WHO WE SERVE

MID-SIZE PROFESSIONAL SERVICE FIRMS IN A VARIETY OF INDUSTRIES

Our ideal client is a successful medium-sized professional services firm that knows it has not achieved its full potential. As much as they have done well, company leaders are hungry to grow and reach their next level. Specifically, they want to increase market share, acquire new clients, increase revenue and profits, build a strong culture, differentiate from competitors and create demand that positions them to pick only the most desirable deals with only preferred clients.

Our ideal clients have often reached a plateau that they cannot seem to break through. They are profitable and stable. They have been in business for 5 years or more. They are a hidden gem in their market. They are very good at what they do, but they are usually not the best-known firm in their industry.

Industries

Our clients come from a multitude of different industries including:

• Technology consulting
• Financial services – particularly RIAs
• Business consulting and management consulting
• Coaching
• Engineering
• CPA and accounting
• Software-as-a-Service
• Architecture

Firms from all these industries share a few common characteristics and challenges. Teamwork is essential for producing revenue and profits, but service firms are often comprised of very spirited people who need coaching to play well together. The leaders of these firms often have differing visions for where the firm is going, which can lead to trust fissures between them. Because people are their product, organizational health (which is often elusive) is essential to the firm’s prosperity.

Our Ideal Clients’ Top Five Goals

1. Reignite growth. For many years their organization grew consistently. But then, for reasons leaders cannot often explain, growth stalled.
2. Significantly increase EBITDA. Most of our clients want to at least double EBITDA, if not more.
3. Achieve rock-solid predictability: economically, culturally and psychologically. Leading a professional service firm can be a rough ride. Our clients want to smooth out the bumps and enhance stability.
4. Build something they’re really proud of. Our clients have a strong moral compass and want to build a service firm that does well by doing good. They believe they don’t have to compromise their values to achieve meaningful success.
5. Position for what comes next. Our clients are well aware that their careers and businesses have a shelf-life. They want to maximize their opportunities today to be ready for tomorrow.

Our Ideal Clients’ Top Five Opportunities

1. Improve the quality-of-life of firm leaders. Professional service firm leaders usually deal with high stress levels and strong personalities. Happiness is often elusive.
2. Enhance the culture of the firm by rooting out undesirable attitudes and behaviors while nurturing desirable attitudes and behaviors.
3. Increase operational efficiencies. Most of the improvements that can yield greater profits will come from enhancing teamwork, optimizing processes and eliminating waste.
4. Take control of their collective futures by working with a leadership team that consistently sets and achieves goals that are meaningful to the firm.
5. Mentor up-and-coming talent. Firm leaders know that both greater profitability and staff retention can be achieved through mentoring from within.

Our Ideal Clients’ Top Five Challenges

1. Achieve alignment between leaders. Our clients, even with people who’ve known each other for years, often struggle to achieve a common vision and strategy for the future.
2. Optimize organizational health. This job is never done and it requires ongoing vigilance, nuance and sensitivity to issues and personalities. This can be very draining for leaders.
3. Retain staff. Losing key staff is one of the most feared and most painful experiences for mid-sized professional service firms.
4. Maximize sales and marketing processes. This is usually about saying yes to the right people and opportunities and no to the wrong ones. It’s often hard to know in the moment which is which.
5. Loneliness. It’s lonely at the top and it’s often thankless. Staff expect leaders to have answers to every problem and to foresee the future like a wizard. Leaders rarely get psychological rewards or kudos.

If this sounds like your organization, we should talk. We have a lot of great ideas to help service organizations in these areas. Just fill out the form below to get started.