Branch Out - A Podcast from Connection Builders

In today’s episode, Alyson Fieldman, founder of Rockit Results, an independent consulting firm specializing in strategic marketing for high-growth professional services firms, shares her expertise in client experience (CX) and why it is a strategic differentiator in the marketplace. Alyson explains that CX is the sum of all a firm's touchpoints with its clients and how it makes the client feel. She emphasizes the importance of empathy and understanding the emotional components of CX, which technical professionals often overlook. 

The key to happier repeat clients, less client attrition, more client loyalty, an easier sales cycle, and more referrals is to ask, listen, and act. It’s as simple (and as complicated) as that. Although it requires time, resources, and ongoing effort to get to the bottom of what your clients really want and to make the changes that will give them that, it will always be a worthy investment!  

Key Points From This Episode:

• Alyson shares her thoughts on why client experience (CX) is a strategic differentiator in the marketplace. 
• Elements that CX is made up of and why they matter to your firm’s success.
• The difference between client service and client experience. 
• Why so many professional services executives struggle with CX.
• Examples of different CX approaches.
• Ask, listen, act; why this is Alyson’s favorite CX approach.
• How to ask questions in a way that will allow you to make the biggest impact.
• The opportunity that presents itself when there is a breakdown in client service.
• Some of the obstacles that prevent companies from enhancing their CX.
• The many benefits of taking the time to understand what your clients really want.
• Why CX is a program rather than a project.
• Examples of the types of questions to ask your clients in order to understand their feelings towards your company. 
• How to respond to different types of client feedback.
• The best place to start on your journey of improving CX.

Alyson Fieldman on LinkedIn
Rockit Results
Connection Builders
Alex Drost LinkedIn

Does it ever feel as if your life has become mechanical or routine? Do you find that it’s becoming more and more difficult to find success in your career? This is the episode for you! Today, we speak with keynote speaker, CPA, yogi, technologist, TEDx speaker, Breaking Beliefs Podcast host, and CEO of the B3 Method Institute, Amy Vetter, who guides business professionals on their journeys to become happier, more engaged, and more successful. 

As a CPA and a yogi, Amy has a unique perspective to offer on achieving work-life harmony, changing our thoughts and habits, becoming connected leaders, and more; all of which we discuss in this episode. Above all, Amy emphasizes the importance of doing the work, and she encourages listeners to step back, get still, and embrace new perspectives, especially when doing so feels like it challenges your existing belief systems. To discover some of the tools you need to overcome adversity, identify your personal purpose, and align it with the work you do, be sure to tune in to this insightful conversation with Amy Vetter!

Key Points From This Episode:

• A look at the B3 Method Institute and its methodology: business plus balance equals bliss.
• The importance of doing the work to change your thoughts, habits, and belief systems.
• Tips for taking the first steps on your journey to transform your work and life.
• Dispelling the myth that there’s never “enough time” for self-development.
• Why individual buy-in is essential for workplace transformation.
• Leadership, self-deception, and the importance of prioritizing people.
• What it means to become a more connected leader (according to Amy).
• Key elements of successful workplace transformation, including intentional culture.
• The role of empathy, mutual respect, collaboration, detachment, and mindfulness.
• Listening and feedback techniques for connected leaders.
• Finding the energy for iterative growth and the value of learning in real-time.
• Why firms need to evolve to continue to attract the talent they want.
• How organizations can benefit from allowing people to inform their strategy.
• Actionable advice for firm leaders: begin with self-assessment.

Amy Vetter
The B3 Method Institute
Breaking Beliefs Podcast
Disconnect to Connect
Business, Balance & Bliss
Amy Vetter on LinkedIn
Amy Vetter on Twitter
Amy Vetter on Instagram
Connection Builders
Alex Drost LinkedIn

Strategic growth is about more than just growth for growth’s sake. It’s about identifying the most efficient path for profitability and sustainability and then pursuing it. Our guest today, Gale Crosley, is a Strategic Growth and Innovation Consultant who has helped countless growth-oriented CPA and Accounting firms overcome barriers and achieve high-performing strategic growth. Crosley started her career as a CPA with Arthur Andersen before transitioning to technology sales. After the dot-com bust, she started her own growth consultancy to help CPA firms grow strategically. 

We discuss strategic growth within the CPA and broader professional services profession, including what firms can learn from traditional corporate enterprises and how technological innovations like AI are changing the industry. Gale explains that strategic growth is not just top-line growth but also about the bottom line. It's not growth for growth's sake; rather, it's about growing profitability. She also breaks down the biggest impediments to strategic growth, like unprecedented staffing shortages and adapting to revenue cycles.

Finally, Gale notes that firms must shift their strategy as the market changes. Firms need to specialize and innovate to stay relevant. Gale believes private equity and technology are disrupters to the CPA profession that will accelerate the need to evolve current business strategies. Gale advises managing partners to focus on strategic growth and specialization instead of riding the rollercoaster of market conditions. By being forward-thinking and focusing on strategic growth, firms can achieve the most profit and the fastest growth.

