To Grow Your Firm, Look Inward

Source: Accounting Today

In this article, several accounting industry consultants offer their insights on growth strategies. Here are some of the highlights:

• A common mistake, says Gale Crosley, is to assume that your current expertise has value in the market. Find out what the market wants to determine what you need to deliver.
• To attract customers for new services, start with your existing clients, advises Allan Koltin. Koltin is surprised, he says, that few CPA firms conduct surveys to discover client needs that aren't being met.
• Troy Waugh has this advice: Before you turn your attention to attracting new clients, first "Serve your 'A' clients as if they were your prospects [i.e., lavish attention on them], and serve your 'B' clients well enough to turn them into 'A' clients."

Other growth strategies -- for both new and existing clients -- include developing an industry specialization and offering specialized services, such as cost segregation or R&D tax credit studies.

For the complete article, read "Growth Begins at Home."

From Accounting Today, November 1, 2012, SourceMedia Inc., One State Street Plaza, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10004, 800-221-1809.