{"id":54581,"date":"2018-07-10t18:00:34","date_gmt":"2018-07-10t22:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/?p=54581"},"modified":"2018-07-13t13:44:13","modified_gmt":"2018-07-13t17:44:13","slug":"10-marketing-materials-you-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2018\/07\/10\/10-marketing-materials-you-need\/","title":{"rendered":"10 marketing materials you need"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>including one to implement right now.<\/strong><\/p>\n by sandi leyva<\/i><\/p>\n you need materials\u00a0with the right messaging to fuel your marketing plan. there is a certain core of materials\u00a0you need across all marketing channels.<\/p>\n more small firm growth strategies:<\/b> make direct mail work for you<\/a> | how to use \u2018warmed-up\u2019 telemarketing<\/a> | technical aspects of video and youtube<\/a> | how to maximize online profile sites<\/a> | build your community reputation<\/a> | 5 ways to get more referrals<\/a> | use feedback for service innovation<\/a> | create your marketing plan<\/a> crafting a really tight message will get your prospects\u2019 attention and more easily convert them into accounting clients. when you have a bad message, you work much harder and have to meet many more prospects to convert into clients. when you have a great message, you work less, convert more and keep your costs down. all of these items provide important clues to interested buyers about what you have to offer. i\u2019ve listed them in the order you should work on them. when you first start your business, you don\u2019t really even need a company name (you can just use your name); instead you just need clients!<\/p>\n later you can work on:<\/p>\n let\u2019s review each of them.<\/p>\n here are a couple of tips about your business card:<\/p>\n best tip: get business cards from your friends who work at large companies like intuit, apple or other high-class places. model their card design, and you will look classy.<\/p>\n it\u2019s important to understand the difference between a resume and a bio. a resume will get you hired for an employee position. a bio will mark you as an entrepreneur and a small business owner, which is what you want. in a bio, results and accomplishments are more significant than where you went to college or what your title was in a particular job. when you write your bio, stay results-focused and list the money and time you saved clients, awards you\u2019ve earned and other accomplishments.<\/p>\n your bio should be about four paragraphs long and should focus in on what\u2019s in it for the client. when i write bios, i use the following formula:<\/p>\n paragraph 1: write your elevator speech and include what you are passionate about.<\/p>\n paragraph 2: describe the benefits of how you have helped past clients and continue with any media, awards, credentials or association memberships\u00a0\u2013 or if none, list industries you\u2019ve served.<\/p>\n paragraph 3: describe your experience prior to starting your firm, but keep it brief and summarized.<\/p>\n paragraph 4: list your education, and wrap it up with a personal statement about your hobbies, favorite tv shows or sports teams.<\/p>\n it\u2019s truly best if you have a professional writer create your bio. it\u2019s a lasting investment in your company and will put you in the best light.<\/p>\n biography sample <\/strong><\/p>\n al bee, ea, of abc taxes helps detroit-based corporations and individuals keep more of what they make through his tax planning, tax representation and tax return preparation services. for 20 years, al has enjoyed digging into complex tax issues for his clients and has developed a reputation\u00a0for tackling the toughest cases. other tax professionals often give al their complex cases.<\/p>\n recently, al represented a five-physician office on a multiyear, multi-entity irs negotiation, resulting in a favorable result for his clients. he also recently completed an estate settlement, working with a team of attorneys and other accountants to provide the best outcome for his client. al earned his ea, enrolled agent, designation and attends several tax conferences annually. he is a member of the national association of tax professionals and the national association of enrolled agents.<\/p>\n prior to starting his own firm, al worked for five years in the corporate tax department at kpmg, one of the \u201cbig four\u201d accounting firms, and another five years for a detroit law firm in the estate area. he currently teaches tax law at wayne state university.<\/p>\n al received his degree in accounting from the university of michigan and earned his master\u2019s in taxation. when he is not working, he is speeding around the great lakes on his motorboat.<\/p>\n social media has pretty much demanded we put our photo on our profiles and web pages. to not do so these days looks like we are hiding something.<\/p>\n do take the time to go to a professional studio with quality lighting and a good backdrop. make sure your photo is approachable with you smiling and good eye contact. you should also be wearing professional work clothing. what\u2019s important is that you invested in your marketing materials\u00a0and have not taken shortcuts that look unprofessional.<\/p>\n it\u2019s not as important what you look like, so please do not procrastinate on this step. we had one member (you know who you are) who waited a year to get his photo done (it\u2019s much harder to get the guys to go for the photo!). as soon as we posted it on his website, the phone started ringing more. do not wait! (it will cost you, and please do not shoot the messenger.)