Here’s what happens if you do everything…
except
change the way you think.
Elaine told me she spent five years trying to improve her fractional CFO firm’s revenue.
“Tell me what you’ve been doing” I asked.
She listed the following:
- Raised her hourly rates
- Lowered her hourly rates
- Tried fixed fees
- Posted on LinkedIn
- Spoke for free ‘for the exposure’
- Offered low cost “How to” workshops
“Nothing made a difference. We are still at about $2 million in annual revenue. We are stuck, stuck, stuck.”
Elaine’s mindset
We talked a couple of times, and I learned more about Elaine’s thinking.
She:
- Firmly believed that “time is money” and she should charge for the time her associates spend on client matters.
- Worried constantly about losing money if she doesn’t charge for time.
- Felt they need to ‘beat’ competitors’ hourly fees.
- Is afraid that if they promise outcomes and those don’t materialize, clients will be angry.
- Never goes back to existing clients to see if they need more help.
- Thinks they’re doing everything possible and doesn’t think there is room for growth. “If we’re already doing everything, what else is there?”
After this I told her we were far apart in terms of our thinking and that I wasn’t sure she would benefit from my IMPACT Based Pricing consulting.
Consulting is successful when the client is eager to change their thinking.
Two months later she called again. She had been reading my newsletters and my LinkedIn posts about IMPACT Based Pricing and realized that if she continued doing what she’d always done she was going to get the same results she’d always gotten.
That was the breakthrough Elaine needed and what all professional and business services firms need.
Without making changes, there is no change.
We started working together.
Two years later:
Elaine’s firm just crossed the $2,880,000 revenue mark.
Once we started working together, we set a goal of a 20% increase in revenue year over year. By the end of the first year, they’d increased to $2.4 million and by the end of year two they hit $2.88 million.
We started by diving deep into IMPACT Based Pricing (IBP).
You see, IBP isn’t just a process, it’s a belief system.
It means you believe your firm delivers life changing differences to clients
and
that your firm is entitled to compensation proportional to the significance of those life changing differences.
- You believe that your clients can and will describe the IMPACTs they’re seeking if you ask
- You believe that your firm can make three compelling offers for delivering IMPACT, IMPACT PLUS, and IMPACT Light.
- Then you believe that you can tie the right fees to these offers
- And you believe that your firm’s accumulated wisdom and experience qualifies you to offer ever more significant IMPACTs to existing clients to meet their ever increasing needs, wants and desires.
Elaine’s firm worked with a family owned rental properties management company to help them eradicate their credit card debt. They had been casually buying everything by credit card and were shocked when the outstanding balance was over $50K.
First Elaine spent some time categorizing all the charges and labeling some necessary and everything else optional.
The CEO agreed to insist that before anything optional was charged, the purchase had to be approved by him and one of two other people. He included himself in this new rule.
Elaine also helped their AP associate increase the monthly payments to quickly reduce the balance.
When the balance hit $00.00, they celebrated!
In the past Elaine would have believed her work was done.
They set a goal, they met the goal, they were finished.
Since she had immersed herself in IMPACT Based Pricing as a belief system, she knew to talk with the CEO about the IMPACT of the zero balance and paying any new balance in full each month.
They had a very exciting conversation, where the CEO shared his visions for growth. He shared that the large balance had been weighing on him more than he ever realized and now that it was paid off, he saw new opportunities everywhere! They want to expand their services into larger properties.
Elaine took detailed notes and, using the Choice Framework, made three offers that would support growing the company and deliver even more significant life changing differences.
The CEO chose the IMPACT PLUS option and they’re currently working together.
The turning point
Elaine tells me that internalizing IMPACT Based Pricing as a belief system as well as a pricing model was the turning point for her.
The whole firm has been loving their work, seeking out new opportunities for existing clients, and seeing their 20% year over year revenue as completely within reach.
She shares her story with everyone who is stuck, stuck, stuck.
And she wanted me to be sure to share her story with you.
Thank you, Elaine!
If parts of Elaine’s story resonate with you, please let me know. Email or schedule a Virtual Coffee.
Once you begin, your firm, too, could enjoy 20% revenue growth year over year.
