marketing & sales

reward effort, not just closing.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

most firms over $5 million have incentives in place for staff to bring in business. oddly, there is a tremendous disparity from firm to firm in how their incentive plans work. more on this later.

more: is it time to hire a marketing consultant? | how and why to hire a marketing director | how to brand and differentiate your firm | why consultative selling works | does your firm recognize all its skills? | 15 powerful niche marketing practices | are you ready for the great disruption?
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only 20 percent of cpa firm partners are effective at bringing in business. this means that 80 percent are not effective at selling. that’s a pretty low batting average. if partners are this bad at it, think what staff’s experience must be like!
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four questions to ask yourself first, plus 10 more things to know.

by marc rosenberg
cpa firm growth: keys to practice development

many firms struggle with revenue growth for many years and then, reach the point when reality sets in: the partners recognize they don’t have the skills or the desire to be active and effective at business development.

 

more: how and why to hire a marketing director | marketing plans and why you need one | working business development into your day | how marketing systems produce business growth | 6 keys to developing new client prospects | protect and grow existing clients | 19 takeaways from the history of cpa firm practice development
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many of these firms decide to hire a marketing consultant to jump-start their marketing and get them on a path to growth.

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who, what and where: the keys to smarter networking.

by ty hendrickson

do you ever feel frustrated that you put yourself out there in networking situations, but you just don’t see the results you want?

more: the one big reason your hiring sucks | 5 crucial areas of firm culture not to ignore | maybe the pandemic isn’t all bad | can you really grow without adding clients?
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so, what’s the secret to being efficient with business development and not getting burnt out on all of these after-hours networking events?

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11 reasons why and 4 ways to make sure they fail.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

cpas are generally not comfortable with business development and are rarely skilled in implementing marketing plans.

more: marketing plans and why you need one | how to manage the practice development function | 14 marketing activities needed now more than ever | now is the time to activate your referral network | the 4 marketing disciplines
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

as a result, many firms go through a phase where the partners say to each other: “we all agree that the firm needs more revenue. we all agree that our partner group sucks at marketing. doing nothing is unacceptable, so let’s get someone to bring in business for us.”

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how it differs from a strategic plan.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

sorry for those of you who have absolutely no interest in football, but a marketing plan is as important as a football team’s game plan for the week. it’s a blueprint for how to win the game: how much passing versus rushing, working on the opponent’s weaker players by name, running left versus right, short passes versus long passes, who plays on which plays, and so on.

more: how to manage the practice development function | how to brand and differentiate your firm | why consultative selling works | how not to develop your practice | does your firm recognize all its skills? | 15 powerful niche marketing practices
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

a marketing plan is a comprehensive written document outlining

1. the firm’s practice development activities within a set time frame
2. goals and action steps necessary to achieve the firm’s targeted revenue growth
3. the best use of the firm’s resources
4. the partners’ preferences in terms of what they are willing and not willing to do. examples: how active the partners agree to be in selling and advertising, use of internal personnel rather than relying on outsiders like marketing consultants, and whether they prefer to be generalists or specialists
5. a budget for the firm’s investment in practice development activities

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your firm’s existence depends on marketing.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

sometimes the most important ingredient in marketing success has little to do with marketing.

more: how to brand and differentiate your firm | working business development into your day | how marketing systems produce business growth | 6 keys to developing new client prospects | protect and grow existing clients | 19 takeaways from the history of cpa firm practice development
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

this statement may seem illogical, even unbelievable, in a series professing to teach cpa firms how to generate revenue growth. but stay with us and you’ll see what we mean.
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three steps to the perfect elevator pitch.

by ty hendrickson

eight seconds. that’s all the time that you have to catch someone’s attention and draw them in before they become disinterested in you and your conversation.

more: maybe the pandemic isn’t all bad | the no. 1 reason accountants fail to build advisory practices | the real problems created in a remote workforce | can you really grow without adding clients? | 4 reasons to welcome rejection
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the human attention span has dropped recently from 12 seconds down to a whopping eight whole seconds. sadly, a goldfish now has a longer attention span than humans at nine seconds. for accountants who are working furiously to grow a practice through networking, this presents several challenges.
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and why it matters.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

selling cpa services can be challenging. there are many cpa firms and purveyors of financial services in most markets. many people aren’t entirely sure what a cpa firm is or what it does. it can be difficult for cpa firms to stand out against the competition. that’s where branding comes into play.

more: working business development into your day | networking for fun and profit | 14 marketing activities needed now more than ever | now is the time to activate your referral network | the 4 marketing disciplines | why you have to kill the old paradigms | are you ready for the great disruption?
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

overarching goal of branding

one of the main goals of marketing is to make it easier to sell. one way to do that is by enhancing the name recognition of your firm. and one of the best ways to do this is with branding.
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