One of the key issues I frequently encounter in the coaching work I do with professional service firms is a reluctance to go looking for new clients or add new services. The reason I get is overwhelmingly one or both of the following -

•  "We need to get our processes right first"
• “No point in taking on more at the front end when we will have clients dropping off the back end”

Now, I’m not denying the importance of being able to deliver on your promises. But how long can a firm keep clinging to these excuses? If there is something seriously wrong with your engine room, why not close the office for a week and get the whole team on the job to sort it out once and for all? Because unless you take positive action and address the issue, then you are going to trot out the same reasons next time I raise the issue…even if it’s 12, 24 or (yes, I’ve even got) 36 months later.

So, I say …. put some positive pressure on the team in the engine room. Set some expectations in terms of work turnaround. I call this “pulling on the efficiency lever”. At the same time, you should be actively seeking revenue growth, which I call “turning on the marketing tap”.

Professional service firms on the whole have mainly fixed costs - wages, rent, leases. So it stands to reason that if you are able to put more growth on the top line whilst driving efficiency then increased profits will result.