marketing & sales

marketing without borders

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make more potential clients aware of your cpa firm.

by kelly schuknecht
summit cpa group

as a distributed accounting firm, we have learned a lot, since our founding in 2002, about how to successfully grow our client list. this growth involves creating and executing marketing strategies that help us attract clients from all over the nation.

more on marketing: what do you sell on? | why your google ranking is about to tank | five marketing mistakes to avoid | nancy fox: winning the mind game of success | survey: how firms market cas offerings | don’t wait for business to come to you | are you marketing for 2022 yet? | your first sale is to yourself | effective networking is an art | 5 ways to incentivize growth | price-sell-deliver is broken | sell your services on value, not price

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we have also succeeded in attracting new business because we have a good understanding of who our client is, what they’re looking for, how to reach them and, finally, what grabs their attention. this knowledge has allowed us to develop and execute effective marketing efforts.
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the managing partner’s secret weapon

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businessman holding up magnifying glassthe right people in the right positions will help you stay out of the weeds.

by marc rosenberg
the role of the managing partner

 

to be a great managing partner, you need a great team – a team that keeps you focused and out of the weeds.

the managing partner position is a big job. the high-level ceo of a complex, growing, highly profitable organization such as a cpa firm must be able to focus on the most important parts of the job, none of which is easy.

more: how to enforce the partner agreement | how long should it take to make partner? | the managing partner’s role in mergers | five ways to evaluate partners | manage partners with goal setting | overarching authority that managing partners must have | herding cats: advice for managing partners
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let’s drill down for a moment on the word “focus.” it means:

  • having the time to do the job properly. for this to happen, managing partners must avoid (a) having too many client responsibilities, which would preclude them from making the firm their #1 client most of the time and (b) spending time on matters that can be delegated to others, such as the coo/firm administrator and department/team leaders.

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why your google ranking is about to tank

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new algorithm could penalize older, slower sites.

by sandi leyva, cpa

i don’t know about you, but i would prefer to go through tax season without any interruptions, especially about marketing. but google doesn’t see it that way, and we have a significant search algorithm update hitting us in may 2021. if firms aren’t ready, they could see their search rankings, and correspondingly, prospects and future clients from website traffic, go way down.

more on small-firm growth strategies: 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 | ppp client fraud: how much risk is too much? | 3 ways to opt out of any downturn | how to lead in a crisis
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while google updates its search ranking algorithm on a daily basis, it generally announces big changes ahead of time. google’s may 2021 update will focus on “page experience,” which includes three metrics called core vitals as well as four additional page experience signals.

no one knows the exact algorithm that google uses to rank web pages in search results. experts say there are over 200 ranking factors to consider. the latest update is all about providing a better mobile experience for the user.

here’s what all that means in detail. read more →

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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nancy fox: winning the mind game of success

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how to overcome the mind-blocks holding you back from total success.

^ click to play video

with steven sacks
the new fundamentals: thriving in disruption

professionals need to use a blend of psychology and strategy to guide them with both mental fitness and tactics to produce career breakthroughs, executive coach nancy fox tells steven sacks.

more steven sacks: effective networking is an art | business development activities shouldn’t be a chore | cpa’s best role: leveraging knowledge, not just process | avoid last-minute deal making | five common negotiating mistakes | the myths of performance management | business is about relationships | reaching for authenticity in client service |

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in business, the mind is 95% of the game, according to fox, so it’s essential to recognize the causes of mindset blocks that are encountered, such as competition and business development, and what their impact can be.


> download and subscribe to the podcast on itunes here

key takeaways:

  • leaders may not understand the nuances or fundamentals of mentoring and cultivating talent. as such, they find the biggest impediments to be themselves.
  • the conscious mind is where our thoughts are directed in such areas as logic, strategy, memory, learning, data analysis. however, 95% of our thoughts are directed by the subconscious mind, and only 5% by our conscious minds.
  • the subconscious mind is where the inner game of work, career, and life is really won — or lost.
  • there are some strategies you can use to train your mind to prepare yourself to experience an outcome and imagine ways to achieve that outcome.
  • in addition to training your mind to block negative thoughts and experience only positive thoughts, there are physical techniques that can be used.

nancy fox is the founder and president of the business fox, a business consulting and training company specializing in guiding law, accounting, and service business firms grow through smarter networking and business development and niche marketing strategies.

