The High Contingency Fee Will Go the Way of the Dodo

When we started the Cavalry journey, we wanted to be a disruptive force. The goal was to build a better real estate tax consulting company through better data and technology, coupled with unparalleled expertise and client service, offered at a lower fee. That meant reevaluating the high contingency fee model of traditional tax consulting.

We had collectively spent years in an industry that we knew was ripe for change. The commercial real estate industry as a whole deserved better from the real estate tax companies serving them. What we didn’t expect is how much some entrenched players would push back against our new model.

Truthfully, and naively, we thought larger companies would see the opportunity we were uncovering and try to beat us to market. What we found instead is that a few of those larger companies that were best positioned to innovate because of national market share and access to resources and capital simply denied and deflected. As opposed to embracing change, seeing the opportunity ahead, and speeding up to innovate, they simply sharpened their messaging to customers and prospective clients to exalt their belief that the current model wasn’t broken – so why fix it. In other words, they believe the high contingency fee-slow appeal timeline works just fine.

We have even heard from existing clients that some of those entrenched companies have tried to dismiss the momentum, claiming that lower pricing and an introduction of new technologies comes at the cost of effectiveness, results, and customer service. Unfortunately for them, our results and the results of others offering tech-forward solutions to building owners outpace the industry average. But most importantly, our own customer satisfaction scores continue to post in the 99^th percentile. Change is afoot, there is a better mousetrap, and we’re building it.