February 20, 2025 • 21 mins
Ever wondered how a hedge fund dream turned into a thriving career in financial consultancy? Meet Stan Sukhinin, the fractional CFO advisor from Sorso in Austin, Texas, who did just that. At fifteen, Stan was already captivated by the world of finance, setting him on a path that included investment banking and a bold move to start a hedge fund in New York—only to pivot to financial consulting during the pandemic. We promise you'll uncover not just his story of resilience and adaptation but also the innovative methods he employed to master client acquisition in a field where technical skills often overshadow business development acumen.
In our conversation with Stan, we unravel the complexities of managing client relationships and the art of business development within financial consultancy. Listen as he shares insights into conducting effective discovery calls and the strategic decision-making involved in recognizing when to refer clients to other experts for mutual benefit. Learn about the transition from hands-on client work to focusing on expanding a consultancy, and discover the secrets to attracting high-end clients using platforms like LinkedIn. Tune in for a masterclass on elevating your accounting business and staying ahead of industry trends with strategies that promise to unlock your business's full potential.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to CFO Chronicles the secrets behind
success, the go-to podcast forfractional CFOs and accounting
firm owners who want to attractmore high-paying clients and
increase their revenue.
Hosted by James Donovan fromNine Two Media, this podcast
dives into marketing strategiesspecifically designed for lead
(00:22):
generation and clientacquisition.
In each episode, you'll hearfrom industry leaders sharing
their success stories, and Todaywe're joined by Stan Zukinen
from Sorso, based out of Austin,texas.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Stan is a fractional CFO advisor, working with a
variety of industries, helpingfirms improve their cashflow,
reduce their expenses and theoverall health of their business
.
Stan, thank you so much forjoining the show.
I'm looking forward to learninga little bit more about you and
your business.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Yeah, James, thank you very much for having me.
Yeah, it's my pleasure to behere.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Really cool, really cool.
Looking forward to getting intothis.
Stan, let's go back to thebeginning, maybe.
How?
How did you get into into theworld of, you know, cfo advisory
, the financial world, helpingbusinesses improve the overall
health of their company?
Speaker 3 (01:34):
yeah, like my story starts started very, very early.
So in like, when I was 15 yearsold, I really kind of figured
out what I'm going to do with mylife.
I like financials and I likebusinesses.
And I decided that my first jobshould be at the bank, at the
corporate lending department,because I can see businesses and
(01:57):
analyze financials.
So it's where I end up like amid-size bank.
And then I switched a few jobsduring investment banking and
then I had, like this, thisdream like to set up my own
hedge fund.
It was like a long dream andlike reading all this Buffett,
(02:18):
all these like hedge fund gurus,like follow them, and yeah.
So I decided when I was, Ithink, 34.
I decided so I'm originallyfrom russia, moscow.
I decided like to move to thecapital hedge fund industry, new
york with my family and startmy own hedge fund.
So it's uh, it's kind of likedidn't really work out.
(02:38):
So I moved just before thepandemic.
And then pandemic happened andwe struggled even to open a
hedge fund.
When we opened we didn't haveenough asset under management
and we had one employee.
So it just like it was likeexpenses after expenses with no
revenue and I was almost likedepleted my savings and it's
(03:02):
just like thinking, okay, what'sI gonna do next?
And at that point I had thiskind of weird, weird kind of
like message in my head.
I thought like financials aretoo easy, you know.
I thought it's kind of like.
It's like I thought it's kindof like a no, like another
language.
It's kind of like it's good toknow this, but it can be your
profession.
(03:22):
And and until I get this offerfrom a friend of mine, a new
friend of mine from New York,his father was fundraising for
his startup and they sent me thedeck and the financial model.
And I look at this and I waslike, and before they sent me,
they say the financial model isthe best that I will ever see in
(03:43):
my life and I've seen a lot, soI've been working with more
than a thousand businessesduring my career and yeah, I
just opened this financial modeland it was the worst financial
model that I ever seen in mylife.
It was absolutely terrible.
No logic, it's just like, yeah,it's, it was terrible.
So and then I kind of said,okay, I can't help you, like
just to redo the model.
And the deck is also wasn'tgreat, and yeah, and then I kind
(04:04):
of say, okay, I can help you,like, uh, just to redo the model
and the deck is also wasn'tgreat.
And in the end then I realizedthey actually I think at that
time it was like two thousandfive hundred dollars, something
like that, for the deck and Irealized.
So they pay for this and theyreally need my skills and I kind
of like lights on okay, so Ican do this.
And since then I started doingthis.
At that time I didn't call itfractional c4, I didn't at that
(04:27):
time like it wasn't a thing.
