, the purpose should be to achieve diversity of mind—of thought—not quotas related to a person's color or body parts.
Diversity of thinking has to be supported or it ceases.
Interestingly, most firms aren't even prepared to support diversity of thought. To nurture diversity, firms must act on the ideas (the thinking) of their people. But firm leaders tend react defensively to new and different thinking, and often stifle it.
It's a lot easier to "look" diverse in a photo or statistically than to actually be diverse. Diversity is cultural, and we aren't there yet. Even when we fill quotas. (This will need to be another blog post.)
Diversity will occur organically when we empower people.
What Makes People Powerful?
These are very sensitive subjects and I've been pondering this post for years.
I'm publishing it now because something really nice happened this month. I was named among 25 accomplished people as "Most Powerful Women in Accounting" by CPA Practice Advisor magazine.
It's truly an honor to be recognized among peers for thought leadership, and as a role model. I owe an extra debt of gratitude to CPA Practice Advisor for pulling these people together because reading the award recipients' insights has inspired me and I see important themes.
But I'll let you in on a secret. I feel squeamish about the "women" part of this recognition. Imagine the uproar if we recognized "Most Powerful Men in Accounting."
"Powerful" is a pretty amazing word, and I think herein lies a key to success for men and women alike.
Powerful—to me—is the sense that nothing can hold us back from what we want to accomplish.
Some of the other Most Powerful Women honorees seem to agree with this perspective (not necessarily the rest of my post).
Stacy Kildal, Michelle Golden, Geni Whitehouse, and Dawn Brolin
CPA Practice Advisor posed questions to the honorees about perceived limitations to women in advancement and opportunity. Their answers unapologetically reflect their power.
Dawn Brolin, to the question, "Do you think being a woman in the accounting profession has made career advancement more challenging than it might have been for a male in the same situation?" answered: "As a strong woman, I would have to say no."
Stacy Kildal says: "I have honestly, not for one minute of my life, ever considered that being a woman would ever make advancement in my career more challenging. My gender doesn’t have anything to do with my ability..."
Geni Whitehouse said: "I didn’t feel that I was given unequal treatment at any time in my career. The accounting profession rewards hard work and results."
And honoree Gail Perry tells firm leaders: "...my advice would be that the firm regard its female employees just as it would any employee—judge on merit, not gender. Don't provide preferential treatment based on gender..."
Is it coincidence that "powerful" women don't see femaleness as a limitation? I think not.
What they all have in common is personal drive. Personal drive is power.
To those who say women face advancement limitations, I say nonsense. Being a business woman in no way hinders me if I don't let it. Similarly, being a parent in no way hinders me unless I let it.
Of course it wasn't always this way. Initially, it was indisputably difficult for women to advance. But due to the courageous first, the promotion path is well-forged. I commend and thank those brave women. Their efforts paid off.
And the pendulum has now swung. With the increasing number of dual-income families and single-parent households, men have significant responsibilities at home and face the same struggles as their female counterparts. We're all in the same boat.
Women simply don't need special treatment to be successful in business. To be successful requires personal drive.
If women (or men) want advancement, then advance!
If women (or men) don't like the culture in their firm, then change it. Or leave.
If women (or men) don't want to be owners in a predominantly male firm, then start a new one. It's easier than ever to do, and many people are.
Perpetuating the Myth
"Women's issues" are falsely named. Certainly everyone benefits from support and skill development.
We mustn't keep the "women's issue" mantra going. Things that we continually call attention to become our realities, even if they aren't real.
Morgan Freeman's interview with Mike Wallace provides perspective on the problem of paying too much attention to distinctions between people:
It's time to neutralize the entire discussion of gender in the workplace. How do we end women's issues?
The chatter everywhere in the accounting world surrounds what a hostile selling environment we're in. It was bad 2-3 years ago and it isn't any better today. Hand-wringing CPAs are convinced there's nothing they can do.
But there is.
You really can break free of the low-price wars. But there are a few things you'll need to do. And they take practice. To get started, check out this article (shared with AAM's permission).
It's the Oct feature article for Association for Accounting Marketing's Growth Strategies magazine, and it is a nod to the type of content in my next book: Pricing to Win. Landing the Right Work at the Right Price.
