today's features

how mindset affects your marketing

smiling businesswoman

even after years of experience, confidence may not come easy.

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

in school, during both my undergraduate courses and my mba classes, i took marketing 101, or something close to that. i learned the four p’s: product, price, place and promotion. i aced the class.

more: three steps to becoming a millionaire | five business development mistakes to avoid | how to leverage chatgpt during this crazy tax season | eight steps to getting started with ai: a guide for tax professionals | you don’t have a time problem | three money leaks and how to plug them | eleven ways to serve clients even better | eight ways to build busy-season stamina | make your prospect kit stand out | six ways to beat the competition | grow your revenue with three marketing strategies | what can chatgpt do for accounting professionals?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

when i started my first business at age 13, i ran an ad and was able to get clients. it was no big deal. when i wanted to earn some part-time money during college doing bookkeeping (before i passed my cpa exam), i answered an ad and found clients. it was no big deal. when i started a part-time photography studio in the 1980s, i sent out press releases and direct mail and got clients. it was no big deal. i was doing all of this on the side while i had full-time jobs paying the rent and everything else.

but when i got laid off in the 1990s and needed clients in order to go out on my own and pay my own rent, something in me snapped. i was scared to death. i suddenly had no idea how to get started getting clients. i could have run an ad, but i didn’t. i could have sent out direct mail, but i didn’t.
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what kind of leader are you?

cartoon of good vs bad leader

good vs. bad leadership.

by liz farr

i am fascinated by leadership. that’s likely because i’ve had way more experience with poor or mediocre leaders than with great leaders. let me tell you about examples at the extremes.

more from liz farr: jason blumer & julie shipp: move leaders out of client service | brandon hall: firms try to make too much on tax prep | amber setter: coaching helps resolve the tension between safety and purpose | james graham: drop the billable hour and you’ll bill more | karen reyburn: fix your marketing and fix your business | giles pearson: fix the staffing crisis by swapping experience for education | jina etienne: practice fearless inclusion | chris vanover: question the why or stay with the status quo | jason deshayes: what we’re doing isn’t working
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

in 2002, my accounting career began with a job at h&r block in rural new mexico. it was my first job where it was important to be at work on time. all my previous jobs had been as research assistants in biochemistry. my schedule was flexible, and as long as i kept up with the necessary work to move the project forward, my supervisors generally didn’t care when i did the work.

what kind of leader do you want to be?

do you want to be the kind of leader people want to follow? who is honored, as julie shipp is, “to go shoulder to shoulder with you”? or the leader who relies on constant and pointless check-ins?

if you’ve never spent time at a retail tax prep office, you may not be familiar with the stampede of people who show up as soon as they get their w2s so they can get their eitc refunds as soon as possible. this office was in a low-income area, so for a few weeks in february, when the doors opened at 9 a.m., we had enough people lined up outside the door to keep us busy until noon or beyond.

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employee retention is easier than attraction

four people seated around table

five conclusions from a new report.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the accounting talent pipeline problem isn’t going away. it isn’t even improving.

but it isn’t hopeless.

more: let interns fix the staffing shortage? | disruptors: talent crisis? what talent crisis? | 3 ways to raise the bar for your business | accountants’ advice: be careful, quick, creative … and lean | seven steps to a stronger future | accountants bullish locally, bearish nationally | top performers lead in leverage, culling, outsourcing | auditing standards ‘yellow book’ updated | firms culling clients as staffing woes persist | revenue up at 59% of accounting firms … and more good news | compensation’s up, but up enough to retain staff?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

a recent report from the pennsylvania institute of cpas points out that, though the problem is big and the obstacles many, cpa firms can, with enough effort, hold on to the talent they’ve got.

and retaining talent is a lot less expensive than trying to attract it.
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bissett bullet: first impressions start here

today’s bissett bullet: “get back to prospective clients in a timely manner following the initial meeting. leaving them waiting for your proposal for six weeks will do you no favors.”

by martin bissett

the excuse, “we’ve been so busy” won’t impress a potential client or serve to persuade them that if you’re so in demand they should sign you on the spot. rather, it will ring alarm bells. if your service is unsatisfactory or slow when you are supposed to be in the “courting phase,” what will they imagine it to be once they’re on board? first impressions last; make yours favorable.

today’s to-do:

for every first meeting in your diary, diarize sufficient time to write their proposal immediately after the meeting, ready to present in that all-important second meeting before too much time has passed.

see more bissett bullets here

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stop selling time

if you’re billing by the hour, you’re selling yourself short.

by jody padar
radical pricing – by the radical cpa

amazing things happen when you stop thinking about what you’re selling and focus on what clients are buying.

many of the things clients don’t value are compliance-related like:

  • tax returns
  • payroll
  • accounting services

more: why pricing is so disruptive | the radical pricing model: start with $25k | three critical factors drive the value pricing trendaccounting disruptors are heading your way … with deep pockets | the convergence of trends makes pricing changes imperative | stop looking for talent that does not exist | advisory work must be priced by value, not hours
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

but much of what they do value is less defined, though of higher value to their business lives:

  • small business expertise
  • management support and confidence
  • any service requiring specific knowledge or experience

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