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five marketing mistakes to avoid

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illustration with some employee symbols standing in circlesbe thoughtful about how you seek new clients.

by sandi leyva

as an accounting professional, you’re likely very talented at delivering the service you offer your clients. but when it comes to marketing and selling yourself, many of you didn’t voluntarily sign up for that part. many of you are resisting (kicking and screaming) marketing yourself. if that’s you, that could be why your business is slow or not growing at the rate you’d like it to.

more on small-firm growth strategies: spend your time on the most profitable tasks | seven performance boosters for your firm | why your google ranking is about to tank | seven tips to keep the clients you have | 12 ways to stress less this busy season | six ways to make your own history during women’s history month
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

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 of us 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.
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assessing your firm

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diagramfor a true baseline, bring in a consultant.

by anthony zecca
leading from the edge

now that we have completed an assessment of your leadership team and your leadership, the third leg is assessing the overall performance of the firm. this assessment, coupled with the assessment of the leadership team and your leadership, provides a strong foundation upon which to build the roadmap (strategies) for moving the firm from where it is today to a standout, high-performing firm. the underlying objective for this assessment of the firm is to have a factual basis for establishing a myth-free and accurate baseline of the firm by analyzing a number of key characteristics.

more on edge leadership: assessing your firm | the 4 traits of great cpa leaders | why leaders must ensure clarity | incremental vs. exceptional success | do you lead or just manage? | managing vs. leading | is your leadership team at the edge? | 6 leadership challenges through covid and beyond | edge leaders share 7 strengths | leadership must drive culture | leading from the edge
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

what are the major areas of focus for the firm assessment? in center-led firms, the assessment of how well the firm is doing is generally focused around financial metrics. how much profit did we make? what was our growth? what was the change in average partner compensation? what profit percentage to revenue did we achieve?
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how long should it take to make partner?

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hourglass on money backgroundyour top candidates might not want to wait.

by marc rosenberg
the role of the managing partner

accounting today published a very interesting piece of research titled “the long path to partner.” the polling question: how many years does it take to make partner at your firm?

more: how a good managing partner impacts profitability | the 9 biggest merger pitfalls | 10 ways to hold partners accountable
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the results:

  • less than 5 years: 9%
  • 5-7 years: 12%
  • 8-9 years: 12%
  • 10-13 years: 30%
  • more than 13 years: 17%
  • don’t know: 20%

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what + who leads firms to better service

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maze with word "plan" at the centeryou need commitment + competency.

by gary bolinger

you may remember the old abbott and costello routine “who’s on first.” after some back-and-forth dialogue, we get to “all i’m trying to find out is what’s the guy’s name on first base?” abbott responds, “no. what is on second base.” after some more banter, we finally learn that “i don’t know is on third base.” baseball almanac says that this is “one of the most famous baseball comedy acts to ever take place.”

more: how accountants are profiting in disruption | ask the right question(s) | seven elements of engagement for cpas | true advisory work isn’t just consulting
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

setting all of this up, lou costello said to bud abbott, “if you’re the coach, you must know all the players.” and that is a true statement. you need a good understanding of your players’ (who) competencies (what). a partner must know all the players’ strengths and weaknesses.
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how to get promoted to manager

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bonus: 12 questions to ask of staff.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

cpa firms have many different titles or positions. we’ll address the most common:

  • staff
  • senior
  • manager

more: how to create a path to partner | making partner: what managers need to know | the 17 rules for making partner at a cpa firm | who shouldn’t be a partner? | nine reasons people are promoted to partner | how to make partner?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

i often use the term “staff” to refer to anyone who is not at the partner level. this is different from a “staff-level” associate, who typically has only a few years or less of experience in public accounting. this post addresses what it takes to advance from staff to senior and from senior to manager.
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