Would really love your feedback and your questions. They'll help me know what to address within the pages of the book! Thanks!!
I wrote these FAQs several years ago for my original website and, when renovating that site, I posted it on a magazine site I used to contribute to. But I just discovered this content is no longer online. Yikes!
It's evergreen material and lots of partners and marketing professionals have said that it's useful so I'm happy to share it again for your reference.
Top 10 Marketing and Sales FAQs
Why do we need to market when we can barely staff the work we have?
What is the difference between “marketing” and “selling?”
Can I expect a marketer to generate new business leads?
How should sales and marketing functions be aligned?
What does a marketing person do?
How can I tell if our firm needs an in-house marketing person?
What level of marketer does my firm need?
To whom should the marketer report?
When can we expect to see marketing results?
How might marketing’s cultural changes affect my firm?
Why do we need to market when we can barely staff the work we have?
Just had an interesting experience with my daughter and my "very highly trusted" dentist.
My phrase is in quotes because CPAs and lawyers frequently tell me their clients don't mind their surprise after-the-fact hourly bills because their "clients trust them." I'm sure they do. Just like I have always trusted my dentist.
I've trusted my dentist because a) he's a really good guy, b) his office staff is nice, and c) he has always priced me fairly. Sound familiar?
He's not the cheapest in town, but he's reasonable, especially in light of my being a private-pay patient whereas other dentists sometimes charge inflated (as they would for insurance) prices even for private pays.
This recent experience has caused my past unquestioned level of trust to shift to a more skeptical trust. It's because I was surprised with a post-treatment bill that was about 50% higher than I thought the visit was worth.
I don't want this to be seen as one of those gripey, sour-grapes posts. Rather, I want to illustrate how someone whose bill I've never, ever questioned became someone whose prices I will now inquire about in advance—how someone who hasn't been a price-sensitive buyer, is now going to behave like one.
The dental appointment was for a non-emergency—my daughter's baby tooth, loose for a couple months, was still not coming out. I inquired whether it was something they needed to check out and they said to come on in, they'd take a look...
I trusted them to advise us well so I didn't ask obvious questions like, "is there any reason we can't just let nature take its course?" and, once she was in the chair, they rapidly took action to remove the baby tooth. They numbed her and she wiggled her own tooth out.
Presented with the sizable bill at the end, I had that awful, awkward feeling you have when you know that if you'd had alternatives, you would have chosen one. In other words: trapped. I had to write a check for something I'm pretty sure I would not have bought if I'd had the price in advance.
As a result, my dentist has lost some of my trust. Not enough to make me switch today. But enough that I will now be asking how much things will cost before I commit. And they'll probably begin to view me as one of those annoying fee-sensitive clients.
And the irony is that this check was the smallest one I've ever written to them.
At the root of the problem (sorry, couldn't resist) is that I disagreed about the "worth" and I had reason to question the "need."
A simple conversation with me before proceeding would have prevented my shift from very trusting to skeptical. Discussion could have clarified need, created context for me and my daughter (risk, comfort, peace of mind, convenience), and solidified the worth to me of his price. Or it would have given me the ability to choose: "not today...let's give it a week or two and we might be back."
CPAs and lawyers, it's the same for you! Just because clients seem to trust you even though you've surprise billed them in the past, it can all change on a dime.
Have you ever quickly jumped in and fixed a problem, and then decided to bill your client later for the fix, confident it'll be obvious to them it was worth it? Don't be so sure. It's pretty high-risk behavior.
Think: what's the right thing to do here?
Buyers deserve control of their purchases. Very key is that we, as buyers, also need context to gain a sense of true value—to decide "is it worth $x?" My daughter's visit might have been worth even more than they charged if they'd discussed it with me. But that's not what happened. I felt held captive. And underinformed.
A really awesome example of context is found in this little story "What a Dead Squirrel Taught Me About Premium Pricing" from Fast Company today. (Paying $125 sounds awfully good next to $20K, or next to not using your beloved porch.)
Keep the trust high. Provide information. Provide context. Provide choice. Giving the gifts of personal control and sense of worth to your buyers will keep them trusting you forever.
