marketing & sales

eleven possible pitfalls of mergers

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illustration of merger: four jigsaw puzzle pieces, each held by a different person's hand

what is driving the sale? is your firm ready?

by august j. aquila
price it right: how to value accounting services

the trend for small and midsized cpa firms to merge is accelerating as the competitive environment becomes even more demanding. while hundreds of firms merge every year, history continually shows that at some point in the future, things don’t always work out. like marriage, some mergers are successful while a great majority fail. many of the reasons for failure can be avoided if firms do their homework at the front end before entering the merger.

more: dodge the four curses of a production orientation | clients buy solutions, not features | make sure you know what you will get from your marketing | three pillars support a successful accounting firm | clients have six reasons for needing you | six ways to market your technology consulting practice | sixteen marketing activities to try | the four steps of your personal marketing process | how does your firm measure up? | six questions before asking for all the referrals you deserve | five rules for a marketing orientation | ten keys to marketing success
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the merger and acquisition drivers are constantly changing. some of the drivers we see today are a constantly changing marketplace, the creation of megafirms beyond the big 4, the sophistication of clients, the high demand for qualified people, technology, the cost of acquiring new clients, and finally, the accounting industry being in a mature market.

as we will see, most mergers fail because of non-financial reasons. unlike the sale of the manufacturing company, mergers of accounting firms are a lot more difficult to accomplish.
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change is inevitable, even in marketing

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sometimes it’s improvement. sometimes it isn’t. what role will you play?

by bruce marcus
professional services marketing 3.0

editor’s note: 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 was privileged to have a long relationship with bruce w. marcus, who was ahead of his time in his thinking and practice in marketing for accounting. we are publishing some of the late expert’s evergreen work, which retains wisdom for the present.

speaking of change, as we have been, in the several months it took me to write my book and to choose from the hundreds – maybe thousands – of articles i’ve written over the years, a great deal has changed. and not just trivial stuff.

more: do you want more publicity? or better publicity? | how to write media releases that capture an editor’s attention | why accountants should be nice to journalists | ten keys to crafting ads | four things to know about social media | internal communications are underrated | four things better than a company song | let’s lose the word ‘image’ | the risk in not understanding risk | what your marketing program can and can’t do | nine reasons that prospects say yes | how marketing evolved to 3.0 | accountants don’t sell soap.
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the movement to replace the hourly billing with value billing has accelerated. firm mergers, consolidations, new boutique firms that bear little resemblance to the historical professional firms, new technology that makes obsolete technology that was itself only months old. it seems that observations (i don’t make predictions) that i made decades ago about the need to go outside the firm for new sources of capital to finance growth have turned out to be accurate. new professional/marketers partnerships are springing up. professional services marketing 3.0 is in full swing.
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five business development mistakes to avoid

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businessman working on laptop with wall of symbols scribbled behind him

don’t have a skill? hire someone who does.

by sandi leyva
the complete guide to marketing for tax & accounting firms

if you’re a sole practitioner or small-firm operator, you’re probably very good at what you do – or you wouldn’t be in business today. but when it comes to marketing and selling yourself, well, many of us didn’t voluntarily sign up for that part.

more: twelve ways your business card can hurt you | how to use chatgpt to create images | how to leverage chatgpt during this crazy tax season | got fomo when it comes to ai and chatgpt? you should: here’s what you’re missing | create a bad website in ten easy steps | eight steps to getting started with ai: a guide for tax professionals | how to weather any economic storm | leverage your strengths to beat stress
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

as a matter of fact, some of us are resisting – kicking and screaming – marketing ourselves. so no wonder, for some of us, business is slow or not growing at the rate we’d like.
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dodge the four curses of a production orientation

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bonus: an illustration using two firms, one oriented to both production and marketing.

by august j. aquila
price it right: how to value accounting services

an emphasis on production (billable hours) can have negative consequences for an accounting firm. an emphasis on billable hours causes professionals to focus on internal measurements, i.e., the number of hours charged to a client, and not external measurements such as client satisfaction.

more: clients buy solutions, not features | six ways to expand your client services checklist | ten questions to refine your successful marketing plan | four questions for choosing your marketing audit strategies | four steps to a successful email marketing campaign | five reasons to implement change orders | make your practice better | eleven marketing strategies for smaller firms
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

it also emphasizes the technical aspect of accounting work and keeps professionals from developing a marketing mindset. let’s look at the four negative consequences of a production orientation.
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