Strengthening overseas client relationshipsAs international business becomes an increasingly strong revenue stream of many firms, some professionals find they now need to manage relationships with clients who are not in the same country or continent.

 

Just because you are miles away from a client doesn’t mean you can’t build a really valuable long-term relationship with them.   To be successful though, and retain and develop the long distance client relationship, a different approach…

Turning ideas into revenue

With just three months left of 2017, many professionals have an eye on their annual plans and targets. For some there may be a need to create new work opportunities and generate additional revenues in what’s left of the year.

 

Such opportunities may come simply from spotting additional ways to add value to clients, or they may rely on converting business from potential clients.  They may even flow from…

 

WBD 42 Embedding KCMKey Client Management (KCM) is an approach that identifies, protects and grows your most important clients – taking account also of key prospects and intermediaries.

It focuses on nurturing, protecting and growing your most important clients – so both you and they benefit as a result.  This means investing in the right activities, which place these key clients at the centre and ensure your firm becomes important to…

binocularsIt’s a well-known fact that is far easier to win work from an existing client, than a prospective one.  The challenge for many professionals though is how to spot opportunities in their client relationships, which in turn signpost new work.

A major part of the solution lies in how close you are to your client.  The closer you are and the greater insight you have of that client’s current and future…

WBD 38 Engaging Associates in client relationshipsAs professional firms extend their client development programmes beyond key clients, they face the challenge of how to resource a larger number of client teams without increasing headcount.

Law, Accounting, Real Estate and other advisory firms with established client development programmes are successfully introducing Client Relationship Manager or Account Manager roles for their Associates or Managers.

In our latest Winning Business Digest Results Consultancy Associate Directors,…

WBD33 Front coverAs well as re-commissioning work, loyal clients are also a good source of new work opportunities – either for their own needs, or by recommending their advisers to others.

Work stemming from existing clients often offers greater profitability through a lower cost of sale and a shorter learning curve for the firm’s team.

With this in mind, an important focus of most firms is how to deliver excellent client service.

In…

WBD31 7 ways to spot new business opportunitiesOur latest Winning Business Digest examines the challenge of spotting opportunities to further support a client or target client – and then gaining the decision-maker’s commitment to work with them.

This is a key skill of a client-focused professional and requires care to avoid coming across as ‘pushy’ or ‘needy’ in asking for the business.

When exploring a new business opportunity with a client there…

home-clientsYou probably know the well-known fact that if you give a 10% reduction in the top line fees (revenues) on a matter it has the effect of a 30% hit on your bottom line profit for the job. If you don’t believe us, check it out with your finance team.

 

Struck by this, and recognising the critical importance of maintaining profitability on assignments, we have developed a half day workshop….

news-4Job profitability is the goal of many professional firms and stems from good pricing, clear engagement terms, project control, frequent client communication and robust defence of the tendered bill. Fast cash collection is also important.

Any breakage in this chain can have a serious impact on profitability, on the morale of those who manage and undertake the work, and can impact on the client relationship.

But how do you manage your client work…

blog1Our Winning Business Digest this month looks at five highly valuable opportunities to gather client feedback. They enable firms to view their relationship from the client’s perspective and improve it – identifying areas where they can offer further help and support. Over time these strategies enable firms to deliver a more proactive and commercial approach, generate better perceived added value in the eyes of their clients, and secure that much desired…