rod burkert

Turn the practice you have into the practice you want!

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Is it easy for someone like me to find someone like you?

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In case you missed the last post: 1 simple year-end tidying up task that will make you look your best. Here it is: synchronize the look and feel and messaging across all of your online and offline marketing platforms. If those platforms don’t deliver a consistent message about your practice, your leads and prospects may get confused. Confused minds don’t buy.

On to this post: Is it easy for someone like me to find someone like you? When I say “someone like me,” I mean a potential client. When I say “someone like you,” I mean a practitioner who says they can do what you can do. Being easier to find will make you easier to hire. Make being easier to find one of your top goals for this month.

And if you’re new here, welcome aboard. This is what we do!

Welcome to the first newsletter of the New Year. During the holiday break, I thought about my newsletter schedule. And given what other writing projects I want to tackle this year (e.g., my first book), I have decided to go from weekly to bi-monthly. It will be the same great content … but delivered half as often.

And please join me this Friday at 1pm ET on Practice Development INSIDER for my interview with Mark Zyla. Mark has been an incredible thought leader in the fair value arena. If you want to become a thought leader in your practice area or industry niche, you should understand how someone like Mark did it. Here’s your chance to do that.

A top goal for me writing about practice development strategies and tactics is to make it easy (or easier) for your audience of leads and prospects to find you and, ultimately, hire you. So let’s talk about getting found, being understood, and getting contacted.

Are you easy to find?

Clients and referral sources who know you now were once leads and prospects who didn’t know you then. So when a new prospect searches for someone like you on LI (and today, most searches for professionals like us start on LI), does someone else (regardless of their profession) with your exact first and last name pop up in the results?

If so, do you make yourself stand out with a headline that shouts “Business valuation expert specializing in X”? Or do you blend further into the search results with a headline that equivocates “Owner at XYZ, LLC”? My headline says exactly what I do … BVFLS Practice Development Coach: I help practitioners in 1-3 person firms who want to grow faster & smarter. Yours should, too.

Or let’s say someone met you in person at an event and wants to research you more – again, on LI. Do you have a current profile picture or one from years ago that doesn’t resemble how you look now? Mea culpa: I was guilty of this … I had a profile picture from 2004(!) that I was using until I had new headshots taken in May 2019.

Switching gears, if someone searches for your firm/practice name on Google, does it come up first in the results? This is usually not a problem if your name is part of your firm name. For example, I am Burkert Valuation Advisors … I am the only Burkert with this firm name … and so I am at the top of this Google search.

But if you have a “generic” name that involves a common keyword for your practice area, your firm name may not be popping up at the top of a Google search. In that case, you can hire an SEO expert to set up your website so it is strong for the keyword(s) in your company name.

Are you easy to understand?

Ok. “You” have been found. But now you need to decide what you want to be found for. So is it easy to understand what you do? And what makes you different? What makes you better?

Scrolling down through LI, is your profile up to date? I have a calendar appointment to review my profile quarterly. And I make frequent changes to make sure it is always optimized.

Do you have recommendations that prove you’ve done what you say you can do? Do you have endorsements for the skills you want to be known for? If not, ask for them! I know that seems obtrusive … but ever heard of the saying, “You don’t get what you don’t ask for?”. I have 25 recommendations, and I asked for every one of them. I even told people what I wanted to be recommended for to make the recommendation easier to write.

On your website, do you have case studies and testimonials that provide credibility? Or do you have an information dump about general BVFLS work that almost everyone else has on their website and that does nothing to distinguish you? On my About page, I come right out and say: “I am the person you should be working with because I am the only practice development coach serving only the BVFLS profession.” Then I include testimonials throughout my web pages from satisfied clients who have worked with me.

Are you easy to contact?

Ok. You’ve been found.
And prospects understand what you do.
Next step … can they easily contact you?

Some people don’t put their contact information on their LI profile. Or, more likely, they enable a privacy setting that only allows 1st level connections to see their contact information. (They might not even know this privacy setting is enabled.)

