The Gap Story Book

COVER
Our Story
LEADING ACCOUNTANTS TO
ACHIEVE THEIR TRUE PURPOSE.

SEAMLESS
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PRODUCTS
FOR ACCOUNTING FIRMS THE WORLD OVER.
© The GAP 2014 LTD.
All copy correct at the time of printing.
www.thegapportal.com
+64 7 574 3474 | 0800 275 848 (NZ) | 1800 839 246 (Aus)

What is
The Gap?
est d
‘14
Put simply, The Gap is a web based portal that enables
firms like yours to deliver a wide range of Business
Development (BD) services to their clients.
Most businesses need help to achieve the three freedoms -
Financial Freedom, Time Freedom and Mind Freedom. Our BD
portal provides you with end to end systemised services that your
clients will love and that you can monetise.

BY
ACCOUNTANTS
FOR
ACCOUNTANTS
In 2014 Chartered Accountants Viv Brownrigg and Mark
Jenkins established The Gap.
With 35+ years public practice graft between them, they both have proven
track records in practice excellence, business coaching and industry
leadership. All of The Gap Business Development services are based on
experience, not theory. We provide a proven BD system. This is what makes
us different to other providers.
The entire Gap team understand the three main barriers to implementing BD
services - no time, no system and no confidence.
Our systemised content and implementation training go a long way to
remove these barriers. The rest (feel the fear and do it anyway) is up to you.

OUR PURPOSE
Leading accountants to
achieve their true purpose.
Our
Purpose
OUR VISION
Accounting firms providing
enduring value to their clients.
Our
Vision
THE BUSINESS WE ARE IN
Seamless Business
Development products
& knowledge.
Our
Business

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEMYSTIFIED.
Almost all accounting firms claim on their websites (and other
marketing materials) that they provide BD services. For most, those
claims are largely aspirational.
When you ask them to explain their BD offering, most can’t. That’s
because they don’t have a clear menu of BD services that they are
proactively marketing to their clients, they are simply dispensing
advice on a reactive basis.
So what is
Business Development?
At The Gap, we define Business Development as
‘service that creates enduring value for clients’.

What’s the difference between
Business Advisory and
Business Development services?
There’s a key distinction between the words ‘Business Advisory’ and
‘Business Development’.
Advisory is reactive and focuses on telling clients what to do in a
given situation. You’re clearly the expert and need to provide advice.
Advisory is an important part of being an accountant, but it doesn’t
build recurring revenue and it won’t by itself replace the compliance
revenues that will decline as part of our changing landscape.
Business Development is proactive. Take, for example, Business
Planning. As a coach, you ask your clients the right questions to help
them develop solutions to business challenges and opportunities.
You don’t tell them what to do. Business Development services can
be systemised and therefore leveraged.
THIS CREATES SCALE THROUGH
RECURRING REVENUE.

WHY REINVENT THE WHEEL?
Most firms don’t have the resources to create their own systems.
We’ve created the entire end to end system for you.
Our systemised bridges provide everything you need to MARKET, SELL
and DELIVER sustainable Business Development services.
www.thegapportal.com | +64 7 574 3474

Why you should care about
Business Development
You probably have a great compliance business
- plenty of work and no pressing motivation to
deliver BD services, but we know that cloud, automation, and
simplification will impact compliance revenues.
services
We also know that BD services command much higher fees because
we can price based on value, not time.
This aside, the most compelling reason you should deliver these
services to your clients is because you care about their success and
you know they aren’t getting the support they need.
You’re their trusted business advisor and yet so many firms are
providing advice on a reactive basis, which is simply order-taking.
The Gap enables you to uncover your clients’ business and personal
goals, and their biggest roadblocks, then show them the value in working
more closely together. Changing your mindset (my clients don’t need
this, or they won’t pay for it) is key to achieving BD success.
WE SHOW YOU HOW.

Key Business Development services
Our products bridge the gap between compliance and services that create
enduring value for clients. These services are all suitable for typical SMB clients.
A client meeting that
determines business and
personal goals, key
challenges and ways you
and your client can work
better together.
A planning session that
identifies 12 month goals,
90 day goals and actions,
culminating in a dynamic
one-page Business Plan.
Help your clients build a
functional Organisation Chart,
visually defining departments,
functions, responsibilities,
roles, tasks, and KPIs.
A process to establish the
key drivers in your client’s
business, set goals for
improvement, and coach
tactically to achieve those
goals.
Structured 90 day
accountability coaching
to ensure clients work
towards achieving their
business goals.
A coaching service to teach
clients powerful sales and
proposal techniques and to
build an ongoing Sales Action
Plan.
Structured coaching
to increase client
understanding of key
financial reports and
business metrics.
A complimentary meeting
with a potential client to
discuss their burning issues,
opportunities and potential
tax efficiencies.

A facilitated session guiding
your client to create up
to five Core Values and
definitions that underpin
their behaviours and
expectations.
A robust planning session
to create a Succession Plan,
set key goals and coach
tactically to achieve those
goals.
A secure central register
for important personal,
financial, property,
insurance and business
information and
documentation.
Whether looking to increase
leads, nurture clients, or
deliver BD one to many,
knowing how to market, sell
and deliver client seminars
is now a fundamental skill.
Coming
soon!
Teach your clients how
to manage their cashflow
better by identifying the root
causes of poor cashflow and
the changes required for
improvement.
This self-explanatory 75
minute workshop is a crucial
BD lead generator. Suitable
for small or big audiences,
‘7 Ways’ is your first one to
many BD experience.
Hold your clients accountable
to completing the actions
required to improve their
business performance and
overcome any obstacles.
Help your clients create an
activity based Marketing
Plan in order to generate
more leads and improve
customer retention.
WHY REINVENT THE WHEEL?
Tens of thousands of man (and woman!) hours have been invested in our
products. Our product development team add value to our content daily.

WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT
Providing value-add services requires addressing the three
biggest barriers to implementing anything new in business:
NO TIME, NO SYSTEM & NO CONFIDENCE.
1. Our BD bridges are end to end systemised.
Each flowchart makes it clear who does what and when, so you
know what comes next in the marketing, selling and delivery phases.
2. The delivery phase is extremely detailed.
Understanding precisely how to deliver each BD service is
fundamental.
3. Our content is based on experience, not theory.
All of the bridges have been used extensively with SMB clients.
They work.
4. Our value to you does not end at content delivery.
That’s just the beginning. Our training sprints, mindset videos and other
tools extend your skills in areas such as selling, pricing, and client coaching.
5. We’ve sat in your seat.
This product was created by accountants for accountants.
You’re not alone in this journey... | www.thegapportal.com

OUR MEMBER FIRMS DESCRIBE OUR SUPPORT
AS ‘WORLD CLASS’
• Membership to The Gap community
• Published Business Development bridges
• Ongoing bridge releases and updates
• New member portal training
• LEAP Programme
• Live online training sprints
• Complimentary tickets to our annual workshop programme
• Custom branded marketing collateral for web & print media
• Mindset videos and resources
• Phone & email support
Membership
includes
ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD
Business challenges are pretty much the same the world over.
Business Development services are universal.
We already have member firms in six countries. Don’t let geography
get in the way of delivering world class BD services to your clients. If
you’re English speaking, we can speak the same BD language.
+64 7 574 3474 | 0800 275 848 (NZ) | 1800 839 246 (Aus)

YOUR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PORTAL
What makes us different?
• Bring your entire team on your BD journey
• Auto branding of client documents
• Integration with Xero
• Online client pre-work
• Quick generation of proposals & plans
• Auto tracking of outstanding proposals
• Track BD revenue against targets
OUR PORTAL
& SUPPORT
ENSURE YOU
ACHIEVE YOUR
GOALS FASTER.

THE CORE VALUES THAT DRIVE OUR
BEHAVIOUR, RELATIONSHIPS & RESULTS.

What members are saying about us...
‘When we saw The Gap at Xerocon and dug into the detail, we saw real substance. I
love systems and structure. The Complimentary Client Review has been amazing. I’ve
never done a CCR to date that I haven’t got more work from.
Our clients plan their kitchen renovation better than they plan their business. The
people here need to all be business advisors because clients don’t just want a tax return
anymore.’
Shannon Smit, Smart Business Solutions
Winners, 2017 Business Advisory Firm of the Year - Australian Accounting Awards
‘We recently had some very exciting
results from holding a Cashflow
Management seminar using The Gap’s
resources. Two businesses accepted
proposals, each worth around $10,000
over the next 12 months, combining
Business Planning and Succession
Planning from The Gap, as well as
monthly reporting and governance work.
A big thank you to The Gap team!’
Callum Skeet, Lumina Ltd
‘The Gap has provided us with a
structured approach to help our clients
to develop their businesses. I can email
one of The Gap team and within 24
hours get a really valuable heads up on
how to best approach an assignment.
This year it’s about being able to
develop all of my team to deliver
certain aspects of The Gap products.
The team realise that they can’t rely
on compliance work being brought to
them.’
Leigh Johnston,
Hetherington Johnston

‘The Gap is allowing us to deliver within
our core values and help our clients
achieve while significantly increasing
our turnover.
It’s good shit that really works.’
Mike Creed, Morrison Creed Advisory
‘The Gap team’s process-based bridges
have provided a fantastic basis for our
services as they’re easy to understand,
deliver and are well received by our clients.
The Gap team have provided great and
generous support along the way.’
Paul Burke, Achieve Business Dynamics
‘We’ve had The Gap content
implemented into our sales
programme for several months
now and it’s going off.
This is exactly what our clients
have been looking for from us.
This is industry changing stuff.’
Mark Greer, Bizdom
‘The Gap is one of the most
important foundations to MMCA
fulfilling its core purpose and
big goal - 50/50 compliance and
Business Development.’
John Schol, Malloch McClean
‘By joining The Gap we’ve been able to
help our clients solve their non-compliance
problems not only at a director level, but
by using the rest of our team too. It’s
about being able to leverage the systems.
We now have three team members
delivering CCRs, which has been great in
terms of individual development. If you
look at The Gap from an ROI perspective,
it’s a no brainer.’
Michael Markham, Kendons

GAP PRICING
Start-up
pricing
$POA
Start up pricing:
• Year one only
• Ts & Cs apply
*Pricing per firm & exclusive of GST
(where applicable)
1 - 11
seats
$595*
per month
• Pricing for NZ firms in NZD
• Pricing for Australian firms in AUD
• Pricing for rest of world in USD
12 - 31
seats
$795*
per month
71+
seats
$POA
• Multi office locations, networks & franchises - POA
32 - 71
seats
$995*
per month
Our
Vision

NEXT STEPS
1. Ready to commit to membership?
Download a membership form from our website.
2. Need to see more?
Book a complimentary 45 minute online tour of
The Gap.
3. Need to discuss your BD challenges?
Get in touch - talk to us.
facebook.com/thegapportal/
hello@thegapportal.com
The Gap 2014 Ltd
@TheGapNZ
Contact
Us
www.thegapportal.com
+64 7 574 3474 | 0800 275 848 (NZ) | 1800 839 246 (Aus)

Start your journey today.