automated touches are the key.
by jassen bowman
tax resolution systems
this is the story of a small cpa firm (three partners at the time, now five) in new york city that hired me in january 2011 to help them grow their tax resolution business.
more: market to your ideal clients | follow up with leads longer | 5 daily tasks for maximum tax resolution profitability | 4 problems with the tax resolution industry | when tax filing season is over, what’s next?
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this was one of my first such consulting projects. i worked with them to create a written, systematic and scheduled marketing process to drive sales of this service, which then fed sales of their other service offerings.
the firm employs no sales closers, and they rely exclusively on old tax lien filings (three to six months old) as sales leads. they use old leads because, after a couple of months, the vast majority of tax resolution firms have quit calling them, and they are therefore able to pick up clients with very little simultaneous telemarketing competition.
the firm’s telemarketers (“openers”)
- call these tax liens to verify that they’ve got the correct business,
- confirm that the tax lien is still an issue,
- collect an email address and/or fax number and
- obtain permission to send “free information regarding how to get the irs off their back” – there is absolutely no “selling” involved in a traditional sense.
they then immediately receive a two-page introduction letter via fax and/or email, and they also receive a 12-page info packet (a nine-page sales letter, two-page engagement letter and a payment form) in the mail that comes in a specialized red “rush priority express” envelope.
every five days for 60 days, without fail, completely on automation, the prospect gets an email and/or fax with a short blurb (about two paragraphs) about a tax topic, and an offer – free consultation with a cpa (not a salesman), a free review of their latest irs notice, x percent off representation, free end-of-year 940 prep, two free 941s prepared during the course of representation, etc. these “touches” are a highly effective followup program from the very beginning, and their phone rings off the hook.
the key to this tactic was the creation of the series of emails (duplicated as faxes) that go out over the course of a couple months, every five days. prospects are bombarded with the risks of being in collections, the problem with going at it themselves and what the firm can do to fix the situation. this followup program puts the cpa on the “right side of the desk,” as prospects then call in for help, rather than the cpa having to be the aggressor and chase the prospect down.
the licensed partners close all the sales, completely on inbound calls, so it’s an easy sale, and they pay no commissions – to anybody. the telemarketers are paid hourly. they have five licensed cpas, all of whom are full partners in the firm; two openers; three unlicensed tax preparers/paralegal assistants; and a receptionist/office assistant who answers the phone and mails out the packages. since they pay out no commissions, they have plenty of money to mail out a package to everybody.
this is a small cpa firm that works in the tri-state area around new york city. their tax resolution work feeds their accounting, quickbooks pro advising and tax preparation business, as they don’t turn and burn the tax resolution clients, but rather keep them on board for other services. only one of the three founding partners came from the tax resolution industry; the other two did not.
the cpa who came from the tax resolution industry was doing the telemarketing and sales closing work over the phone himself when they hired me, and they didn’t have enough work to keep their unlicensed tax preparers on board after the 2010 tax season. following the 2011 tax preparation season, they didn’t have to lay off their seasonal preparers, plus they hired the two telemarketers.
in other words, the heavy concentration on followup marketing is working extremely well for them, prevented layoffs and created several new jobs for the local economy. the implementation of systematic marketing increased their monthly tax resolution revenue by more than fourfold.
this cpa firm has now grown significantly. they have added two additional licensed cpas, and are doing in excess of $4 million per year in just tax resolution work. this tax resolution work feeds their other services, revenues from which exceed their tax resolution revenue.
this firm focuses exclusively on representing businesses. the marketing plan they follow today is identical to what i set them up with in 2011 – not a thing has been changed except the addition of more staff as they grow.