Let me ask, how many leads and prospects are 1st level connections with you? Probably few or none. So even if I decide you are someone I want to talk to, I can’t because I can’t see how to reach you.

Your contact information (phone number and email address) should be included throughout your LI profile (my details are in my Contact Info, About, and Experience sections) … on every web page (mine are in the page footers) … and on every email you send (that’s what email trailers are for).

So what

Don’t complicate things. Before you start investing in expensive practice-building pursuits (including my coaching), tackle the simple stuff first. Making sure you are easy to find, easy to understand, and easy to contact is the simple stuff.

Related posts

Make it easy for prospects & clients to work with you

Cheers!

 

 

 

Action Items:

– If you like what I write about, tell a colleague.

– If something resonates and you want to reach out directly, email me.

– If you think we share common interests, connect with me on LinkedIn.

– If you want a sense of how well your practice is working for you, take this Practice Self Assessment.

1 simple year-end tidying up task that will make you look your best

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In case you missed last week: Got a minute … I would like to pick your brain about something. Being an expert can lead to unsolicited requests for a “quick” call or meeting to pick our brain on a topic someone believes we know a lot about. What can we do?

On to this week: I don’t want you to do any more heavy lifting than you are already doing to close out 2019. But there is one simple end-of-year tidying up task that, if it needs doing, I would like you to do. Did I mention that it is simple?

And if you’re new here, welcome aboard. This is what we do!

So next Wednesday is Christmas … and the Wednesday after that is New Year’s. Guess what? I’m taking two weeks off from writing the newsletter, and I will be back on January 8. I wish all of you a happy and healthy holiday season. Thanks for letting me into your inbox!

Here it is … one simple, tidying up task: synchronize the look and feel and messaging of all of your online and offline marketing platforms.

Look at your website, your LI profile, your assorted bios and by-lines, and anything else you use to share your story. Then review things like this:

  • Is your basic information current?
  • Is your contact information current?
  • Is your headshot current?
  • Is your messaging clear?
  • Are you still doing all of the things you say you can do?

If there are things that need fixing – fix them!
Simple, right?!

So what

The key here is alignment. If your marketing platforms aren’t delivering the same message about your practice, your leads and prospects may get confused. Confused minds don’t buy. So give them a consistent experience of your practice that communicate these points:

  • What you do
  • Who you work with
  • How you do it
  • Why it matters
  • What makes you different
  • What have others said about you

In real life

I was going to title this newsletter “Marie Kondo your marketing platforms.” But I wasn’t sure what I was worried more about: that you might not know what that means or that you would know that I know what that means!

Cheers and Happy Holidays!

 

 

 

Action Items:

– If you like what I write about, tell a colleague.

– If something resonates and you want to reach out directly, email me.

– If you think we share common interests, connect with me on LinkedIn.

– If you want a sense of how well your practice is working for you, take this Practice Self Assessment.

Got a minute … I’d like to pick your brain about something

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In case you missed last week: What’s your 20 and 20/20 for 2020? Your 20 is your location – where are you, literally and figuratively. Your 20/20 is your vision – do you have one for your practice. Your 2020 is next year – as in your best year ever. Even if you just start thinking about your goals, strategies, and tactics this month, you’ll be way ahead of your competition.

On to this week: Being viewed as the experts we are is a good thing. But it can lead to many unsolicited requests for a “quick” call or meeting to pick our brain on a topic someone believes we know a lot about. A general willingness to help and professional courtesy aside, responding to all of those requests can be a time suck and won’t pay our bills. What can we do?

And if you’re new here, welcome aboard. This is what we do!

Join me this Friday at 1pm ET on Practice Development INSIDER for my interview with Kevin Yeanoplos. Kevin is an ordinary guy who achieved influence in our profession through leadership, determination, and building a practice around his idea of success. Regardless of the size firm you’re in, there’s bound to be a nugget or two you can use in your practice.

Someone wants to pick your brain.
S/he says it will only take a few minutes.
An hour later you’re off the call or out of the coffee shop.
How did that happen?!