(Image courtesy of waldenpond on flickr. And hat tip to Chris Farmand for the dead-squirrel story)
I don't know that I agree that financial advisory firms (or other businesses) MUST embrace social media, per se, to reach Gen Y. But it's a wise approach for exposure since social media dramatically increases your ability to be found online, and Gen Y peeps most definitely turn to the web to find ideas and solutions. And as the article's author Hannah Wu points out, the ability to communicate with your advisors using alternative channels can be perceived as an added benefit.
I think my friends (and past clients) Michael Goodman and Annette Clearwaters, when they co-founded Clarity a few years ago, created a brilliant approach with their DIY-and-as-needed-assist approach geared for exactly the folks Hannah describes. Check out their Glossary, for instance. For beginning investors, the ability to quickly define terms that are new to them is extra comforting.
Annette worked with Michael in his wealth-management practice Wealthstream Advisors which, like most financial-advisory practices, serves people of high-net worth and has higher investment miminums than most people who are starting out will have. Wanting to also help beginning investors who aren't a match for Wealthstream (yet) and both understanding and appreciating the DIY approach that Hannah describes, they launched Clarity.
How helpful might a DIY or start-with-research person find your website or blog?
Back to Hannah's article, using social-media channels to get the word out about financial-advisory (or any other) services is beneficial, but the bigger issue is making sure the service offerings are matched to the people who use a given channel.
High-net-worth Boomers are definitely online, but they tend to run in different web circles than Gen Y, wealthy or not. Boomers are on Facebook to see pics of their grandkids and reconnect with their childhood and college friends. Gen Y are also on Facebook, but Tweet a lot as well. Boomers and Gen X are on LinkedIn, Gen Y not so much.
Facebook has amazing advertising potential when you know the demographics (education level, career, social, political, geographical) of your audience. LinkedIn, too. Twitter is not so great for isolating any group, but has massive viral power. LinkedIn is sort of in the middle.
Where do you start?
Most important is to simply be online at all. Then, to be most effective:
Make sure your service offerings are described very clearly so people can easily tell when they are a fit with you, and you with them.
Help people know what your culture is and isn't. If you or your firm come across snooty, too formal, or jargony, you'd probably alienate or intimidate more down-to-earth types or less sophisticated investors. This isn't just an age thing, maybe you're in a rural community. Or a beach community. Can someone tell if it's okay to meet with you in jeans or shorts? Scrutinize everything you convey—visually and verbally—with your eyes wide open to all possible external perceptions. Country-club fonts and stock photos of crisp white shirts with gold cuff-links? Will this resonate with the clientele you seek? Would it put them off?
Find the places where your target buyers are already hanging out and become more visible in a helpful, friendly way, not a self-promoting way.
Be found, be relevant
If you want people to trust your financial advice, they have to feel comfortable with you. Not intimidated, not overwhelmed, not underwhelmed. Conveying confidence without arrogance, and listening thoughtfully and respectfully are as important online as offline.
Since 2005 (for years and years) I've raved about the effectiveness and amazing coolness of sharing your intellectual capital in order to build business.
It's still one of the most effective and affordable means of marketing out there for professional firms. Today I came upon a recent(ish) post on Mack Collier's blog called "5 Reasons Why You Need to Stop Marketing and Start Teaching." Couldn't agree more.
To take Mack's post a step further, there are a handful of problems or missed considerations I see in execution, or things that I am asked about when professionals want to know how to get started. Here goes:
Let go of the fear of sharing. This is a tough one for CPAs and lawyers. You can't get away with semi-sharing. Hinting that you know something doesn't gain you any cred. Gotta demonstrate it. "Giving it away" isn't going to hurt you and the best business developers have always been the most generous ones. I implore you to watch Jason Fried's video at the bottom of Mack Collier's post. Even if you watch only the first 5 minutes...
Know who you're teaching. You cannot overthink when it comes to defining your ideal audience. What you share is going to depend on whose interest you want to catch and hold. If you don't know who your buyers and referrers really are or what they care about, you'll miss the mark. I go into how to define your audience deeply in my book.
Engage with others who create content that relates to yours. One of the best ways to build an audience is to interact with others who have similar interests. Engaging is another word for building relationships. Compare this to referral-source marketing. It's critically important.
