Old commercial buildings are being renovated.
Maybe your professional or business services firm should think about renovating its outdated form.
The “Old Building”
- Hourly billing. Rates built up from costs plus profit.
- Intense pressure to bill.
- Clients are expected to pay whatever the invoice is.
- Cash flow is often a struggle because you bill in arrears.
- Competitors try to undercut your rates.
- Anything not billable is deemed to have no value.
After years, this building is looking shabby.
New buildings look like this:
- Clients pay for the IMPACTs the firm delivers.
- Fees are proportional to the IMPACT + significance.
- Cash flow is awesome.
- Clients love being able to pick up the phone/email and get quick answers to brief questions.
- No competitor can take clients away.
- Associates are encouraged to study, network, and bring in new clients.
- The firm’s revenue and profits increase, and no one is exhausted due to overwork.
Ready to renovate your firm?
The foundation is your Pricing Strategy, or the rule that determines your fees.
The new Pricing Strategy is that the firm is compensated for life changing differences it delivers for fees proportional to those differences.
The pricing model is IMPACT Based Pricing.
The firm builds on this foundation.
Offers: Use the Choice Framework of IMPACT PLUS, IMPACT, and IMPACT Light options.
Marketing: Review the language on your website and other collateral. Replace talk about inputs and tasks with language about IMPACTs, life changing differences, and proportional fees.
Sales: Your sales processes and systems need to reflect IMPACT and the life changing differences you deliver. Use the Issue Chart to qualify prospects. Use the Continuum of IMPACT to learn about their high significance needs.
Client Service: Deliver a higher level client of service. One of most effective is unlimited access to you during normal business hours. Acknowledge quickly, then follow up completely in a way the client loves.
Retention: Retention is based on the fact that you are continually getting more capable of delivering higher value IMPACTs. Stay and GROW with them!
Referrals: Happy clients will naturally tell their friends and colleagues and refer them to you. Respond enthusiastically to any introductions and thank the client who made it.
Let some people go
Your firm renovations require that you let some people go.
If you can, introduce them to another provider.
If not, thank them for their trust in you and wish them well.
Remember this…
You can’t be both old and new at the same time.
The old buyers won’t care if you try, but the new buyers will doubt your promises if they see the old side of the house.
Thinking about a “renovation” and feeling tentative about how to start?
Text RENOVATE to 703-801-0345 and let’s see if this is the time.
