Client at the Core

"Clients At The Core is an essential blueprint to helping us all take the next steps. The authors, battle scarred by the evolution of professional firm management and marketing from then to now, have captured the changing needs of the firms in this turbulent new economic era. This is a well-written book that uses plain language to convey practical, well thought-out ideas." -Patrick J. McKenna, a leading international consultant to professional service firms "The authors have captured the changing role of professional services marketing and firm management. There is valuable insight [in this] down-to-earth guide to competing successfully in the new environment." -David Maister, author and consultant "The book is a masterpiece! Aquila and Marcus have produced the essential guide for managing a professional services firm. They've marshaled their considerable real-life experiences and far-reaching vision into a veritable operating manual for the successful firm." -Rick Telberg, Editor at Large, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants "At its heart, this book is the running shoe for legal and accounting professionals who want to put the client first. Following the evolution of the industry over the past twenty-five years, this must-have for every professional services firm is the key to leading in the turbulent and highly competitive waters ahead." -Richard S. Levick, Esq., President, Levick Strategic Communications, LLC coauthor, Stop the Presses: The Litigation PR Desk Reference "Client selection and retention is one of the critical success factors for a professional services firm, and Aquila and Marcus do a masterful job at educating us on the necessary ingredients of each. The chapters on firm governance and paying for performance are thought provoking and certainly challenging to the conventional wisdom. If you want a better understanding of marketing and leading a professional firm in these turbulent times, this book is essential." -Ronald J. Baker, author, Professional's Guide to Value Pricing and The Firm of the Future "Client at the Core is a commonsense approach to keeping your professional services firm relevant in the twenty-first century's client-driven economy. Aquila and Marcus have hit a home run with their insightful analysis and poignant prose." -Jeffrey S. Pawlow, Managing Shareholder, The Growth Partnership, Inc.

Foreword xvii Preface xix Acknowledgments xxv Part I Professions and Professionals in Turmoil 1 1 If Something Can Change, It Will Strategic Factors in a New Environment 3 Part II Clients—Who They Are and How to Find Them 11 2 What a Client Really Wants Listening to the Client for Fun and Profit 13 3 Are We a Client-centric Firm Yet? Organizing to Meet Client Needs 19 4 Now, Here’s My Plan Defining the Right Client for You 31 Part III Making Your Vision a Reality 39 5 I Can See Your Future from Here Vision? A Working Tool? 41 6 Seizing Those Opportunities Making the Vision a Reality 49 7 Making Marketing a Nice Word Building a Client-centric Marketing Culture 73 8 It’s the End Game that Counts Contact—Turning the Prospect into a Client 89 Part IV Marketing Tools and How to Use Them 111 9 Hang High the Rafters, Carpenter The Tools of Marketing that Build the Marketing Program 113 Part V Managing the Client-centric Firm 163 10 Turning Recipes into Cakes Managing for Results 165 11 Who’s at the Helm and Who’s on the Bridge Firm Governace and Structure 173 12 Holding a Handful of Mercury Managing the Knowledge Worker for the One-Firm Firm 185 13 For Love or Money—or Both Paying for Performance 191 14 Didn’t We Tell You What We’re Doing? Internal Communications—Let Me Count the Ways 201 Part VI Economics in the Client-centric Firm 217 15 A Farthing for Your Goat Pricing in a Client-centric Firm 219 16 What Did I Get for My Money? Measuring the Marketing ROI 229 17 Cash Is King What’s the Lifetime Value of Your Clients and the Financial Health of Your Firm? 233 Part VII What Will We Do Tomorrow? 239 18 The Future for Professional Services Are We There Yet? 241 Appendix A The Balanced Scorecard 247 The Balanced Scorecard—Financial Measures 247 The Balanced Scorecard—Client Measures 251 The Balanced Scorecard—Internal Business Process Measures 252 The Balanced Scorecard—Marketing Measures 253 The Balanced Scorecard—Employee Growth and the Learning Measures 255 Appendix B Managing the Knowledge Worker 257 Take the Pulse of Your Staff 257 Compensation 257 Career Advancement Opportunities 258 Firm Culture 258 Appendix C Pricing in a Client-centric Firm 261 Analyzing Price Sensitivity 261 Appendix D Accounting and Law Firm Benchmarks 263 Accounting Firm Benchmarks 263 Bibliography and References 267 Index 271