A well respected forty year old accounting firm engaged Mark Jaffe because they wanted to change their historical pattern and achieve significant growth moving forward
The firm had been growing at 3 to 4% -- on average for the last ten years
The partners in the firm operated the business mostly as separate professional practices rather than as an integrated firm
The firm thought their value proposition was their impeccable reputation and commitment to quality
Business development was primarily achieved by responding to referrals
We spoke to clients, the partners and employees and found…
The firm’s core value proposition turned out to be the strength of their relationship with their clients…many of who had been with them for over twenty years
90% of their clients had been engaged for only one service
Most clients needed additional services, and went elsewhere to get them because they were not made available.
The firm hated to ‘sell’ their services…but went above and beyond all expectations in helping clients
The partners did want to work together…they just didn’t know how
The firm transformed itself from an accounting firm into an integrated financial services firm
For individuals, the firm now offered a completely integrated solution of wealth management, financial planning, insurance products, bookkeeping services, and estate planning in addition to tax planning and tax compliance services
For businesses, the firm now offered a completely integrated solution of business intelligence to better manage financial information, temporary CFO services, cost segregation services, bookkeeping and 401k management in addition to the traditional audit and tax services
The firm also expanded into vertical market specialization dominating specific underserved niche markets where they could make a significant impact in a short period of time
The firm actively engaged in learning how to work together to help their clients by offering much needed services as part of their integrated service model
The first year of implementation broke all revenue records as the highest grossing revenue year in the firm’s forty year history
New business was up over 40%...mostly from existing clients
Within one year, they had established themselves as the #2 firm statewide in one of their new vertical niches