rod burkert

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Micro-influence: This 1 strategy can grow your practice locally, regionally, or nationally

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In case you missed my last post: How to build prospect trust into your marketing. Prospects aren’t experts – that’s why they consider engaging us. And that requires a leap of faith, aka trust. But we can build trust (confidence/competence/ benevolence) into our marketing. One way to do that is with LI recommendations.

On to this week: Most small BVFLS practices are geographically limited. Much of the work these practices do is for clients who are located, say, within a 5- to 25-mile radius if they are situated in or near a large city and maybe a 25- to 100-mile radius as they become less urban.

On the other hand, some BVFLS practices have a regional or even a national scope. For them, geography is less meaningful or not meaningful at all. These practices “travel well.”

Do you want to expand the reach of your practice … locally, regionally, or nationally? You probably do. So how do you do it?

There is a new strategy gaining momentum: micro-influence. And if we want to expand the reach of our practices – locally, regionally, or nationally – we need to embrace it. Micro-influence is created when 4 points converge:

  1. When specific expertise …
  2. Uses a specific medium …
  3. To reach a specific audience …
  4. In a specific geography.

1. Specific expertise = what are we really good at

Most practitioners position themselves to do all the work they could be hired for rather than the work they are best suited for. For example, the other day I saw a LinkedIn profile that listed “15 key competencies.” Really? Would you believe anyone who touted 15 key competencies?

So what work (or practice area) do you enjoy doing? What clients (or industry niche) do you like serving? Make THAT your specific expertise.

2. Specific medium = how do we communicate our expertise

There are many options available for us to communicate our expertise: ads, articles, blogs, books, email, public relations, podcasts, seminars, webinars, websites, and videos.

We can use these options to focus on our strength in writing, speaking, and broadcasting. And if we are consistent and persistent, our efforts gain momentum and our audience grows month over month, year over year. Think of this as compound marketing.

So for you, what are the 2 or 3 or 4 media options that would showcase your expertise … that can feed off of each other … and that if done consistently and persistently would create a compound marketing effect?

3. Specific audience = who wants or needs to hear from us

Based on our specific expertise, who are the people who want or need to hear from us? And also, who are the people who influence those people?

Now, what media will be most likely utilized by that combined and connected audience? Do they read, watch, or listen? For example, the explosive growth of podcasting is partly due to people’s desire to listen to content – of any type – during their work commutes.

So who is the audience that can send work your way? And how do you best reach them?

4. Specific geography = where are those people located

Many practitioners I talk to do not believe they can “major in” a specific expertise because there are not enough clients in their city to support that kind of a practice. But if we have expertise that is needed by local, regional, or national clients, we can be micro-influencers with local, regional, or national practices.

I am not saying you want or need a national presence. But it is possible …

Gary Trugman lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He advertises his divorce expertise in local bar association journals. Over the years, that compounded into word of mouth that gave him a national practice. You could do that.

Jim Hitchner lives outside of Atlantic City, New Jersey and uses webinars to convey his expertise. The webinars reach a national audience. He has a national practice. You could do that.

Russell Parr lives in rural Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He has expertise – intellectual property – that is sought after by national clients. His books on the subject gave him a national practice. You could do that.

So what

If we want to, we can expand our practices – locally, regionally, or nationally. We can make expertise, medium, and audience converge by focusing on our positioning (who we serve), our messaging (what makes us different), and our marketing (where we show up). The geography will be a function of how much – or how far – you want to ramp up.

In real life

It all begins with specific expertise – being known for what you know, advancing your perspective of it, and being recognized for it. I call that Authority, and it allows you to scale your expertise beyond your geographic boundaries. You can’t be everywhere but your ideas can be.

* * *

So that is this post’s practice development message.
Hopefully, you can put it to good use.
How can I help you move in the direction of a micro-influencer?

And if you are looking to grow your BVFLS practice faster and smarter so you can get more time, money, and freedom from it – subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Related posts

20 questions that will help you find your practice niche
Your 3 greatest fears about niching
Industry disruption – time to leave or dig your heels in by niching

Where I will be
If I’m coming to you, let’s meet up!

Mar 06-24: San Antonio, TX
Jun 10-12: Toronto, ON (speaking at CBVI Congress on Jun 11)
Jun 17-20: Philadelphia, PA (speaking at NACVA Conference on Jun 19)

Cheers!

