Who We Serve / Financial and Professional Services
Growth strategy for firms that sell expertise
Banks, credit unions, insurance agencies, accounting, engineering and law firms use Optimize to pick their growth markets, differentiate, and build partners who can lead.
When every competitor claims the same expertise, strategy is the differentiator.
Professional and financial services firms grow on reputation and relationships. That works until the market consolidates, private equity starts buying competitors, and clients expect more for less.
Optimize helps partners and executives choose the services, industries and geographies to lead in, price for value, and build the bench that keeps growth from depending on a few people.
Decisions we help firms make
- Positioning: the niches and client segments where you can be the obvious choice
- Growth model: organic, lateral hires, mergers or a private equity partner
- Pricing: moving from hours to value and recurring advisory revenue
- Talent: partner track, succession and retention of high performers
- Technology and AI: where automation protects margin and where it changes the offer
The national market, by the numbers
- Finance and Insurance: $5.8 trillion in 2022 receipts 5.9% a year growth since 2017 across 244,536 firms, 4,668 of them with $50M or more in revenue.
- Insurance Carriers and Related Activities: $3.2 trillion in 2022 receipts 6.7% a year growth since 2017 across 135,082 firms, 1,538 of them with $50M or more in revenue.
- Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services: $2.7 trillion in 2022 receipts 8.0% a year growth since 2017 across 872,305 firms, 8,054 of them with $50M or more in revenue.
- Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services: $216 billion in 2022 receipts 7.1% a year growth since 2017 across 120,085 firms, 653 of them with $50M or more in revenue.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Statistics of U.S. Businesses 2017 and 2022. Nominal dollars.
Size your own segment →Results
- Account Control Technology grew 14x in eight yearsTen straight years on the Inc. 5000, then a sale to a strategic buyer in 2021.
- Kravitz became its market leader within eight yearsSeven consecutive annual planning cycles with Optimize.
Financial and professional services clients have included Merrill Lynch, TransAmerica and CBRE.
Services firms use most
Other industries we serve
Turn expertise into a growth strategy clients can see.