growth

four-part plan to re-ignite revenue growth

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sprout growing on money pile of glass jar banknew times call for new expansion strategies.

by gale crosley

it’s been a long slog, but we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel known as the great recession. both job creation and the gross domestic product are robust. interest rates remain low, and the stock market is showing solid gains.

more by gale crosley: not all fish need audits  |  the 4 new growth engines in today’s marketplace  |  change catches up with auditors  |  the 6 elements to sustainable growth for cpa firms  | jody padar’s new vision for the ‘new accounting’  |  reality check: achieving world-class growth requires real-world intelligence  |  crosley: the new growth evolution  |  expand your vision and expand your business  |  leveraging leadership: a new way of looking at growth  |  are you creating a sustainable firm?  |  don’t confuse marketing with a true growth strategy  |  overcoming four imaginary barriers that limit cpa firm growth  |  how firms unleash the power of diamonds, cash cows and fat cats  |  how smart firms use market research  |  got leads? get real. learn how to qualify big opportunities  |  it’s a new generation in lead generation  |  at the best firms, growth is no accident  |  four keys to success at seiler cpas  |  how accounting firms are re-building their sales pipelines  |  how to get started on ifrs in one easy step  |  [pro member exclusive. log in required.]

video: the three elements of growth strategy  |  defining the new business model  |  the 3 hallmarks of the ‘new accounting’ business

while these bright spots are welcome, i urge firm leaders not to be lured into believing that it’s back to business as usual. the light at the end of the tunnel may look like, well, light. but the market conditions illuminated by that light are substantially different from those of the pre-recession environment.

what’s changed? nearly everything, from an upsurge in globalization to stiffer competition, increased standards and regulations, more specialization and a growing reliance on technology. today, clients can engage cpa firms around the corner or around the globe. just because you’re in the neighborhood doesn’t mean you’re in the running. read more →

when to turn over client data files

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hands of two men playing tug-of-warnot everyone agrees about how to handle this.

by sandi leyva and michelle long

how do you feel about turning over a quickbooks data file when a client leaves?

more small firm growth strategies: how to fire a client | what to do when a client doesn’t pay | how to handle price sensitivity | how to find hidden money for your clients | how small firms can use value pricing | 3 killer lead generation channels

we asked this in a video conference and limited it to three answers:
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how to fire a client

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big businessman foot on spring kicking three businesspeoplebonus: sample client disengagement letter.

by sandi leyva and michelle long

how many clients have you fired?

more small firm growth strategies: what to do when a client doesn’t pay | the dreaded ‘quick question’ | how to handle referrals – and how not to | why clients need dashboards | 3 ways to raise your prices | your existing clients are your best leads | need more business? focus on referrals

let’s talk about firing a client because sometimes you do need to fire your client. maybe they’re difficult to work with, or a guy is belligerent and loud and yells, and you don’t want to work for him. maybe there are ethical issues.
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what to do when a client doesn’t pay

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ask questions. negotiate. and be ready to cut your losses.

by michelle long and sandi leyva

how many times have you been unable to collect from a client?

more small firm growth strategies: the dreaded ‘quick question’ | how to manage client expectations | how to handle price sensitivity | how to handle referrals – and how not to | trashing the spreadsheet: best practices in modern expense management | how to find hidden money for your clients | why clients need dashboards | 3 ways to implement value pricing | how small firms can use value pricing | 3 ways to raise your prices | building reputation to build your business | 3 killer lead generation channels | your existing clients are your best leads | need more business? focus on referrals

when we asked this question in a poll, 26 percent of you had never gotten stiffed from a client… yet.

that’s good. but a lot of us have gotten stiffed or burned when we’ve not collected money from a client. it’s happened to us.

if you’re one of the smart ones it’s only happened once and never again.

what do we do when there is a billing dispute? first, yes, get paid up front and that’s a good policy.

let’s talk about some situations where there is a billing dispute. first, if you have a big job and they want you to do some cleanup or catchup work and you estimate it will be a minimum of $2,000, you want them to pay you $1,000 up front before you do the work. if they’re not willing to pay you $1,000 now what makes you think they’ll pay you $2,000 later? right, so they should be willing to pay some money up front.

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5 quick steps to getting organized

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man staring at computer screen in shockclients and stakeholders benefit, and so do you.

by sandi leyva

do you ever get any of the following questions from clients or co-workers?

more on small-firm growth strategies: 7 ways to generate leads | 6 metrics of marketing | want better clients? 5 ways to hook them | stop thinking small | make your services an investment, not an expense | do you want to do compliance your whole career? | 5 ways to get more referrals | 3 ways to get to ‘yes’ with prospects | 5 cures for the summertime blues | 11 ways to add value for clients

  • i can’t find your email.
  • i accidentally deleted what you just sent me.
  • my computer crashed and i lost everything. (and i want you to take up your precious time to help me recreate everything you’ve ever sent me.)
  • i lost my tax return and i need it in the next five seconds.