Why we let people pick our brains … and the consequences

#1 – In general, we are flattered that people think we might have the answer … and we just happen to love talking about what we do!

When someone wants to know what you would do in a specific situation AND how you would do it, it can be engaging and exciting enough for you to share your insight. These conversations can make you feel accomplished and appreciated. But afterward, you may walk away realizing that you gave away expertise that you would normally charge for.

#2 – They are a colleague who needs our help.

To me, this is a good karma thing – pay it forward and all that – because I never know when I will be the one initiating the “can I pick your brain” request.

However, it could be a problem if the requests become more frequent and the calls take longer. And you may feel like you are doing their research and work for them. At some point, a polite but firm “No” is required … and I will admit that I have not yet mastered this deflection.

#3 – We are afraid of missing a business opportunity with a prospect.

You receive a call from a prospect who heard about your area of expertise from a mutual connection. They want to discuss how you might help them approach a problem.

First things first. Research the prospect to make sure they fit your ideal client model. If not, you should have no trepidation with politely declining. Or referring them to another BVFLSer for whom you know they would be an ideal client.

Let’s say you move forward. They are an ideal client, and it seems like an opportunity to land new work. And they came to you … you didn’t have to find them! Win!

But let’s say as the discussion unfolds, you realize their intention might be a fishing expedition to get free information rather than to actually engage you. (My litigation support friends might add that it could be a ploy by an attorney to discuss a case with you to prevent you from being hired by the other side.)

The voice in the back of your head tells you to cease and desist, but the urge to prove your expertise is worth their money is too strong. You continue to try to impress them, all the time realizing you are giving them a perspective they should be paying you for. Ultimately, you may or may not get hired.

#4 – We don’t want to brush off a client or referral source.

When existing clients or referral sources want to pick your brain, there’s even more pressure to keep an actual, valuable relationship intact. So, of course, you accept their invitation to talk and be as helpful as possible.

But if they request time/effort/analysis that goes beyond the normal scope of what you are doing for them, consider it an opportunity to broaden the scope of the project and charge for the additional work. Your clients and referral sources should know the value you bring to the table – that is why they are reaching out to you – so be comfortable discussing this.

What can we do about these requests

There are ways of dealing with these things. Here are some alternatives I have thought of.

#1 – Say no or charge for your time or ask for a donation to your favorite charity.

I keep reading that the most successful people say “No” to almost all of the requests for their time. If we want to be successful, we must be compensated for the opportunity cost of saying “Yes.”

#2 – Point the person to a blog post or newsletter you wrote on the subject.

This can eliminate the need for a brain-picking session or help the picker better frame their questions before the call. This option also has the benefit of turning on your prospects, clients, and referral sources to the content you produce.

#3 – Send a staff person.

“Rod had something come up at the last minute and couldn’t make the call. But he was certain I could help you.” Not only does this protect your time, it can help develop the technical chops and practice development skills of someone in your firm.

So what

There is nothing wrong with helping out a colleague. Or giving your insights to a prospect. Or further cementing a relationship with a client or referral source.

The problem starts when they ask you to part with your best ideas or a fully-developed plan of attack for free.

In real life

You might wonder how I handle these things.

First of all, I don’t do meetings since I am in the RV and usually many, many, many miles away from the person seeking me out.

But I do have a “Huddle” call people can schedule with me using Calendly. Scheduling allows the call to occur at a time that is convenient for me. Calendly also asks for a brief description of what we’ll be talking about so I can be prepared. And the call is limited to 20 minutes to set expectations and boundaries.

Related posts

What are you willing to do for free to land new work?

Cheers!

 

 

 

Action Items:

– If you like what I write about, tell a colleague.

– If something resonates and you want to reach out directly, email me.

– If you think we share common interests, connect with me on LinkedIn.

– If you want a sense of how well your practice is working for you, take this Practice Self Assessment.

What is your 20 and 20/20 for 2020?

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In case you missed last week: Book Review: How Clients Buy. A must-read if you are looking for a better perspective to understand how clients buy professional services – particularly if you are hoping to improve the odds of making that happen for your BVFLS services.