 

 

 

Action Items:

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

– If you got this from a colleague, subscribe to get your own copy!

– 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 free Practice Self Assessment.

How to build prospect trust into your marketing

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In case you missed my last post: “Let me think about it” OR Why prospects don’t buy. When a prospect says the dreaded words, “Let me think about it”, our job is to figure out what the stall, excuse, or objection is and help (not push) them with their decision. I’ve got a model to analyze the situation and a script to structure the conversation.

That last post got a lot of feedback. Just to refresh, here is the key diagram.

There was general agreement that we can do little to move our prospects to the right on the Urgency/Need axis. They need our services when they need our services, right?

But several people asked how we could move our prospects up on the Trust/Believability axis. That seems like that would be more in our control, right?

So let’s see what we can do about building Trust into our marketing.

A study by MIT marketing professor Glen Urban has found that there are three elements of trust:

  1. Confidence – I believe what you say.
  2. Competence – I believe you can do what you say you can do.
  3. Benevolence – I believe you have my best interests in mind.

Here’s a diagram to better visualize this.

So, let’s put ourselves in our prospects’ shoes.
What can you do to create trust along these three axes?

Confidence

Caring is a prerequisite to gaining prospect trust and their believing what you say. Teddy Roosevelt put it this way: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

I am going to assume that you run your practice treating others like you would like to be treated … so that you do care about your prospects … and that your caring is evident.

Competence

Trust is more easily established within a smaller client base because it’s easier to stand out as an expert or to gather referrals that hold weight from other BVFLS experts in that niche.

The more specific you are with who your services are for, the faster you can build trust with that audience. Yes, this is another argument for niching.

Benevolence

The prospect’s outlay is money and time. Is there anything you do in outlining your scope of services that shows the prospect you have considered these factors?

I usually try to start every non-tax-purpose valuation engagement as a Calculation … because it is my least expensive level of service that I can deliver in the shortest time frame … and it just might solve the prospect’s problem.

So what

All of this is great, in theory. But how do we build prospect trust into our marketing? Easy … relatively speaking! Request recommendations via LinkedIn for the specific elements of trust from your past/current clients.

I know. You’re thinking: THIS IS SUCH A PAIN! But why? If you delivered a project you’re proud of – on time and on budget – why is this a pain?

And if you want to make it easier for past clients to write recommendations, tell them what you want the recommendation to say.

Here’s how to do it. You are in the LinkedIn recommendation widget. The default request is: Hi Rod. Could you write me a recommendation? Not helpful to the person writing the recommendation!

Try this. Hi Rod. Do you remember the valuation we worked on for The Estate of Jane Doe? We both thought the project went well. So I was wondering if you would write a recommendation for me. If you’re not sure what to write or how much to write, could you simply say why you trusted me to do the work that I said I could do OR how I demonstrated that I had the Estate’s best interests in mind, e.g., time- or money-wise? Thanks!

These recommendations can then become testimonials on your website and other collateral marketing materials.

In real life

You are an expert at BVFLS, but your prospects are not. That is why they are asking for your help. If they had spent your years learning the BVFLS craft, and had seen everything you’ve seen while doing that, they wouldn’t need you. But they aren’t experts, and that is why they are considering engaging with you. That requires a leap of faith, aka trust.

Related posts

Fill the know, like & trust buckets with a video FAQ library
I feel awkward asking clients for referrals. Here’s what I’m doing about it.

Reading that can help

The Trusted Advisor, by David Maister, Charles Green, and Robert Galford
How Clients Buy, by Tom McMakin and Doug Fletcher (and reviewed by me here)

* * *

Join me next Friday at 1pm ET on Practice Development INSIDER for my interview with Jim Koerber. Jim is a master of understated marketing … the little touches that don’t cost much but go a long way toward filling the know, like, and trust buckets of his clients. Things that many of us forget about doing in today’s fast-paced, online world – like handwritten thank you notes. Here’s your chance to learn more about how he built his practice and why it works for him.

Where I will be
If I’m coming to you, let’s meet up!