Don't talk down. This ties in to "know who you're teaching." Good teaching involves clarity and simplicity, but this doesn't mean that you should assume that your audience knows nothing at all. Just be really careful to keep the level appropriate to your readers. I see too many firms err on the side of dumbing it down. Better to err on the side of too-high-level content.
"Bill and duck" is a term I coined a few years ago.
In the case of CPA firms, billing and ducking is the process of proposing a price (as with an audit), and later billing an extra amount that the client didn't preapprove. The "bill and duck" practice is acting on a temptation to capture result of scope creep combined with a lack of communication.
The scope creep can take a couple forms. Either the original (usually time-based) budget for the work was higher than the price a firm proposed (to get in the door, the firm reduced their price to some amount below budget—probably a number close to the prior-year auditor's fee), or else "other issues arose."
Most commonly, these "other issues" are pinned on the client for not being ready when the job starts. And further blamed on "staff not telling partners before proceeding with the work." (These are actually both the firm's fault, which I discuss in "Retraining Clients When You've Taught Them to Abuse You.")
Billing and ducking is just ugly. So are write-offs. There are better ways.
When a firm wants to get in the door, a low price will often do it. But do yourself a favor and make sure of two things:
Scope better. Be very, very, very, very clear about the scope of work—both with the client and with your team.
Offer options. By offering options, you can show your lowest (walk-away) price, but you can also move most buyers up.
The scope needs to be the specific definition of what is included your work at each price. And even what isn't.
The typical hours budget is internal and inadequate for scoping. What we're looking for in pricing is scope definition that matters to the buyer. The generic "scope" or "approach" section found in most firm's proposals is so canned and vague that it is usually inadequate. Clarity is important, and by presenting options side by side, buyers can easily see what is not part of your lower prices.
In the context of what I've written above about better scoping and offering options, I'm sharing a clarification of the example mentioned in the "What Price is Right?" piece. It expands on detail that space didn't permit in the article. I also posted this as a comment to Mr Kliegman's piece:
My point in the article is that firms are presently just proposing (for example) a $19K fee knowing that, internally, their budget for the audit will be $24K. They are presently low-balling and fully intend to do the $24K (or more) of work. Or worse, they are bidding the work at $19K to get in the door, and then later turning around and billing the client extra for scope creep (partners often say they don't even know about it until they see it on the WIP).
This happens more often than not. I call this "billing and ducking," which significantly destroys your client's trust in you (even when they do pay the surprise bill) and, in many cases, is downright unethical because clients should approve the work before it's done or not be billed for it.
Instead of the firm going in knowing they will be losing money on that work, or practicing a bill-and-duck method of attempted cost recovery, what I am recommending is that firms more wisely scope and price their work--to not take a loss, yet still be able to offer an in-the-door price.
When stripping out value from the original scope (in other words, create an economy-class offering), the firm can prevent a loss on the low-cost work. Value stripped might not even mean less auditing, it might be the timing or the method of payment (pay in advance, for instance, and receive the lower fee).
The firm, side by side with that, can also offer other options. The original scope and terms might become the midrange option, and a premium option might be added as well.
I assure you, clients never "laugh their heads off" at choices. They like them. It puts them in control which is right where they belong. Further, it changes your conversation with them from "will I do business with XYZ firm?" to "how will I do business with XYZ firm?"
And behavioral economics shows that people tend to go with the middle option or up. That's why three options are better than two.
As an aside, in my comment on Edwin's article, I also clarified two other common misunderstandings that I observed reflected in the articles. One is the difference between a "fixed price" and a "value-based price." The other is the use of the term "value billing" which needs to cease because there's no such thing. Here's why:
It's important to note that none of this approach is "value pricing" at all. It's merely "fixed pricing."
Fixed pricing is when you commit to a certain price for a certain scope of work. A "value price" is never based on the seller's inputs that include time, efforts, or costs.
Value prices are based on the tangible and intangible results or outcomes for the buyer, and should only be employed when the buyer agrees that the worth is there for them to pay that price and when the seller agrees that the worth is there for them to do the promised work.
Lastly, some consider this semantics, but we (at VeraSage Institute) never call it "value billing" because billing is done in arrears whereas "pricing" always occurs in advance and is quite intentional.
