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outlook & analysis

capstone marketing kicks off sales training webinars sept. 22

capstone marketing, a leading marketing consulting firm for cpa firms, is launching a series of webinars on sales techniques for accounting firms.

“cpas are looking for new business and the competition is fierce,” says jean caragher, president of capstone marketing, which also co-produces with bay street group the seven keys to successful cpa firm management program. “the capstone sales series will guide participants through the sales process from finding the right prospects to gaining access to the right executives to creating a persuasive business proposal that will help win the business.”

  • september 22, 2010 – finding the right prospects, presented by caragher.
  • october 6, 2010 – selling to the c suite, presented by steve bistritz, president of sellxl and coauthor of “selling to the c suite.”
  • october 27, 2010 – creating persuasive business proposals, tom sant of hyde park partners and author of “persuasive business proposals.”

all webinars are scheduled for 12:00-1:15 p.m. eastern.  register at www.capstonemarketing.com/sales. more info here.

outlook & analysis

signs of recovery? accounting and bookkeeping industry adds 3,700 jobs

industry shows steady expansion since june.

by rick telberg

as the nation’s jobless rate ticked up to 9.6%, the accounting and bookkeeping industry showed a new  upward trend by adding 3,700 new jobs in the latest month, according to the latest data from the labor department.

overall, the nation’s employers added 54,000 jobs in august — more than expected. but the unemployment rate rose one-tenth of a percent as half a million jobless people resumed their search for paying positions.

accounting and bookkeeping services, all employees, in thousands
accounting and bookkeeping services, all employees, thousands, seasonally-adjusted

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leadership

the new leadership skills you need to make partner in today’s accounting firm

gatto
gatto

technical skills alone aren’t enough.

by rick telberg

rarely has leadership-level talent been so important to the cpa profession and yet, perhaps, so difficult to find.

“technical knowledge used to be the only thing a firm really needed,” says rex gatto, a ph.d. in organizational psychology and a personnel consultant to cpa firms.

“but now you have to have somebody who can communicate, mentor and coach,” he says. “someone who knows how to build a team and a succession plan and work with others to make it happen.”

read more →

leadership

five steps to achieving partner unity

litmus test: do you believe you can achieve more together than individually?

august aquila, ceo of aquila global advisors, a full service consulting firm serving the accounting profession.
august aquila, ceo of aquila global advisors, a full service consulting firm serving the accounting profession.

by august aquila
aquilaadvisors.com

everyone knows that partner unity is one of the keys for success. and we know the benefits of having greater partner unity than the next firm – better client service, less employee turnover, superior profitability.

the problem than many firms face is this – they don’t know how to create partner unity.

first, let’s define what partner unity is not.

  • all partners are not clones of each other
  • all partners do not have the same skill sets
  • all partners are not at the same stage of their lives
  • all partners do not agree on how the firm should be managed
  • all partners are not “best” friends.

now, let’s define what unity is. read more →

client service opportunities

question: what’s great client service worth?

answer: 10% to 25% more.

more than 70% of potential clients say they’d be willing to pay as much as 10% more for a product or service if a company exceeded their expectations. and more than a third of buyers would be willing to pay as much as 25% more if the company provided superior service after the sale.

also, according to a strativity group study of 2,000 people’s buying habits:

  • satisfied customers are three times more likely to continue doing business with the same company for 10 years or more
  • those who’ve had a negative buyer experience are 10 times more likely to stop doing business with a company within a year, and
  • once jilted, 52 percent of respondents said they’d only be willing to continue their business if a discount of 5 percent or more was offered.

the three things customers value most in a sales rep are:

  1. the ability to resolve problems effectively,
  2. common sense and
  3. the ability to consistently exceed expectations.

