Blog
Using retainer fee agreements to create client loyalty
Competition for work has never been greater. Every year I feel like the demand side shrinks, the supply side expands, and the cries of ‘more for less’ grow louder. One of the more innovative ways for professionals to create and cultivate client stickiness is to commit to a retainer fee arrangement.
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Implementing a ‘land and expand’ pricing strategy for business growth
In a highly competitive business environment, such as we often find with professional services, it is arguable that an aggressive pricing strategy helps win work and new clients. A ‘land and expand’ pricing strategy could be an option for you to consider to drive business growth and success.
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‘Sink or Swim?’: Tips on how to successfully onboard a new lateral hire
You’ve done an internal audit of your existing skill set and identified a deficiency. It might be that you never had that particular skill set in the first place. Or it could be you’ve recently lost the skill to a retirement or departure. Either way, you don’t have it, and you need it.
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Understanding the difference between a recurring and reoccurring revenue model
“Recurring revenue” = revenue that is expected to continue on a regular basis with a high-degree of predictability. “Reoccurring revenue” = revenue that is repeatable, but not necessarily on a regular or predictable basis.
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Capped fees – the good, the bad and the ugly
When a client first asks you for a capped fee, you’ll likely not think too much about it. After all what can go wrong? All you need to do is to scope the work, workout the leverage, think about how long it will take you to do the task and then add in a little buffer. But, is this the best way?
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5 tips to make your next client business development meeting a success!
For most professionals, the very thought of a meeting with a new prospect or an existing customer to talk through how you can help them with their problem(s) can be daunting.
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5 after-sales services you should be providing to your clients
Strong client relationships are critical to maintaining and growing business. With most service-based professional businesses – such as legal, accounting, and engineering – relationships with customers tend to be transactional. So, how do you balance a transactional practice with a need to foster long-term client relationships?
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5 reasons you need to unlock the secrets in your data
Every professional services firm collects huge amounts of data about their clients and the industry sectors they operate in each and every day. Few, however, take the time to apply the resources to interpret this raw data and apply the findings to its own business in order to improve the value of the service they’re providing.
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Why you need to segment your client marketing list
At GSJ we believe that by not segmenting your client list to the relevant readership, you’re missing out on a ton of business development opportunities. If you want to rectify this error, you should start by classifying your current client and target client lists.
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5 things to consider when implementing a formal client feedback program
According to the results of a survey undertaken by BTI Consulting Group, 72% of professional services firms’ clients indicated that they want to give feedback on their service provider’s performance. Yet only 30% of firms actually ask their clients for feedback in any meaningful way.
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Niche or generalist?
A common question in business is whether it is better to be a generalist, full-service practitioner or a niche practitioner? As with so many things in professional services, our answer to that question is a cop-out: "it depends".
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10 rules for business development success
This post is inspired by Kurt Vonnegut’s ‘8 Rules of Writing’. If you’ve never heard of Vonnegut’s 8 Rules, Rule #1 is about as perfect an example of a rule that should apply to your business development activities. Read here for this #1 tip and 9 more!
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