5 ways to wow potential clients.
by sandi leyva
the complete guide to marketing for tax & accounting firms
i’ve discussed a lot of basic ways to get the word out about your business.
more small firm growth strategies: testimonials: why and how | 10 marketing materials you need | content marketing types and tips | are you newsworthy? | why cpas need video | make google adwords work for you | make the most of trade shows | track your online reputation
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.
today we’ll go over some more advanced marketing materials.
logo
we see lots and lots of successful firms without any kind of logo at all. a logo is certainly not required. if you do use one, be sure it is professionally done. a bad logo or an amateurish one can hurt you.
when you are first starting out, we recommend you select a color and a font, and use a text logo. you will most certainly want to change it within a few months.
when you are ready to do a nice logo, you can get a fairly basic one that is perfectly acceptable for under $500. we offer very limited logo design for $150 to $300, so let us know if you want to talk more. another place you can go is to a crowdsourcing site such as www.99designs.com. if you go there, be prepared to provide some art direction; and please note we have had one client unhappy with the result. i think for these places, you still need someone who knows marketing to oversee the process, or you will end up with an overdesigned logo, which happens way too often in small business. if you are working with a graphics artist already on other projects, that might be the ideal place to go to ask about logo development.
if your firm is large, or your clients are high net worth clients (or lots of design clients), then it might be time to pay more for an exceptional logo. this will require a much larger budget. some of the larger firms pay six figures and higher for their logo designs. we don’t think it’s all that necessary in accounting, but some of you may want to have a higher look.
tag line
if your business name does not tell your prospect what it is you do, you need a tag line. another purpose of a tag line is to convey a benefit or strength of your product, service or business.
here are some famous examples:
- oprah: live your best life
- ford motor company: 100 years of automotive achievement
- whole foods: world’s largest natural and organic food supermarket
- tony robbins: strategies for creating an extraordinary life
- robert kiyosaki (rich dad): your journey to financial freedom
- ge: we bring good things to life
a tag line anchors your visitor, letting them know whether they’re in the right place or not. if they’re looking for a cpa firm and you’re a florist, then it’s best that that visitor skedaddles to where they need to be. they aren’t going to do business with you anyway.
how to write a great tag line
believe it or not, it’s best not to be cute while doing a tag line. if it’s too cute, people won’t be able to tell what you’re selling. you’ll confuse the visitor, they won’t find what they want and you’ll have lost that sale. so don’t be cute.
examples of bad tag lines:
- aviary: winging it (you can’t tell what they do)
- paperless office software system: the road less littered (too stupid)
- a cpa firm: you can count on us (too cute, overused)
simply tell what it is you do and, if possible, build your main benefit into your tag line. you can also build a characteristic of yourself into your tag line. here are some good ones used by entrepreneurs:
- larry winget: the pitbull of professional development
- p.f. chang’s: china bistro
- skype: free internet telephony that just works
- geeks on call: on-site computer solutions
hopefully, you’re getting the idea. spend some time on this; it’s not easy. bounce it off of friends and current customers.
product or service name
in accounting, hardly anyone names their services, so you will really stand out if you do this. which is more exciting? providing accounting reports or having an “executive briefing package”?
it’s easier to market when you have a snazzy name for your product or service. if possible, include a benefit. for example, would you rather purchase “marketing training” or be part of something exclusive like accountant’s accelerator?
here are just a few to get you started:
- cloud pack
- contractor’s pack
- paperless accounting pack
- money leaks analysis package
flier
i’m sure you’ve seen trifold brochures where an 8.5 x 11” paper is folded in three parts and you can hold it vertically to read it. these are still quite common in parts of the country. we prefer you use a flat 8.5 x 11” paper where you don’t fold it and you use up the entire page as one design. you can also use the back. it’s more modern. if you need something to fit in an older rack, we recommend doing a single 8.5 x 3.5” or so card on thick card stock.
your flier should be professionally designed and include some basics:
- a shortened bio of you or a shortened company description
- your photo or a team photo
- testimonials, always
- your contact information, on both sides in case it’s faxed or only one side is copied
- a title in the form of a question or connecting statement with your prospect. examples:
- do you wonder where all your money is going?
- minimize taxes
- did you receive a notice from the irs?
- a very small amount of copy to let your client know of your services and benefits
- lots of graphics
- lots of white space
you can use fliers at networking meetings, trade shows, in your prospect kit, in displays at your chamber and in your office waiting room.
prospect kit
a prospect kit is a handout you can send to prospects so they can find out more about you. you can generate it in pdf and deliver it via email so you don’t have to print anything.
what to put in your prospect kit
- intro letter
- client outcomes and list of services
- list of testimonials, clients and/or industries served
- your bio and/or about the firm
- news clippings
- call to action in letter or additional flier with special and deadline to respond
here is a sample letter you can use:
prospect kit introductory letter
date
name
address
city
greetings!
we are pleased to announce our quickbooks consulting service. it’s designed to save busy entrepreneurs like you time and money. companies that implement our services see increased revenues, decreased administrative costs and improved accounting reporting, to name only a few of the bottom-line business benefits.
if you have quickbooks, it’s a great time to re-evaluate your setup, chart of accounts, preferences and especially reporting. few quickbooks consultants have the balance of business and accounting knowhow that we do.
our consultants have over 15 years of experience and have earned their advanced quickbooks proadvisors certificates for the current year, the highest designation intuit offers quickbooks experts.
when you’re ready to take a new look at your quickbooks files, call us at xxx-xxx-xxxx to schedule a free consultation.
best regards,
your name
p.s. if you don’t have quickbooks, need to upgrade or want to start over, we can help you “do it right the first time” with our full quickbooks setup and installation services.