Pro Serv Podcast by Collective 54

Episode 131 – Why a Merger of Equals Might Be Your Best Exit Strategy

Some members want to exit, but they cannot. The reasons are many. For example, insufficient EBITDA, high client concentration, over-dependence on a founder, and many others. The journey to fix these issues is clear but can take many years and millions of dollars. And for some, this is unattractive. An alternative is a merger of equals.

Attend this session and learn from the discussion with Collective 54 member Jonathan Wilson, President & Chief Value Creator at Dubb Value Creation, on how a merger of equals can convert an unsellable boutique into an attractive firm for many acquirers.

https://www.collective54.com

Episode 130 - How a Marketing Agency Executed a Layoff After a Rosy Forecast Failed to Materialize

Sei-Wook Kim ran his agency for 16 years and never had to lay anyone off. Then, in year 17, he had to lay off 15% of his work force. Layoffs are a fact of life when you run a boutique, especially if you do not have much recurring revenue. Sei-Wook will share lessons learned from his experience. These lessons will help you execute a layoff if, or when, the time comes.

https://www.collective54.com

Episode 129 - How to Improve Margins by Understanding the Difference Between a Client’s Ability to Pay and Their Willingness to Pay

In this session, member Ken Yager shares how he discovered that his traditional client was not going to get his firm to reach its full potential. Ken shares how he changed his ideal client profile, and as a result, has significantly improved his margins. Attend this session and learn how to adjust your target client profile as your firm progresses along its lifecycle.

https://www.collective54.com

Episode 128 - How to Begin Building a Sales Team with Fractional Sales Talent

Scaling boutiques need to build a sales team yet delay doing so because of the perceived risk and expense.

In this session, member Dan Morris shows us how to reduce the risk and ease into it by leveraging fractional sales leadership. Most boutiques use fractional finance, HR, IT, and Legal executives and it may be time for you to deploy the same approach to sales.

https://www.collective54.com

 

Episode 127 - Alternative Fee Structures: How and Why to Move Away from Hourly Billing

Moving away from hourly billing leads to better margins, higher client satisfaction, and happieremployees. Yet, many boutique founders are afraid to do it, and do not know how.

In this session, member Sonia Miller-Van Oort shares how she built her 12-person law firm using alternative fee structures.

https://www.collective54.com

Episode 126 - Syndicated Research: A Unique Way to Productize a Service and Generate Recurring Revenue

Selling and delivering insight is at the heart of what professional service firms do. Some pro serv firms
have packaged their expertise into research and sell it as a “product” via subscription. Attend this
session and hear how member Mike Ellison has done this and built a 95-person firm in the process.

https://www.collective54.com

Episode 125 - How a Founder of a Consulting Firm Added Equity Partners to Scale Beyond a Lifestyle Firm

Member Mike Braun started Pivotal Advisors with his brother to get off an airplane and make a living with less stress. One day he realized he wanted more than a lifestyle business. This required the recruitment of the next generation of leaders who wanted a piece of the pie. Mike masterfully created a plan to allow for equity to be shared with the new team. And in the process, he built a legacy, a firm that would last long after he and his brother were gone. 

https://www.collective54.com

Episode 124 - How a Marketing Agency Has Removed The Founder Bottleneck

Power members Eric Weisgarber and Adam Diesselhorst have implemented succession planning at their marketing agency, inspired in part by the Collective 54 book The Founder Bottleneck. As a result, they have identified their high potential employees and are preparing them to take over the firm upon exit. This has allowed them to scale smoothly without the employee headaches and drama found in many firms. 

https://www.collective54.com

Episode 123 - How a Pioneer from the SaaS Era is Jumping on the AI Wave to Re-invent his Firm

Member Jeff Pedowitz was one of the pioneers of the SaaS era by driving adoption of marketing automation technology from Eloqua, Marketo and others. This allowed his firm, The Pedowitz Group, to dominate his niche for almost two decades. Now, Jeff sees the next big wave, AI, and he shares with Collective 54 how to ride it all the way to the bank.

https://www.collective54.com

 

Episode 122 - How to Discover Why You Are Losing Deals, and What to Do About It

Win/Loss reviews are a powerful way to improve your sales results. Yet, most members are not doing them because they incorrectly think they are hard to do and require lots of time.

In this session, member Brady Jensen, and expert in win/loss reviews will give members the method, tools, and templates to allow them to do this correctly, quickly, and cheaply.

https://www.collective54.com