Key Points From This Episode: 

• Get to know Gale, her deep experience, and her work as a Strategic Growth Consultant.
• Why she pivoted from accounting early in her career.
• How she partners with CPA firms to transform them into high-growth environments.
• The concept of strategic growth and how it is accomplished.
• How strategic growth is the most profitable and fastest growth and why it is not growth for growth's sake. 
• Broadening geographic reach and its impact on opportunity and competition.
• An overview of the unprecedented disruption within the CPA profession and how private equity is changing the landscape so radically.
• Why strategic growth is the movement from an individual contribution, book of business, tactical generalist to a leader-driven and strategic specialist.
• The impediments to strategic growth that Gale has observed. 
• What firms should be doing with increased revenue levels to optimize for strategic growth.
• How leadership and organizational structure can foster (or impede) strategic growth.
• The differences between what drives corporate America, private equity firms, and CPA firms.
• Combining the best parts of corporate America with the best parts of the CPA profession.
• Advice for firms on approaching industry changes and the role of private equity.
• Gale’s predictions for what the industry will look like in ten years.

Gale Crosley
Gale Crosley on LinkedIn
Connection Builders
Alex Drost LinkedIn

Give credit and take blame; this is Bruce Ditman’s golden rule of leadership. In today’s episode, he shares his story of how he went from selling television advertising to Chief Marketing Officer at Marcum LLP, a $700 million dollar CPA & accounting firm, then later to the founder of Chief Seconds. 

Bruce has never had one day of formal marketing education in his life, but his intellectual curiosity, humility, and thoughtful approach to everything he does has led to him achieving success at every stage of his career. We discuss the difference between an educational approach and an indoctrination model, the importance of cultivating professional empathy in your organization, and how leaders who have been in the game for a long time need to learn to meet the needs of younger generations. Bruce also shares his approach to managing people, which leads to increased production levels without causing burnout. 

Key Points From This Episode: 

• Bruce shares the story of how he became a Chief Marketing Officer despite never getting any formal marketing education. 
• How the non-traditional career path he has taken has played to his advantage. 
• Bruce’s approach to becoming the best CMO he could be.
• One of the key skills to which he attributes his success. 
• The maladies that marketers commonly suffer from. 
• Problems Bruce has with the way training is done in professional services industries. 
• Indoctrination versus education models for upskilling.
• The importance of cultivating professional empathy in your organization.
• Why people who are naturally gifted at something are often not the best teachers. 
• How Bruce decided on Chief Seconds as the name of his company.
• How to effectively upskill your employees. 
• The core traits required for developing a successful business. 
• How to master the art of asking good questions.
• Bruce’s thoughts on creating a culture of intellectual curiosity.
• The golden rule of managing people and what it takes to be a good leader.

Bruce Ditman on LinkedIn
Bruce Ditman Email Address
Chief Seconds
Connection Builders
Alex Drost LinkedIn

Unexpected connections exist all around us; we just have to be open to them. One such connection that many listeners may find surprising is the link between music and accounting. Our guest today, Scott Scarano, has always had a passion for both these disciplines. He describes accounting as the language of business and music as the language of life. Scott is the owner of a thriving accounting firm, a podcaster, and the custodian of Accounting High, an online resource that is helping to modernize the accounting profession and make it more accessible for everyone. While many people view accountants as lacking creativity, Scott, aka The Rapping CPA, is here to insist otherwise. In today’s conversation with Scott, we delve into One CPA’s Journey: The Nexus of Creativity and Entrepreneurship. 

Our discussion includes the nature of creativity, how repetition helps us grow, and what it means to be open to recognizing new and unexpected connections. Scott talks with us about how his grandfather inspired him to pursue accounting, what it was like to build his CPA firm, and how he made the transition from being an operator in his business to a high-level visionary. We also contemplate the nature of failure before hearing the story of how Scott started writing highly detailed and entertaining rap parodies. Scott closes off today's episode with a rendition of his riveting Superapp rap, which is based on Eminem’s Superman (and written for Expensify), and shares the response he got from Expensify CEO David Barrett when he had him as a guest on his podcast.

Key Points From This Episode:

• A story from Scott illustrating the power of being open to connection.
• Scott’s lifelong dream of being an actor, rapper, entertainer, and accountant.
• The connection between performance, music, and accounting.
• Scott’s history selling drugs and what it taught him about business.
• An overview of Scott’s career as an accountant and how he grew his CPA firm.
• How to go from being an operator to a high-level visionary in your business.
• Scott’s reflections on starting a podcast and what he’s learned from it.
• The Dunning-Kruger effect and the experience of repetition, change, and growth over time.
• What Scott has learned about creativity and his own desire to form new connections.
• Why every failure is an opportunity to learn, even if it’s painful.
• How Scott realized his dream of becoming a rapper.
• What Scott learned from writing rap parody songs.
• The story of how Scott wrote an Eminem rap parody for Expensify.
• Scott’s parody version of Eminem’s Superman, Superapp!

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Scott Scarano on LinkedIn
Scott Scarano on Twitter
Accounting High
Accounting High on YouTube
Accounting High Podcast
The Dunning-Kruger effect
The Creative Act: A Way of Being
FreshBooks
Expensify
ExpensiCon
David Barrett on LinkedIn
Connection Builders
Alex Drost LinkedIn