We believe these definitions provide important distinctions that are helpful in clarifying the obvious confusion surrounding pricing practices.
Veteran CPA firm marketer Katie Tolin had posted an article on the need for a social marketing audit in a LinkedIn group I manage a while back and I just spotted it (yeah, I know, my bad).
I commented there with some specific recommendations and thought I'd share them here with you, too. Here's what I wrote, slightly modified for this blog...
I think it's important for the marketing departmant to have their arms around who in the organization is doing what online (only relevant to the org, of course) and to help those individuals learn the best, most effective ways to interact on the Interwebs.
Knowing where people "are" is a good start, but we (as their marketing educators and supporters) want to help them focus their efforts and be aware of signs of true success so they become increasingly encouraged when they occur.
The signs can be quite subtle and might go unnoticed!
In Chapter 6 of my book, as part of planning social-media use in the first place, I recommend taking baseline measurements as early in the (any) marketing process as possible, and then identifying very specific objectives as part of an individual's role in increasing his or her—and ultimately the firm's—visibility.
Side note: For the individual versus company promotion trade-off, you might like to see my blog post "Why Social Media Rock Stars Are Good For Your Firm." (Sometimes CPA- or law-firm partners get frustrated about the attention an individual "supposedly representing the firm" starts getting when their online visibility increases. This article helps explain to those partners why they should encourage the individual "fame" and not squelch it.)
As the marketing audit article says, the audit isn't just about assessing where we stand at the moment, but this is an important part of ascertaining success when you're using multiple channels to market.
You can rarely truly know exactly where a lead is generated anymore (unless it's from a specific campaign) and that's OK. We are looking for overall growth. This is all the ROI that you'll need.
BASELINE MEASUREMENTS
To accurately assess growth later, I recommend taking these broad baseline measurements now:
number of current clients
revenue (average and standard deviation)
revenue change % year over year
client longevity (length of stay with the firm)
frequency of client interactions
frequency of transactions (purchases)
number of clients lost per month, quarter, or year
number of new clients per month, quarter, or year
PLANNING AND GOALS
Then it's wise to plan for the right types of outcomes from online interaction. Some very specific sample objectives (besides the obvious $ in the door) might be:
Increase retweets and mentions (by anyone) related to [practice topic] from [baseline #] to [goal #] by [date]
Obtain [#] retweets and mentions by target personas including peers and thought leaders in the specialty (i.e., Get on their radar. Knowing exactly who they are in advance is best.) by [date]
Receive at least [#] unsolicited invitations from trade organizations to speak or write by [date]
Earn [#] appearances as media “expert” in [publication or station] by [date]
Receive [#] questions or requests for advice from [define personas] every [frequency]
Build up to [#] of [define persona] Twitter (or blog) followers (or subscribers) by [date]
Move [# define persona, or specific names] from digital to personal conversations by [date]
These are very attainable goals with social marketing. Having goals like this (rather than just "tweet often") might help reshape how you or your colleagues are using social-media tools.
TRACKING WORTHWHILE THINGS
I also think it's important to track the right things. Just # of followers or visits or likes or RTs is pretty useless. I like the marketing department (or individual) to keep track of mentions:
Where did it appear?
Who said it?
Was it positive? Y/N
What was said? Categorize the nature of the comment and keep a clip file.
Was the mention about a particular practice, department, or person?
Did the mention include reference to your content or website? If so, to what specific content or page?
Who responded and how fast? You may want to keep the response in a clip file, too.
Ultimately, we're looking for an increase in mentions that are positive and made by increasingly influential people in the right spaces.
Sound like a lot of work? Maybe. No one ever said marketing was easy! Also, what do you want from a basically free marketing channel?
You don't have to do any of these things to be successful...you might luck out.
But if you're not having success, or if you really want to ensure it, you've got to be able to recognize it when it happens. Like I said, social marketing success can be very subtle, but never confuse that subtlety with lack of importance to you and your organization. It's similar to—and deeply tied to—the level of subtlety and importance as your brand. And it merits the same level of forethought and attention.
These days, our brands are often defined by our most recent interactions.
A Facebook friend said today that she misses her hour. (I miss mine, too.)