It just was, I don't know, kindof like a financial consulting
okay, interesting path on.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
It sounds like you kind of fell into it a little
bit backwards, but, um, it seemslike it's working out for you
right now.
Let's flip the script a littlebit there, stan.
Then tell me, how are youfinding new businesses to work
with so that you are able toprovide that same value to new
clients who you're providing toyour existing clients?
(04:58):
Because I think a lot ofprofessionals in your space,
they are so skilled at thefulfillment aspect but there can
be some struggles at times tofind new clients.
So what, what's been workingwell for you in that arena?
Speaker 3 (05:14):
Yeah, I think, james, you are totally right.
I think, like our industry fullof like accountants and
financial people and they justlike, like they, they choose
these professionals like becauseof their personality, and
usually they just like theychoose this profession because
of their personality and usuallyit's like introverts, they
rather spend the entire day infront of the Excel.
(05:34):
So it's just like opposite of Idon't know like a salesperson,
like I don't know like it,probably even like CEO or so,
like they don't really get usedto the go to the public, share
their, their opinion publicly.
I don't know.
Yeah, it's kind of like there'sa lot of hurdles.
I think, uh, for me, uh, likemy kind of previous entrepreneur
(05:56):
experience with the hedge fund,because when I moved to new
york, uh, I set a goal that I'mjust going every day, I will
spend time to networking and Ijust like start going on events
every day and it was literallylike my job.
So I just find any event thatis relevant for me and just
trying to get as many contactsas possible.
(06:17):
And right now it's also thesame.
I think, like offline,especially in my category, I'm
working with the higher revenueclients, so I'm working with at
least like 3 million of revenueclients and I'm not the cheapest
one.
I know there's different pricebuckets and I think like to sell
(06:39):
like this kind of like servicewith this price tag.
You need to establishrelationships offline or
somebody should refer to you.
I think it's only like tworeliable ways how you get
clients, especially in mysegment.
If you don't work with startupsand you don't really provide
accounting service, you'reworking like I'm only providing
like a fractional cfo service.
(07:00):
So it's I think it's the way togo like.
Just find any any kind ofevents where you can.
You can meet potentialcustomers okay, I, I would.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
I would have to challenge you a little bit I
would say there's other ways tocertainly get in front of the
ideal clients.
You're already working withword of mouth.
It's always going to be thebest.
But there's a catch-22 there.
You need to have enough peopleyou're working with in order to
actually send out the word ofmouth.
And then the networking.
You can get very restricted toeither the serviceable area
(07:40):
you're in, where you'reattending these events, or it
can become extremely costly ifyou're flying where you're
attending these events, or canbecome extremely costly if
you're flying around todifferent events.
So just depending on what thoselook like.
But you're absolutely right,you can certainly get in front
of great, great audiences andgreat prospects.
That though, through thosemethods but, um, yeah, I would
definitely challenge you thatthere's.
(08:03):
There are other consistent waysto still get in front of the
business owners who are doing 3mil plus per year, outside of
the networking events, becauseI'm sure not tried in the past
that didn't work that you nolonger you no longer you know do
anymore, because it's simplyjust it was.
(08:23):
It's not yielding the resultsthat you're looking for.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
What I'm not doing anymore.
That, okay, it's a goodquestion.
I think I'm stopped workingwith certain clients.
It's like, it's like thebiggest realization.
I spent too much time on theclients.
That just is not a good fit formy service and I couldn't
realize.
So I just like when I learnedabout my peers like successful
(08:50):
fractional CFO companies, andthen when I met certain clients
that were okay to pay, pay Iknow 6 000 a month, so as I
realized, okay, I just I'm doingthe right service.
I'm just not in a certain.
I just like targeting not theright clients, because before
that I was working with thestartups and like, yeah, like up
(09:12):
to one million of revenue andthey really they don't have like
even like two thousand dollarsper month to pay like for any
kind of service and yeah, it wasa struggle and kind of like
this realization helps me and Ithink like I think a lot of,
especially like just first time,kind of like a fractional c4,
they just started and theytrying to get any kind of
(09:34):
clients and usually becausethey're more like those, like
small companies, than largercompanies, just because of the
low numbers, and like theyprobably will meet those and
they will say no, it's like$5,000, even like $3,000 is just
too much we can pay.
And then they can like createthis wrong kind of mindset that
they okay, it's like it'sprobably too much.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
I'm asking for this service, but it's actually just
you're talking with the wrongclient yeah, that's, that's
really good insight and I I'dlove to to ask a follow-up on
that.