On to this week: Don’t wait for the impending New Year to inspire you to make powerful changes to your practice. Even if you just start thinking about how to refine your goals, strategies, and tactics this month, you’ll be way ahead of your competition.

And if you’re new here, welcome aboard. This is what we do!

We all have shrinking attention spans. To combat that in your audience of leads and prospects, create one short sentence that communicates your value … and invites “How do you do that?” follow up questions.

Examples:
I assist savvy business owners successfully transition their companies.
I reduce uncertainty in complex matters for business owners and their trusted advisors.
I help you turn the practice you have into the practice you want.

Stop hiding.

Your 20

As in your location … where are you?

  1. How long have you been practicing?
  2. What stage of your practice’s life cycle are you in?
  3. How many more years do you intend to work?
  4. What do your services (and your pricing) say about you?
  5. What is your most favorite project to sell and perform?
  6. What is your most profitable project to sell and perform?
  7. Are they the same thing? If not, why not?
  8. On a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the best, what is your energy level for your practice today?

Your 20/20

As in your vision … do you have one for your practice?

  1. Why did you start your practice? What was the original goal/mission?
  2. What is the goal today? What do you most want to accomplish now?
  3. How do you measure/define success in your practice?
  4. What kind of practice do you want to have 1 year from now?
  5. Do you have a unique point of view that will get you there? What is it based on?
  6. What will you bring to the table that your competitors don’t … or won’t … or can’t?
  7. What is your biggest challenge in taking your practice to its next level of evolution?
  8. What are the roadblocks between where you are now and where you want to be?

Your 2020

As in next year … your best year ever!

  1. What is your most favorite thing to do in your practice? What charges you?
  2. How do you do more of that?
  3. What is your least favorite thing to do in your practice? What drains you?
  4. How do you do less of that?

So what

The mark of a successful organization isn’t whether or not it has problems; it’s whether it has the same problems it had last year.
~ John Foster Dulles

Every practice has problems, including mine. But if we plan on ATTRACTING leads and prospects, CONVERTING them into clients and referral sources, and DELIVERING our services the same way as last year, our practices will have the same contingent of problems as last year.

What is going to change if we don’t change?

In real life

In one way, shape, or form we are all solo practitioners … whether we are single shingles who work for ourselves at one end of the spectrum or whether we work in a large BVFLS firm at the other end of the spectrum.

And we are judged on our efficiency and effectiveness of attracting new prospects, converting them into clients, and delivering our services.

That judgment is more direct and immediate if we are a single shingle … because, there, we eat what we kill. That judgment may be more indirect and delayed in a large firm depending on our position in the hierarchy … because, there, we may have some degree of cover.

But eventually, we are all judged.

For this reason, we all need to take stock of what we do, how we do it, and why we do it so that we can get better at it. Each year.

And December 2019 is a great time to get started on your 2020.

Cheers!

 

 

 

Action Items:

– If you like what I write about, tell a colleague.

– If something resonates and you want to reach out directly, email me.

– If you think we share common interests, connect with me on LinkedIn.

– If you want a sense of how well your practice is working for you, take this Practice Self Assessment.

Book Review: How Clients Buy

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In case you missed last week: Are you prepared to blow up your practice? Maybe a bit of hyperbole. But we get consumed by putting out today’s fires. We must take time to be forward-looking (like the cost of capital!) and prepare for the time when the past is not a proxy for the future. I think we are coming up on such a period of time in our industry.

On to this week: If you are looking for a better perspective to understand how clients buy our professional services – particularly if you are hoping to improve the odds of making that happen for your services – you must read How Clients Buy by Tom McMakin and Doug Fletcher (John Wiley & Sons, © 2018, 262 pp.).

And if you’re new here, welcome aboard. This is what we do!

I hope y’all have a great Thanksgiving Day weekend!

The book is for …

How Clients Buy is intended for professional service providers (like us!). Each chapter starts with a background story that illustrates how someone in the professional services field faced and overcame the most common challenges and obstacles when selling services (like ours!).