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7 ways to generate leads

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woman and man in videoconferenceforget what worked 20 years ago.

by sandi leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

the big change in lead generation for accountants is that there are many more methods out there today to get clients’ attention. the problem — or the opportunity! – is most accountants are still only using the old methods.

more on small-firm growth strategies: want better clients? 5 ways to hook them | 5 ways tech makes your work easier | want more clients? take these 5 steps | 3 tips for following up with prospects | 5 ways a deadline can help close a deal | if you don’t develop your business, who will? | draw new clients in like a magnet

when accountants think about lead generation, methods like telemarketing and direct mail might instantly come to mind. (you might also have a really negative connotation of these methods, but if you do, hang with me for a minute.) it used to be that in telemarketing, if you made a certain number of calls, you could get one appointment, and for every certain number of appointments you set, you could get one new client.
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34 ways to make more money

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how many of these can you begin right now?

by ed mendlowitz
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practice doctor

question: do you have any tips on how i could make more money?

more practice doctor q&a: the six rules to get the most out of cpe | hate meeting people? try improv (no joke) | help clients, increase revenue: make sure everyone on staff knows your firm’s full menu of services | how to sell your practice | when a client balks at necessary work | why more firms are trashing timesheets | clear billing procedures make collecting easier | how to make staff a team again

answer: there are always ways to make more money. this includes managing every aspect of your practice and striving for productivity growth. here is a checklist with quite a few ways you can make more money.
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6 metrics of marketing

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businesswoman checking a spreadsheet on a tabletyes, you can do marketing with a spreadsheet and a checklist. (yay!)

by sandi leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

one way to help accountants embrace marketing is to fill training sessions with spreadsheets and numbers, things that most accountants love working on. there’s a lot of insecurity around learning marketing, but when accountants hear they need to do some spreadsheets first, they dive right in.

more on small-firm growth strategies: want better clients? 5 ways to hook them | is it time to reboot your practice? | how a spreadsheet can help stop leaks | how to calculate your ‘opportunity number’ | 3 tips for following up with prospects

here are six numbers i suggest you track:
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3 ways to make cpe work for you

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businessman hailing taxi at airportbe honest about the true costs of attending, then compensate.

what’s on accountants’ cpe agendas this year?
join the survey; get the answers.

by sandi leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

attending and learning from conferences can be amazing opportunities for your career or your business. they can also be huge money drains. it’s easy to take a look at the conference registration and make a quick decision about whether we can afford it – or even worse – whether it will clear our credit card limit or not.

more on small-firm growth strategies: stop thinking small | make your services an investment, not an expense | 5 skills to grow your practice | how to calculate your ‘opportunity number’ | 9 ways accountants throw away profits | 3 ways to test your revenue forecast

a smart business owner will take a bit different approach. here’s how to calculate how much revenue or increase in price you need to justify the expense of attending a conference.
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rick dreher innovates wipfli for clients, younger workers

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dreher
dreher

‘clients have budgets, and it’s part of our responsibility to deliver a high-quality, value-add solution within those budgets.’

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 staff

the cpa profession faces a crossroads at which firms will have to make some fundamental changes in their dealings with clients and staff, according to rick dreher, managing partner and chairman of wipfli.

wipfli logomore from the corner office: how blain heckaman drives value at kaufman rossin | weisermazars mp blake charts u.s. expansion | frank longobardi: cohnreznick’s battle for top talent | the robo-cpa: jim sikich prepares for disruptive technologies | exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

wipfli is a milwaukee-based accounting and consulting that generated $203.2 million in revenues for the 12 months ended may 2015. it ranks among the top firms in the nation at $181 million in revenue.
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blow your own horn already!

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woman yelling into bullhorn and newspapers flying out10 ways accountants are newsworthy.

by sandi leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

as a marketing channel, public relations is one of my personal favorites.

more on small-firm growth strategies: want better clients? 5 ways to hook them | 5 ways tech makes your work easier | stop thinking small | make your services an investment, not an expense | do you want to do compliance your whole career? | 5 ways to get more referrals | 3 ways to get to ‘yes’ with prospects | two daily rituals: focus and measure | 8 must-haves for a prospect kit | if you’re a ‘best-kept secret’ cut it out! | take advantage of 4 key marketing strategies

it includes
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want better clients? 5 ways to hook them

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word "client" caught on a treble hookfind the sweet spot for your target client.

by sandi leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

many accountants serve clients with extremely small businesses that gross six figures a year or even less. these clients are prone to being price-sensitive and often struggle with budgets and cash flow. if you’re serving these clients, you’re definitely meeting an important need in the marketplace, but you may also start to question your own prices, or worse, underprice your services.

more on small-firm growth strategies: 5 ways tech makes your work easier | 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

the good news is that, on average, the higher revenues a company earns, the more likely they are to be a higher-quality client for you. owners with larger companies, on average, are less price-sensitive and less emotional about running their businesses.
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5 ways tech makes your work easier

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tech finger blueyour clients may be asking about these already.

by sandi leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

after over 30 years in this profession, accounting has never been more promising and more exciting. the main reason is technology is driving data entry costs so low that it’s just about to disappear. that means we can finally focus on helping small businesses get more out of their accounting dollars through more analysis and better tools.

more on small-firm growth strategies: take the focus off price | 3 ways to save time during busy season | stress less this tax season | prospects like a little wooing | is it time to reboot your practice? | 9 ways to boost your value (and your fees) | design your business around your strengths

here are five areas that i believe are essential to serving clients best:
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