The Competitive Advantage

April 16, 2019

Why the Seller-Doer Model is So Challenging

Does your firm subscribe to the seller-doer model for business development? That is, are there leaders and managers in your firm who, in addition to their primary roles, are also tasked with responsibility for revenue growth? If you answered ‘yes,’ then your firm is like the vast majority of others… the seller-doer model is, by far, the most prevalent sales structure in professional services industries like ours.

April 9, 2019

Want to Shut the Door on Your Competitors? Solve a Problem!

Taking advantage of opportunities that present themselves to you is a proven path to success. But if you really want to succeed – and shut the door in the face of your competition – then solve a problem before they do.

And here’s what got me thinking about this…

April 2, 2019

You Can’t Fully Understand Your Business Without These 3 Sales Reports

All owners and managers look at their sales reports each month. Of course. And the most common top-line measurements are: Revenue this month, Revenue year-to-date (YTD) and Revenue YTD vs. Last YTD. All important information.

But, if my conversations with clients – a lot of them – are any indication, the sales analysis, too often, stops there. And it shouldn’t. There are a few other sales reports – easy to set-up in your accounting software – that will give you deeper insight into what’s really happening in your firm. And once you have a deeper understanding of your business, the more effectively you can plan as you move forward.

March 26, 2019

Memorable marketing doesn’t have to be expensive!

In the past couple of weeks, I’ve had a ‘front row seat’ to two very unique events. I bring them up because they both show that a with little clever thinking – and not necessarily a bunch of money – you can take something from ordinary to special.

March 19, 2019

5 Questions Your Website Has to Answer for Prospective Clients

Visitors to your website – especially those who might become clients – are there with a purpose. An agenda. They have a number of questions that they need answers to… and if you don’t answer them properly (or answer them at all), the visitors will simply move on to the next potential vendor.

To make sure that doesn’t happen at your firm, here are the 5 questions your website must answer:

March 12, 2019

When Building Awareness, Drive Your Prospects Where You Want Them to Go

I was doing some reading this past weekend on building awareness for brands and was overcome with the realization that nearly every one of the marketing experts who wrote one of the articles I read was WRONG!

March 4, 2019

8 Ways to Leverage Existing Relationships to Grow Revenue

How many clients and potential clients do you know? Before you answer… think about it. Consider all of your current clients and prospects, all of your past clients and prospects (those old names in your CRM), everyone you’ve ever chatted with at an industry conference or networking event, people you’ve connected with on LinkedIn and so on and so on. I’ll bet if you add all of those up, it’s a pretty impressive number. Hundreds? Maybe a couple thousand? And that’s great!

So, what are you doing with all of those ‘relationships?’

February 26, 2019

Don’t go it alone! An Advisory Board can help with growth (and loneliness).

Many small business owners are often gripped with the fear of “being alone.” Of not having anyone to bounce ideas off of or share concerns with.

In larger firms, there may be key employees or colleagues to share with… but not so much in smaller firms. Masterimnd groups seem to be very popular, but are often full of competitors. And most businesses are too small for a formal Board of Directors. So, what’s the solution?

According to Rachel Crenshaw, founder of Strategy Sourcing Solutions, “Every small business owner could benefit from having an Advisory Board.”