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are you marketing for next year yet?

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it’s not too early to plan for next season.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

marketing takes many forms. further, many accountants are not trained in marketing. i also know that while most cpas want more business, they are too busy with what they have to be actively seeking new business. additionally, marketing can be external, internal or retentive.

more: don’t fire that staffer on may 18! | what to do with a lousy client? | but i am managing! | how to run a practice in 90 pages | how improv can help accountants | four tips for new partners | an alternative to pro bono | 14 better uses for timesheet data
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external is where new clients are solicited. that takes effort, ingenuity, time and maybe even some money.
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effective networking is an art

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four people meeting for business lunchlisten to learn … about the speaker and yourself.

by steven e. sacks
the new fundamentals: thriving in disruption

there is no one right way to effectively network. you can join boards, attend conferences and sign onto various electronic forums, among other ways. no matter how you decide to get yourself “out there,” the critical factor is the approach you take. “how may i help you?” is the positive, proactive way to establish a relationship.

more: avoid last-minute deal making | five common negotiating mistakes | reaching for authenticity in client service | deadlines? ha! don’t make me laugh | organizational change starts and ends with people | busyness isn’t the same as productivity
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you as the networker are seeking to build a relationship. if the other person or group benefits from your effort, think of it as an investment for the future. if you are looking for an immediate quid pro quo, it will become transparent to the other party. when you offer assistance, be authentic and sincere in your words and actions. follow through on your promises.
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5 ways to incentivize growth

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number 5 drawn in sandmake it profitable for your employees to bring in business.

by ty hendrickson

flash back a year ago, pre-pandemic, to yet another after-work networking event that you feel like you have to attend to build your practice. you have some good conversations with people you always see at these events. you have some food and drinks, but you don’t come home with any new real leads. the only thing you get is an extra pound on the scale in the morning and another night away from friends and family. does this sound familiar?

more: five time management tips to survive busy season | sales shouldn’t be scary | 5 ways to rethink the way you communicate | get goal-ready for 2021 | three w’s for networking the right way
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fast forward. many of these events no longer exist … not that you were finding them all that effective anyway. how do you find leads in our current environment?
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i started a consulting practice the first week of march

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five reasons it succeeded (so far) despite the pandemic

by bill penczak

everyone is no doubt glad the dumpster fire of 2020 has finally ended and that we have a new year to celebrate.   the accounting industry has endured layoffs, pay cuts, further consolidation, and firms continue to seek ways to remain relevant as compliance services become more commoditized and margins continue to diminish.  after contemplating the move for the greater part of 2019, in january 2020 i formed my articles of incorporation;  in february set up my website;  and in the first week of march, left my job running practice development for a firm that had been named the 5th fastest growing firm in the country the previous year to start my own consulting firm.

more: re-thinking today’s firm with five global leaders | 5 things your firm should do differently this summer | do you have the guts to beat the covid crisis? | how to inoculate your firm against covid competition | ‘found money’ delights clients | the three r’s for beating the corona crisis
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two weeks later, everything shut down and i thought i’d made the worst decision in my 40-year career.  it turned out to be the best.

fast forward to year’s end, and i have four retainer clients, did a few projects for other clients, and have a healthy pipeline of other prospects. my business associates and advisors continually remind me that my role of helping firms create a sustainable process for growth and margin management became even more important during difficult times.  in better economies, companies want to grow more.  in tough economies, they must.

as i reflect on the past year, there are five reasons my consulting practice thrived despite a terrible economy, shutdowns, and the other things that made 2020 a year to forget, but at the same time, to cherish.  and perhaps lessons learned from which your firm may be able to benefit. read more →