But kind of just building offof what you're saying, it it
takes me back to the analogy ofa bottle of water.
Um, a bottle of water at, say,the corner store might be a
(10:22):
dollar.
The same bottle of water at theairport could be seven bucks.
It's not that the product isn'tright, it's where.
Where are you trying to sellthe product?
Who are you trying to sell itto?
And it sounds like that's whatyou really noticed is hey, I
have, I have the right thing,people want it, but I was
(10:43):
selling it and I was trying tosell it to the wrong people who
just simply can't afford it.
Now I'm selling it to just awhole different audience and
they're saying, yes, no trouble,at a much higher price point.
Same service offering muchhigher price point to a, to a
more qualified audience.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
And yeah and and right now, for example, it gives
me, like when I learn aboutlike those right clients and
when you see like that youdeliver the value, it give you a
real like a boost in yourconfidence.
And, for example, I'm likeright now I'm not gonna discount
my price, even if it's gonna bea smaller scope of work.
(11:20):
I know it's just it doesn'twork like my time and it's just
not the right client and I willjust decline it.
It's just like it's it's goingto work.
So I'm kind of like very firmon my price and don't really
like negotiate below like acertain cap.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Yeah, what are some of the things you look for Like
do you have an internalchecklist?
When you're on a sales callwith a prospect Excuse me or
someone's interested in yourservices, are you running
through a couple of differentthings?
Are you trying to identify onthe call, because everyone
(11:57):
speaks about, hey, I only workwith the best.
You know the best clients andthese are the people I want to
work with.
But oftentimes, especially whenyou're getting started, when
push comes to shove, ifsomeone's like, hey, I'm, I'm
willing to pay you what you'reasking for, let's, let's engage
in business, most of the timepeople are going to say, yes,
let's do it.
But what are you looking fornow that you're a little bit
(12:18):
more established, where you'relike, you know, but that's a red
flag.
I actually don't want them as aclient because that red flag
doesn't outweigh the value inwhich they're providing my firm.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
Yeah, I think the easiest one is just kind of not
red flag, it's just a criteriaLike for them even if they agree
to pay my price.
But, for example, their revenueis $1 million and they are not a
startup that's growing likedouble their revenue every few
months.
It's just like I know itdoesn't make economically for
them like to pay this price, soI will decline anyways,
(12:51):
obviously.
Just it doesn't make any sensefor you guys right now, like
another thing is just like I'mlooking for the scope of work on
my discovery call, like tounderstand what they're really
looking for and like when youkind of like dig deeper and like
understand, like okay, what youneed help with, like, for
example, I, if it's kind of likeI don't know really distressed
(13:11):
situation when, like I knowthey're running out of the money
, like in two weeks and it'sjust like they need like help,
it's probably too late for me tostep in and it's like and it's
probably it's gonna be like afull-time project for my team,
including me, just to save thiscompany for the next three
months probably, and it'sprobably there's a very high
(13:33):
probability that we'll still endup closing the company and I
will lose them as a client.
So it doesn't work for me and Ithink, just in general, you
kind of see the person, what'sthey asking, what's they looking
for, what's the expectationsfrom you?
I think sometimes it's difficultto kind of get it from the
(13:53):
first call, but I usually dodiscovery call and then kind of
like a sales call where we likego more in detail.
So what's the expectations,what's the issues and how we can
solve them.
And so you're trying like togauge this and like to
understand okay, is it a goodfit?
Um, yeah, yeah.
And like scope work, yeah.
So sometimes they kind ofexpecting kind of what I'm doing
, an accounting work, or like,uh, yeah, I, I don't do this, so
(14:17):
it's yeah.
Or like I know five day taxes.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
So yeah, do you have.
Are you?
Are you partnered up with otherfirms?
Stand who the people, thebusiness owners that you can't
work with, the ones who youdon't feel are a good fit for
you.
You're able to refer them tosomeone else and you're still
monetizing a little bit off ofthose connections not my direct
peers.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
so I have a lot of conversations if other
fractional roles like marketing,chief revenue officer, like HR,
like other, like in trying toestablish those referral fees.
But I think it's I don't knowit's kind of challenging, at
least for me it's yeah, I don'tknow.
We have a lot of conversations,but they just don't really turn
(15:00):
into anything right now.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
So, yeah, but let's see, see, have you thought about
having some of thosepartnerships where if especially
if you have a solid lead flowcoming through and you can't
take on everyone and noteveryone's a good fit where you
can send them to another firm,who who does specialize in maybe
those smaller businesses likebetween the half a mil to the
(15:23):
two million dollar range, or ifthey're people looking for
specific services you don'toffer and you can still monetize
off the back end?
