rod burkert

Turn the practice you have into the practice you want!

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Value and Impact: A tale of two practitioners

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I hope our last conversation inspires you to fight industry disruption … to dig in … to strike out on your own if an Accounting/BV firm merger does not suit you … to fight the likes of big data valuation solutions. And do this by finding a niche and becoming so damn good at/in it that you can’t be ignored.

On to this week. A diagrammatical follow-up to niching and specialization and a tale of two BVFLS practitioners.

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

Does your website have case studies or testimonials that show you can do what you say you can do?
If you were searching for someone like you, isn’t that what you would look for?

Imagine two practitioners exerting the same amount of effort (getting the work and doing the work) to create value (dollars) and make an impact (results).

Practitioner #1, the generalist, is moving in lots of directions … s/he is busy.
Practitioner #2, the specialist is moving in one direction … s/he is productive.

Who will get the farthest, fastest? With less stress?
One picture is worth a thousand words.

So what

As measured by value created and impact made – for you and your clients – does your practice have the level of contribution it could?

How/where do you get the highest level of contribution from your efforts?
It’s not by being a generalist.

In real life

Our work is not a calling.
It is important that our practices work for us as well as for our clients.

Related posts

Your 3 greatest fears about niching
$3 million in practice revenue by specializing
20 questions that will help you find your practice niche

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.

Industry disruption – time to leave or dig your heels in by niching

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I hope our last conversation about always leading with your best price causes you to more seriously look at how you price your services. Enough said.

On to this week. You know claiming a niche is important. But you’re not convinced that you could specialize. Or you are convinced but are afraid to take the leap. It’s time to dig in. Let me tell you why.

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

The value of our services is simply this:
PRODUCT – MEANING = COMMODITY
PRODUCT + MEANING = BRAND

There are BVFLS professionals who specialize in a niche and are successful.
One might argue they are successful because they have a niche.
You know them. So you know it can be done.
But you’re not convinced that you could specialize …
Or you are convinced but are afraid to take the leap.

Hi. I’m Rod Burkert. And welcome to my Practice Development Corner, the place where business valuation professionals like you come to learn how to turn the practice they have into the practice they want.

Many BVFLS practitioners resist focusing their services on a niche market.
They’re concerned about missing out on other opportunities, don’t know which niche to pick, or believe that serving a single niche would be boring.

Claiming a niche is important because I’m finding more prospects who are looking for specialists for high margin work.
They want a master craftsman, not a jack-of-all-trades.
What’s the difference?

The jack-of-all-trades practitioner:

  1. Is busy and scattered because they cover a lot of ground.
  2. Knows a little about a lot.
  3. Is not on any shortlists for any engagements.
  4. Provides in-the-box advice for problems.
  5. Earns less because they compete on price.

The master craftsman appraiser:

  1. Is productive and focused because they only cover their ground.
  2. Knows a lot about a little.
  3. Is on the shortlist for all relevant engagements.
  4. Provides creative solutions for problems.
  5. Earns more because clients pay a premium for expertise.

There is a lot of disruption going on in our industry – from Accounting/BV firm mergers to big data valuation solutions.
Now is the time to either leave or dig your heels in.
One way of digging is by specializing in a niche and being so damn good at it that you can’t be ignored.

And are you forever tied to your niche? Absolutely not.
In my INSIDER interview with Chris Mercer, he said he has specialized in a series of niches that have carried him throughout his career.
In my interview with Jim Hitchner, he also believes in specialization as well as taking on projects outside of your specialty if they fall in your wheelhouse.

So that is this episode’s practice development tip. Hopefully, it’s been helpful.
How can I help you move in this direction?
Let me know by taking just a few seconds to like, comment on, or share this video.

Even better – 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.

Thanks for tuning in!

Related posts

20 questions that will help you find your practice niche
Your 3 greatest fears about niching

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.

Always lead with your best price – based on a story by someone who didn’t

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Greetings from Forbes Park in the historic San Luis Valley of Colorado. Friends of ours bought a home here and promptly added two full-hook-up RV pads to accommodate visitors like us.

Last week’s conversation was about using a video FAQ library for would-be clients who are looking for someone like you to solve their problem and stumble across your website during their search.

On to this week. A true story about how a company that did not lead with its best price lost a long-term customer – me. What are the lessons to be learned?

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 Nancy Fannon. Nancy has run the gamut from solo to small firm to larger firm to really large firm, and she is going to share how she built and grew her practice as she made each jump.

Regardless of the size firm you’re in, there’s bound to be a nugget or two you can use in your practice.

