Today’s guest is Edi Osborne, Founder of MentorPlus, who is responsible for helping Firms across North America bill and drive $100M in non-traditional revenue & services.

In this episode, we cover:

+ Each level of the Level 5 Service Model (and how you can move through each stage)
+ Common mistakes firms make when becoming a “trusted business advisor”
+ Specific strategies and tactics to improve client relationship (and retention), find additional services to offer, and much more!
+ How to drive $100M in non-traditional revenue & services with your current firm

Additional Links: 

• Mentor Plus
• Edi Osborne’s LinkedIn
• Follow Mentor Plus on Twitter 
• Edi Osborne’s Book: Firm Forward

We, at Jetpack, are giving away Edi Osborne’s Book called: Firm Forward: A Journey From the Land of Compliance to a World of Reliance.

Key Summary:

A big revelation for accounting firms is that they are missing the big picture when only focusing on the financial aspects of business.  So much more business opportunity is achievable when advising on a wider range of business decisions for your clients.

Come join Edi Osborne in learning how you can be part of the many firms who together have billed more than $100million in additional services and offerings to their clients.
Edi Osborne is the Founder and CEO of Mentor Plus that has been working on a cure for random acts of consulting for over 20 years.  Her work has help hundreds of firms across North America transition from compliance to reliance by adopting a repeatable structure approach to delivering high value advisory services.  CPA Practice Magazine has recognized Edi has one of the top 25 thought leaders and most powerful women in the accounting profession.

Edi is the author of the book Firm Forward that outlines:

1. How to differentiate and grow your firm in a post-recession, new normal business environment.
2. How to attract and retain ideal clients.
3. How to attract, retain, and accelerate the professional development of your team members.
4. How to drive $100M in non-traditional revenue & services.

And, according to Edi, a business is worth more as it evolves through the Level 5 Service model.

The Level 5 Service Model BluePrint:

“The Level 5 Service is a structured approach to delivering high-value advisory services. The practical logic embedded in the Level 5 Service makes it easy for any practitioner to immediately add value to their client relationships.”

It is a framework that addresses business metrics for your firm in a systematic way.  

This model is has generated over $100 million in new, non-traditional revenue for firms across North America.

Level 1 – Service Analysis:

Level 1 categorizes the core, commoditized services that every firm provides.  These services are the technical foundations when getting financial information correct.  They include:

• bookkeeping,
• accounting work
• audit and taxes

“As long as it remains, commodity firms are going to have a hard time when competing at that level so I will see pricing such an issue for firms but also clients want more,” Edi says.
“Every single accounting firm I know does a Level 1 service and they do it well but you know what that is?  An assumed competency.

Plus, even if you do it better and most often even when you’re better than your colleagues down the road, the client doesn’t know that and perception is everything,”  
She continues by saying “if the client perceives that I can get the tax return done here or down the street and one is “x” dollars and the other is “x” times $2, you know if they don’t perceive the difference, they will go for the cheaper price every day of the week.”

Level 2 – Financial Outcomes:

Level 2 categorizes the steps necessary to achieve financial fluency and in identifying the potential opportunities.  It provides business owners with ways to connect the business drivers with financial outcomes.

Level 2 is divided into two sub-categories:  Level 2a and Level 2b.

Level 2a is about the understanding the financial information produced at Level 1 such as the connection between the balance sheet and the income statements and the cash flow and then conveying its meaningfulness to the client

Level 2b addresses the “what if” questions and lost opportunities by looking at the past results and identifying what do to more effectively going forward.

For example:  “What if” accounts payable shrunk to 60 days instead of 75 days or if inventory was turned faster?  How will these improvements enhance margins?   “What if” we raise our prices and we lost 20% of our customers?  What impact will that move have on business?  

We, at Jetpack, are giving away Edi Osborne’s Book called: Firm Forward: A Journey From the Land of Compliance to a World of Reliance.

Level 3 – Business Direction:

Level 3 categorizes planning steps in strategizing the business direction.  
Level 3 focuses on the big picture and poses the questions:  

• Where do you want to be?  
• How does the future look?  
• How are you going to get there?

Level 3 is about conducting planning sessions with clients to help them understand what are their goals.  For some, the goal may be to build the company.  For others, the goal may be an exit strategy.  

Level 4 – Firm Execution:

Level 4 categorizes the execution steps within the organization that are necessary to achieve those big business goals.   