Have you considered that foryour business model?
Speaker 3 (15:32):
um, yeah, probably at some point.
Yes, yeah, right now.
Just I don't think I have.
I know so many leads that likeI need to establish like these
processes there's a short time.
I know like people approach,approach and they need help.
I know trying to find Even formy current clients they need a
new tax advisor, or I knowsomething doesn't work with, I
(15:54):
don't know, with accountingfirms.
So, for example, withaccounting, I have kind of this
hate and love because I usuallyso it's usually kind of like the
first things on to the list orthe new client okay what, what
are one of the, and if you cannarrow it down to one.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
But what stands out to you is like one of the
biggest wins, the, the biggestthing you're proud of with your
business.
Maybe it's a win for a client,a win for yourself with your
business.
Is there anything that standsout top of mind?
They're like, yeah, this, thisis awesome, this is a win.
I, a client, a win for yourselfwith your business.
Is there anything that standsout top of mind?
They're like, yeah, this isawesome, this is a win I'm very
proud of.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
Yeah, like just get them clarity what they need to
accomplish, like get theirpicture because, like before we
start working, they have thiskind of like awake understanding
, like even like what's the needto do the business and revenue
where they are, like they'rejust like they want to sell at
some point but they don't haveanything, you know, like firm
and concrete, like what's theydoing, like what kind of revenue
(16:55):
, what kind of ebitda they wantto achieve, how they want to
achieve how much capital do theyneed to provide.
And then, like I just see, likein in six months, like we have
like this great visibility whatis happening with different
parts of the business, how muchthey generated cash, how much
they need capital, how much weneed to invest in the future to
get where they want to.
(17:16):
And it's great to see and Ihate this word strategic
approach, find those insights,all these kind of like buzzwords
.
But yeah, it's, I think it'sand I think it's main
differentiator of myself fromothers, like I.
I like I don't have anyaccountant background.
I've never been in cpa andnever been a controller.
(17:38):
I've been on the investmentbanking side, on on, uh, lending
side, and so it's kind of likehelped me to see strategically
when I look at each client okayinteresting and you mentioned
earlier in this recording.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
You have a team now.
Um, what, what's a an averageday look like for you?
You get up in the morning.
How much time is spent are youworking in the business?
Is most of it on the business?
Are you?
Do you work half days nowbecause everything's been?
You have the systems andprocesses.
Everything can run like what.
What's the average day looklike for you during the, you
(18:15):
know, monday to friday?
Speaker 3 (18:16):
yeah, right now I'm switching more to business
development.
So I kind of like my goal, Iknow, for this quarter, like I
know, decrease the like actualwork on the current clients and
not to less than 50%.
It's a bit challenging,particularly this quarter,
because just like a lot of stufflike going on with each client
(18:37):
they have like audits, board ofdirectors, like closing their
financials, just so many thingshappening.
But yeah, it's kind of like I'mright now spending more time on
business development and it'sjust like part of this is like I
post already on LinkedIn andTwitter.
I want to expand this one.
I do a lot of offlinenetworking events and just
(18:59):
follow up, reach out.
I have kind of like onlinemeetups with different people.
Usually it's kind of like thesefractional roles, different
fractional roles to establishlike those partnerships, so kind
of exploring different things,trying like my goal I think by
the end of the first half ofthis year to spend, like I don't
(19:22):
know, 60, 70% on businessdevelopment.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
Awesome, that's great .
I'm sure by getting to thatgoal you're going to see
significant growth on the bottomline of the firm.
So definitely wishing you allthe best as you work towards
that goal.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
Yeah, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Stan, thank you so much for coming on today.
I appreciate all the insightand knowledge you shared in the
background on how you got yourfirm off the ground and the
direction you're hoping to go inand continue to push forward
with.
So again, thank you so much forcoming on.
This has been a greatconversation.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
Yeah, thank you.
Thank you, James, for invitingme.
Yeah, it was great to speak toyou inviting me.
Speaker 4 (20:05):
Yeah, it was great to speak to you.
Thanks for tuning in to thisepisode of CFO Chronicles the
secrets behind success.
I hope you found value intoday's conversation.
As we wrap up, I'd love for youto do two things.
First, make sure to subscribeto this podcast so you don't
miss any future episodes.
If you enjoyed today'sdiscussion, please rate and
review the show.
It helps others discover theinsights we share here.
Second, if you're ready to takeyour business to the next level
(20:25):
and attract the high-endclients you deserve, head over
to accountingleadsnowcom orclick the link in the show notes
to book your strategy.
Call.
It's time to position yourselfas the advisor your clients need
.