Mar 04-07: Del Rio, TX
Mar 08-17: San Antonio, TX (speaking at Central Texas ASA Chapter on Mar 12)
Mar 19-24: Tucson, AZ
Mar 25-Apr 08: Phoenix, AZ
Apr 09-15: Lake Havasu, AZ
Jun 10-12: Toronto, ON (speaking at CBVI Congress on Jun 11)
Jun 17-20: Philadelphia, PA (speaking at NACVA Conference on Jun 19)

Cheers!

 

 

 

Action Items:

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

– If you got this from a colleague, subscribe to get your own copy!

– 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 free Practice Self Assessment.

“Let me think about it” OR Why prospects don’t buy

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In case you missed my last post: If you don’t have an assistant, guess what – YOU are the assistant! And if you are spending valuable time on the administrative tasks that keep you busy, that means less time or, more likely, longer workdays to perform the real work that generates your revenue.

On to this post: When a prospect says the dreaded words, “Let me think about it”, our job is to figure out what the stall, excuse, or objection is and help (not push) them with their decision. Here’s a model that can help you do that.

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

Something a newsletter reader sent me: The Problem with Answering, “What’s Your Hourly Rate?” from accountingWEB. (Hat tip to SU.)

My take: This is a quick, must-read article if you are interested in learning the first steps of moving away from hourly pricing, using conversations to determine prospects’ needs and urgency, and providing pricing options.

Let me think about it.

We’ve all heard those disconcerting words, right?
We tried hard to convert a prospect into a client.
We made our best pitch, but we couldn’t cross the goal line.
But … did we make our best pitch?
And … was it the prospect who didn’t want to cross the goal line?

I believe that understanding buyer psychology to get the work is just as important as having the technical skills to do the work. Maybe even more so because if you can’t get the work, you can’t do the work!

A while back I came across a buyer psychology framework in a Facebook group I belong to. When I studied it, it really – and I mean REALLY – put me in my prospect’s shoes. Here’s the model; let’s deconstruct it.

The axes

The axes of the model are Trust/Believability and Urgency/Need.

So first, does the prospect trust us enough to believe that we can do the work? Can we do what we say we can do? Trust and Believability are a function of our Authority – do we have specialized knowledge … are we known for that expertise … and have we been recognized for it.

And second, how urgent is the prospect’s need to get the work done? Is there a trial next month? Or is the estate tax return due in 6-9 months? Urgency and Need are a function of where we catch the prospect in their buying process.

The 4 quadrants of believability & need

The flux between Believability and Need creates a classic Eisenhower Box with four quadrants. Let’s look at the quadrants.

The 1st box is Complacency (high believability/low need), which leads to inertia.

The prospect believes we can do the work.
BUT there is no urgency to motivate them to act now.

The 2nd box is Indifference (low believability/low need), which leads to rejection.

If a prospect doesn’t believe we are a fit for the work AND there is no urgent need to get the work done, there is little likelihood that we will close a sale here.

The 3rd box is Skepticism (low believability/high need), which leads to objections.

Here, the prospect is interested because they have an urgent need.
BUT they won’t commit because they haven’t totally bought into what we are selling them.

The 4th box is Enthusiasm (high believability/high need), which leads to conversion.

Finally, the stars align!
The prospect believes we can solve their problem, AND the prospect reached out to us when their need became urgent.

So what

A sale is won or lost at the tipping point of a decision. A decision in our favor happens when a prospect’s trust in the believability of OUR services intersects with the urgency of THEIR needs.

So when the prospect says, “Let me think about it”, our job is to figure out what box our prospect is in – Complacency, Indifference, or Skepticism. We need to ask probing questions to determine what the stall, excuse, or objection is. And with our responses, we can move the prospect up the axis of Believability … and/or right on the axis of Need.

If prospects are low on Believability, can we convince them we can do the work? Does our website provide case studies or testimonials? Does our LI profile have recommendations?

If prospects are low on Need, do we have a way to nurture them until they are ready to buy? Do they get a newsletter from us? Or emails or phone calls to periodically check in with them?

In real life

When a prospect says to me, “Let me think about it”, I say, “Gee, that response usually means either you are not interested right now (low Need) or you are interested but not sure (low Believability). Which is it for you?”

If the prospect says “not interested”, there is not much I can do except to continue to stay in touch (without being a pita).

But usually, the prospect says “not sure”, which is a euphemism for our fit or my price. So I ask, “Do you think we are not a good fit, or is it my price?” And we go from there.

