the ten most common mistakes on accounting firm websites

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 →

why 9% of firms flourish even in bad times

a four-pronged approach to weathering any economic storm.

by sandi smith, cpa

according to an article published in harvard business review, three scientists, ranjay gulati, nitin nohria, and franz wohlgezogen, conducted a study to discover the strategies that generated the most – and the least – profits in lean times.

more small-firm success tips at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间:   ‘there is no such thing as a time problem’    15 off-the-hook ideas for accountants to dream big     3 money leaks that may need plugging in your business    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

first, here’s a list of sure-fire ways to kill your business: read more →

‘there is no such thing as a time problem’

it’s a management problem and here are three solutions.

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

i know it’s a bold statement and a lot of you will disagree. but please have an open mind and hear me out.

time is the great equalizer. we all have the same number of hours in a day, yet some entrepreneurs, many of them self-made, become wildly successful, while others languish. only one in twenty business owners in the u.s. (2002 numbers) make it past $1 million in annual revenues. i believe the way they use their time is a big factor in their success or failure.

more from sandi smith at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间:   15 off-the-hook ideas for accountants to dream big   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

here are three better explanations of your time problem:

read more →

15 off-the-hook ideas for accountants to dream big

 

start your business ‘bucket list’ today.

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

do you have a business bucket list?

did you see the movie “the bucket list?” morgan freeman and jack nicholson played men who didn’t have too long to live. they each wrote up a bucket list, a list of things they wanted to do or accomplish before they kicked the bucket (as we say in the south).

why not apply the concept to your business? you can do this whether you have your own business or a job, although you have a bit more control when you’re the boss. what do you want to do before you retire or sell your business?

sandi smith

more from sandi smith at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间:  3 money leaks that may need plugging in your business    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

here are some ideas: read more →

3 money leaks that may need plugging in your business

why we do it and what to do about it.

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

everyone is looking on the income statement to find places to cut their business expenses. but the best place to look is not on a report.

it’s in the habits, processes, and procedures that you and your team do through your work day. it’s also in the mindsets, the inner game you bring to your work.

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
• 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

here are my top three money leak sources for you to look at and see what you can find:

read more →

how to attract clients like a magnet

10 tips to build an irresistible reputation.

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

if you’re an expert at something, don’t be the best-kept secret on your block. get the word out about what you can offer others, and one way to do that easily, especially if you’re an accountant, is to build your reputation.

here are 10 quick tips to boost yours.

1. get credentialed, certified, or educated. a good credential, and the cpa is pretty much the gold standard, will get you instant credibility with your prospects and clients. you are simply treated better and respected more when you’ve earned a credential that others recognize.

sandi smith

more from sandi smith at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间:

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

2. create a results-oriented biography. let people know what you’ve accomplished so far in your career and what you’re capable of doing for them by writing a great bio that represents you well. read more →

eleven easy ways to deliver more value to clients

(and add to revenues.)

by sandi smith

as you build your relationships with your clients, it’s always a good thing to see how you can serve them even better.

here are eleven ways you can add value to your existing services which will enable you to stand out from the competition, serve the client better, and put more green in your bank account.

as you go through the list, check them off to see which ones you are doing, and which ones sound good to add to your business.

1. offer add-on peace of mind services

if you are in the information business, offer to run or set up a backup system, store a backup of what you just did, or otherwise keep copies of your work so that the client does not have to worry about recovery issues. if you offer products, this may translate into an insured package that can be tracked and monitored. what kind of safety net can you think of to create for your clients?

read more →

nine networking tips to speed sales and referrals

keep in mind: it takes up to six months before people get to know you well enough to refer you.

sandi smith

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

networking is an essential part of building your business. whether you network locally, nationally, or internationally, there are some tips that are common to all businesses.

more from sandi smith at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间:

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

1. be crystal clear about what you do and how people can use you. also know exactly who your ideal client is in case you’re asked. if you don’t do this, you’ll leave people scratching their heads about you and they won’t know how to connect with you even if they wanted to.

read more →

five things accountants take for granted that costs them real money

what we know that clients don’t even know they need.

by sandi leyva

i’m pretty sure that i am not the only accountant who has made the following mistakes with clients. here are a couple of ideas to help us remember what we know that the client doesn’t and why it costs us when we forget.

more sandi leyva: 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 strategieshow to stop leaving money on the table

1. clients do not know how to evaluate our technical skills.

read more →

what’s in your new client funnel?

 three simple questions to test your revenue forecast.

sandi smith
sandi smith

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

you may have heard about the marketing funnel before.  there are lots of variations, and i want to cover it in a way that helps us examine our mix of products, services, and prices.

the funnel can be pictured like a big “v.”  at the top, wide-open part, there are a lot of prospects interested in your services and products.  at the bottom, narrow part, there are a few select customers who buy the most from you.

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):

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

near the top, you will have all of your lowest-cost offerings, perhaps those under $100.  in the middle, your medium-priced products and services will be positioned, and at the narrow, bottom, you will have your most expensive offerings.

the funnel is a fairly simple concept; however, we can glean quite a bit if we ask ourselves these questions: read more →

what’s in your welcome kit for new prospects?

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 →

six ways to give yourself a raise

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 →