And don't forget you canconnect with me on LinkedIn to
stay up to date on what'shappening in the world of
accounting and financial growth.
We've got more exciting topicscoming up, so stay tuned for the
(20:46):
next episode of CFO Chronicles.
Until then, keep pushingforward.
Your growth is just onestrategic move away.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
Thanks for listening to CFO Chronicles the secrets
behind success.
We hope today's episodeprovided valuable strategies to
help you attract morehigh-paying clients.
Be sure to subscribe, thank youand unlocking your business's
potential.
Welcome to CFO Chronicles the secrets behind
success, the go-to podcast forfractional CFOs and accounting
firm owners who want to attractmore high-paying clients and
increase their revenue.
Hosted by James Donovan fromNine Two Media, this podcast
dives into marketing strategiesspecifically designed for lead
(00:22):
generation and clientacquisition.
In each episode, you'll hearfrom industry leaders sharing
their success stories, and Todaywe're joined by Stan Zukinen
from Sorso, based out of Austin,texas.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Stan is a fractional CFO advisor, working with a
variety of industries, helpingfirms improve their cashflow,
reduce their expenses and theoverall health of their business
.
Stan, thank you so much forjoining the show.
I'm looking forward to learninga little bit more about you and
your business.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Yeah, James, thank you very much for having me.
Yeah, it's my pleasure to behere.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Really cool, really cool.
Looking forward to getting intothis.
Stan, let's go back to thebeginning, maybe.
How?
How did you get into into theworld of, you know, cfo advisory
, the financial world, helpingbusinesses improve the overall
health of their company?
Speaker 3 (01:34):
yeah, like my story starts started very, very early.
So in like, when I was 15 yearsold, I really kind of figured
out what I'm going to do with mylife.
I like financials and I likebusinesses.
And I decided that my first jobshould be at the bank, at the
corporate lending department,because I can see businesses and
(01:57):
analyze financials.
So it's where I end up like amid-size bank.
And then I switched a few jobsduring investment banking and
then I had, like this, thisdream like to set up my own
hedge fund.
It was like a long dream andlike reading all this Buffett,
(02:18):
all these like hedge fund gurus,like follow them, and yeah.
So I decided when I was, Ithink, 34.
I decided so I'm originallyfrom russia, moscow.
I decided like to move to thecapital hedge fund industry, new
york with my family and startmy own hedge fund.
So it's uh, it's kind of likedidn't really work out.
(02:38):
So I moved just before thepandemic.
And then pandemic happened andwe struggled even to open a
hedge fund.
When we opened we didn't haveenough asset under management
and we had one employee.
So it just like it was likeexpenses after expenses with no
revenue and I was almost likedepleted my savings and it's
(03:02):
just like thinking, okay, what'sI gonna do next?
And at that point I had thiskind of weird, weird kind of
like message in my head.
I thought like financials aretoo easy, you know.
I thought it's kind of like.
It's like I thought it's kindof like a no, like another
language.
It's kind of like it's good toknow this, but it can be your
profession.
(03:22):
And and until I get this offerfrom a friend of mine, a new
friend of mine from New York,his father was fundraising for
his startup and they sent me thedeck and the financial model.
And I look at this and I waslike, and before they sent me,
they say the financial model isthe best that I will ever see in
(03:43):
my life and I've seen a lot, soI've been working with more
than a thousand businessesduring my career and yeah, I
just opened this financial modeland it was the worst financial
model that I ever seen in mylife.
It was absolutely terrible.
No logic, it's just like, yeah,it's, it was terrible.
So and then I kind of said,okay, I can't help you, like
just to redo the model.
And the deck is also wasn'tgreat, and yeah, and then I kind
(04:04):
of say, okay, I can help you,like, uh, just to redo the model
and the deck is also wasn'tgreat.
And in the end then I realizedthey actually I think at that
time it was like two thousandfive hundred dollars, something
like that, for the deck and Irealized.
So they pay for this and theyreally need my skills and I kind
of like lights on okay, so Ican do this.
And since then I started doingthis.
At that time I didn't call itfractional c4, I didn't at that
(04:27):
time like it wasn't a thing.
It just was, I don't know, kindof like a financial consulting
okay, interesting path on.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
It sounds like you kind of fell into it a little
bit backwards, but, um, it seemslike it's working out for you
right now.
Let's flip the script a littlebit there, stan.
Then tell me, how are youfinding new businesses to work
with so that you are able toprovide that same value to new
clients who you're providing toyour existing clients?
(04:58):
Because I think a lot ofprofessionals in your space,
they are so skilled at thefulfillment aspect but there can
be some struggles at times tofind new clients.
