it’s not the product marketing they teach in college. by bruce w. marcus author of professional services marketing 3.0 accountants have historically not been concerned with the market. they are concerned with being good accountants, and meeting their own personal … continued
…as accounting firms redefine value. by bruce w. marcus professional services marketing 3.0 today’s modern accounting firm — and there are more of them than we think, and fewer of them than we’d like to think – is still evolving. … continued
by sandi smith leyva, cpa
author of free download:
“10 keys to doubling your revenue”
it’s easy to get sidetracked by politics this year and simply wait to see what’s going to happen in the tax arena. i hope you don’t fall into that trap, though, because there has never been more opportunity in accounting and tax than right now, and now is the time to start preparing so you can make the most of next year’s busy season. read more →
it’s competition, not technology, that’s driving change in the accounting profession. and it’s just as scary.
by bruce w. marcus
professional services marketing 3.0
there seems to be a general impression that the changes in accounting that created the modern firm resulted from the blast of technology that began to enter the professions in the early 1980s. not so. read more →
are you ready for the new age of professional services marketing 3.0?
by bruce w. marcus
professional services marketing 3.0
professional services marketing 3.0? this from someone who has written, spoken, railed against jargon and gimmicks?
well, yes, because in this rapidly changing economic environment, intensely competitive landscape, and highly charged computer age, it’s the best way to define significant evolution from one distinct period to the next. but, that’s exactly what’s happened – and is happening – with cpa firms. and in management practices, business models, and structure as well. read more →
above and beyond accounting, you need business know-how.
by sandi smith leyva, cpa
accountant’s accelerator
we’ve worked super-hard on gaining our accounting, tax, and auditing skills. those skills alone will keep us working as employees for someone else, but what if we want to go out on our own or grow our business beyond what we have now?
more for soloists and small firms: the seven essential components of a simple marketing plan for accountants | take six big steps to go beyond compliance services | when your business needs to be rebooted | two steps to easy cross-sells | the hot new tech product for automated data entry | five value-add service areas to take you beyond bookkeeping | six money-making strategies to take you beyond quickbooks | proactive ways to get more referrals | the three biggest money leaks in your practice | new client opportunities with mobile apps | six questions to launch your summer strategy sessions | what most accountants miss in the five simple steps to get more clients | accountants, do you know your opportunity number? | five ideas to reduce client price-sensitivity | rise to the top with a fresh elevator speech | four ways to practice entrepreneurial perseverance | 5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients | the top 12 business card blunders accountants make | seven tips to keep the clients you have | how to attract clients like a magnet | eleven easy ways to deliver more value to clients
here are five skills to consider adding to your toolbox so you can get ahead faster. how do you rate in each of these areas?
sometimes change is improvement – sometimes it isn’t. but it’s always inevitable. by bruce w. marcus professional services marketing 3.0 the movement to replace hourly billing with value billing is accelerating. firm mergers, consolidations, new boutique firms that bear little … continued
start with an excel spreadsheet.
by sandi smith leyva, cpa
it’s quite common for accounting firms — even the regionals — to have no marketing plan in place. the marketing plan might very well be, “get as many referrals as we can.” or it might be a number for each partner — which is not a marketing plan. or it might be, “if it’s not busy season, i’ll go to my networking group.” none of these are plans. they are individual marketing tasks and components.
the number of companies that do not have fully functioning marketing plans is certainly not surprising because marketing by cpas was illegal – and considered quite sleazy — in most u.s. states until about the 1970s. so we are a profession that has always been behind on our marketing skills.
now that most of us need to market, the relief is we can do it on our terms, using excel spreadsheets, with a bunch of numbers, adding in some deadlines, and creating a very organized process, just how we accountants like things.
so here are seven components of the kind of marketing plans i like to create. we start with an excel spreadsheet. read more →
by sandi smith leyva
accountant’s accelerator
i feel extremely fortunate to have such a wonderful set of clients that i have learned much from the last few years.
more for soloists and small firms: take six big steps to go beyond compliance services | when your business needs to be rebooted | two steps to easy cross-sells | the hot new tech product for automated data entry | five value-add service areas to take you beyond bookkeeping | six money-making strategies to take you beyond quickbooks | proactive ways to get more referrals | the three biggest money leaks in your practice | new client opportunities with mobile apps | six questions to launch your summer strategy sessions | what most accountants miss in the five simple steps to get more clients | accountants, do you know your opportunity number? | five ideas to reduce client price-sensitivity | rise to the top with a fresh elevator speech | four ways to practice entrepreneurial perseverance | 5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients | the top 12 business card blunders accountants make | seven tips to keep the clients you have | how to attract clients like a magnet | eleven easy ways to deliver more value to clients
here is a list of lessons learned that i hope will inspire you to work with your clients in new ways.
or is better publicity better? by bruce w. marcus professional services marketing 3.0 in the early days of publicity, when it was low-down press agentry and not high-blown public relations, the idea was to get your client’s name in the … continued
how to write a release that gets attention. by bruce w. marcus professional services marketing 3.0 a recent business communication book says that in writing news releases, the lead paragraph should include the five w’s—who, why, what, when and where. … continued
“people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”
by hitendra patil
pransform, inc.
we are used to getting asked “what do you do for living?” but when someone asks “why,”we have to dig deeper to answer that question.
celebrity author simon sinek wrote a revolutionary book called “start with why.” he says, based on complex research results, “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” he further adds – “those who know their why are the ones who lead.”
nine questions cpas need to ask before hiring a public relations agency. by bruce w. marcus professional services marketing 3.0 there was a time when all you needed was a roll of nickels and a phone booth, and you were … continued