A Innovative Approach to your Incentive Compensation Program

I have tackled this challenge before with my clients and believe I have come up with a unique approach to tracking the marketing and revenue generating activities of professional staff in a way that educates and motivates.  In a nutshell, it is an on-going program for all staff that is geared around traditional goals:  billable hours, meeting deadlines, realization rates, etc., the non-traditional goals:  marketing, business development, client relationship management/retention and then there are the non-tangible values:  integrity, professionalism, honesty, quality of relationships, trust, etc.

Professionals are “graded” using a report card approach to their efforts in the traditional and non-traditional categories – using a tiered scoring mechanism that clearly outlines/describes the following grades – Poor, Fair, Good, Very Good, Outstanding – and there are points associated with each.  As an example, there are sub-categories under “Marketing” and one might be authorship and the grade around defining a person’s performance might range from blogging sloppily with typos, blogging 3-5 times /year, creating an outline for an article, writing an article for a target publication, writing 3 articles …etc.

There are also Witness Weeks 2-3 times throughout the year where professionals are encouraged to provide testimony where they have witnessed others at the firm conduct themselves in a way that meets the defined criteria of the core values of the firm.  Professionals who witness as well as those who are witnessed each get points.  Folks are allowed to submit 100 words or less on the subject matter. 

The idea of points associated with each of the tracking mechanisms promotes a well-rounded professional but also can award a very narrowly focused person’s efforts;  it also deters favoritism, which has often reared its head during the evaluation process - inadvertently - due to human nature. 

TIERNEY’S TIPS for Being a Successful Mentor & Mentee

I facilitated a discussion on mentoring programs among HR professionals from CPA firms throughout the U.S. Interesting findings are in my article in Accounting Today.

I admit to having made some assumptions on how this conversation might go and was surprised by some of the answers to my questions as well as what surrounded the motivation and the challenges that these programs presented

As a compliment to the article I wrote which appeared in today's Accounting Today, I am adding some content which was left out due to their word constraints.  Here are my tips for being an effective mentor - and mentee.  Read on:
 

For the Mentor:

·         Commit to getting to know your mentee. Shares stories of your own struggles in order to make them feel comfortable

·         Try to put yourself in their shoes

·         Actively listen and ask thought-provocative, open-ended questions

·         Try to help them figure out what they want – or, more importantly, identify the essence of what they want

·         Encourage them to figure out next steps for themselves, rather than tell them what to do

·         Regularly initiate meetings with your mentee by friendly, sincere invitation

For the Mentee:

·         Honor the time and commitment from your mentor

·         Be brave and open up about your dreams, goals, and areas for improvement (in a professional, accountable manner)

·         Realize that, in a multi-generation workplace, you each have things to learn from each other

·         Accept all feedback as positive – the kudos as well as suggestions for improvement or alternative solutions to an issue or problem

·        Actively listen and ask lots of questions

 

Read the complete article in Accounting Today.Mentoring-Programs for CPAs - featured in today's Accounting Today

How Important is it to have a LinkedIn Profile?

I was talking to our LinkedIn expert, Cheryl Oribabor today (she does our trainings) so I asked her thoughts, too – we believe that setting up a LinkedIn profile with no connections doesn't really do more harm than good. It's just that there's really no point to it.  Ultimately, it may help a smidge with SEO for the firm. 

We believe that a good LinkedIn profile should be created to showcase your professionals, of course.
 

But if someone sends a message to start a conversation and no one responds, it is definitely a negative.  So we need to take a few steps back and discuss the importance of USING and leveraging LinkedIn.  People can't value what they don't understand so it is our job to convince them that they are missing the boat if they are not engaged in this social media.  How you do that is to show them that people are looking for them on LinkedIn (after we have set up profiles for our clients, we wait a couple of weeks and then go back and show them how many people have viewed the profile - this usually shocks them!)  Tell them that 70% of all prospects and referral sources search for them online before they meet with or hire them.  Their LinkedIn profile will come up first in the search engines.  Also, professional service providers should be shown examples of how LinkedIn can be used to target their niche groups and attract their ideal client.  It has taken asset marketing to permission-based marketing.  It’s the best thing to ever happen to professional services marketing!!