So what, what's been workingwell for you in that arena?
Speaker 3 (05:14):
Yeah, I think, james, you are totally right.
I think, like our industry fullof like accountants and
financial people and they justlike, like they, they choose
these professionals like becauseof their personality, and
usually they just like theychoose this profession because
of their personality and usuallyit's like introverts, they
rather spend the entire day infront of the Excel.
(05:34):
So it's just like opposite of Idon't know like a salesperson,
like I don't know like it,probably even like CEO or so,
like they don't really get usedto the go to the public, share
their, their opinion publicly.
I don't know.
Yeah, it's kind of like there'sa lot of hurdles.
I think, uh, for me, uh, likemy kind of previous entrepreneur
(05:56):
experience with the hedge fund,because when I moved to new
york, uh, I set a goal that I'mjust going every day, I will
spend time to networking and Ijust like start going on events
every day and it was literallylike my job.
So I just find any event thatis relevant for me and just
trying to get as many contactsas possible.
(06:17):
And right now it's also thesame.
I think, like offline,especially in my category, I'm
working with the higher revenueclients, so I'm working with at
least like 3 million of revenueclients and I'm not the cheapest
one.
I know there's different pricebuckets and I think like to sell
(06:39):
like this kind of like servicewith this price tag.
You need to establishrelationships offline or
somebody should refer to you.
I think it's only like tworeliable ways how you get
clients, especially in mysegment.
If you don't work with startupsand you don't really provide
accounting service, you'reworking like I'm only providing
like a fractional cfo service.
(07:00):
So it's I think it's the way togo like.
Just find any any kind ofevents where you can.
You can meet potentialcustomers okay, I, I would.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
I would have to challenge you a little bit I
would say there's other ways tocertainly get in front of the
ideal clients.
You're already working withword of mouth.
It's always going to be thebest.
But there's a catch-22 there.
You need to have enough peopleyou're working with in order to
actually send out the word ofmouth.
And then the networking.
You can get very restricted toeither the serviceable area
(07:40):
you're in, where you'reattending these events, or it
can become extremely costly ifyou're flying where you're
attending these events, or canbecome extremely costly if
you're flying around todifferent events.
So just depending on what thoselook like.
But you're absolutely right,you can certainly get in front
of great, great audiences andgreat prospects.
That though, through thosemethods but, um, yeah, I would
definitely challenge you thatthere's.
(08:03):
There are other consistent waysto still get in front of the
business owners who are doing 3mil plus per year, outside of
the networking events, becauseI'm sure not tried in the past
that didn't work that you nolonger you no longer you know do
anymore, because it's simplyjust it was.
(08:23):
It's not yielding the resultsthat you're looking for.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
What I'm not doing anymore.
That, okay, it's a goodquestion.
I think I'm stopped workingwith certain clients.
It's like, it's like thebiggest realization.
I spent too much time on theclients.
That just is not a good fit formy service and I couldn't
realize.
So I just like when I learnedabout my peers like successful
(08:50):
fractional CFO companies, andthen when I met certain clients
that were okay to pay, pay Iknow 6 000 a month, so as I
realized, okay, I just I'm doingthe right service.
I'm just not in a certain.
I just like targeting not theright clients, because before
that I was working with thestartups and like, yeah, like up
(09:12):
to one million of revenue andthey really they don't have like
even like two thousand dollarsper month to pay like for any
kind of service and yeah, it wasa struggle and kind of like
this realization helps me and Ithink like I think a lot of,
especially like just first time,kind of like a fractional c4,
they just started and theytrying to get any kind of
(09:34):
clients and usually becausethey're more like those, like
small companies, than largercompanies, just because of the
low numbers, and like theyprobably will meet those and
they will say no, it's like$5,000, even like $3,000 is just
too much we can pay.
And then they can like createthis wrong kind of mindset that
they okay, it's like it'sprobably too much.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
I'm asking for this service, but it's actually just
you're talking with the wrongclient yeah, that's, that's
really good insight and I I'dlove to to ask a follow-up on
that.
But kind of just building offof what you're saying, it it
takes me back to the analogy ofa bottle of water.
Um, a bottle of water at, say,the corner store might be a
(10:22):
dollar.
The same bottle of water at theairport could be seven bucks.
It's not that the product isn'tright, it's where.
Where are you trying to sellthe product?
Who are you trying to sell itto?
And it sounds like that's whatyou really noticed is hey, I
have, I have the right thing,people want it, but I was
(10:43):
selling it and I was trying tosell it to the wrong people who
just simply can't afford it.
