Revamp Your Client Services for Success | Presented by Sam M. Allred | Upstream Academy

1. RE-INVENTING YOUR CLIENT SERVICES PRESENTED BY SAM M. ALLRED, DIRECTORAT UPSTREAM ACADEMY

2. In his book, True Professionalism, David Maister talks about creating a firm that is effective at adapting to market changes. “The goal of strategy is not to forecast where the market is going, but to create the responsive organization which will adapt to wherever it goes.” David H. Maister 2

3. One of the concerns I have is that many firms across our profession have not changed their way of serving clients over the past ten years. Every firm and management team in the profession should answer the question: “What are we doing differently today to better meet our client’s changing needs?” 3

4. Our profession (as wonderful as it is) tends to put and keep individuals in their comfort zones by having them serve the same clients and perform the same services (projects, assignments, etc.) as they did in previous years. 4

5. The primary purpose of this management presentation is to act as a catalyst in helping you view client service in a different light and determine what you can and should do differently to earn the right to see different results in the area of client service. 5

6. PRESENTATION ROADMAP • Observations regarding client service • Exploring ways to improve your client service offerings • Questions and answers Email questions tosama@upstreamacademy.com

7.  OBSERVATIONS REGARDINGCLIENT SERVICE

8. OBSERVATION #1 For most firms, client service hasn’t changed measurably over the past decade. Most firm scheduling is based on convenience (who was on last year’s engagement) and focused far more on efficiency and realization than on creativity and innovation.

9. OBSERVATION #2 Most firms in our profession claim to give great client service. Firm leaders believe their service is what sets them apart from their competitors. The only reliable indicator of great client service is the number of referrals you receive regularly from satisfied clients.

10. OBSERVATION #3 Many firms do very little to differentiate themselves in the marketplace. When asked what sets their firm apart from other competitors, the most frequent answer is “We give great client service.” Firms should develop and implement a strategy to differentiate themselves from their competition.

11. OBSERVATION #4 We often define great service around the attributes of accuracy and timeliness when those two attributes define the basic level of service all clients have the right to receive.

12. OBSERVATION #5 Retaining the best clients is not as easy as it once was. Over the past decade there has been a steady erosion of client loyalty. Too many firms do not have a written plan in place to retain their best clients. They simply intend to keep working hard and hope the best clients stay with the firm.

13. OBSERVATION #6 Delivering exceptional service leads to greater client loyalty, which leads to greater profitability. Client loyalty is becoming increasingly important during this season of partner retirements and increased competition.

14. OBSERVATION #7 Creating a reputation for exceptional client service has as much to do with consistency as it does with high levels of performance. How will retirements affect this?

15. OBSERVATION #8 It’s virtually impossible to develop a reputation for exceptional service if only a portion of the team has the desire to deliver at that level. It takes a total team effort to establish a reputation for exceptional service.

16. OBSERVATION #9 Technical skills alone aren’t enough to retain the best clients. Professionals are never retained solely for their technical skills, unless those skills are truly unique and unmatched by any competitor. In order to keep the very best clients, firms should consistently improve the professional skills of their people.

17. OBSERVATION #10 While there are many things outside of your control, you do control your own effort, attitude and desire . . . the foundational points of exceptional service.

18. OBSERVATION #11 While we regularly refer to ourselves as our clients’ trusted advisors, most individuals in our profession are far more comfortable playing the role of the client’s historian than the role of a forward thinking, proactive trusted advisor.

19. OBSERVATION #12 Too many client satisfaction surveys are created in a misguided effort to prove that our current service is good enough or to cross-sell other firm services. Very few surveys are designed to really improve our current client service. Creating superior client service should be the primary purpose of a client satisfaction survey.

20.  EXPLORING WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR CURRENT CLIENT SERVICE OFFERINGS

21. “Management’s job is to stimulate experiments and to encourage innovation. It must create and fund lots of small-scale R&D efforts, rather than pour vast funds into grand-vision schemes.” David H. Maister 21

22. The following slides offer some thoughts and ideas to help you explore ways to improve your current client service offerings. 22

23. OUTPUTS VERSUS OUTCOMES When you talk about client service, do you talk about your outputs or about your client’s outcomes? The differentiator in average firm offerings versus great firm offerings is a focus on client outcomes.

