As I’ve previously written about and mentioned in my video’s or audio’s, your firm has the potential to deliver a return on of investment to you of between 100% and 200%.
While I know you think you didn’t start your firm to be all about the money, we all need to provide for our family’s and put food on the table. Without this we would be working for someone else getting a regular income and probably be unhappy in the process.
To achieve those sorts of return on investments you need to make smart decisions about many things some of which include
- Who you hire?
- Who you accept as a client?
- Who you won’t accept as a client, and firing any that fit that bill?
- How you attract right fit clients that you want to work with?
- What technology systems you select?
- Are your team or employees are engaged?
- How do you setup systems and processes to ensure a consistent client experience?
If you make the wrong decision with these questions, this will cost you either in time, money or in the school of hard knocks by doing it wrong. Ultimately, this ends up costing you at least twice as much assuming you then do it right the second time around.
Now while I’ve learnt about many things over my journey either from the school of hard knocks or from my mentors. Where I can really help you is around technology and selecting the right technology systems to achieve that return on effort. I can also introduce you to valuable resources I’ve found over my journey, who can provide expert training and guidance on many or some of the other questions.
With the right technology systems in place you maximise your results while minimising the labour effort required to achieve them. You also implement systems and processes within that technology to further maximise results while minimising the labour effort required.
Naturally, these will cost you money, probably more than what you want to spend, and many times it can be tempting to go with what looks to be a cheaper solution. Unfortunately, solely viewing things based on the direct cost of them to you is a foolish decision. As Oscar Wilde famously said, “A fool knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”
When weighing up the cost of something you need to consider the following.
- What will it cost me and my team in time to either try and work out the solution myself or try and configure the solution myself?
- What will it cost me, my team and the firm in lost productivity if the system or solution is unable to deliver as promised?
- What will it cost me in downtime, wages, lost revenue and what negative affect to revenue and the bottom line will this have?
After you have weighed these up then consider the upside and investment you could receive.
- What benefits do I and my team get from concentrating on our strengths and not trying to figure out things we are not strong in?
- If we have a stable and secure system what is the potential positive affect to revenue and the bottom line?
- What could I use the positive affects to further re-invest into the firm to grow more?
About 3 years ago now I made a decision, where I didn’t follow the above decision-making tree, and it haunts me to this day. I was evaluating a new technology platform to help me grow my business and could not get past the upfront cost of the service and thought I could do it better with a cheaper “solution”. After investing hundreds of hours of my time trying to make this cheaper “solution” work it just wouldn’t deliver what I needed. I then went back and signed up with the more “expensive” solution provider 3 months later with all that time I wasted. This is what you really need to consider. Even though this solution costs more, it saves me and my team so much time and that is the most valuable commodity, you don’t get any more of it. I’m happy to say this taught me a very valuable lesson.
As I’ve previously written about, A couple of years ago now, I was brought in to consult with a law firm who had around 10 on their team at the time with 2 directors. Unfortunately for them I was unable to make them see how staying with their current provider and system was such a big expensive mistake. It turned out that decision would mean they were losing $730,000 in lost billable revenue over the course of 1 year. To read more about that or watch the video click here.
Obviously, you want to view your technology systems, IT and Cyber security protections as an investment into your professional services firm. As I mentioned earlier, the return on investment in your professional services firm can produce 100% to 200%. A really good return on investment in the stock market is between 6% and 8% per annum. Naturally, the investment in your professional services firm is the winning strategy. As a professional services equity principal, partner or director, you must learn to think, make decisions and act as an INVESTOR if you truly want to get ahead, understanding the value of time. Especially your own.
Combine robust technology, IT and cyber security solutions and secure the future of your family’s livelihood, your reputation and professional services firm today.
Want to learn more about how to get a better return on effort and return on investment from your professional services firm? Then click here and sign up for my 17-minute micro-training titled “How To See More Clients, Get Paid Faster Without Having To Move A Couch Into Your Office”.