Now I'm selling it to just awhole different audience and
they're saying, yes, no trouble,at a much higher price point.
Same service offering muchhigher price point to a, to a
more qualified audience.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
And yeah and and right now, for example, it gives
me, like when I learn aboutlike those right clients and
when you see like that youdeliver the value, it give you a
real like a boost in yourconfidence.
And, for example, I'm likeright now I'm not gonna discount
my price, even if it's gonna bea smaller scope of work.
(11:20):
I know it's just it doesn'twork like my time and it's just
not the right client and I willjust decline it.
It's just like it's it's goingto work.
So I'm kind of like very firmon my price and don't really
like negotiate below like acertain cap.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Yeah, what are some of the things you look for Like
do you have an internalchecklist?
When you're on a sales callwith a prospect Excuse me or
someone's interested in yourservices, are you running
through a couple of differentthings?
Are you trying to identify onthe call, because everyone
(11:57):
speaks about, hey, I only workwith the best.
You know the best clients andthese are the people I want to
work with.
But oftentimes, especially whenyou're getting started, when
push comes to shove, ifsomeone's like, hey, I'm, I'm
willing to pay you what you'reasking for, let's, let's engage
in business, most of the timepeople are going to say, yes,
let's do it.
But what are you looking fornow that you're a little bit
(12:18):
more established, where you'relike, you know, but that's a red
flag.
I actually don't want them as aclient because that red flag
doesn't outweigh the value inwhich they're providing my firm.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
Yeah, I think the easiest one is just kind of not
red flag, it's just a criteriaLike for them even if they agree
to pay my price.
But, for example, their revenueis $1 million and they are not a
startup that's growing likedouble their revenue every few
months.
It's just like I know itdoesn't make economically for
them like to pay this price, soI will decline anyways,
(12:51):
obviously.
Just it doesn't make any sensefor you guys right now, like
another thing is just like I'mlooking for the scope of work on
my discovery call, like tounderstand what they're really
looking for and like when youkind of like dig deeper and like
understand, like okay, what youneed help with, like, for
example, I, if it's kind of likeI don't know really distressed
(13:11):
situation when, like I knowthey're running out of the money
, like in two weeks and it'sjust like they need like help,
it's probably too late for me tostep in and it's like and it's
probably it's gonna be like afull-time project for my team,
including me, just to save thiscompany for the next three
months probably, and it'sprobably there's a very high
(13:33):
probability that we'll still endup closing the company and I
will lose them as a client.
So it doesn't work for me and Ithink, just in general, you
kind of see the person, what'sthey asking, what's they looking
for, what's the expectationsfrom you?
I think sometimes it's difficultto kind of get it from the
(13:53):
first call, but I usually dodiscovery call and then kind of
like a sales call where we likego more in detail.
So what's the expectations,what's the issues and how we can
solve them.
And so you're trying like togauge this and like to
understand okay, is it a goodfit?
Um, yeah, yeah.
And like scope work, yeah.
So sometimes they kind ofexpecting kind of what I'm doing
, an accounting work, or like,uh, yeah, I, I don't do this, so
(14:17):
it's yeah.
Or like I know five day taxes.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
So yeah, do you have.
Are you?
Are you partnered up with otherfirms?
Stand who the people, thebusiness owners that you can't
work with, the ones who youdon't feel are a good fit for
you.
You're able to refer them tosomeone else and you're still
monetizing a little bit off ofthose connections not my direct
peers.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
so I have a lot of conversations if other
fractional roles like marketing,chief revenue officer, like HR,
like other, like in trying toestablish those referral fees.
But I think it's I don't knowit's kind of challenging, at
least for me it's yeah, I don'tknow.
We have a lot of conversations,but they just don't really turn
(15:00):
into anything right now.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
So, yeah, but let's see, see, have you thought about
having some of thosepartnerships where if especially
if you have a solid lead flowcoming through and you can't
take on everyone and noteveryone's a good fit where you
can send them to another firm,who who does specialize in maybe
those smaller businesses likebetween the half a mil to the
(15:23):
two million dollar range, or ifthey're people looking for
specific services you don'toffer and you can still monetize
off the back end?
Have you considered that foryour business model?
Speaker 3 (15:32):
um, yeah, probably at some point.
Yes, yeah, right now.
Just I don't think I have.
I know so many leads that likeI need to establish like these
processes there's a short time.
I know like people approach,approach and they need help.
I know trying to find Even formy current clients they need a
new tax advisor, or I knowsomething doesn't work with, I
(15:54):
don't know, with accountingfirms.
