Subscribe
Search
Gale’s book, At the Crossroads: The Remarkable CPA Firm That Nearly Crashed, Then Soared is a delightful parable about a sleepy, uninspired CPA firm that transforms into an accounting powerhouse.
Meet managing partner Joe Abriola who has just learned that his partners are on the verge of mutiny. How does the firm recover and thrive? Spoiler alert—Gale’s growth model swoops in to save the day! The book is an instructive tale that’s filled with valuable insight on achieving growth despite the odds.
Many firms are so awash in business right now that the idea of growing their firms is, quite honestly, kind of scary. Meanwhile, they’re painfully aware that holding onto low-end work may prevent them from moving up-market to attract larger pieces of business.
The days of building business by doing good work and chatting over lunch, ending with a firm handshake are the historical legacy of our profession. But what about the future? Don’t get me wrong – CPAs like a good meal as much as ever. But these days, lasting growth is a systematic process based on proven methodologies and metrics.
For years your firm has done just fine, thank you, without the assistance of a business development executive, or BDE. But is it time to reconsider? The changing professional environment and new demands on CPA firms and partners suggest that it just may be.
If you’re like most rainmakers, you are happiest when the skies open up and opportunities pour down faster than you can reach out and grab them. And you are most frustrated when you see others seemingly unable to do what’s relatively effortless for you. Understanding why this occurs is the first step to eliminating frustration.…
If the prospect of hiring a business development specialist gives you pause, you’re not alone. Although this practice was historically embraced among the Big Four, mid-size CPA firms have been slower to jump on the bandwagon. Until now, it’s been largely unnecessary. But Sarbanes/Oxley reforms have upended a formerly predictable cosmos. Today, significant conflicted-out opportunities…
I’ve heard far too many CPAs refer to business development – with denigration – as “scheduling appointments” and “walking the halls”. To borrow a phrase, it often seems that business developers are from Saturn and CPAs are from Mars. Despite a shared purpose, their methods often appear dramatically divergent. Behind closed doors, CPAs candidly ask me, “What the heck are these people doing? They walk the halls, flit from meal to meal and attend social events. It doesn’t look like work to me. I wish I could have that much fun. Is this really necessary?!”
I know many partners who are seriously conflicted about whether to include business developers in their firm’s present and future. Yet in corporate America, can you imagine firing an entire sales force? Okay, products and services can’t speak for themselves, so perhaps there isn’t much choice. And maybe that’s the problem. We have a choice. Your professionals can speak for themselves. Unfortunately, the vast majority are not persuasive communicators, or have never had any sales training. Inconsistent practice growth is often the result.
For CPAs, winning significant opportunities is the ultimate team sport. If you or other tigers in your firm are accustomed to going it alone, you’ll find it’s next to impossible to do this consistently when the business is large and complex. The reluctance of CPAs to recognize this keeps many from conquering high-value targets.
From singers to chefs, America is obsessed with identifying its next big stars. For viewers of TV shows like American Idol or Top Chef, it’s all about an hour of entertainment. But in today’s competitive business environment the ability to identify a future industry or service line super star can help your firm pull ahead of the competition.
- « Previous
- 1
- …
- 4
- 5
- 6