It got me thinking about billing by the hour and what someone actually does when he or she works into the wee hours on one of those Saturday nights when an hour is lost (or gained).
I then remembered with great fondness a terrific blog post I read years ago by The Anonymous Lawyer:
Saturday, April 02, 2005
This is a terrible day. Every year it frustrates me. For no good reason, tonight at 2 A.M. we lose a billable hour. Daylight savings time is ridiculous. Individually, it's not a big deal, but think of it on a firm-wide level. That's hundreds of billable hours. Gone. Without a trace. And don't tell me we get them back in October when the clocks turn the other way, because by October everyone forgets about the debt they incur back in April, and just uses the extra hour to sleep. It's a useless waste of valuable time, and I hate having to tolerate it every single year. Definitely on the list of things I will change when I become chairman of the firm.
Jeremy Blachman's satirical blog about life in Big Law is a riot. You can read about The Anonymous Law Firm here. Is it really fiction? You decide. I think he left law and went on to write books. It's easy to be happy for him...
Changing workforce mentality, evolving customer/client needs, and transparency of service are shining big, scary spotlights on many of the flaws in the professional-firm business model of old.
Some problems inherent in the traditional business model are:
Running firms as democracies instead of visionary businesses precludes innovation and differentiation because decisions result in the common-denominator option that so often comes from "concensus"
Micromanagement so typical in today's firms doesn't inspire people to do their best work and perpetually decreases morale
Butts-in-seats or 9-5 culture that doesn't work very well in today's business climate
Billing customers for work after the fact instead of offering them certainty in price
If you'd like to learn how to break free of these and many more symptoms of a business model that somehow survives (definitely not thrives!) despite its detriments, join VeraSage Institute's educators at one or more of these upcoming events!
Firm of the Future Forums in Australia - March 2012
The events are organized by VeraSage Senior Fellow John Chisholm (John Chisholm Consulting) along with five enlighted friends of VeraSage: Matthew Tol (Mta OptimaChartered Accountants), Michael Bradley (Marque Lawyers), Michael Stewart (Integrity Wealth), Matthew Burgess (McCullough Robertson Lawyers) and Steve Major (Trusted Authority Partners).
VeraSage Las Vegas - June 2012
Immediately following the AICPA's PS/Tech & AAM conference (10-13 Jun) VeraSage will host 2 separate but related programs in Las Vegas at the Aria! (The AICPA hotel room rates will apply)
Wed, 13 June, 2-6pm FREE event open to anyone and will feature Ron Baker, CPAs of various firm sizes who've led their firms through these business-model changes, and will culminate with a live THRIVEcast! Join us for this special edition of the popular podcast series during which Jason Blumer and VeraSage Fellow (& stand-up comedian) Greg Kyte will grill interview Mark Koziel of the AICPA and Tom Hood of Maryland Association of CPAs. For a hint of what they might cover, see Greg's February Accounting Update (video below) tackling the recently released AICPA's CPA Horizons 2025 report.
Thu, 14 June, 8am-6pm Program (not free, pricing TBA soon) features back-to-back plenary sessions led by VeraSage Founders Ron Baker and Dan Morris and Senior Fellows Michelle Golden, Ed Kless and Jay Shepherd in the morning. Dynamic workshops follow in the afternoon covering the subjects of Setting Price & Scope, Conducting the Value Conversation, Project Management, and Managing People in a Timeless Firm. Registration will be open to anyone and details will be available soon.
If you'd like to be notified when registration opens, email me with "VS-LasVegas" in your subject line!
A timeless guide to modern marketing strategies: online and off.
"The most comprehensive guide that I have seen so far."―Joe Bailey, CPA
"How to execute social-media strategies and the reasons why they work, written at a higher than most level; a must read if you are serious about social networking." —Anthony Provinzino, Farmers Insurance
"So much more than a run down of the tools....helps you to think strategically about social media by putting in its proper perspective."―Colette Gonsalves, CPA firm marketing director
"Extremely well organized ... winning ideas for ... firms to develop and maintain non-cookie-cutter marketing programs that are firm-specific and purposeful."―Richard Weltman, Business & bankruptcy lawyer
Michelle Golden's first in-store book sighting! Click to read Michelle's bio
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