What’s Causing the Problem?

This ‘accounting vortex’ is created by both internal, and market driven challenges such as:

• Very strong demand for accounting compliance services.
• A lack of capacity due to an inability to attract and retain quality team members.
• A lack of internal champions with spare head space and the inclination to drive business advisory initiatives.
• A lack of leadership support and vision to invest in the right blend of advisory services.

So what are the high performing firms doing to drive advisory success while mitigating the effects of these challenging internal and market-driven forces?

8 Strategies to Accelerate Advisory Success

1. Get leadership support to stay the course

Capacity crunches are inevitable, reduce your targets to a manageable level for the business advisory services line to relieve the pressure without the leadership team reducing focus on the end game, so time and resources are allocated appropriately.

2. Build capacity

Now is the time to stop putting more business through incapable systems,address capacity issues with appropriate technology, resourcing and capability creation.  Embrace lean principles to refine the way you operate and have the courage to say ‘no’ to opportunities that don’t fit your vision,strategy or budget. Look at offshore options to drive further capacity in areas of the firm.

3. Embrace an advisory evolution not revolution

Evolving clients’ (and internal teams’) perception of the firm as a trusted source of business advice in areas such as problem solving, strategy, change,growth and profit involves building authentic capabilities, track record and confidence of internal champions through evolution, not revolution.

It’s not going to happen overnight, and there are no magic bullets, rather a strong commitment is needed for taking time to practice, staying the course and getting early wins. Start slowly and build strong foundational capability,refine your service offering before marketing heavily to your wider client base.

4. Be facilitators not consultants

Clients all have unique circumstances and goals; their businesses don’t work to a script. To add higher value and become more of a trusted advisor to a mature client’s business, you’ll need to act more as a facilitator rather than a consultant, helping them solve problems, develop strategies and go after root causes not symptoms.

You don’t need to have all the answers, rather leverage insights from where theyare now and where they want to be in the future to help them devise a plan for how they will get there.

5. Find the right internal champions

Identify several internal champions to lead the charge towards building advisory revenue success. Ensure they have the right ‘Advisory DNA’, a curiosity about business, and strong business acumen to take the lead in driving advisory success. These champions will slowly foster an advisory mindset across the wider firm, encouraging skill development,demonstrate capability (that drives both internal referrals and external new business) and encourage strategies that free up capacity for those interested in offering business advisory services to clients.

6. Keep the offering simple

When productising your business advisory solutions into a clear model,simplicity is the key. A base line of offerings such as a business health check,paid problem solving, and monthly or quarterly coaching support are a great start.

Simple products help build trust and the opportunity to help with strategic issuesat some point, especially important when an advisor lacks confidencein early stages. Try not to ‘gold plate’ everything, don’t wait for perfect. Just make start and adapt as you go.

7. Educate the team in growth goals and how to cross-refer

Use diagnostic tools at year end client compliance meetings to draw out key business issues and opportunities,. This is an easy way to embed an advisory mindset across the team and help clients at the same time.

Engage others in the firm with lunch and learn sessions to highlight the benefitsof business advisory capabilities to the right clients. Bring them on board by highlighting client success stories and revenue growth opportunities.

8. Use advisory skills internally

A great way to show the value of the firms business advisory capabilities and to practice facilitation and skill usage is to apply your business advisory skills internally or with your team. Use your skills to improve growth, profit,efficiency, develop strategies and to solve problems.

Take the Next Step

Kick-start your business advisory success with a complimentary business advisory success plan.

Complete Mindshop’s professional service firm diagnostic in just 8 minutes to receive a heatmap of your advisory skill gaps, the barriers holding your firm back and a fully customised one page plan for your next steps forward for business advisory success.

We hope this article and the diagnostic have given you food for thought. For more assistance, don’t hesitate to
contact a Mindshop Regional Director.