I am either going to be a good fit or I am not. Maybe there was some misunderstanding about my experience that I need to correct. Maybe they don’t like that I live/work/travel in an RV.

And if it’s price, it’s price. Though I do normally offer pricing/service options to change the question from “Do I want to work with Rod?” (yes or no) to “How do I want to work with Rod?” (which option).

At the end of the day, we need to recognize that prospects will hire us when they need our services – not when we need their business. So a rejection for any reason might not mean NO; it just might mean NOT YET. We should nurture the prospect in our CRM system. Over time, the NO can become a YES as the prospect consistently hears from us and we use those opportunities to create value and build rapport.

We do a much deeper dive into this model in my coaching program because it is so critical to understanding prospects and converting them into clients. Hopefully, this brief introduction is helpful and you can put it to use in your practice.

Let me know what you think by taking a few seconds to like, comment on, or share this post/video. And if you are looking to grow your BVFLS practice faster and smarter so you can get more time, money, and freedom from it – subscribe to my YouTube channel.

* * *

Where I will be
If I’m coming to your town, let’s meet up!

Mar 04-07: Del Rio, TX
Mar 08-17: San Antonio, TX (speaking at Central Texas ASA Chapter on Mar 12)
Mar 19-24: Tucson, AZ
Mar 25-Apr 08: Phoenix, AZ
Jun 10-12: Toronto, ON (speaking at CBVI Congress on Jun 11)
Jun 17-20: Philadelphia, PA (speaking at NACVA Conference on Jun 19)

Cheers!

 

 

 

Action Items:

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

– If you got this from a colleague, subscribe to get your own copy!

– 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 free Practice Self Assessment.

If you don’t have an assistant, guess what – YOU are the assistant!

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In case you missed my last post: The lunch dilemma. Face-to-face meetings like lunches can be effective practice development pump primers. But the problem with lunches is fewer and fewer people want to have them because more and more people want to protect their time. What are the alternatives to doing lunch?

On to this post: The title says it all. Because if you are spending valuable time on the administrative tasks that keep you busy, that means less time or, more likely, a longer workday to perform the business activities that create your revenue stream. How do you avoid that?

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 Gary Trugman. Why Gary? So much of the valuation information we consume is geared towards appraising very large companies. But Gary has made a name for himself by valuing small and medium-sized businesses. Isn’t that what you spend most of your time doing?

And valuing small and medium-sized BUSINESSES requires a different practice development effort to attract small and medium-sized BUSINESS OWNERS. Would you like to know how Gary does it? Here’s your chance to find out.

Wow! The month of January flew by. But in terms of the repetitive daily, weekly, or monthly tasks you must do, is your 2020 already starting to feel like a repeat of your 2019? Are those tasks keeping you from activities that make you money … or time that you could be spending with friends and family? How do you avoid that?

Here’s a valuable lesson I’ve learned in my practice. If you don’t have an assistant, guess what? You are the assistant!

That means that you spend valuable time on the administrative tasks that keep you busy. And less time or, more likely, longer workdays to perform the operating activities that create your revenue.

You can fix this by getting a physical or virtual assistant.

But, let me guess … you don’t think you can afford one. You can’t afford not to have one! So let’s hurdle that objection because I used to feel that way, so I get it.

Here was my rationale. I was not “that” busy. So I had the time to do those admin tasks. Thus, I could “save” money by not hiring an assistant. Typical old-school accountant mentality, right? And the reality is that it kept me less profitable because the time I spent “saving” money was keeping me from doing more valuation work. And I did this for years.

What changed my mind? Well, I started calculating the money I wasn’t making because I didn’t have an assistant. I realized I was being penny wise and pound foolish. Does that sound anything like you? If it does, then you need to delegate or outsource those expense-saving tasks so you can focus on money-making activities!

So what tasks can you delegate or outsource to get the ball rolling? Well, it can be life stuff or work stuff.

Here is an example of some life stuff I delegated.
When Amy and I had our practice in Philadelphia, we hired an assistant.
She started out cleaning our home.
Then she was doing our laundry.
Then she was shopping for our groceries.
Then she was getting our car serviced.
Eventually, we got to a level of trust where she was paying our bills.You can imagine the ton of time all of that saved us. Time that we put back into performing valuations during the week and recharging our batteries on weekends.