It involves putting in place measures, systems, and processes that engage the entire working team to improve their performance and steer the company in the direction of their overall business goal.  

Engaged employees will begin to develop an ownership of these processes and an understanding of the strategic insights of the firm.  

Next, implementing a way to measure whether or not the company’s goals is accomplished through building a Business Dashboard.

A Business Dashboard tracks development metrics related to these goals and systematizing the business.  The Business Dashboard can be customized based on the internal audience including the CEO and COO versus the VP of Finance versus Marketing and Customer Service versus Human Resources.  
“

We find when we open the door, when we bring in employees, when we engage them in this conversation, when we show to them what the big picture looks like, we raise their strategic intelligence.  They become a huge management asset to the organization,” Edi assures.

Level 5 – Continous Improvements:

Level 5 categorizes ways to implement continuous improvements or better known as the Japanese concept Kaizen, a continuous improvement cycle.

This highest level is about identifying possible dysfunctions that may happen and getting ahead of the curve to improve upon them.  

Edi challenges whether the business is measuring the right metrics that lead to desired improvements or the wrong measures that create undesirable outcomes.

“Think about a business that operates on Level 1 [information] versus a company that operates at Level 5 quality of information.  A Level 5 company has worked through where they were going, they got the measures, they got the employees engaged they got policies and procedures that insures there’s consistency and quality throughout their organization that’s a better run organization what more at the time of sale.”

Help your clients help themselves and earn more revenue than you ever have.  

It will be a winning combination for you and your clients.   

We, at Jetpack, are giving away Edi Osborne’s Book called: Firm Forward: A Journey From the Land of Compliance to a World of Reliance.

Today we’re excited to release our interview with Michelle Long where we dive into how to build a referral based cpa firm! She’s an established author (five books and counting!), sought after speaker, Founder of Long For Success LLC and Co-host of the Ultimate Accounting Vcon.

In this interview you’ll learn:

1. How Michelle was able to raise her prices year over year (and how you can do the same)
2. Common traps new firms make when starting out
3. Examples of firms successfully niching down
4. How to strategically think about building your referral base
5. and so much more…

Interview Links:
http://longforsuccess.com/
http://accountingvcon.com/
http://www.linkedin.com/in/michellelongcpa

Interview Summary :

Many new firms want to make their prices competitive to “pay the bills”, but that is the wrong way to look at it. You must look at your firm or practice, no matter how small, as a fully fledged business. Which means, as you grow, you will encounter more expenses (staffing, rent, etc). Billing low will leave you overworked and unable to grow.

Michelle values herself, her work, and her time. If potential clients see your rates as high, then those are the clients you don’t want. You want clients who see the value in your service and see that you value yourself.

Envision the type of service you would like to provide to the type of clients you desire. Set your mindset to be who you want to be:  The trusted advisor.  At the end of the day, it is all up to you to do what you want to do for your career and for your business.

Step 1: Focus on Doing The Work You Love!

Building the foundation of a thriving business is predicated on doing the work you enjoy.  

Sure, when you first begin it may be impractical to be too selective in doing only what you like to do.  You have to pay the bills after all.  

You might start out as a general practitioner, but do not stop thinking about the activities you enjoy and the industries that interest you.  

As you grow your business capabilities and skill-sets over time, you realize how you have been gravitating towards certain types of industries or sub-sectors.  Embrace it and continue boldly in that direction.  The work will follow and your business will thrive.  

“And this took me a while.  You know, I took on everything and I finally realized I absolutely hated doing taxes…And it finally dawned on me, if I’m the boss in my practice, why am I doing something I hate doing?  And that’s when I decided, ‘you know what, I’m not doing taxes anymore.’  And it opened a great opportunity for me to do what I enjoy which was focusing on QuickBooks Consulting, and set up, and training.”

When focusing in the direction you desire, you become that go-to-person.  Then all of a sudden, you are THE expert in that area.  You have the experience, and you have the credentials, and then you get to determine what kind of work you do and what clients you want.

Step 2: Niching Your Business Focus

As you first start out in this industry, it is understandable that you want all the clients and all the work you can get.  You will take anything to kick-start your practice.  But as your practice grows, Michelle asks you to consider more carefully what is the right client for you.  

In thinking about it, she poses these questions to you:

• Do I want this type of client?
• If so, do I want to accept them individually as a client?
• Should I charge more for my services with this client?
• Or even – should I fire this client?

Michelle says to niche down as you grow.  