“the initial assumption that we had was that customer loyalty is dead, that the only loyalty is to price,” said strativity ceo lior arussy. “but it’s not only about price sensitivity. the verdict from the consumers is very clear: if we see an exceptional customer experience, we’ll pay more for it, we’ll stay longer, and we’re going to give you more business.”

via businessbrief.com

leadership

10 tech mega-trends changing the way you’ll do business

… in a new world of connectivity.

by rick telberg

as technology reshapes the world, accounting firms and finance executives must aggressively reshape their business strategies and their own corporate hierarchies, according to a new manifesto from leading thinkers at mckinsey & company.

given mckinsey’s “reach and influence in the senior executive community” (as even a competing gartner analyst admits), finance and accounting professionals need to know the firm’s new list of “10 tech-enabled business trends to watch.” pay attention: your boss or your client (or both) could quiz you about any or all of these hot topics.

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outlook & analysis

have audit fees hit bottom?

click to enlarge

not quite yet, according to a new analysis by cfo magazine.

but cfo says “the trend has begun to slow.”

“only three of the top eight audit firms showed a drop in fees charged as a percentage of client revenue in 2009,” cfo says, compared with a dramatic drop from 2007 to 2008 for all but crowe among the top eight firms.

audit fees have been dropping since 2007.

in 2004, more than a third of auditor changes were the result of audit firms walking away from clients.

last year, 82% of auditor changes resulted from companies firing their auditors. and among the big four, the number was 90%.

via cfo.com

busy season management

the 2011 tax season outlook: busy, bordering on crazy [video]

professional tax practitioners should be bracing for a difficult but potentially highly profitable tax season.

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john sapp, vice president of sales, marketing and education at drake tax software, provides two reasons: taxpayers never needed a professional’s services more and professionals rarely have had such an opportunity to prove their value.

what are accountants expecting for busy season 2011?
join the survey, get the results.
find out what your colleagues are saying.

“preparers are going to succeed by selling their services and their knowledge,” says sapp at the illinois cpa society’s annual trade show.

big question for workflows: will the irs be ready for full e-filing jan. 15? or will the agency push back some dates because of last-minute changes wrought by congress?

fasten your seat belts. it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

busy season management

how to flourish in tough times [video]

stalled economy separates the quick and the dead.

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with marginal clients falling by the wayside, it may be time for accountants to rethink how they do business, according to dave pollack, vice president of sales at accountantsworld, makers of the power practice cloud solution.

“the people who are proactive and seizing new opportunities are flourishing,” he says in this interview at annual the illinois cpa society trade show.

what’s your forecast for the economy?
join the survey, get the results.
find out what the profession thinks.

growth strategies

bank cpa/cfo explains why lenders aren’t lending [video]

you can get a loan… if you don’t need it.

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but if your business needs credit these days, banks would rather keep their money in the vault, according to sara mikuta, cpa, cfo of leaders bank, oak brook, ill., and 2010 chair of the illinois cpa society.

“i always worry that the people who need money now are the ones you don’t want to loan to,” mikuta told us the state society’s annual trade show. “until the economy picks up there’s just not a whole lot of need.”

with borrowers under economic pressure and banks still chary, cpas have an opportunity in producing the kind of financial statements that banks can have confidence in. that, she says, could benefit well-positioned cpa firms.

mikuta is blogging about her year in office here.

outlook & analysis

are your state society dues worth the money? [video]

illinois cpa society 2010 chair tells cpas what your state society should be doing for you.

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sara mikuta, cpa and cfo of leaders bank in oak brook, ill., says “the role of the state society is to make sure we give you value for your dollar.”

we asked illinois cpa society ceo elaine weiss the same question and her answer sparked a flurry of spirited comments, pro and con, here.

she also had some interesting comments on why banks aren’t lending and how cpas can provide real value. see the complete mikuta interview here:
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leadership

four generations in the workplace: who are they? what do they want?

and why can’t we all just get along?

so… here’s the fix: succinct descriptions of the four distinct generations working side-by-side in the workplace along with their most significant values, as provided by author, speaker and consultant ira s. wolfe of success performance solutions.

get the instant download: (pdf, 45 pages), excerpted from “geeks, geezers, and globalization” by dr. ira s. wolfe,
click here: how to manage multiple generations in the workplace

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