sales

give business clients something to talk about

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income statement, balance sheet, cash flows? it’s time for a fourth statement.
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edi osborne

by edi osborne
ceo, mentor plus

in the words of bonnie raitt, “let’s give ’em something to talk about;  a little something to figure out.”

fact or fiction, rumors or true business intelligence, those that can make the distinction have a huge opportunity to add value to their business relationships.

recently, i had the opportunity to sit down with several business owners to interview them about how they make business decisions. decisions, as it turns out, are one of the most important reasons business owners walk away from nine-to-five jobs. business owners like to have control over their destiny. they actually thrive on the decision-making process and are willing to live with the consequences of those choices. and although, business owners don’t want anyone to take away their options, they do want someone to help them examine them.  they want to know that the information they are basing a decision on is accurate and relevant. that it is not conjecture, rumor, or worse yet, self-serving misinformation provided by others at the company.  sounds like a job for a true, trusted adviser, would-be super hero.

unfortunately, when asked about the quality and quantity of data, business owners utilize daily to inform their decisions, including the real-time, management value of financial statements, their answers paint a very unsatisfactory picture of the decision support provided by their accountant.  as the role of cpas who serve as cfos in a corporate environment has morphed into that of a cio — chief information officer — cpas in public practice continue to lag behind in this transition.  when pressed on this issue, many cpas admit they want to do more, but they are not comfortable outside the realm of compliance matters.

more from edi osborne for 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 pro members (go pro here):

so how can public cpas become chief information officers? how can they utilize their accounting skills to capitalize on the fast growing business intelligence market?

it’s simple . . . read more →

what’s in your welcome kit for new prospects?

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eight must-have’s and 10 more new ideas.

sandi smith, accountant's accelerator

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

if you’ve spent any time at all in business talking with prospects on the phone or in person, then you probably have a list of benefits or advantages that you like to mention about your company to every prospect.  you may have a very structured way of going about this, and you may not.

in any case, building a prospect kit will help you become even more consistent in the presentation of your company’s strong points to prospects.  and, it’s absolutely essential as you move into larger and larger business deals.

see more from sandi smith at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 (log in now or 2022世界杯足球排名 membership here):

a prospect kit is a sales tool that you can use to communicate information about your business to prospects.

here’s a list of the most basic items that can go in an initial prospect kit: read more →

the accounting profession promise that could change everything

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“30 minutes or it’s free;” “absolutely, positively overnight;” “no surprise billing. ever!”

edi osborne

by edi osborne
mentor plus

what do these three tag lines have in common? predictability.

dominoes and fed ex built their entire business model on making (and keeping) an uncomplicated predictability promise to the customer.  dominoes and fed ex looked at their marketplace and asked one simple question, “what is your number-one  frustration in dealing with pizza and package delivery?” those frustrations were dissected and turned into game-changing promises that rocked everyone else in their industry.

in the same way, accounting firms that adopt a “no surprise billing” promise could be game changers in their marketplace as well.

more from edi osborne for 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 pro members (go pro here):

game changing innovations are not limited to big companies. in fact, even the smallest of accounting firms are in a position to be game changers.

read more →

how firms unleash the power of diamonds, cash cows and fat cats

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dozens of accounting firms are turning a business cliche into new growth.

by gale crosley
crosley & co.

an internet search for the term “predictable growth” yields millions of links to websites, videos, books, and consultants. there seems to be no doubt about the idea that growth can be planned and charted.

but for accounting professionals who are trying to grow their firms, it may seem that there’s nothing at all predictable about sources of opportunity and how to manage them. if that’s your situation, it may be because you haven’t yet unlocked the power of the product lifecycle.

more gale crosley at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 for pro members:

in the 1970s, bruce henderson of the boston consulting group introduced the concept that products and services have a predictable, consistent cycle. some four decades later, the bcg matrix that he developed remains a popular growth tool. dozens of accounting firms are adapting a version of the model and are using it to help determine how to grow each service line and industry. read more →

six ways to give yourself a raise

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sandi smith, the accountant's acclerator
sandi smith, the accountant’s acclerator

start by knowing your “opportunity number.”

by sandi smith, cpa
the accountant’s accelerator,
a 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 affiliate

when i worked in the corporate world, it was always great to get a raise.  now that i am an entrepreneur, raises are replaced by increases in revenue and profits.  more revenue and profits are nice, as long as we’re not working correspondingly more hours.  so how can we give ourselves a true raise: work the same amount of hours or less and make more?  here are a few strategies for your consideration:

1. take on more profitable work by knowing your opportunity number. 

read more →

got leads? get real. learn how to qualify big opportunities

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four strategies for focussing on the win.

by gale crosley
crosley + company

eighty percent of lost opportunities are due to poorly qualifying a lead. countless hours and effort are wasted on prospects with odds to win near zero. firms with a thin pipeline pursue any potential buyer who has a pulse and fogs a mirror. in order to stop this insanity, discipline is necessary in lead qualification.

click here for more from cpa firm growth consultant gale crosley. or buy her book.

read more →

six strategies to stop losing business to competitors

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stop being a “best-kept” secret to prospects.

sandi smith leyva, accountant’s accelerator

by sandi smith leyva
the accountant’s accelerator

it’s rare that i lose business to competitors, and it’s also not an accident. if you are losing business to your competitors, here are some strategies you can use to “become a category of one,” as they say in marketing.

