19 easy ways to cut costs, find more cash in time for tax season

start the new year with the resources you need. by sandi smith, cpa accountant’s accelerator could you use a bit of extra cash each month? i think most people would say yes.here are several tips to start your new year with a little more green in your pocket.

sandi smith

more for soloists and small firms from at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间: more for soloists and small firms:   •    10 tips for creating more energy this tax season  •   take a cue from venture capitalists: your firm needs a brain trust trinity    •   accountants, do you know your opportunity number?    •  five ideas to overcome client price-sensitivity   •    5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients  •  3 steps to start running on millionaire time   •  the missing ingredient in your marketing that will make all the difference 

  1. if you bill your time by the hour and sometimes forget to write your time down (i know i’m guilty), put in some extra procedures to capture that time. that’s a big cash drain in your business that needs plugging in 2013. read more →

10 tips for creating more energy this tax season

 

good habits for thriving through the tough times.

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

is keeping a high energy level a challenge for you? here are a few tips to revitalize your personal energy. some of these are very simple, so simple you may think they won’t do anything for you.

sandi smith

more for soloists and small firms:  take a cue from venture capitalists: your firm needs a brain trust trinity    •   accountants, do you know your opportunity number?    •  five ideas to overcome client price-sensitivity   •    5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients  •  3 steps to start running on millionaire time   •  the missing ingredient in your marketing that will make all the difference   •  on the road to a stress-free life: identify your character strengths  •   

as you read, check to see which ones have slipped from your current daily routine. in that way, you’ll discover how to change your routine to gain more energy. read more →

take a cue from venture capitalists: your firm needs a brain trust trinity

how to give your firm the three distinct personality traits that spell outrageous success.

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

i was reading chip conley’s book, the rebel rules: daring to be yourself in business. despite its title, the book doles out fairly standard business advice, except for a handful of tiny tidbits of sheer brilliance. one is the list of items that investors are looking for when considering providing startup money to new businesses.

sandi smith

more for soloists and small firms:   accountants, do you know your opportunity number?  •   five ideas to reduce client price-sensitivity • rise to the top with a fresh elevator speech  •  four ways to practice entrepreneurial perseverance • 5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients the top 12 business card blunders accountants make seven tips to keep the clients you have how to attract clients like a magnet eleven easy ways to deliver more value to clients • 

even if you’re never going to seek venture capital money to help to fund your practice, chip’s advice makes a great question to consider for your firm, especially if yours is a small or sole-owned firm. read more →

accountants, do you know your opportunity number?

the pragmatic six-step way to evaluate potential new clients.

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

every week, do you get wonderful, exciting calls from new clients who want to use your services? you might want to talk with every one of them to get the sale. the problem is, if you do, you’re likely to go bankrupt. let me explain.

sandi smith

more for soloists and small firms from at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间:  five ideas to reduce client price-sensitivity  rise to the top with a fresh elevator speech  •  four ways to practice entrepreneurial perseverance • 5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients •  the success secrets women already know  • his and her brains at work in tax and accounting  • the power of deadlines in closing a deal on the road to a stress-free life: identify your character strengthsthe missing ingredient in your marketing that will make all the difference  •

each of us has 24 hours in one day. most of us have annual revenue goals. a few of us have monthly, weekly, daily, or even hourly revenue goals. hopefully you know what your revenue goal is. (if not, you should!) if you don’t pull in that level of revenue for the week or month, then you’ve missed your plan.

let’s say you want to generate $1 million in sales for the year. on average, you need to pull in $20,000a week. that’s $4,000 a day. read more →

rise to the top with a fresh elevator speech

3 tips for a powerful pitch.

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

an elevator speech is that short and sweet 30-second answer to the question “what do you do?” in networking circles, it’s critical that your elevator speech is clear and interesting. if it’s not, people will be confused, and no one who is confused will know how to refer you to others.

sandi smith

more for soloists and small firms from at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间:  four ways to practice entrepreneurial perseverance • 5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients •  the success secrets women already know  • his and her brains at work in tax and accounting  • the power of deadlines in closing a deal on the road to a stress-free life: identify your character strengthsthe missing ingredient in your marketing that will make all the difference  • 3 steps to start running on millionaire time  • 5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clientswhy you’re missing out on 98% of your new business potential • how to win new clients with a freebie strategy  • the top 12 business card blunders accountants makeseven 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

the typical networker recites their elevator speech by listing everything they do. for example, i recently heard an insurance agent say, “we insure your auto, car, home, life, …” well, i heard part of it. she listed a dozen more things – the kitchen sink may have been in there – and i bet some of those services haven’t been sold in years. read more →

how to win new clients with a freebie strategy

build trust by giving prospects a small sample of value.
[for another view, see when not to offer a free initial consultation]

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

today’s biggest marketing challenge for soloists and small firms is getting people’s attention, then getting their trust. one way to completely overcome the trust issue is to let prospects receive a small sample of value from you at no charge.

sandi smith
sandi smith

related: the success secrets women already know      why you’re missing out on 98% of your new business potential    the missing ingredient in your marketing that will make all the difference 3 steps to start running on millionaire time    on the road to a stress-free life: identify your character strengths     the power of deadlines in closing a deal      his and her brains at work in tax and accounting  5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients the top 12 business card blunders accountants make

because the trust factor is at an all-time historical low, as a practitioner you need to do one or more of several things before clients will do business with you in most cases:

  1. spend a lot of time developing individual relationships until people trust you,
  2. provide a complementary sample of value up front,
  3. spend a lot of time in the proposal stage wooing the prospect. read more →

the success secrets women already know

who gets more out of their employees, men or women?

