marketing

on the road to a stress-free life: identify your character strengths

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and put them to work.

by sandi smith, cpa

how many times a day do we tell ourselves with the little voice in our head that we’re falling short of the ideal we have for ourselves? “i forgot to add the salt, so i ruined the recipe.” “i’m not good enough.” “i was mistaken.” “i’m not smart enough.” “i didn’t get picked for the finals.” “nobody likes me.” and so on.

sandi smith

more for soloists and small firms from sandi smith at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间: 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 • five things accountants take for granted that costs them revenue• what’s in your new client funnel? • what’s in your welcome kit for new prospects? • five fun and easy ways to wow your clients • six ways to give yourself a raise • strategies to stop losing business to competitors

instead, why don’t we focus on our strengths? a university of michigan psychology professor undertook an extensive research project to discover 24 positive character strengths that each person has to varying degrees.

they are: read more →

the missing ingredient in your marketing that will make all the difference

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even after years of training, learning and succeeding, it doesn’t come easy.

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

in school, during both my undergraduate courses and my mba classes, i took marketing 101, or something close to that. i learned the four p’s: product, price, place, and promotion. i aced the class.

sandi smith

more for soloists and small firms from sandi smith at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间:  3 steps to start running on millionaire time •  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 • five things accountants take for granted that costs them revenue• what’s in your new client funnel? • what’s in your welcome kit for new prospects? • five fun and easy ways to wow your clients • six ways to give yourself a raise • strategies to stop losing business to competitors

when i started my first business at age 13, i ran an ad and was able to get clients. it was no big deal. when i wanted to earn some part-time money during college doing bookkeeping (before i passed my cpa exam), i answered an ad and found clients. it was no big deal. when i started a part-time photography studio in the 1980s, i sent out press releases and direct mail and got clients. it was no big deal. i was doing all of this on the side while i had full time jobs paying the rent and everything else. read more →

5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients

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business development for sole practitioners and small firms.

by sandi smith, cpa / special to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

if you’re a sole practitioner or small-firm operator,  you’re probably very good at what you do — or you wouldn’t be in business today. but when it comes to marketing and selling yourself, well, many of us didn’t voluntarily sign up for that part.

as a matter of fact, some of us are resisting — kicking and screaming — marketing ourselves. so no wonder, for some of us, business is slow or not growing at the rate we’d like.

sandi smith

more for soloists and small firms from sandi smith at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间: 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 • five things accountants take for granted that costs them revenue• what’s in your new client funnel? • what’s in your welcome kit for new prospects? • five fun and easy ways to wow your clients • six ways to give yourself a raise • strategies to stop losing business to competitors

we all hope we will have enough referrals so that we will never have to sell ourselves. but in the last few years, referrals, even for those with huge followings, have slowed down. it’s past time that we work on more fully developing the marketing and selling function of our businesses.

as you do, here are five mistakes to avoid: read more →

mcgladrey’s big bet on new thought-leadership strategy pays off

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click to enlarge. from the slide deck for 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 pro members

$427,000 in new business tied to web-driven content marketing campaign.

by rick telberg
exclusive to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

top 10 firm mcgladrey has taken the wraps off an under-the-radar marketing program that is producing dramatic results and serves as a case study for the rest of the profession.

at a conference in orlando last month, eric webb, senior director of communications & brand, presented a 65-slide case study that shows since this effort began in 2009:

  • 100% increase in web visits per month
  •  300% increase in content production (gross amount of content project)
  •  200% increase in content productivity from writers (measuring the “busyness” of content producers)
  •  60% increase in content promotion
  • 4 new newsletters added to the content marketing mix
  • 5% email clickthrough rate (ctr) and 19% social content ctr

mcgladrey attributes $427,000 worth of business to its content marketing process since july 2011.

“if the website is the center of the universe for all of marketing, the content — especially the original thought leadership type of content — is the cement of that foundation,” webb says in describing the importance of content marketing.

the effort demonstrates the importance of better communication throughout the entire content production process and clear expectations for each content creator.

卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 pro members: click read more to get the details and download the slide deck

read more →

the top 12 business card blunders accountants make

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how many of these common errors or omissions can you find on your business card?

by sandi smith, cpa

the lowly business card: we don’t give it a second thought before we get the thing printed up, and we just do what everyone else does.

many people, new in business, get the business cards printed before they’re really ready to, which causes many of the mistakes i list below. experienced or new, you’re missing huge opportunities to let your business card take some of the work off your shoulders. we may take it for granted, but i feel that your business card is one of your most important pieces of marketing collateral, and the most under-utilized.

sandi smith
sandi smith

more from sandi smith at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间: seven tips to keep the clients you have • how to attract clients like a magnet • eleven easy ways to deliver more value to clients • five things accountants take for granted that costs them revenue• what’s in your new client funnel? • what’s in your welcome kit for new prospects? • five fun and easy ways to wow your clients • six ways to give yourself a raise • strategies to stop losing business to competitors

here are my suggestions for how to get your business card working as hard as you do. if you want to play along, pull out your business card, and see if your card is guilty of any of these first four no-no’s. read more →

the ten most common mistakes on accounting firm websites

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you only have eight seconds to make a first impression. don’t waste it.

by sandi smith, cpa

you can indeed get more business, more clients, and more profits from your web site. but not if you make these common mistakes!

sandi smith

more from sandi smith at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间:   why 9% of firms flourish even in bad times   •   ‘there is no such thing as a time problem’   •   15 off-the-hook ideas for accountants to dream big   •    seven tips to keep the clients you have • how to attract clients like a magnet • eleven easy ways to deliver more value to clients • five things accountants take for granted that costs them revenue• what’s in your new client funnel? • what’s in your welcome kit for new prospects?
• five fun and easy ways to wow your clients • six ways to give yourself a raise • strategies to stop losing business to competitors  • five tips to manage your ‘overwhelm’ level • easy ideas for a quick business boost • four new mega-trend marketing strategies • how to stop leaving money on the table

whether creating a new site or updating your existing site, here are some common pitfalls to avoid. read more →