professional services

02 Jul: How To Improve Firm-Wide Collaboration Using Enterprise Relationship Management Technology

As technology’s evolution accelerates, the pace of productivity speeds up and clients’ service expectations rise accordingly.

For professional services firms, an increase in clients who require cross-practice, cross-expertise and cross-border work demands an increase in collaboration, which is often at odds with the sectors traditionally relationship-protective partners and consultants.

However, in today’s competitive environment, improved collaboration is key to profitable growth. Heidi Gardner’s in-depth look at the state of professional services collaboration makes it clear that everyone involved in deeper collaboration benefits. Firms who collaborate more effectively gain a competitive edge, resulting in increased revenues, profitability and improved client…

By Jody Glidden Legal Professional Services Sales Social Selling

30 Jan: Client Relationship Advice You Can’t Ignore From Business Development Professional Alan Mercer

Few people know the exact challenges that business development professionals face on a day-to-day basis. Luckily for us, Introhive’s new Account Director, Alan Mercer, is one of those unique individuals.

Having spent the last decade in the legal sector as a legal marketing and business development professional, Alan has devised and implemented a range of successful new business and client development initiatives. He’s faced and solved many of the common challenges around growing a profitable client base by understanding, strengthening, and leveraging existing relationships.

With all of this experience under his belt, it goes without saying that Alan has unique…

By Jody Glidden Business Business Development Development Legal Professional Services Relationship Intelligence

02 Jan: Business Development Dream Team: 3 Types of People You Need

Building a business development team can be tough. It takes an in-sync crew of top-notch communicators, negotiators and collaborators to stay on top of prospects and close deals that keep your firm growing and prosperous.

So how do you find these business development gems in today’s competitive job market?

Good news: we work closely with the top business development teams in law, finance and professional services firms across the world, so we’ve picked up a trick or two.

Read on to meet the three types of people you should look for as you build your firm’s ideal business development team.

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By Jody Glidden Business Development Professional Services

09 Aug: Can CRM Help Your Firm Grow? Research Says Yes – and Here’s How

While many elements factor into business development, many firms are finding that customer relationship management (CRM) software is playing a key role. That’s because business development today requires more than prospecting and making cold calls. In fact, these days, firms increasingly drive new business – both from existing and new clients – by developing and nurturing relationships with key influencers and decision makers. Firms find that enhancing these efforts is just one of many advantages of using CRM.

Research shows that organizations can expect to see ROI of $2.50 to $5.60 on every dollar invested when CRM is properly integrated….

By Jody Glidden Business Business Development Development Professional Services

08 Aug: Is CRM Automation the Missing Link in Your Marketing and Business Development Departments?

Sophisticated organizations call upon both marketing automation and CRM systems to power their marketing, business development, and sales efforts. However, many organizations overlook an easy way to amplify the impact of these technologies. Read on to understand how CRM automation serves as the linchpin of modern B2B marketing and business development departments.

What is CRM Automation?

As the name implies, marketing automation is designed for use by marketers. Customer relationship management (CRM), on the other hand, is usually the system of record for sales teams. In most organizations, it’s used to capture and manage an organization’s information about prospects and…

By Jody Glidden Accounting Business Development Professional Services

21 Jul: The Big List of Business Development Resources for Accounting Firms

If your accounting firm is like others, it is investing more in marketing and business development resources to accelerate growth and competitive edge. With so much riding on your efforts, it’s essential to stay at the top of your game. To help you get started, we’ve pulled together the following list of valuable business development resources for accounting firms.

On the Go Resources

AAM’s AAMplify! [podcast]
Tune into this podcast delivered by The Association for Accounting Marketing to hear discussions on timely topics such as Managing Your Firm’s Pipeline Process, Marketing’s Role in the Client Experience, and The Vital…

By Jody Glidden Business Development Professional Services

16 Jun: Business Development Wisdom from Ramon Ray: How Accounting Firms Can Deliver a Differentiating Brand Experience

For more than two decades, best-selling author Ramon Ray has been helping accounting firms stand out and drive revenue. Now, more than ever before, he says it’s critical that firms develop a brand personality that they bring to each interaction with a prospect and client. He insists it’s the only way to stand out in an ultra-competitive marketplace and minimize client attrition. He provides four tips on to achieve this.

1. Build a Brand
With nearly 1.25 million accountants and auditors in the United States, one could say the market is saturated. And that makes it difficult to stand…

By Jody Glidden Business Development Events Professional Services

09 Jun: Danny Estrada Shares How to Maximize Engagement at AICPA Engage

As you prepare to attend AICPA Engage next week, take to heart these words of advice for getting the most from the event. Danny Estrada – Founder of E Squared, a CRM strategy and management consulting firm – has attended the conference every year since 2013, and is eagerly anticipating this year’s gathering in Las Vegas.

Why AICPA Engage is a Must-Attend Event

AICPA Engage brings together professionals from technology, business development, and marketing disciplines, along with principals and partners of accounting firms. By sharing their unique experiences and perspectives on common issues, they provide interesting and proven approaches to…

By Jody Glidden Professional Services

16 May: Sikich Partner Reveals How Professional Services Firms can Avoid 3 Common Implementation Pitfalls

Ray Beste could easily share an oral history of CRM. As a Partner at Sikich, a leading professional services firm, he has worked with Microsoft Dynamics CRM since its beta version in 2002. Today, he is the partner in charge of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM/365 service area for Sikich.

For nearly 20 years, he has guided the implementation of CRM systems at leading organizations across North America, so he is well acquainted with the most pervasive CRM implementation challenges. He outlines the most common pitfalls he’s witnessed and how to dodge them.

1. Expecting Technology to Fix Process Issues

Graduating…

By Jody Glidden Professional Services

12 May: CRM for Professional Services: EY Shares 4 Steps to Increase Adoption

Between the two of them, Chris Hergesell and Randy Batson have nearly a half century of experience building better client relationships through technology. As Executive Director at Ernst & Young, Randy is responsible for growing and managing Salesforce.com and Microsoft Dynamics capabilities. As Executive Director – Customer Operations and Performance Improvement, Chris leads enterprise transformations that use digital technology to improve selling efficiency and effectiveness.

They know what it takes to create a CRM that sales and business development professionals eagerly embrace, and share their best ideas to achieve this:

1. Build CRM around your sales process.

Randy bemoans a…

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