marketing

why now is the perfect time to plan for a most excellent busy season

by

screen shot 2013-09-21 at 10.10.32 am

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 →

how to survive as the future unfolds

by

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 →

the five essential skills accountants need today

by

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?

read more →

getting to the next stage

by

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

the seven essential components of a simple marketing plan for accountants

by

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 →

what i’ve learned from my clients

by

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.

read more →

is more publicity better?

by

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

why accounting? your clients want to know

by

“people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”

by hitendra patil
pransform, inc.

untitled

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.”

read more →

same game, same name, different rules

by

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

two steps to easy cross-sells

by

start with a spreadsheet.

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

here’s a great spreadsheet exercise you can do to identify what i call “low-hanging fruit,” which means added revenue that will not take too much time or money to go after.

open excel, and start a worksheet from the sales numbers in your accounting system.

more at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 for soloists and small firms:    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   | 10 ways to add a “money maker” hour to your day   |  11 sources of wealth we can celebrate   |  nine value-adds to command a higher fee   |  how to design your business around your strengths

read more →