Like many of you, Amy and I pay our bills at the end of a month. On our August credit card statement was a $305 renewal charge for Sirius/XM. For what it’s worth, I believe that price reflected “full access” to all of their stations.

The amount caused us to debate about the value we were receiving for our subscription (needs). We mainly listen to NPR and a handful of music stations … sometimes a Packers game if we can’t get to a sports bar. I would not describe us as “heavy” radio listeners.

Thus, we didn’t think the content we were paying for (needed) was worth $305. So Amy called to cancel. And you guessed it – Sirius started offering her other lower-price options to hold onto us.

Lessons to be learned

This experience caused me to think about the product/pricing lessons that could be applied to our BVFLS practices.

#1 – Always lead with your best price

Sirius tried to get away with charging us the non-objector’s, full-freight annual renewal price of $305. When we did object, a lower price suddenly became available.

Have you ever quoted someone a fee of say $10,000 for a project and then walked it back to say $8,000 when the prospect balked? I have. And what a schmuck I was for doing that.

Is the project worth $8,000 or $10,000? If I was willing to do it for $8,000 why didn’t I lead with that? I just told the prospect they would have overpaid by $2,000 if they had accepted the $10,000 price. Not the reputation I want to have.

Also, imagine if that prospect was the client of a referral source. Do you think they won’t go back to that referral source and tell them about their experience with you?

#2 – If there isn’t one price you can lead with, price with options

I imagine a company like Sirius has data on how much we listen to what kind of content over the past year, if not longer. Sirius could have used that information to offer us appropriately priced packages that were tailored to our actual usage (needs).

The reason I no longer backtrack on my price is that I take more time to figure out what the prospect needs and price based on that. And if there is more than one way to solve the prospect’s problem, I price with options. Pricing with options, moves the prospect’s question from Do I want to work with Rod? (yes or no answer) to How do I want to work with Rod? (pick an option).

#3 – There are substitute products/services out there

Don’t give prospects a reason to look into substitute products/services. We determined we could replace our Sirius usage with iPhone/iPad NPR and Pandora apps … and get for free everything we were paying $305 for (except the Packers sportscasts).

Our BVFLS substitute products out there range from BizEquity to other qualified appraisers who are extremely scrupulous about their pricing. Take the time to price your service right the first time.

So what

When Sirius started dangling discounted pricing options in front of us, we felt taken advantage of. Ultimately, we canceled our subscription and a refund is in process.

At the end of the day, many of us price our services by multiplying the hours it will take to do the project times the hourly rates for the professionals involved. I’ve said this before: hours x rate is a price, not a value. It is our price to do the work, not the prospect’s value of having the work done.

In real life

Do you want to have a higher prospect-to-client conversion ratio?
Think about your pricing AND how you communicate it.

Related posts

Could pricing with options increase your practice revenues?
Is there value in your pricing? How about a rationale?
How pricing with options increased my fee by $10k

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.

Fill the know, like & trust buckets with a video FAQ library

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So last week, I published your reactions to me dropping my ABV credential. Then even more email came in that supported my decision. In fact, so much so, that it made me rethink my AICPA membership. And now I have dropped that as well. Just note that I am not saying everyone should do this … but these were the right decisions for me.

On to this week. How do you fill the know, like, and trust buckets with people who don’t already know you … and who happen to stumble across your website or LinkedIn profile? Well, one way is a video FAQ library.

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

Everyone has a freakness and a weakness.
Emphasize the freakness and become an 8, 9, or 10 at it.
Because no one wants to pay for anything less than that.

People you work with – clients and referral sources – they already know, like, and trust you and likely don’t need to visit your website (or LinkedIn profile) to refill those buckets.
But the people who don’t know you – would-be clients and referral sources – they stumble upon your website (or LinkedIn profile) and are looking for someone to know, like, and trust.
So how do you fill those buckets with those people?

Hi. I’m Rod Burkert. And welcome to my Practice Development Corner, the place where business valuation professionals like you come to learn how to turn the practice they have into the practice they want.

So how do you fill the know, like, and trust buckets with people who stumble across your website or LinkedIn profile?
One way is a Video FAQ Library.
And I got this idea from the practice development ninjas who help attorneys over at Spotlight Branding.

A Video FAQ Library is a collection of short videos in which you answer questions that your previous prospects asked before they became clients.
The videos could also address various BVFLS misconceptions that you find yourself repeatedly addressing with your existing clients and referral sources.
So the idea is to create videos addressing these common questions so that prospects can see you as a trust-WORTHY resource who understands what they are going through and who is in a position to help them.

