Over the last 2 years, we’ve been fortunate to grow consistently.

But we’ve noticed that many clients churn after 9-12 months.

Here’s the thing though. 95% leave on good terms and are happy with the results. So it’s become clear that we’re not effectively communicating our ongoing value.

What’s our goal then? To extend LTV to 36 months.

Here’s how we’re doing that.

Simplifying Deliverables

One of the first changes we made was to simplify our first set of deliverables.

This is what one of our old proposals looked like.

We had 45, 60, 90, and 180-day goals like building financial models, creating 13-week cash flow forecasts, setting KPIs, and more.

But after hitting all those milestones, some clients felt like the work was “done” and saw no reason to stay.

Essentially, we were failing to communicate what happens next.

To do that, we needed to simplify the initial proposal before trying to change anything else.

Here’s what our new one looks like.

The emphasis now is on recurring value, which allows our clients to see us as long-term partners rather than fixers.

Here’s why that works for us—and delivers a better client experience.

Delivering Strategic Value Over the Long Term

Finance and Accounting isn’t a “set it and forget it” deal if you want your business to run effectively over time. While getting your financial house in order is a non-negotiable, it’s only the first step to running an efficient business.

The real benefit of good CFO work comes from ongoing updates, adjustments, and strategic direction. For example, a 13-week cash flow forecast only changes the trajectory of a business if it’s done every other week all the time (yes, even when cash flow is healthy).

Our new proposal breaks down how we’ll keep delivering value over the next 24 months—after the initial pain points have been solved for.

Counterintuitive as it may seem, our churn came from focusing too much on what got us hired in the first place and too little on the strategic direction we offer clients.

If you’re dealing with churn in your business or simply want to maximize LTV, feel free to copy my approach—the essence of which is to go beyond solving the obvious problem. Find a way instead to meet the need and become a long-term partner. You can do this whether you’re a consultancy like Scalable or a home service contractor.

We’re just testing this specific proposal at the moment, so I could be wrong on the exact delivery here. But I’m excited to see how it’ll improve retention and strengthen client relationships moving forward.

If you’ve tested different types of proposals, I’d love to hear how it went. Feel free to reply and tell me.

If you need help managing churn or have any questions, feel free to reach out.

As always, I’m happy to help.

Putting It All Together

Here are your top takeaways from this week’s post.

1. Scalable has grown well over the past 2 years, but we noticed that many of our clients churned after 9-12 months.

2. The problem was too much focus on what initially got us hired and too little on the long-term strategic value we bring to clients.

3. So, we simplified our initial proposals and placed an emphasis on recurring value.

4. So far, it’s worked well, but I’m excited to keep testing deliverables until we reach our 36-month LTV goal.

Hungry for More?

1. Follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn for daily content to take your business to the next level.

2. Book a call to learn how Scalable can transform your SMB.

3. Shoot me an email with your questions or requests for what you’d like me to write about next.

‘Til Next Time,

Connor