So, for example, withaccounting, I have kind of this
hate and love because I usuallyso it's usually kind of like the
first things on to the list orthe new client okay what, what
are one of the, and if you cannarrow it down to one.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
But what stands out to you is like one of the
biggest wins, the, the biggestthing you're proud of with your
business.
Maybe it's a win for a client,a win for yourself with your
business.
Is there anything that standsout top of mind?
They're like, yeah, this, thisis awesome, this is a win.
I, a client, a win for yourselfwith your business.
Is there anything that standsout top of mind?
They're like, yeah, this isawesome, this is a win I'm very
proud of.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
Yeah, like just get them clarity what they need to
accomplish, like get theirpicture because, like before we
start working, they have thiskind of like awake understanding
, like even like what's the needto do the business and revenue
where they are, like they'rejust like they want to sell at
some point but they don't haveanything, you know, like firm
and concrete, like what's theydoing, like what kind of revenue
(16:55):
, what kind of ebitda they wantto achieve, how they want to
achieve how much capital do theyneed to provide.
And then, like I just see, likein in six months, like we have
like this great visibility whatis happening with different
parts of the business, how muchthey generated cash, how much
they need capital, how much weneed to invest in the future to
get where they want to.
(17:16):
And it's great to see and Ihate this word strategic
approach, find those insights,all these kind of like buzzwords
.
But yeah, it's, I think it'sand I think it's main
differentiator of myself fromothers, like I.
I like I don't have anyaccountant background.
I've never been in cpa andnever been a controller.
(17:38):
I've been on the investmentbanking side, on on, uh, lending
side, and so it's kind of likehelped me to see strategically
when I look at each client okayinteresting and you mentioned
earlier in this recording.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
You have a team now.
Um, what, what's a an averageday look like for you?
You get up in the morning.
How much time is spent are youworking in the business?
Is most of it on the business?
Are you?
Do you work half days nowbecause everything's been?
You have the systems andprocesses.
Everything can run like what.
What's the average day looklike for you during the, you
(18:15):
know, monday to friday?
Speaker 3 (18:16):
yeah, right now I'm switching more to business
development.
So I kind of like my goal, Iknow, for this quarter, like I
know, decrease the like actualwork on the current clients and
not to less than 50%.
It's a bit challenging,particularly this quarter,
because just like a lot of stufflike going on with each client
(18:37):
they have like audits, board ofdirectors, like closing their
financials, just so many thingshappening.
But yeah, it's kind of like I'mright now spending more time on
business development and it'sjust like part of this is like I
post already on LinkedIn andTwitter.
I want to expand this one.
I do a lot of offlinenetworking events and just
(18:59):
follow up, reach out.
I have kind of like onlinemeetups with different people.
Usually it's kind of like thesefractional roles, different
fractional roles to establishlike those partnerships, so kind
of exploring different things,trying like my goal I think by
the end of the first half ofthis year to spend, like I don't
(19:22):
know, 60, 70% on businessdevelopment.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
Awesome, that's great .
I'm sure by getting to thatgoal you're going to see
significant growth on the bottomline of the firm.
So definitely wishing you allthe best as you work towards
that goal.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
Yeah, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Stan, thank you so much for coming on today.
I appreciate all the insightand knowledge you shared in the
background on how you got yourfirm off the ground and the
direction you're hoping to go inand continue to push forward
with.
So again, thank you so much forcoming on.
This has been a greatconversation.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
Yeah, thank you.
Thank you, James, for invitingme.
Yeah, it was great to speak toyou inviting me.
Speaker 4 (20:05):
Yeah, it was great to speak to you.
Thanks for tuning in to thisepisode of CFO Chronicles the
secrets behind success.
I hope you found value intoday's conversation.
As we wrap up, I'd love for youto do two things.
First, make sure to subscribeto this podcast so you don't
miss any future episodes.
If you enjoyed today'sdiscussion, please rate and
review the show.
It helps others discover theinsights we share here.
Second, if you're ready to takeyour business to the next level
(20:25):
and attract the high-endclients you deserve, head over
to accountingleadsnowcom orclick the link in the show notes
to book your strategy.
Call.
It's time to position yourselfas the advisor your clients need
.
And don't forget you canconnect with me on LinkedIn to
stay up to date on what'shappening in the world of
accounting and financial growth.
We've got more exciting topicscoming up, so stay tuned for the
(20:46):
next episode of CFO Chronicles.
Until then, keep pushingforward.
Your growth is just onestrategic move away.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
Thanks for listening to CFO Chronicles the secrets
behind success.
We hope today's episodeprovided valuable strategies to
help you attract morehigh-paying clients.
Be sure to subscribe, thank youand unlocking your business's
potential.
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