I graduated from both college and grad school during recessions, so thriving during downswings comes naturally to me. For many professionals, COVID turned out to be a blip that portended new highs for earnings. Now the challenge is to keep that going.
Warren Buffet said, "It's only when the tide goes out that you discover who been swimming naked." Do you have a plan for keeping your book of business full as the economy cools?
Professionals without a strong business plan for attracting great clients will find they have only one tool: price. To keep business flowing they'll cut fees. A few price-trimmers will begat more price-trimmers.
Firms that do truly good work will be sucked in a direction they don't want to go.
Way back in 2008-2009 I asked potential clients what success would look like in that harsh economic environment.
The firms I wanted to work with knew they out-delivered their competitors and were loath to discount their fees.
If you want to avoid discounting your fees, you MUST control who you work with. Work with great clients who understand and recognize the impact you have on their business, and there will be less pressure to lower fees or offer discounts.
Avoid Being a Cost
When clients see you as a Cost, they want to spend less. If they see other firms cutting prices, they'll expect to pay you less. By contrast, when they see you as an Investment that improves their business, they want more of you. Your cost is measured against the Impact you have on their business.
If you can't speak to the Impact you have on your client's business--in a way that makes sense to your client--then you must start there.
To control the clients you work with you must be able to attract more of your Best Clients. To attract more of your Best Clients you must be able to describe your firm's value with great clarity.
The results are your Impact. How you work with your client to achieve those results is your secret sauce.
Have great clarity about your secret sauce, you can reproduce it. Reproduce it and you consistently attract more of your Best Clients.
Your secret sauce isn't something you ought to do. It is something you already do for your Best Clients. That's why you have the magical relationship.
If you need help figuring out your secret sauce, let me know.
