This article builds on the author’s May 11, 2022 “Being Different is More Profitable Than Being Better” article. In this article, the author provides five questions that my enable one to differentiate oneself from the competition. How do your clients think you’re doing? You don’t know unless you ask. Because knowing what they want and then giving it to them is the easiest (if not the best) way to stand out. ...

How to Make Pricing Your Competitive Advantage This article is a follow up to the author’s April 2021 QuickRead article: “Here is What Prospects Believe About Our Pricing.” The lesson by the author is that prospective clients believe what the professional believes about pricing. If the professional believes that the price is too high, so will the prospect. If the professional believes that the price is a ba ...

For Financial Services Firms Finding ways to differentiate your firm from competitors may be one of the most vexing challenges you can face. After all, it may well be that there are more similarities than differences. But with a little focus and some self-inquiry, it is possible. In this article, Dr. Frederiksen shares seven effective differentiators for financial services firms. ...

The Best Source of Referrals is One Not Readily Considered How can one maximize referral opportunities? What separates the most successful professional services firms from the rest? One key difference is surprisingly simple, and often overlooked: successful firms understand the process of referrals. Most firms work under long-held referral assumptions that are not effective. Most believe that winning new bu ...

How can your firm effectively convey its value to clients?  Carl Peterson, CPA, proposes three ways firms can enhance their competitive advantage for you, your firm, your clients, and your prospects. Find out more in the American Institute of CPAs® article, Three Steps to Enhancing Your Competitive Advantage. ...

Big data offers unlimited potential to change the way business is done, for almost any type of company says Arleen Thomas, Senior Vice President of Management Accounting, at the AICPA. Management accountants can use the ever-growing amount of data to make decisions that will increase the competitive advantage of clients’ businesses.  This article discusses not only the sources of data available to the finan ...

Key Strategies Include Building Competitive Intelligence, Reading Trade Media, Innovation and Response to Trends,  and More.   Bruce Marcus at CPA Trendlines offers a guide to trend-spotting for accountants: ...