Here is an example of some work stuff I outsourced.
I script and record these videos.
But the intro and outro and the music are all added in post-production by Max, a virtual assistant who lives in San Diego that I found on Fiverr.
I could have learned to do this, but I didn’t want to take the time to perform the magic that Max can do so much better … because that is his job.
And I can focus on creating relevant and useful content … because that is my job.

And then there is my INSIDER webinar series.
I found Danielle, a virtual assistant who lives in Phoenix, again on Fiverr.
She completed my NASBA application and shepherded it through the approval process.
She runs the front office to create the webinars.
She runs the actual webinars.
And she runs the back office to wrap up the webinars.
You would be amazed at the volume of tasks all of this requires.
Again, I could do these tasks, but I don’t want to afford the time. And Danielle is so much better at these tasks than I will ever be … because that is her job. Which allows me to focus on conducting the interviews … because that is my job.

When the people I coach say to me, “Rod, I can’t do it all.” I say, “You’re right!” And that’s why one of the favorite modules in my program is leveraging talent, where I show people how to go from “lift-ING” to being “lift-ED.”

If you feel like you can’t do it all, you’re right, too!

So what can you delegate or outsource? I want you to focus mono-maniacally on the activities that generate your revenue. And forsake the tasks that don’t. Because your opportunity cost is your hourly rate or time you could be spending with friends and family.

Hopefully, this message has been helpful and you can put it to good use. Let me know your thoughts by taking a few seconds to like, comment on, or share this post/video.

And if you are looking to grow your BVFLS practice faster and smarter so you can get more time, money, and freedom from it – subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Related posts

Spend more time where you create your revenue.

Cheers!

 

 

 

Action Items:

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

– If you got this from a colleague, subscribe to get your own copy!

– 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 free Practice Self Assessment.

The lunch dilemma

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In case you missed the last 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.

On to this post: The problem with lunches is fewer and fewer people want to have them because more and more people want to protect their time. What are the best alternatives to doing lunch?

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

“What do I want?” and “What am I willing to struggle for?” are two sides of the same coin.
Set yourself up for success by admitting it’s going to be hard — but worth it.

Here is a dilemma we all face. We want to work with a current or prospective referral source. We feel the need to prime the pump. A meeting is a good idea, right? So let’s schedule lunch!

Let me ask, how do you feel when someone – who you know wants something from you – asks you to lunch? You can almost smell their pitch coming from a mile away, right? Well, that’s what people smell when YOU ask THEM to lunch.

And because you know there will be a pitch, you can hear the hesitation in your voice as you fumble for an excuse to put it off. Well, that’s how people hesitate when YOU ask THEM to lunch.

What has happened to lunch?!

Yes, face-to-face meetings like lunches can be effective pump primers. The problem is fewer and fewer people want to have them because more and more people want to protect their time! What are we supposed to do now?

Well, I listened to a recent webinar from two colleagues, Jay Harrington and Tom Nixon. They specialize in practice development for attorneys, and they have some alternatives to the lunch dilemma.

Jay and Tom suggest professionals like us first consider email/phone requests like these to prime the pump:

  • Would you like to co-author an article or co-present a speech for our practice area?
  • Do you want to collaborate on a study for our industry niche?
  • Will you be a guest on my podcast?

In all three examples, the person you are asking can do it on their schedule … they don’t have to leave their office … and the end product – the article/speech/study/or podcast – builds your Authority AND THEIRS. Win-win!

I also liked the following email script from Jay and Tom. I adapted it to a practical example in our BV world:

Hi Ms. Business Owner. You mentioned that you had not updated your company’s buy-sell agreement in several years. I wrote the attached article that addresses some of the most common valuation problems I see in these things. I thought you might find it useful. Let me know if we need to follow up.

Now if you were trying to sell your buy-sell agreement valuation services, this email does the trick less obviously and less intrusively then asking the business owner to lunch.

So there you go – some ideas to fix the lunch dilemma. Hopefully, they are helpful.

What do YOU think? Have you seen a decline in the number of people wanting to do lunch with you? What are you doing about it?

Let me know by taking a few seconds to like, comment on, or share this post/video. And if you are looking to grow your BVFLS practice faster and smarter so you can get more time, money, and freedom from it – subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Cheers!

 

 

 

Action Items:

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

– If you got this from a colleague, subscribe to get your own copy!

– 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 free Practice Self Assessment.