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SALES PERFORMANCE AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT INSIGHTS FROM AMY FRANKO
Guest Article: Smarter Qualification: Knowing Which Opportunities to Pursue
One of the most important growth decisions a professional services firm can make happens before the proposal: deciding whether an opportunity is worth pursuing. ****** Amy Franko recently contributed to the Association for Accounting Marketing's Summer 2026 issue of Growth Strategies magazine. The article “Stop Chasing Every Prospect: Smarter Qualification Drives Better Growth” by Eileen Monesson explores why disciplined qualification is becoming essential as firms balance ambitious growth goals with limited capacity and increasingly complex client needs. The excitement of a new opportunity can make it easy to say yes too quickly. But poor-fit clients can affect realization, capacity, culture and long-term growth. In the article, Amy discusses two practices that help firms make better decisions: creating objective lead-scoring criteria and understanding the “math of opportunity pursuit.” Growth goals,...
Podcast: Leading Through Change and Buyer Resistance
In this episode of The Sales Gravy podcast, Amy Franko joins host Jeb Blount Jr. to explore what sales and growth leaders are navigating as they pursue new opportunities in a changing business environment. Amy shares her perspective on finding growth within existing client relationships, leading through organizational change, and making strong decisions amid uncertainty. She also introduces an often-overlooked dimension of buyer resistance: the resistance that can exist inside your own organization. For leaders, creating forward movement means helping clients make decisions while also bringing internal teams and stakeholders along. Amy and Jeb also preview the OutBound Conference, November 9–12, 2026, in Las Vegas, where Amy will once again take the stage to share practical strategies for sales and growth leaders. You can watch the episode here: Podcast Highlights [1:32] Where are the best opportunities...
How Do Professional Services Firms Demonstrate Value to Clients?
Creating value for clients isn’t enough. Your clients also need to recognize the value you create. As a busy practice leader, it can be tough to balance the delivery aspects of your role with the continual need to cultivate new business. As you think about your prospects and clients, take a moment to consider your interactions with them. What kind of impression do you make on your clients? Each time you meet with, talk to, or write to them, you have an opportunity to bring value. Do they think of you as someone who leaves every interaction better than you found it? Building strong client relationships by creating –and communicating– value is an integral part of establishing your role as a strategic partner. An X-factor in the world of professional services. Strong strategic relationships and a reputation as someone who provides business value will help you stand out from the crowd. What Does Creating...
Why Isn’t Our Prospecting Improving Our Sales Pipeline?
Today’s AI-generated noise is making it harder for professional services firms to earn a prospect’s attention. Amy Franko offers practical strategies for creating prospecting messages that stand out, build credibility, and drive real growth. ******* If your firm's prospecting feels less effective than it did a few years ago, you're probably not imagining it. Prospecting is essential to long-term growth, and the rules have changed. Buyers are inundated with AI-generated messages, making it harder to earn their attention. Organizations that stand out are those that focus on the right prospects and engage them with insights that address meaningful business challenges. For professional services firms, that means applying a prospecting mindset to both existing clients and prospective clients. Growth comes from expanding trusted relationships as well as creating new ones. In both cases, your messaging plays a...
The Question Every CGO Should Ask Before Approving Another Business Development Program
Chief Growth Officers, before you approve another business development training program, this is a question to consider: How will this investment create organic revenue and long-term results, and create the right business development culture in the firm? If there’s one challenge firms face, it’s the trap of single-mode learning experiences for business development. That might be a one-time workshop, or a one-time virtual program, or self-serve platforms. They all have value, and I’ve designed, facilitated, and launched all of these for professional services firms. These one-time or self-serve options can make learning more accessible, provide reinforcement or quick information, or help a firm to more easily scale. One-time learning experiences often seem easier logistically, or less expensive upfront. But in the long term, they’re usually more expensive – because they don’t meet your sales pipeline and...
The Missing Piece in Your Growth Strategy: Trusted Advisors
For professional services firms, expertise alone is no longer enough to drive sustainable growth. If your growth strategy doesn't intentionally develop trusted advisors across your firm, you're likely missing opportunities to win new business, deepen client relationships, and expand existing accounts. While your team may have exceptional technical knowledge, clients increasingly value professionals who anticipate challenges, provide strategic guidance, and proactively connect them with solutions. When those relationships aren't built, someone else often steps in to fill the trusted advisor role. The firms that consistently grow understand that becoming a trusted advisor isn't just a client service philosophy—it's one of the most effective business development strategies available. Professionals who earn trust create stronger client loyalty, uncover new opportunities, and become indispensable partners...
Video: Trade Show ROI: How to Win More Business From Events
Trade shows and events remain one of the largest investments organizations make to drive growth—yet they're often one of the most difficult to measure. Whether you're attending an executive roundtable, hosting a client event, or exhibiting at a major industry conference, success depends on far more than showing up. It requires a strategy that connects every interaction to long-term business growth. In this video, Amy Franko shares how sales leaders and professional services firms can maximize the value of both curated events and large-scale trade shows. She walks through a practical three-phase framework—from planning and execution to post-event follow-up—to help transform events into stronger relationships, greater visibility, and sustainable revenue growth. Key Takeaways Blend both event types: Curated events build depth; large trade shows build reach. Think in phases: Pre-plan with a clear business...
Growth Strategy: How do growth leaders make better growth decisions using data?
Chief Growth Officers and Sales leaders: how can you make better growth decisions using data? This article introduces a strategy using a Balanced Data Framework to help cut through the noise. Learn how to balance data with context, avoid overload, and make confident, impact-driven decisions. ******** Business leaders are surrounded by data. Revenue dashboards, customer insights, market trends, pipeline metrics, profitability reports, AI-generated analytics, and economic indicators all compete for attention. Yet more data doesn't automatically lead to better decisions. The challenge for CEOs, Chief Growth Officers, and sales leaders is knowing which signals matter, how to apply context, and when to act. The Balanced Data Framework helps leaders cut through the noise, evaluate opportunities, and make confident growth decisions. As it relates to data, I have a colleague who is a customer experience expert....
Does Your Sales Commission Incent the Right Behaviors?
Your sales commission philosophy and sales commission structure are key tools to create both a healthy sales culture and a profitable organization. Sales leaders should read this article for a checklist to help you determine your strengths and weaknesses in your current plan. ***** The era of "set it and forget it" sales commissions is over. I recently had the opportunity to facilitate a leadership exchange on business development compensation at the 2026 AAM Summit in Palm Springs. Many of the session participants approached me afterwards to share how helpful it was to learn from their peers… and just how different things are from firm to firm based on culture and goals. The data reflects this shift. In 2026, companies are placing a greater premium on measurable sales performance than at any point in recent years. In fact, the earnings gap between top-performing and average sellers reached $200,000—the...
Guest Article: The Client Relationship Is Your Greatest Growth Asset — Or Your Greatest Risk
If You Don’t Expand the Client Relationship, Your Competitor Will ****** Many CPA and advisory firms believe growth will come primarily from new clients. But the greater growth risk may already exist inside your current client base. In Amy Franko's latest article for Inside Public Accounting "Perspectives from the Profession," she explores the hidden vulnerabilities in firm operating models that lead to client atrophy, competitive encroachment, and stalled organic growth — and what firms can do to change course. Read the full article. Are your firm's client relationships growing? Here are several of the client relationship risks, growth challenges, and operational shifts shaping the future of CPA and advisory firms that were included in the article: Existing clients are the biggest organic growth opportunity and the greatest hidden risk. Relational atrophy happens slowly when firms fail to expand...
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