24. YOUR CLIENT’S EYES Too often firms focus on the output (the work product) which means they worry about getting the work out, technically correct, packaged nicely and delivered in a timely fashion. The truth is that the majority of firms do just as good a job of this as you do “in the client’s eyes.”These are the non-negotiables of client service.

25. “Firms should be constantly testing what the market will and will not respond to. They must avoid complacency, and be adaptive, by constantly asking ‘Is there a better way to do what we do?’” David H. Maister 25

26. QUESTIONS TO FOSTER DISCUSSION • What’s the risk of never changing your client service offerings? • What could your competitors do to try and win your best clients’ business? • How do you best evaluate the needs of your clients and potential clients? • What can you do to improve each one of your client service offerings?

27. DIFFERENTIATING YOUR SERVICES • Invest the time to truly differentiate your services in your market area. All efforts to differentiate your services will likely fall into one of the following areas: • More  Different • Better  Cheaper • Faster

28. HELP YOUR CLIENTS GET TO POINT B One of the best ways to improve your client services is to quit focusing on what you do and start focusing on what your clients need. In a very real sense, you focus first on being your clients’ trusted advisor and learning what they most want to do. Then you partner with them to help them accomplish their goals.

29. TREAT ALL CLIENTS LIKE NEW CLIENTS Firms have a tendency to get excited about new clients, but get too caught up in routine with existing clients. Treat all clients like new clients. Bring the same enthusiasm, new ideas, effort and excitement to the 100th meeting with your clients as you demonstrated in the first meeting.

30. FIND NEW WAYS TO DELIVER VALUE Is there an industry expert whose ideas would be relevant to your client? Can you connect your client to other clients? Could your firm and the client co-develop some intellectual capital (i.e., co-author an article)? Can you invite your client to host or speak at a conference?

31. Hold regular brainstorming meetings to learn about and help address many of the top issues your best clients are facing Make simple telephone calls just to check up on them Calendar planning meetings with these clients throughout the year BE PROACTIVE WITH YOUR BEST CLIENTS

32. Attend industry conferences with them Participate in an annual walk-through of their business Subscribe to their industry publications Attend client meetings at no charge INVEST TIME TO LEARN THEIR BUSINESS

33. Help them address key initiatives/challenges in their industry by helping them find new solutions Use 50% of your BD time helping your best clients Connect at deeper levels within the client organization INVEST TIME TO LEARN THEIR BUSINESS

34. Create a client service team that is adept at viewing the firm through the eyes of the client. Use this team to initiate changes to stay relevant in the eyes of the client. PUT YOUR CLIENT GLASSES ON

35. CHANGE YOUR HABIT OR ROUTINE Consider altering the relationship experience environment. Over time, you tend to get into habits and routines in the way you manage your client relationships. Try something different, such as meeting in a different place, meeting at a different time, having someone else lead the meeting, etc.

36. IMPROVE YOUR PLANNING PROCESS Too often, our planning focuses on scope, realization and utilization and very little on identifying new ideas and developing new relationships. Figure out how to use the planning process to truly WOW the client and to turn that client into a raving fan.

37. FREE UP PARTNER TIME TO FOCUS Re-inventing your client services deserves partner focus and attention. Free up partner time by transferring C-level clients to those on the bench strength list and by transferring D-level clients to individuals outside the firm.

38. CONSIDER INVOLVING AN EXPERT A host of firms across our profession have benefited from engaging one or more experts to help them evaluate their various offerings and re-engineer their services to be more effective, efficient, and impactful.

39. HELP EACH CLIENT IMPROVE Your purpose should be to help all A & B clients improve their organization in a measurable way. The better you get at helping them move their organization to the right side of the bell curve, the more they will become raving fans and business referral sources.

40. CONCLUDING THOUGHT While there are many excellent strategies for building a profitable accounting practice, few things will help more than choosing and retaining the right clients. When all is said and done, the foundation of a highly profitable practice is selecting great clients and giving them exceptional service.

41. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERSEmail questions tosama@upstreamacademy.com

42. UPCOMING EVENTS MANAGEMENT PRESENTATIONS What to Do When Payroll Rates Rise Faster Than Billing Rates September 2 & September 14, 2015 What Should You Be Doing with Your B and C Clients October 9 & October 23, 2015 BESTPRACTICES CONFERENCE Grapevine, TX October 21-22, 2015 LAUNCH OF HIGH PERFORMANCE FIRM GROUP Chicago, IL October 29-30, 2015 42

43. Thank You! sama@upstreamacademy.com