For those clients that do not operate with business ethics, fire some of those clients, urges Michelle.  Protect your reputation and your integrity.  “Our reputation is so extremely valuable. We have to protect it at all cost.”  

And now you can have a better command of the fees you charge.  You are the boss, and you are in control.

Step 3: Set your prices or rates every year:

The business fee you charge is an ongoing item you address yearly.  Set the expectations and clearly communicate this point to your clients.  You are growing in your experience: Adding services, improving your knowledge, and offering more pointed advice to the business.  And that translates to providing incremental benefits to your clients.

One of the ideas that Michelle recommends is to increase your rates every single year.

She says “On January 1, your rates should go up, otherwise, what happens is you quickly realize, you know, it has been 3 to 5 years and now you need to make a big jump and clients don’t like that so increase them every year. The cost of living goes up every single year and employees get a raise every year.  Shouldn’t you get a raise too?”

She continues by saying “If we don’t value [our services and what we are providing], the client is not going to value it.”
If you are only competing on price it is going to be a race to the bottom and nobody really wins.

“We don’t want to be Walmart where we got the lowest cost.  Yes you might lose some clients when you raise your rates or by having higher rates…They are not the type of client you want anyway and this is something hard to learn when you are first starting out.  But if all the client cares about is how cheap is it, they are going to be nickel and diming you forever and as soon as somebody cheaper comes along, they are going to be leaving, they are not going to value the services that you are providing.”

With technology today, it does not matter if you are based in rural Indiana or metropolitan Chicago.  You can base your rates on your value and can provide that value remotely to whomever is your right client.  

Do not let anything hold you back from actually positioning yourself as valuable.

And how do you set your prices to reflect your competitiveness?  

Michelle recommends checking out www.longforsuccess.com as a useful guide to learn about actual average billing rates.  Here you can find that latest survey that shows if your prices are in the ballpark or if they are too low.

“That helps to give you an idea, and I think if I remember right, the average rate for Accounting Professionals that weren’t certified, I believe it is $65 an hour. I think it is $75 an hour for people who are certified. But then there are people that are way above that, charging $150 to $250 an hour because they’re specialized and they got that expertise. That’s a good resource.” 

If you are doing good work for your clients and charging the right rates, your clients will be happy with your overall services.  A content client who trusts you ultimately leads to quality referrals for your business to grow.

Step 4: Think Strategically About Building Your Referral Base

You are the trusted business advisor to your clients.  You deal with their sensitive financial information and help them make important financial considerations.  “And that’s why a referral is the number one most effective” thing for your business to grow, Michelle believes.

Network with other professionals in other fields and build referrals with them.  Word of mouth is very powerful and the best way to build a referral based cpa firm.

Develop relationships with business professionals such as bankers, attorneys, insurance agents, and real estate agents.  Get to know them and let them get to know you.

Share with them the services you provide and what is an ideal client for you.  

When looking to build your referral network, look at the complementary services and products in your business niche.  Reach out to others who specialize in the industry.  If your niche is interior design, connect with marketing professionals who specialize in interior design or attend networking events directed at interior design.

Do not overlook networking online. “More and more people now are starting to network online, just like they do in real life,” Michelle notes.  Network through LinkedIn groups, which Michelle says is a good business-to-business resource, or through Facebook.  

“It doesn’t have to be a live conference if you can’t afford that.  We’ve got the virtual conference.  You can still do the networking with people.  But you got to get out there and get talking to people and develop those referral relationships!”

The power is in your hands to make your CPA business work for you and actually build a referral based cpa firm.

From change management to social media and so much more, check out this episode of Grow Your Firm podcast to learn about the 5 simple steps to transform your business into a radical CPA firm.

Join Jody Padar, CEO and Principal of New Vision CPA Group, to hear all about how to rethink a radical CPA firm model and adapt to new changes on the horizon.

In today’s episode, we explore:
+ How to prepare for the future of accounting
+ How to manage succession plans
+ Change management techniques (specifically implementing new software)
+ How (and why) firms can engage on social media
And much more…

Questions for Jody (or just want to say Thank You) ?
Email Jody at jody (AT )newvisioncpagroup (DOT) com
Follow Jody on Twitter
New Vision CPA Group

Understanding the Radical CPA World
Many in the CPA world understand they may need to embrace change to keep up with industry evolution. Although in doing so, they may not know what steps they need to take to position their firm in the right direction. Make your firm a Radical CPA firm.
Some may ask:

• What should I be anticipating?
• Am I thinking about change in the right way?
• How do I set up the right business model in this new business era?
• What transitions may I need to consider?

