how to think straight through the coronavirus crisis

setting priorities in uncertain times.

by sandi leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

with the coronavirus crisis coming on top of tax season, the next few weeks may be the most challenging we’ve ever faced.

more on small-firm growth strategies: tech tools for working through the coronavirus | 7 tips to keep the clients you have | 5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients | is your client newsletter stuck in the 1990s? | do you know your cac number? | change overload: 5 simple coping strategie
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under these conditions, it’s hard for many to figure out what to work on next because there is so much work to be done. it’s easy to lose focus and end up working on unprofitable, yet urgent tasks. that’s not to say we put profit before people. but without profit, we can’t take care of our people.
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16 tech tools for working through the coronavirus

the apps and platforms we use, and why.

by sandi leyva

maybe you were thinking about taking your practice virtual sometime in the future. but with the novel coronavirus, the future is now. we’re lucky we’re in a profession where we can deliver our services virtually.

more tech for the coronavirus crisis:  three tech solutions for protecting client data |  top tech choices for the virtual firm  |  5 questions to evaluate new tech tools  |   innovate for the right reasons  |  how to leverage app technology for streamlined services   |  cyber security at a virtual cpa firm |  how core values affect remote work culture |  the hidden costs of running a virtual cpa firm

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

our office became fully virtual in july 2019. meanwhile, here are the main 16 tools we use, sorted into 11 categories:

  1. appointment-setting
  2. conferencing
  3. data collection
  4. client portal
  5. shopping cart
  6. client emails
  7. customer support
  8. task management
  9. employee messaging
  10. phone calls
  11. cloud storage

note, some vendors are offering free services for the pandemic. now i’ll tell you exactly what we’re using and why…

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7 tips to keep the clients you have

where do you think the best referrals come from?

by sandi leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

it’s far less expensive to keep your existing clients happy than it is to find new clients, especially because the trust factor between people continues to decline year after year. you might want to think about redirecting a portion of your marketing attention on your existing client base instead of networking for new clients. (and by the way, sending clients an organizer is not marketing!)

more on small-firm growth strategies: do you know your opportunity number? | 7 tips to boost your firm’s performance in 2020 | 5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients | survey quantifies link between online reviews, revenue | major search algorithm change could affect your rankings | is your client newsletter stuck in the 1990s? | outsource or in-house? how does your marketing get done? | making content marketing part of your growth strategy
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

here are some tips to mine the pot of gold that lies right before you: your current clients who already trust you and are eager to hear about new solutions that will ease their pain and problems.
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do you know your opportunity number?

hands using a calculatordetermine whether that new project or client makes sense for you.

by sandi leyva, cpa

each of us has 24 hours in one day. most of us have annual revenue goals. a few of us have monthly, weekly, daily or even hourly revenue goals.

more on small-firm growth strategies: 7 tips to boost your firm’s performance in 2020 | 5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients | beyond referrals: getting new clients | blow your own horn already! | keep more of your busy season earnings | how a spreadsheet can help stop leaks
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

hopefully you know what your revenue goal is. (if not, you should!) if you don’t pull in that level of revenue for the week or month, then you’ve missed your plan.
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7 tips to boost your firm’s performance in 2020

three darts hitting a target bull's-eyekeep targeting your weakest links.

by sandi leyva

if you’re ready to have your best year ever, then your first step is to plan to do something different. you won’t get to the next level doing saly – same as last year.

more on small-firm growth strategies: 5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients | survey quantifies link between online reviews, revenue | outsource or in-house? how does your marketing get done? | beyond referrals: getting new clients | five trends for the modern accountant | 7 ways to generate leads | blow your own horn already! | take the focus off price | 5 solutions when clients balk at price | keep more of your busy season earnings | want more clients? take these 5 steps | 5 skills to grow your practice | how a spreadsheet can help stop leaks
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

here are seven things to consider doing differently in 2020 that will help take you to the next level:
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5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients

are you holding yourself back?

by sandi leyva, cpa

as an accounting professional, you’re likely very talented at delivering the service you offer your clients. but when it comes to marketing and selling yourself, many of you didn’t voluntarily sign up for that part.

