As a professional services firm today, it’s critical that you future-proof your portfolio with the companies of tomorrow, which inarguably sits with the world of technology. However, there’s no way you can expect to attract and retain convention-busting tech clients using your archaic techniques of yester-year. You need to evolve, or you'll be left servicing dying industries.

It’s clear the direction that the world is heading. Technology companies now account for ~25% of the stock market, compared to only ~5% a couple of decades ago, and that upwards trend will only continue into the future.

Atlassian, arguably Australia's hottest tech export and now worth U$10bn+, famously claims to have ignored smart people to reach the top. Facebook ditched the traditional usage of financial advisors during their U$1bn acquisition of instagram, and overall sentiment is that Silicon Valley hasn't just disregarded the advisory rulebook, it has burnt it.

Inconsistencies in approach

A pain point that finance teams experience at tech companies is having to manage relationships with advisors. The same advisors that its team members were once a part of. This isn’t a quality control issue, instead the frustration arises from the inconsistencies in approach, and a service that isn’t tailored to their unique needs.

As an advisor you’ll never appreciate the needs of your clients, until you’ve been in their shoes. After 10+ years on the advisory side, to now running the finance team at high-growth tech company Canva, I’ve summarised what I’ve learnt from this experience to:

1. Use the lack of red tape to your advantage

In a typical company there would usually be a variety of approvers involved in an engagement decision. Even getting a fee quote can often involve a lengthy proposal process. I’ve found the underlying cause of this is an expectation of red tape, meaning that the decision makers are behind the scenes. At a tech company, the project manager is often also the key decision maker, so preparing a business case can be a waste of time.

Tech companies are resourceful and devoid of traditional bureaucracy, that’s how they keep their agility

Understand the hoops (or lack thereof) you have to jump through to land an engagement. Tech companies are resourceful and devoid of traditional bureaucracy, that’s how they keep their agility. Tailor your courting approach accordingly.

2. One size doesn’t fit all

Consistency is key in today’s professional services firms; uniform project planning, prescribed reporting formats, monotonous client-advisor relationships. However, when you’re working with technology companies, one size doesn’t fit all.

Tech companies don’t care for formalities. Be progressive in your approach, and cut out the middleman where possible. I’ve found that workshops are a great way to knowledge share, solve problems, and even identify broader service opportunities.

Understand the preferred relationship style of your client and how they want the service to be delivered. If you can completely tailor your output to the client’s preferences then you’ll always meet their expectations.

3. “Invest” in the company

Tech companies are often completely reliant upon their advisors, therefore it’s important for them to form allegiances with people they trust. You want to foster a relationship where you’re treated as being part of the business.

Emerging issues provide a great relationship development opportunity. Consider offering free tailored consultations or workshops to a prospective/new client. Not an open-invite generic session, something more personalised, make the client feel loved. But it needs to be truly genuine, use the time in the business to sell your style & approach rather than your services.

Be smart with billing and play the long game

Each piece of work doesn’t need to be a win. Be smart with billing and play the long game. Client's will appreciate your investment in them.

4. Time is of the essence

Tech companies move fast: hire people, ship products, acquire users, grow revenue.

This need for speed permeates throughout the company; organisational structures are often designed to remove blockers and limit dependencies. Once a decision is made to undergo a project, it is kicked off ASAP.

Professional services firms love to produce glossy project plans containing absurd amounts of detail. In the time it takes you to prepare that proposal, bear in mind that a competitor may have already swooped in and kicked off the engagement. When we upgraded our accounting system to NetSuite, I pulled the trigger on selecting an implementation consultant before the last proposal had even been submitted.

If you’ve been asked to submit a proposal for services to a tech company, then make that good impression, fast.

Summary

Technology is the driving force of the modern world. The most successful tech companies place a huge emphasis on disrupting conventional ways of doing things, and so should you. After all, these unconventional organisations need unconventional advisors.

If you're facing any of these challenges or you have experiences you'd like to share, then I'd love to hear from you.