Speaking Our Client’s Language How many times have readers started reading an e-mail from a colleague or peer with questions on a valuation you performed and been simply lost as to why they are asking? As you re-read the e-mail time and time again, you cannot understand where their questions are coming from. You feel confused, frustrated, and lost. In this article, the author proposes that we reflect on the ...

the Cost of Your Reference Library? Now, there is an abundance of print and online resources that have greatly improved both our report preparation efficiency and effectiveness. Simply put, we have access to better information and are more productive in our engagements. Certainly, clients benefit from that increased access and productivity, but it comes at our ever-growing out-of-pocket library expense. So ...

The Future is Here This article describes the background, concepts behind, and implications of blockchain technology deployment for commercial, governmental, and personal use. QuickRead readers are aware of proposals to move entirely away from cash (bills and coins) for daily transactions. Such a move is expected to create a major inconvenience for those without access to credit cards and basic banking ...

Five Ways Professional Services Websites Fall Short (Part I of II) Business leaders today know that how a firm’s website is planned and organized matters more than ever. What worked well enough five years ago to separate your firm from your competition may simply not work today. At Hinge, we audit hundreds of professional services websites a year—and we see many of the same mistakes repeated. In this articl ...

with “Pinkcast” Daniel H. Pink is author of six provocative works about business and human behavior. His website contains videos and newsletters. In this article, Rod Burkert describes how Pinkcast changed the way he marketed, and provides six reasons why BVFLS professionals may want to consider Pinkcast as a resource. Do you struggle putting pen to paper … figuring out what to say in a 300–900-word dispatc ...

to Convert Leads into New Business In this post, Dr. Frederiksen shares some thoughts on ways to use virtual marketing to increase visibility, communicate your expertise, and build engagement with prospects. In the age of COVID-19, these marketing techniques are essential to a firm’s survival. In my most recent post, I explained some key advantages of virtual marketing over more traditional approaches. In t ...

Here’s How to Land Them What is an aspirational client? How can valuation professionals find and engage them? In this article, Rod Burkert shares his insight and experience finding aspirational clients. Aspirational clients. Who are they? What steps does it take to land them? Why are they important to our practice growth? When we started our practices, we were happy with the clients we got because we needed ...

Marketing During COVID-19 and Beyond Over the past few months, COVID-19 has become a household word, and shelter-in-place orders have rocked the business world. Small wonder that the concept of virtual marketing and business development has jumped to center stage. Nearly overnight, thousands of professional services firms have begun scrambling to figure out how to replace the only marketing approach they ha ...

Seven Things You Can Do When You Have Nothing To Do You were humming along nicely … until the shelter-in-place orders hit. All cylinders were firing. You were busy! And now you are not … or not as. What do you do with the (hopefully temporary) lull? Panic? Or use the opportunity to systematically find more work? You were humming along nicely … until the shelter-in-place orders hit. All cylinders were firing ...

Target Market Research Why do some professional services firms grow faster than others? The 2020 High Growth Study provides insights on this topic—and on the impact of doing original research about one’s target audience. The author in this article shares the value of target marketing. Why do some professional services firms grow faster than others? The 2020 High Growth Study provides insights on this topic— ...

Are You Discounting or Negotiating? Are you discounting your project price? Negotiating the project’s price? Are these acceptable in the current economic environment? Here, Rod Burkert answers these questions. The times are certainly a bit crazy. And we are all doing what we can to pivot and survive. But discounting your pricing doesn’t have to be one of the tactics you pursue. You can already guess that di ...

Four Key Differentiators that Lead to Success Hinge Research Institute conducted a study that involved 230 accounting and financial services firms. This 2020 High Growth Study includes extensive information on what sets apart high growth firms from its competitors in the study. It focused on those that had experienced 20% or greater compound annual growth in revenue over a three-year period. This article pr ...

Opportunities Available to Drive Revenue and Remain Relevant Q1 2020 is already in the books. If you are thinking about your practice development goals, strategies, and tactics for the rest of the year, Rod Burkert has some ideas regarding what to do and identifies the opportunities associated with five options. Hard to believe that Q1 2020 is already in the books. And you might be thinking about your pract ...

Relevance and Alternate Approaches to Succeed Traditionally, accounting and financial services organizations have relied on their firms’ partners to “make it rain” or by using their connections, both personal and professional, along with a sprinkling of charisma, to bring in new business and revenue. How effective is this traditional model in a technology driven world where buyers of services can now access ...

Get Clients to Count on Your Accounting Is it the valuation of a small privately held company with three employees? Or a large multi-national with employees in the thousands? Perhaps it is reviewing assets in a highly contested divorce. One way or another, you are trying to reach a decision, an opinion, or a conclusion from the data in front of you. Using big data, you must compose a story and present the d ...

You Can Do It, Too How should a BVFLS practitioner first engage a prospective client? In this article, the author discusses how he engages prospects and the fee questions. It all starts with a phone call and the much-dreaded question: How much would you charge to value ABC Industries, Inc.? I don’t know … would you like me to guess? I mean, how could I possibly know without more details? For more years than ...

New Study Spotlights Five Proven Strategies There is an easy way to identify the most effective strategies for rapid growth. For the fifth year in a row, the Hinge Research Institute conducted a comprehensive study of more than 1,000 professional services firms. Specifically, Hinge looked at what “high-growth” firms (those with at least three years of 20% compound annual growth) do differently than firms th ...

Get New Work at Fees I Can Live With When it comes to getting new work, one of the required steps is writing what amounts to a combined proposal/engagement letter. It’s more of a proposal if you’re assuming what the prospect wants; it’s more of an engagement letter if you spend time finding out what the prospect needs. But semantics aside, preparing these letters is a lot of work. Given that, what is your p ...

Nine Steps to Engage Your Audience Hinge’s latest research on high-growth accounting and financial services firms makes the case that your firm should consider adding educational webinars into your marketing mix. Hinge’s latest research on high-growth accounting and financial services firms makes the case that your firm should consider adding educational webinars into your marketing mix. Why? Well only 34.9 ...

For 2020 and Beyond Merriam-Webster dictionary defines blockchain as a digital database containing information (such as records of financial transactions) that can be simultaneously used and shared within a large decentralized, publicly accessible network. In this article, the author predicts blockchain trends and its impacts of the accounting profession. With a new year comes changes across multiple facets ...