The authors then dissect those challenges and obstacles and present a variety of practical solutions for professional service providers based on their real-world experience in networking, scoping projects, delivering successful outcomes, wooing prospects, writing articles, public speaking, and relentlessly following up (all things that we do!).

The principal message is …

The principal message of the book can be summed up as follows: We do not sell professional services to clients … clients buy professional services from us. And we should not lose sight of that distinction. Thus, we need to support and encourage clients on their path to discovering us.

About that path …

The authors lay out a seven-step sequential process – they call it a “buying decision journey” – that prospective clients move through when deciding to hire professionals like us:

  1. They become or are aware of our existence.
  2. They understand what we do and how we are unique.
  3. They develop an interest in us or our firm.
  4. They respect our work and have confidence that we can help them.
  5. They trust that we have their best interests at heart.
  6. They have the ability to hire us and can corral the money to pay us.
  7. They are ready to hire us.

A key insight is that the most successful professional service providers don’t “sell.” Rather, they leverage their knowledge in the ways of how and why clients buy and position themselves in front of clients for the time when they are ready to buy.

The seven steps are a diagnostic tool …

The old school of selling goes like this: If I could only prospect better, pitch better, negotiate better, and close better, I would win more business. But that’s not how professional services are sold – clients hire us when they need our services, not when we need their business.

So, if we are not converting prospects into clients as well as we would like, knowing the buying decision journey allows us to focus on the steps we are skipping and the questions we need to ask so we can improve. For example:

  1. Aware – How do we ensure that prospects know we exist?
  2. Understand – How do we best explain our specialty?
  3. Interest – How do we connect what we do with client priorities and goals?
  4. Respect – How do we assure clients that we can do what we say we can do?
  5. Trust – How do we build a relationship characterized by trust?
  6. Ability – How do we help clients build a case for hiring us?
  7. Ready – How can we make sure we are there when they need us?

Other useful ideas …

Here are the top tips recommended by accomplished professional service providers for someone trying to build their practice:

  • Do great work … because you are the product.
  • Be your own chief revenue officer … no matter how big your firm, build your own practice and develop your own client base.
  • Build your network … the more people you know the more opportunities you’ll have for building respect and trust. Still, it’s the quality of relationships that make the difference.
  • Develop your own style … don’t try to be someone you are not.
  • Dedicate time (ideally, every day) for practice development … and have a disciplined approach that incorporates tactics you are good at and enjoy doing.
  • Be persistent and positive in the face of all of the potential “No’s” … have someone you can talk to who will continue to encourage you to keep trying.
  • Don’t call it selling … instead commit yourself to the idea that your job is to identify a community of clients to which you would like to be of service and then do everything you can to help connect those in that community with warm introductions, smart articles, and peer meetings.

The most valuable thing for me was …

As a BVFLS practitioner and a practice development coach for BVFLS practitioners, How Clients Buy made a lot of sense to me. Why?

First, the authors make a fundamental observation that I’ve been saying for years: We are not taught how to sell the work we do. You know it’s true … I know it’s true. And my feeling was validated.

Second, selling a service is different more difficult than selling a product. And being an expert about something (e.g., a specific BVFLS service) is not enough – we must figure out a way to build a bridge from our expertise to the clients it can help.

Third, I could identify with the predications and trepidations inherent in all seven steps of the client’s buying decision journey because that’s what I feel when I have to hire a professional service provider.

Closing thought …

This book is a great read and a must read. It will give you a set of best practices that will help you build your practice or advance in the practice that employs you.

However, there is a difference between information and implementation. How Clients Buy will give you plenty of information (best practices), but nothing will change until you implement.

And I can help with that!

Cheers!

 

 

 

Action Items:

– If you like what I write about, tell a colleague.

– If something resonates and you want to reach out directly, email me.

– If you think we share common interests, connect with me on LinkedIn.

– If you want a sense of how well your practice is working for you, take this Practice Self Assessment.