<\/p>\n one word of warning for the ladies. one of my elite clients told a story about how she and another woman were ranked high in the intuit proadvisor\u00a0profile page listings for their city. the other woman used a candid shot from a formal party where she had a low-cut evening dress on. other prospects told my client that they would not consider calling someone who advertises like that. ladies, even if it\u2019s the best smile you\u2019ve ever seen of yourself in a picture, it must not be a glamour shot, and you must be covered up, dressed in business attire. anything that could be construed as sexual will drop the rates you can charge in business, studies show.<\/p>\n you\u2019re sitting in a room with 30 other business entrepreneurs. each of you has one minute to introduce themselves to the group. you are number 25 to speak. will anyone listen? what can you do or say to catch your peers\u2019 attention, be memorable and have them approach you for business?<\/p>\n tip: write and memorize your elevator speech so you don\u2019t have to keep reinventing the wheel.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n put yourself in your potential customer\u2019s shoes for a minute. what is it about your business, your products and services, and you that would interest a potential buyer? why should they care? why should they stop what they\u2019re doing from their busy life and listen to you?<\/p>\n almost every accounting website i see lists the services in a long bulleted list. yawn. the problem is that your client doesn\u2019t think like an accountant. they don\u2019t often know what they need. they just know they need a loan for their business, for example.<\/p>\n if you do taxes, what most clients really<\/strong> want is to stay out of trouble with the irs. of course, your tax return services do that, but clients don\u2019t really care about the tax return. they care about how much they have to pay or how much they\u2019re getting back.<\/p>\n they might not necessarily want financial statements. they want to know how much cash they have, whether they can make payroll and how much of a loan they should ask for.<\/p>\n what matters today is solving client problems and selling solutions, not services.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n the above questions are the ones you must constantly ask yourself when creating your marketing message, materials, and plans. this step is sometimes called building your unique selling proposition. here\u2019s an example of a result we will come up with:<\/p>\n \u201cwe help insurance firms clean up their quickbooks files for their cpas.\u201d<\/p>\n now fill in the blanks using your service description and a short version of your persona:<\/p>\n we help _____(your ideal client\u00a0with motivation) __________(your service)_____.<\/p>\n we help ___________________________________________________________ .<\/p>\n now make it into a correct english sentence. this is a great start to your elevator speech.<\/p>\n now we want to jazz it up and make it memorable.<\/p>\n here are some messages to get your juices flowing:<\/p>\n \u201ci streamline the accounting books for small businesses by customizing or implementing quickbooks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201ci save busy, successful small business owners time and money by streamlining their accounting books and training their bookkeeping staff on a fabulous product called quickbooks.\u201d<\/p>\n how would you modify your message from above to add a motivation component?<\/p>\n \u201ci help small businesses implement quickbooks so they can get excellent reports to make better business decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n how would you modify your message from above to speak to your persona\u00a0more personally?<\/p>\n \u201ci help attorneys discover their most profitable services by implementing quickbooks and teaching them how to use the reports.\u201d<\/p>\n multiple benefits<\/strong><\/p>\n your service likely has far more than one benefit. for example, an oil change service needs to be convenient, fast, local, reliable and affordable. list all of the benefits of your service that you can think of. ask your trusted clients if you are not sure of all the ways they benefit.<\/p>\n many of these benefits should be worked into your marketing message. how would you modify your message from above to add additional benefits?<\/p>\n \u201cour payroll service frees you from being tied to your desk every friday.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cwe provide an easy business startup checklist \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201ci streamline work-at-home moms\u2019 accounting books so they can have more time with their kids.\u201d<\/p>\n differentiation<\/strong><\/p>\n some of the reasons your product or service might be different from others include:<\/p>\n tip: be able to answer what makes you different from your competitors.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n in your quest to find out what your uniqueness is, here are a few more questions.<\/p>\n from these answers, you should be getting an idea of how your product or service will be serving the marketplace and where it fits.<\/p>\n in recent years, it has gotten more complicated to get your message through the clutter of other ads these days. so let\u2019s check your message against three key features that must be taken into account. (source: “the advertised mind”)<\/p>\n first, your message has to grab client\u2019s attention<\/strong>. if the client doesn\u2019t notice it through all the other messages s\/he gets through email, internet, radio, tv, phone, billboard, etc., then it will not be effective.