I was speaking at a conference in the Philippines this week. There were 120 Accountants from the USA and Australia in attendance.
I only had 1 hour for my keynote so not a whole lot of time to make a massive impact. I decided to do something different and not just talk to “at them” the entire time.
What I did was warm them up with some ‘possibility thinking’ then I showed them the financial model of >$1M profit per partner after tax – while working less than 500 hours. They liked that a lot.
Then I unveiled “The 8 Accelerators” (which was new to most of them) and went deep on the detail of what (and how) they need to do to supercharge their firms.
The next bit blew me away.
They were already on round tables, so I made time to do an exercise. At most seminars the participant note taking is not great and a lot is forgotten soon after the speech is over. Well, I wanted to do something about that.
With 10 minutes to go, I got each table (15 in total) to nominate a note taker and then I gave them 5 minutes to brainstorm ideas to get their firms to >$1M profit per partner while partners are working less than 500 client hours.
The energy in the room was amazing.
Once the time was up, I had all the note takers take a snap and load the pic into the conference WhatsApp group.
What you’re about to read is the culled and consolidated list of everyone’s efforts. 115 strategies generated in 5 minutes flat.
I am sure you have implemented some of them and I am sure there are many more you could implement. The new year is weeks away. This might be the ideas list you need to take your firm to the next level.
Below is the consolidated list from your peers. I particularly like no. 92. Enjoy!
1. Higher number of value $ add clients
2. Low cost service – is that the strategy?
3. Reduce hours, higher AHR per job
4. Eliminate the BS!
5. Price bravely – courage pills
6. Face time interaction with clients
7. System / Procedures documented
8. Document client goals
9. Product development system
10. Own (and know) the numbers
11. Make the hard decisions
12. Take risks
13. Health, not hygiene
14. Minimum client # more revenue per client
15. Business clients only
16. Apply – exclusive – you’re not grateful?
17. Headcount mix needed – hard look at resourcing
18. All clients on cloud based technology
19. Higher Average Hourly Rate – all hours worked
20. Purchase a firm
21. Services – Value proposition
22. Add additional products to clients packages (higher sale add)
23. Google Reviews
24. Get rid of partner
25. Increase pricing by 25% plus
26. Niche market & specialize
27. Create an association
28. Write a book – become a thought leader
29. Maximize Technology for efficiencies
30. Everything in cloud – our systems
31. Delegate everything partner does
32. Distributed Team (Don’t pay rent)
33. Client events / webinars
34. Accept that people are going to say no
35. Right people in the team
36. Learn how to value our IP
37. Don’t be shy
38. Separate the sales role and the process role
39. The right sales tools
40. Don’t assume you cannot get more revenue from clients
41. Review overhead costs
42. Branding
43. Right Incentives = KPIs
44. Elevate and Delegate
45. Compulsory Minimum Service Pack for clients
46. Quality Tax Meetings
47. Increase A class clients
48. Review to weed out D&C class clients
49. KPI number of client meetings
50. Partners don’t do the actual work
51. $2-$3 m per partner in clients
52. Systemise + delegate
53. Free partner time (Less client work)
54. Offshore – set up a team
55. Review product offering
56. Deal with people you like
57. Deliver on service offerings
58. Downgrade office & reduce costs
59. Hire slow + fire quick
60. More efficient processes
61. More staff generate new business
62. Levels of engagement
63. Service Leverage
64. Focus on goals
65. Measurable Outcomes
66. Back yourself more
67. HR audit
68. Get off the tools
69. All Directors aligned
70. Improve social networking/markets
71. Leads – Lead Generation Marketing + Appointment setting
72. Higher Senior Accounting team
73. Trim Partner wages
74. Free up Partners time for sales
75. Organisational structure
76. Leverage wages/time with people
77. Social media presence
78. Google reviews
79. Team Buy In
80. A Team Players only – get rid of the rest
81. Industry Specific – get a niche
82. Increase Average Hourly Rate dramatically
83. Train the team
84. Fixed Fees for everything
85. Strategic Partnerships
86. Professional Development program – all team
87. Expand our market region
88. Sack bottom 10%
89. Visit clients, every quarter
90. Reviewing Systems
91. Develop Marketing Strategy & Measure it
92. Hire Rob Nixon
93. Relevant people doing relevant tasks
94. Believe it’s achievable
95. Embrace change/price
96. Encourage Innovative Culture
97. Fixed Contracts for all clients/pricing upfront
98. Document Client goals
99. Average increase fee per client
100. Cut expenses everywhere
101. Business review online
102. 40% low expenses/clients
103. Time / efficiency model rolled out
104. Open communication in office
105. Website
106. Advertising
107. Work paper efficiencies
108. IT effectiveness
109. Quality referrals
110. Dead wood clients removed
111. What do existing clients need? – to sell to them
112. Alliance – Strategic Partners
113. Outsource what you can / savings
114. Team Engagement
115. Let team know your number targets (reward system)