We also know how to write LinkedIn profiles that make visitors aware of the depth and breadth of your professionals' expertise.  Let people see that you have well-rounded people with not only successful careers but also hobbies, who volunteer and do interesting stuff outside of work! A 360 degree look at them as human beings - their natural, genuine differentiator! Some consistency is definitely recommended, but we feel each profile should be somewhat individual - they are all different people, with different positions, industries, etc...different stories to tell. Sometimes we find that's the hardest part- getting them to "open up" virtually and show themself to the world. And yet it’s the reason they are selected as service providers – rapport or chemistry – and this is a great way to be show you they really are.

Feel free to contact us with any more questions, (from you or that you think they might ask!) we've had some great successes in this area!

Where are firms putting their marketing dollars this year? And where do you think firms should be putting their marketing dollars to achieve the best results?

Many CPA firms’ marketing directors are confiding to me that their firm maintains a generic advertising campaign in their local market’s Business Journal, large Chamber publication and/or general billboard, etc.

I would strongly emphasize that there be a switch in focus to more finely-tuned trade or niche-focused publications that meet their criteria for an ideal target audience.  In other words, figure out specifically what type of client you want to attract – then target the publications, events, etc. where those decision-makers will be.  That’s where your marketing dollars should  go.  You will find that these narrowly-focused endeavors cost a fraction of the cost for the more general traditional efforts – and you will get a much bigger bang for your buck!

5 MAJOR Mis-Steps In Succession Planning

With baby boomers starting to retire in leaps and bounds, professional services firms are desperately seeking their predecessors to lead their firms.  Here are some of the most common mis-perceptions and limiting beliefs that I think should be re-considered:

1.      Your next Managing Partner is your best business developer

2.      Your next Managing Partner should be over 50 years old

3.      Your next Managing Partner should be a professional like the rest of you

4.      Your next Managing Partner should still service a decent-sized book of business

5.      Your next Managing Partner has to be selected from your current pool of professionals

The MP of your firm needs the skill set – as well as the time – to serve your firm shareholders and professionals in a way that offers them the attention they deserve.  If they’re out there selling all the time or handling “A” clients, it doesn’t leave much time for the rest.  If the MP selected is the “next in line” (which I see happening  a lot), you’re looking a short reign, without consistency or the time to fully implement new strategies before they retire as well.  Ideally, you are asking the second-tiered generation of professionals for those who are interested in becoming a leader in the firm so training and coaching can start now…but if you don’t have that luxury of time (and many don’t) don’t be afraid to look elsewhere (an up and coming professional at a firm elsewhere that might be partner-heavy) or a firm administrator non-accredited professional “outside” your industry.

Be innovative and think outside the box -  release yourself from long-standing unnecessary agreements that dictate what you can and cannot do – the world is your oyster – break the rules and THRIVE!

I know of two marketing related positions for prof svs firms in Philly area

If you are seeking a marketing positon at a Philadelphia area based professional services firm (law or accounting), please contact me.

Two jobs available right now are:

Marketplace Marketer - serves in the role of sales/bus dev - single point of contact for the OMP and requires conducting research and providing thought leadership for Deloitte in Center City

Marketing Coordinator -  a growing subburban boutique law firm seeks someone with graphic design and event planning experience

Contact me if there is interest.

L

The Importance of Being an Expert

Many of the partners of at my professional services clients firms have effectively elevated their role from one of a general practitioner into one of a genuine  expert in a particular area of expertise and this is proving to increase their visibility and serve as a strong differentiator to your competitors.

It is why they get the call - it is why they get the work.

It works and be done for EVERYONE.