<\/p>\n second, the client must like<\/strong> your message. if the client doesn\u2019t like your message, there will be no action to purchase. ad-liking promotes memory of your message.<\/p>\n third, your message must have emotional<\/strong> impact. it must ease pain or solve an emotional problem.<\/p>\n tip: in today\u2019s noise, your message needs to stand out and be likable.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n how does your message rate?<\/p>\n here are some ideas to jazz it up:<\/p>\n \u201care your books a mess? let us save you money by cleaning up your quickbooks files.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cdoes the thought of accounting or the irs send you hiding in the closet? we love taking care of your bookkeeping so you don\u2019t have to worry.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cif the thought of having to know the 27 new irs regulations that just came out makes you want to scream, relax. you can hire us to keep your books compliant.\u201d<\/p>\n list your ideas. what you\u2019ve just written is your new elevator speech. take what you\u2019ve written and practice saying it. test it on a few friends to see how memorable it is.<\/p>\n spend some time on your delivery. most of the accountants i have met tend to be soft-spoken, even introverted. don\u2019t mumble! practice your delivery with voice variety (don\u2019t speak flatly), voice volume and especially, energy. be enthusiastic about who you are and confident about what you do.<\/p>\n if you are petrified of speaking\u00a0in front of groups, it will show. spend time in toastmasters (http:\/\/www.toastmasters.org<\/a>) to overcome your fears and polish your delivery.<\/p>\n call to action<\/strong><\/p>\n steve cone in his book “steal these ideas” says that today\u2019s messages need three things:<\/p>\n before we leave you with a final elevator speech, let\u2019s add a call to action. what should prospects do if they want to find out more? give them a task. tell them what to do exactly. it\u2019s kind of amazing when you watch them do exactly what you told them to. here\u2019s the last message modified for a call to action:<\/p>\n tip: tell people what you want them to do in your message.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cif the thought of having to know the 27 new irs regulations that just came out makes you want to scream, relax. to find out more about hiring us to keep your books compliant, pass me your business card right now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cif the thought of having to know the 27 new irs regulations that just came out makes you want to scream, relax. for a free 15-minute consultation about how these rules might affect your business, pass me your business card right now.\u201d<\/p>\n write your final elevator speech, adding a call to action\u00a0at the end.<\/p>\n spend a few minutes crafting a nice signature file that can be appended to every message you send out. of course, you might need to send out the circular messages as well, but don\u2019t pass up using your signature file for marketing purposes.<\/p>\n here\u2019s a start:<\/p>\n sandi smith leyva,<\/strong> president, sandra l. leyva, inc., plano, tx <\/strong><\/p>\n 408-971-1104 | fax 207.512.9309\u00a0| <\/strong>http:\/\/www.accountantsaccelerator.com<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n biz growth strategies for accountants, quickbooks consultants and tax experts <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n you can do a couple of things with the last line:<\/p>\n sandi smith leyva,<\/strong> president, sandra l. leyva, inc., plano, tx <\/strong><\/p>\n 408-971-1104 | fax 207.512.9309\u00a0| <\/strong>http:\/\/www.accountantsaccelerator.com<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n get our free report, \u201c10 biggest tax mistakes\u201d on our website<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0above <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n sandi smith leyva,<\/strong> president, sandra l. leyva, inc., plano, tx <\/strong><\/p>\n 408-971-1104 | fax 207.512.9309\u00a0| <\/strong>http:\/\/www.accountantsaccelerator.com<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n we love and thrive on your referrals! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n this is a high-payback quickie. don\u2019t just add it to your \u201cto do\u201d list; do it right now and start benefiting immediately.<\/p>\n it will be worth your time to word a \u201cshell\u201d response that you can modify and send after you have met with a prospect.<\/p>\n here is a very informal one for after you\u2019ve met someone at a networking meeting:<\/p>\n subject: following up from abc networking meeting<\/p>\n hi __,<\/p>\n it was great meeting you earlier today and finding out about your business. [say something customized here.]<\/p>\n
\nexclusively for pro members. <\/span><\/strong>log in here<\/a> or 2022世界杯足球排名 today<\/a>.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\n<\/p>\nthe list<\/h3>\n
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business cards<\/h3>\n
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biography<\/h3>\n
headshot<\/h3>\n
elevator speech<\/h3>\n
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signature file<\/h3>\n
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email response<\/h3>\n