I know what you’re thinking … Rod’s talking video again.
Look, other than a face-to-face conversation, video is the best way to build rapport with prospects.
Video allows prospects to see your face, hear your voice, and read your body language.

And these FAQ videos don’t require detailed technical explanations.
Just brief conversational overviews to explain the practical implications of the questions.
You want to give just enough information so that the prospects want to call you for more information.
So try to keep your answers to around 60-90 seconds.

Sounds simple, right?!
It is if you don’t overthink it.
I only use an iPhone, a mic, and a tripod for my videos.
And when posted on your website, these videos become a marketing tool that works for you 24/7.
You can also post the videos on a platform like LinkedIn, further increasing your reach.

So that is this episode’s practice development tip. Hopefully, it’s been helpful.
What do you think? Could this work for you?
Let me know by taking just a few seconds to like, comment on, or share this video.
Even better – 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.
Thanks for watching!

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 can be done to keep more people from dropping their ABV?

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Greetings from Colorado. The RV is parked just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park. We are at 8,500 feet of elevation and have incredible views, cool temps, and low humidity. All for $11/night with my Lifetime Senior National Parks Pass.

Last week I announced that I dropped my ABV credential. I made it clear that I believed it was the right decision for me … but I was still curious about you might think.

So this week I thought I would publish those reactions … as well as offer my take on what I think needs to happen to keep more people from dropping a valuation credential.

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

Domain names for sale: StandardOfValue.com and PremiseofValue.com. Great .com domain names for a new BV firm or parking place for a BV-themed blog, newsletter, podcast, or video series. Email me for details.

Your reactions

These are presented in the order that I received them. All of the people who responded are full time BVers … names have been withheld for obvious reasons.

Appears foolish from a CPA/ABV, CFA. (I messaged this person back asking him why he believed this but did not receive a reply.)

I dropped my entire AICPA membership, and yes, I am disgruntled with the AICPA.

As a former member of the ABV Credential Committee, I am sorry to hear you dropped the ABV credential. However, I think your reasoning makes sense. I do a lot of divorce work, so the credentials are helpful to me….

You are advising lots of younger folks in small shops. What may be good for you at your “advanced age and stage” might not be good advice or leadership for the group you are seeking to influence. My advice to young professionals is to get a couple of key credentials. Almost all of our young hires work on the CFA (great training), and then, they get an ASA or something else. We sell credentials as a shop, and not just for litigation. We all need something to help us stand out in a crowded field. Does one stand out better with one less recognized credential? At my age, it doesn’t matter, but in the 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s, it can matter. And credentials don’t have to matter often to be worth more than the price of continuing admission….

As you probably know, I never chose to become an ABV. I always felt that the CVA was enough. And I believe that has been true. When I’m working on a legal matter, the attorney that has engaged me typically has more credentialing questions about the opposing attorney’s expert than my own. It boils down to the fact that my most important “credential” is the quality and credibility of my prior work that helped me get the next engagement.

I hope you report the results of your question on the ABV. I have felt exactly as you do, just I suppose scared to take the irreversible leap. I did drop the CFF forensics certification they handed out some years ago, not sorry about that. I don’t think I would miss the ABV either….

It was a smart move. The CVA credential is the best.

I dropped mine last year. I know I don’t do much to market, but no one seems to know what it is or cares.

In real life

First, I will tell you that I have had some reservations … how could I not? Probably because of the “belts and suspenders” personality trait that draws many of us to the Accounting and BVFLS professions.

Second, our credentials are a funny thing. Partly because we can accrue so many with relative ease. And partly because only a small number of people outside of valuation professionals know what they mean.

Here are examples universally recognized designations: Dr. or MD, DDS, JD, Esquire, Ph.D., and of course, CPA. No one goes “Huh … what’s that?” after you say you are one of these.

Our primary US valuation credentials – ABV, ASA, CBA, and CVA – are just the beginning of the proverbial alphabet soup that greets our most important clients … business owners and attorneys. Even the CFA charter, which I think is the most rigorous and prestigious of the valuation credentials, is not well recognized outside of the valuation/investment industry.

And therein lies an opportunity for any credentialing organization that really wants to stand out and help its BV members get more work– a focused marketing campaign that educates (primarily) business owners and their trusted advisors about who we are and what we do.

Right now, I see such a campaign as the only way we – as a profession – can combat the inroads being made by the likes of BizEquity and other online BV calculators. Otherwise, each appraiser is left to their own devices about educating their leads and prospects about the value they bring to the table over a black box solution.

THAT would make for a valuable credential.

Your thoughts?

Related posts

Has anyone noticed that we are being disrupted?
So I got this call from the AICPA …

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.