Episode 10

Talent, Tech & High Growth Firms: Lee Frederiksen

Rob Brown features Lee Frederiksen, a behavioural scientist and researcher at Hinge Marketing, discussing marketing and growth opportunities for accounting firms.

Lee talks about the importance of marketing and the need for the right talent and skills to implement effective marketing strategies. He highlights the role of digital marketing techniques such as search engine optimisation, consultations, and blog posts in high-growth firms. In contrast, traditional techniques like business development and networking are used by no-growth firms. The episode also covers the importance of being flexible and adaptive to changes and gathering client data to understand their needs and anticipate changes in the market. The focus should be on leveraging technology and talent to develop innovative solutions and stay ahead of the competition. Frederiksen concludes by emphasizing the evolving role of accounting firms, which includes strategy development, branding, and marketing services.

Key takeaways from this episode include:

➤ why employer branding is a critical topic for accounting firm leaders to understand

➤ the three things you need to build a successful professional services firm

➤ the biggest growth challenge for many accounting firms

➤ why the accounting profession has the lowest number of actively looking job-seekers in the whole professional services sector

➤ what exactly job seekers are looking for in new roles depends on where they are in their career

➤ the importance of being able to work remotely for talent looking for accounting roles

➤ why accounting firms who have not responded well to covid will suffer most in losing top talent

➤ the number one factor in creating a really strong employer brand for your accounting firm

➤ the futility of your accounting firm having more than 3 core values

➤ the number one thing job seekers who are actively looking for a new position actually want

➤ the prime times or triggers that make people restless in wanting to leave an accounting firm or role

➤ explaining the trend of people thinking of their career as a series of gigs vz jobs

➤ why loyalty to an accounting firm increases for both staff and clients once a critical time has passed

➤ the disruptive effect of mergers and acquisitions on workforce stability of accounting firms

➤ why making people stay with 'golden handcuffs' can cause resentment and lowered productivity in accounting firm staff

➤ the two stages in developing a compelling 'employer brand' in an accounting firm

➤ a strong accounting firm brand in the marketplace may attract talent to you, but there's one vital thing it won't do

➤ the differences in professional services sectors when it comes to how they attract and retain top talent

➤ the importance of time horizons for restless employees - vital to know for retaining your best people

➤ why it's inevitable in tough times that accounting firms will lose people

➤ how the business model of 'needing a local and regional presence' has changed for accounting firms

➤ what do accounting firms can do to attract employees that are not actively looking to move

➤ questions accounting firm leaders should be asking in shaping a strong employer brand

➤ two top tips for accountants who want more career capital and greater profitability

Lee Frederiksen is an award-winning marketer, Visible Expert®, and business strategist. As the Managing Partner of Hinge, he uses his PhD in behavioural psychology and CEO experience to help professional service firms achieve high growth and profitability. Lee is a recognized industry name, having authored several books and conducted extensive research on marketing and business growth. He is a regular speaker at major industry events and quoted in mainstream publications.

Discover growth strategies for accounting firms in this Accounting Influencers Podcast episode. Learn the importance of research-based approaches and digital marketing to stay competitive.

---

This show was initially aired as season 0, episode 116, on 20 Aug 2022. It was entitled "Employer Branding Strategies for Growing Accounting Firms". With the current focus on employer branding for accounting firms, Lee Frederiksen's research shows the importance of talent attraction and retention for accounting practices.

When he’s not travelling to speaking engagements or working at the Hinge headquarters, you’ll find Lee pursuing his interest in hot rods or watching movies with his wife, Candace. You can reach him here...

https://www.linkedin.com/in/leefrederiksen

https://twitter.com/leefrederiksen

http://www.hingemarketing.com

◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢

The Accounting Influencers Podcast drops every Monday to accounting professionals, finance specialists, software vendors, tech providers and influencers across 150 countries in the accountancy, CPA and bookkeeping space. To participate in our international virtual speed networking events for the accounting community, go to https://accountinginfluencers.com/events and book your place at the next gathering. Great to build your personal brand and make valuable industry connections.

◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢

You can watch this episode and more on our YouTube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/@accountinginfluencers

Join the Accounting Influencers community and get invitations to our international speed networking events to build your personal brand and network in the accounting, finance and tech world: https://www.linkedin.com/company/accountinginfluencers

For videos of all podcast interviews and bonus video content: https://bit.ly/AI-youtube

Thanks to our sponsors:

ADVANCETRACK OUTSOURCING. Transform your accounting firm with AdvanceTrack. Our top-tier offshoring solutions free your team from mundane tasks, allowing you to focus on growth and client engagement. Experience seamless scalability and expert support. Visit advancetrack.com and elevate your practice today. https://www.advancetrack.com

ACCOUNTEX. Join us at Accountex London, the pinnacle of fintech innovation, May 15-16, 2024! Discover ground-breaking solutions from 295+ brands and gain invaluable insights at our CPD-accredited sessions. Connect with 10,000+ finance professionals. Elevate your practice – attendance is free, plus earn up to 16 CPD points! https://www.accountex.co.uk/london

DEXT. Streamline your accounting practice with Dext! Our cutting-edge tools, Dext Prepare, Commerce, and Precision, revolutionize data handling, saving you precious time and ensuring accuracy. Connect seamlessly with leading software like Xero and QBO. Join 500,000+ customers transforming their practices. Start your free trial and embrace efficiency today! https://dext.com

If you'd like to sponsor the show and elevate your brand with our audience, reach out to show host Rob Brown on LinkedIn and his team will reach out to fix up a chat to explore.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/therobbrown

About the Podcast

Show artwork for Accounting Voices Podcast
Accounting Voices Podcast
Accounting Voices helps people in the accounting world stay relevant visible and vocal. Host Rob Brown interprets trends reshaping the profession and gives listeners insight to build authority influence and a stronger voice in firms and markets.

About your host

Profile picture for Rob Brown

Rob Brown

Rob Brown is the founder and host of the Accounting Voices Podcast, the flagship solo show of the Accounting Voices Network. Each episode offers sharp analysis and commentary on the trends, ideas and people shaping the global accounting profession.

Through this Accounting Voices Podcast, Rob helps accounting firm leaders, decision makers and professionals stay relevant and make sense of disruption in areas like AI, automation, M&A, private equity and soft skills beyond the tech. His perspective blends clarity, insight and curiosity, making complex issues relevant and practical for professionals and decision makers across accounting and finance.

He also leads two monthly panel shows, Accounting M&A and Accounting AI, which bring together senior voices to explore consolidation, strategy and the impact of technology on firms and people.

Rob is the author of the bestselling book Build Your Reputation (Wiley) and a TEDx speaker whose talk The Personal Brand of You has more than 400,000 views. Over his career he has hosted and moderated more than 1,000 conversations with accounting and fintech leaders worldwide.

Based in Nottingham UK, Rob is a stroke survivor living with epilepsy, a black belt in kickboxing, a decent chess player and an average player of four musical instruments.