How To Start Transforming Your Business Into A Radical CPA Firm

Jody thinks the biggest thing CPA firms should do is to make change happen for them. Be in the driver’s seat of the direction of your radical CPA firm.
But do not travel along the complete road map for change in just one attempt. Take small incremental actions over time to get you to become the firm you want and need to be.

“Just start with something. You don’t have to remake your whole firm overnight, but you can remake one process, you can remake one piece that is more “user focused” and a little bit change driven,” advises Jody.

Take one step. Make the change. Then take another step in changing followed by another and another.

CPA firms just “want to flip the switch and just make it work,” says Jody. She notes that the firms will never be perfect and they “are not going to figure it all out at once or in a short period of time.” Just enjoy the journey of this process of change because there will be something more to embrace and change down the line.  

Jody believes the biggest change to hit the CPA world is rethinking the traditional firm model.

The partnership model and the service model are going to be obsolete in the next 10 years or so Jody thinks.

Most CPAs are beginning to see the disruption in the space but are uncertain how to “figure out how to pivot and how to react” to changes.

Are you ready to adapt into a radical CPA firm? Let’s find out how.

The 5-Step Process To Become A Radical CPA Firm
Here are Jody’s 5 simple steps to transform your business into a Radical CPA firm:

1. Creating and offering products focused around CPA services and reevaluating how to price those services

One of the first steps your firm can take is to push product accounting to clients. Jodi suggests really thinking of your services and products in a way that you can scale your client reach and do your job more efficiently, better serving your clients in the process.

Jody is a big supporter of value pricing. She urges the industry to push forward with adopting this new approach and get away from the hourly-billing model.

2. Focusing on your client in a more impactful way

Be an advisor-driven and a client-focused firm. Be the proactive advisor and value-added partner to your clients instead of the passive, reactive CPA partner.

As for your clients, some may be legacy clients and others are next generation clients. In your change process, you do not want to alienate them. “Be there for both of them. Service your legacy and next generation clients in different ways,” encourages Jody.

3. Enhancing the user experience for your client

“Business is about people. People do business with people they like,” notes Jody. Building rapport with your clients takes time to establish good, trust-worthy relationships. Project out to you clients and commit to take action when clients need your assistance.

4. Improving your marketing approach that includes social media

It is all about your brand – who you are and what your style is. Be authentic and transparent. Let your personality shine through in what you do. Attract the people and clients who will work well for you. Jody assures that “It’s ok to be quirky and fun.”

Develop a marketing plan that captures who you are and project it out there. Jody says that for her, she just tried implementing ideas to see if it worked and “figured it out along the way.” Put no constraints on what to do or not to do. She admits to making some mistakes but it all comes together in the end.

One big marketing recommendation is to tap social media…Social media for a social business.

Social media is an important tool to reaching out to your client and potential client audience. “Pick a social media channel and do it well,” Jody recommends. “Own it and like it. Don’t spread yourself out too thinly.”

Jody suggests tapping a social media channel for 15 minutes a day over a 6-month period as you get started. Give it time to develop and work itself out by getting new followers and watching how others in the field are addressing topics.

For social media, Jody likes Twitter, in particular.

Twitter is “like a Chamber of Commerce meeting” but in this case, you hang out online. For Jody, Twitter is a good way to offer information and build relationships. The audience gets to know you and then know more about your business

5. Switching to the Cloud

As with many CPA firms now, Jody’s firm has switched her business to a cloud platform. Correspondences, paperwork, files – the old way of doing business has become digitalized.

Her firm first embraced the Thompson cloud that was a software-to-service package but moved to a different cloud platform, CCH Axcess

“It was a big undertaking – more so than I imagine and I have a smart, tech-savy team!”

For Jody and her team, switching to the cloud meant there was so much to learn in addition to doing client work, especially during busy season. However, Jody says to “choose your battles – sort out what the best course is,” and to prioritize what to do and not to do. Don’t transition everything all at once.

“This year is cleaning up what they created last year. We transitioned lots of stuff but 75% is there now.” Jody and her team continue to make sure that the transition in place and processes.

When you have recovered from the demands of busy season, think about your transition to the cloud “with a fresh head” without client work taking attention away from this important next step for the future of your CPA firm.

Start thinking now about how your can drive your radical CPA firm into the next decade of business and beyond!