1. build your brand. in accounting, professional services, and coaching, our brand is our name. we can build it up by building our reputation for delivering results to clients and becoming a thought leader in the profession. do this a number of ways: write articles, make speeches, offer teleseminars, post your testimonials and case studies, get interviewed by the press, serve on a committee or board of directors, and become a well-respected business leader in your community, to name a few. when you build your brand, people will come asking for you by name and won’t consider others.

read more →

five lessons from the war for clients

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bruce bailey, guild accountants, sydney, australia
bruce bailey, guild accountants, sydney, australia

hint: the secret weapon is communications skills.

by bruce bailey
guild accountants

while the victor in war is he who wins the last battle, every battle and every outcome is significant (even the battles you lose – we often learn more from our losses than our wins!).

about three years ago we looked at our war for clients by assessing: the nature of our troops, their skills and training, the battlefields on which we would operate and the armaments we would carry.

read more →

five new realities for accountants and lawyers

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make no mistake: change is coming, whether the incumbents like it or not.

by bruce macewen
adam smith, esq.
from the foreword to professional services marketing 3.0 by bruce w. marcus

bruce macewen
bruce macewen

when i first heard the title of bruce w. marcus’ latest book, i thought “professional services marketing 3.0? well, forgive me, but i think i need to be clued in on what exactly were 1.0 and 2.0.” not only does bruce answer this question, he provides an expansive and ambitious vision of what he sees ahead for us as we cross the threshold.

now, if you need the same help i did in recognizing 1.0 and 2.0, the first was in the wake of the 1977 u. s. supreme court decision in bates v. state bar of arizona, which is commonly seen as a narrow decision striking down the prohibition on attorney advertising, but which bruce w. marcus insightfully identifies as something far more momentous: the beginning of open competition in professional services.

the second stage is where we are today, with a frank recognition of the necessity of marketing, but a time (the present) when it’s still tainted by the mild whiff of the promotional, the sales-y, and the unprofessional. bruce writes that “if there’s one thing that has inhibited innovation and growth in professional services marketing in the decades since bates, it’s the disconnect between marketers and the professionals they serve,” but i would say it goes even further. marketers are often treated as the obligatory but unwelcome guests at the dinner party.

read more →

five easy ideas for a quick business boost

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reach for the low-hanging fruit.

by sandi smith
accountant’s accelerator

sandi smith
sandi smith

if business has slowed for you, it’s not just you.  with people making the most of a disappearing summer, getting ready for school, and trying to keep from being too cranky from the heat wave in much of the country, it’s all most of us can do to stay on our routines.

as entrepreneurs, we still need to make payroll, meet our budget goals, and get enough cash in to keep our doors open.  so how can we cash in on the low-hanging fruit?

we spend a lot of energy going after the fruit that is out of reach, and most of it spoils before we can get our act together. then we wonder why marketing is so expensive, we don’t close the deals, and we are left with a big expense.

so that’s why i want to share some tips about how to go after the low-hanging fruit. you won’t even need a ladder for these revenue-builders. read more →

it’s a new generation in lead generation

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the old ways just won’t cut it any longer!

by gale crosley, cpa
cpa firm growth consultant

the more things change, the more we need to change with them. massive shifts in market conditions are profoundly affecting our profession. but it’s not just the market that’s recalibrating. we’re also in the midst of a revolution in information gathering, which influences how our buyers think and how they make decisions.

these changes represent a realignment of our universe. they demand that we move beyond old, familiar ways of generating leads and adopt new strategies that reflect today’s environment. read more →

the battle for the center gets heated

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mid-sized accounting firms step up competition for the heart of the market.

source: 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

by rick telberg

no one is fighting harder for every new client and every new dollar than the accounting firms in the middle of the market, according to new 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research.

nationwide, an astonishing 86% of mid-sized firms (those with five to 15 partners or about 51 to 100 employees) have been stepping up their marketing efforts, according to the new study.

to be sure, firms of all sizes are increasing their marketing activities  — from solosists (about 47%), to 2-to-10-person offices (55%), through 11-to-50-person offices (73%), and the more-than-100-persons offices (77%). but it’s in the 51-to-100-person category that the battle seems most heated these days.

read more →