more on small-firm growth strategies: survey quantifies link between online reviews, revenue | major search algorithm change could affect your rankings | is your client newsletter stuck in the 1990s? | outsource or in-house? how does your marketing get done? | making content marketing part of your growth strategy | do you know your cac number? | beyond referrals: getting new clients
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

many of you are resisting (kicking and screaming) marketing yourself. if that’s you, that could be why your business is slow or not growing at the rate you’d like it to.
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survey quantifies link between online reviews, revenue

young businesswoman using a tablet3 key statistics.

by sandi leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

you wouldn’t want to run your business without referrals, right?

more on small-firm growth strategies: major search algorithm change could affect your rankings | is your client newsletter stuck in the 1990s? | making content marketing part of your growth strategy | tough lessons from tax season | 10 quick and easy tips for a better busy season | 6 metrics of marketing | want better clients? 5 ways to hook them | 3 ways to save time during busy season
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

in the online game, the equivalent of referrals is client reviews. you see them everywhere: google-my-business listings, on yelp, on facebook and on bing, to name a few. to say they are important to your business’s profitability is an understatement, and now it’s been quantified in a survey conducted by womply.
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major search algorithm change could affect your rankings

it’s called bert, and it deepens context.

by sandi leyva
the complete guide to marketing for tax & accounting firms

google just rolled out a new search algorithm update that impacts not only the results of searches you perform but also how your website ranks in search results for more complex queries.

more on small-firm growth strategies: is your client newsletter stuck in the 1990s? | outsource or in-house? how does your marketing get done? | beyond referrals: getting new clients | five trends for the modern accountant | 7 ways to generate leads | take the focus off price | 5 solutions when clients balk at price
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

this major change comes with the name of bert, and in this case, bert is an acronym that stands for bidirectional encoder representations from transformers. bert helps google understand natural language in searches in a more meaningful way and will be able to provide searchers with better answers to their deeper queries.
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is your client newsletter stuck in the 1990s?

woman wearing orange shirt texting on a smartphone walking in the street in a sunny dayif you look dated in one area, that perception can spread.

by sandi leyva, cpa

one of the leading client newsletter vendors discontinued its product this year, and we at accelerator newsletters having been getting a lot of calls from staff at accounting firms asking about our client newsletter offering.

more on small-firm growth strategies: outsource or in-house? how does your marketing get done? | making content marketing part of your growth strategy | tough lessons from tax season | 10 quick and easy tips for a better busy season | 6 metrics of marketing | want better clients? 5 ways to hook them
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the calls have been enlightening to me, but also disappointing to find out many firms are stuck in a decades-old way of sending client newsletters. here’s what i have learned from you and what i’d like to share to get everyone caught up to the way it is today in modern digital marketing.
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outsource or in-house? how does your marketing get done?

three must-have marketing functions for every accountant.

by sandi leyva

the function of marketing in accounting firms has evolved from nonexistence in the 1970s, when it was not permitted, to today’s world of multiple channels and options. but accounting firms have been much slower than other small businesses to create marketing departments in their business models.

if you’re curious to see the types of marketing functions other tax and accounting firms are using and whether they are outsourcing them or using in-house resources, take our survey, and we’ll send you the results.

join the “get new clients” survey. get the results

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making content marketing part of your growth strategy

nine growth tools every accountant should consider.

by sandi leyva

one of the best ways to build trust with prospects is to provide educational content that showcases your expertise on a topic relevant to the services you’re offering. in the digital world, there are many forms that this content can take.

if you’re curious to see the types of content other tax and accounting firms are using for marketing, take our survey, and we’ll send you the results.

join the survey. get the results

here is a list of just a few ways you can structure your educational marketing content so your firm will get noticed:

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do you know your cac number? 

how to unravel the real costs to land a new client. 

by sandi leyva

do you know how much it costs your business to acquire a new client?  in marketing, one of the key metrics is cac, client acquisition cost. so how do you compute it?

if you’re curious to see how your cac compares to other tax and accounting firms, take our survey, and we’ll send you the results.

join the survey. get the results

the first thing is to properly segregate your marketing costs into separate accounts or classifications. often, marketing is hidden among a lot of other accounts:

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