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

if you guessed women, you’re right. women possess natural relationship skills that help them build loyalty, foster productivity, and spark motivation.

sandi smith

related:   why you’re missing out on 98% of your new business potential    the missing ingredient in your marketing that will make all the difference 3 steps to start running on millionaire time    on the road to a stress-free life: identify your character strengths     the power of deadlines in closing a deal      his and her brains at work in tax and accounting  5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients the top 12 business card blunders accountants make

according to a study by the guardian life small business research institute, women’s skills provide: read more →

why you’re missing out on 98% of your new business potential

three ways to master the art of follow-up.

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

it seems there are hundreds of questions swirling around how to follow up with prospects. the raw truth is that very few people follow up at all. on average, only 2 percent of people buy on the first contact with a vendor.

so if you’re not following up, you’re walking away from 98 percent of your sales.

sandi smith

more for 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 pro members:  the missing ingredient in your marketing that will make all the difference 3 steps to start running on millionaire time    on the road to a stress-free life: identify your character strengths     the power of deadlines in closing a deal      his and her brains at work in tax and accounting  5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients the top 12 business card blunders accountants make

here are my tips to maximize sales and take the pain out of following up: read more →

his and her brains at work in tax and accounting

three things that are different.

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

are men’s and women’s brains different, when it comes to the workplace? the answer is a resounding yes, and more importantly, science is finding that men and women work differently. when a woman works like a man does, her health suffers

sandi smith

more for soloists and small firms from sandi smith at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间: 5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients the top 12 business card blunders accountants make 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

here are three things that are different in men’s and women’s brains. read more →

the power of deadlines in closing a deal

headache or dream come true?

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

in the accounting profession, there are a ton of deadlines. month-end, quarter-end, and year-end. payroll taxes, sales taxes, and corporate taxes. and extension deadlines, filing deadlines, and payment deadlines, to name just a few.

sandi smith

more for soloists and small firms from sandi smith at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间:  on the road to a stress-free life: identify your character strengths •  the missing ingredient in your marketing that will make all the difference •  3 steps to start running on millionaire time  5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients the top 12 business card blunders accountants make 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

all of these deadlines may be a headache to business owners and accountants alike, but they are a marketer’s dream come true. how can you use deadlines to your advantage in marketing your services? and what if you are selling a service that is not in the accounting profession? keep reading and we’ll answer these questions and provide you with five ways to woo your prospect with deadlines. read more →

on the road to a stress-free life: identify your character strengths

and put them to work.

by sandi smith, cpa

how many times a day do we tell ourselves with the little voice in our head that we’re falling short of the ideal we have for ourselves? “i forgot to add the salt, so i ruined the recipe.” “i’m not good enough.” “i was mistaken.” “i’m not smart enough.” “i didn’t get picked for the finals.” “nobody likes me.” and so on.

sandi smith

more for soloists and small firms from sandi smith at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间: 5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients  the top 12 business card blunders accountants make   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

instead, why don’t we focus on our strengths? a university of michigan psychology professor undertook an extensive research project to discover 24 positive character strengths that each person has to varying degrees.

they are: read more →

the missing ingredient in your marketing that will make all the difference

even after years of training, learning and succeeding, it doesn’t come easy.

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

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.

sandi smith

more for soloists and small firms from sandi smith at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间:  3 steps to start running on millionaire time •  5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients  the top 12 business card blunders accountants make   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

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. read more →

3 steps to start running on millionaire time

stop “non-profit” tasks and start making more money in your practice.

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

let’s do the math. to earn a million dollars in a year, you have to bring in $83,333 per month. assuming you bill hourly and work for the standard 1,000 billable hours per year, you need to charge $1,000 per hour. if you want to make five million in one year, you will need to charge $5,000 per hour.

here’s some breaking news: you won’t get there doing tasks that are worth $10 per hour. even if we drop a zero and aim for six figures in a year, you won’t get there doing $10 per hour tasks either. at six figures, you’re worth $100 per hour.

sandi smith

more for soloists and small firms from sandi smith at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间:  5 mistakes to avoid when seeking new clients  the top 12 business card blunders accountants make   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

the difference between poor people and rich people is simple: one values the scarcity of their time and uses every minute wisely, and the other doesn’t.

here are some tips to help you start thinking like a millionaire, which is the first step to becoming one: read more →