THE CHALLENGE
THE CHALLENGE
- The firm had been growing at 3 to 4% — on average for the last ten years
- The partners in the firm operated the business mostly as separate professional practices rather than as an integrated firm
- The firm thought their value proposition was their impeccable reputation and commitment to quality
- Business development was primarily achieved by responding to referrals
THE FINDINGS
THE FINDINGS
We spoke to clients, the partners and employees and found:
- The firm’s core value proposition turned out to be the strength of their relationship with their clients…many of who had been with them for over twenty years.
- 90% of their clients had been engaged for only one service.
- Most clients needed additional services, and went elsewhere to get them because they were not made available.
- The firm hated to ‘sell’ their services…but went above and beyond all expectations in helping clients.
- The partners did want to work together…they just didn’t know how.
THE SOLUTION
THE SOLUTION
The firm transformed itself from an accounting firm into an integrated financial services firm.
For individuals, the firm now offered a completely integrated solution of wealth management, financial planning, insurance products, bookkeeping services, and estate planning in addition to tax planning and tax compliance services.
For businesses, the firm now offered a completely integrated solution of business intelligence to better manage financial information, temporary CFO services, cost segregation services, bookkeeping and 401k management in addition to the traditional audit and tax services.
The firm also expanded into vertical market specialization dominating specific underserved niche markets where they could make a significant impact in a short period of time.
The firm actively engaged in learning how to work together to help their clients by offering much needed services as part of their integrated service model.
THE RESULTS
THE RESULTS
The first year of implementation broke all revenue records as the highest grossing revenue year in the firm’s forty year history.
New business was up over 40%…mostly from existing clients.
Within one year, they had established themselves as the #2 firm statewide in one of their new vertical niches.