marketing & sales

six steps to start value pricing

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change is inevitable. value pricing has reached this critical stage.

by jody padar
radical pricing – by the radical cpa

can you remember doing business before cell phones or social media? you really don’t have to be too old to remember because change happens fast. in fact, if you are over 50, you probably remember when every home had a landline, firms advertised in the yellow pages, and accountants charged hourly for mundane compliance tasks.

more: stop selling time | why pricing is so disruptive | the radical pricing model: start with $25k | three critical factors drive the value pricing trend | accounting 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
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it really wasn’t that long ago when the internet was intriguing rather than indispensable.

at some point, change becomes inevitable, and i would argue that value pricing has reached this critical stage.

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calculate the cost of losing clients

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woman and man working with calculator

follow this simple formula.

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

although most of my posts deal with gaining new clients and bringing in new projects, it’s important to remember that the most valuable asset of any professional services firm is its clients.

more: the secrets of great business developers | how life cycle changes your marketing | 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
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losing clients can be costly, but do you really know how much it can cost you? let’s find out.
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want to close a deal? set a deadline

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hourglass on money background

five ways to make it work.

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

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.

more: how mindset affects your marketing | three steps to becoming a millionaire | how to use chatgpt to create images | create a bad website in ten easy steps | leverage your strengths to beat stress | are you crossing off your business bucket list? | ten ways to make your business irresistible | five ways to target the low-hanging fruit | are your revenue projections realistic? | six strategies to make more without working more | the art of prompt engineering for accountants | calculate your business relationship ratios
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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.
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the secrets of great business developers

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man in office writing notes at desk

how to turn a goal into action.

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

i speak with a lot of accountants and consultants every week, and i look for those recurring characteristics that make some of them outstanding in various areas of building and managing a professional practice. those who are great at business development all seem to follow the same process, especially when the going gets tough.

more: how life cycle changes your marketing | eleven possible pitfalls of mergers | 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 | five questions for developing your marketing plan | you only have four strategies | the damage that traditional fee methods do
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

briefly stated, these professionals are successful because they have a clear vision of what they want to accomplish. they reinforce that vision with positive phrases and affirmations that reinforce their success. the following quiz will assess your business development acumen. give yourself one point for each correct true-or-false answer. (the correct answers are at the end of this post.)
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how mindset affects your marketing

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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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bissett bullet: first impressions start here

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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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how life cycle changes your marketing

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illustration of business life cycle

startups have different needs than mature businesses, so the messaging must be different.

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

the business life cycle refers to the stages that a business goes through from its inception to its eventual closure or exit. each stage presents unique challenges and opportunities, and it is essential for accounting firms to adapt their marketing strategies accordingly.

more: eleven possible pitfalls of mergers | dodge the four curses of a production orientation | client acquisition never stops | ‘sales’ is not a four-letter word | maybe what you need is a marketing audit | three types of marketing message, and which is best | why you need progress billing | five tips for cross-selling and upselling | five keys to successful marketing | twelve fundamentals of planning | one question to guide your growth plans | four ways to prepare for new business development
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here are some marketing strategies that can be effective during different stages of the business life cycle. take a fresh look at your existing clients, and sort them according to their business life cycle: startup stage, growth stage, mature stage and transitional/decline. you want to make sure that as your clients go through these different cycles, your marketing messages and services change and address the right business concern.
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bissett bullet: your greatest successes

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today’s bissett bullet: “the most powerful marketing weapon you have in the fight against the competition is the stories of clients you’ve helped in the past.”

by martin bissett

client success stories are one of the best ways to interest potential future clients. are yours clearly documented as a part of your marketing literature? if not, why not?

today’s to-do:

reflect on some of the best outcomes you’ve achieved for your clients. what service did you deliver? what was the outcome and what savings were created for the client? write this into a case study to share with potential future clients.

see more bissett bullets here

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stop operating from a scarcity mentality

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coins and small bills in a plastic box

ten questions for reconsidering your prices.

by martin bissett
business development on a budget

undercharging – or lowballing as it’s also called – is the scourge of the profession. it has always been present, and unfortunately, it will probably be with us for the foreseeable future.

undercharging is directly related to fear – fear of rejection.

more: firm not thriving? five fixes | five questions about facing challenges | be clear about your roi proposition | it’s time to prepare the next generation | who are you more committed to, your firm or your clients? | nine checkpoints before every prospect meeting | three questions about conversion | six keys to turning prospects into clients | don’t overlook internal communication
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

when you are building your pipeline according to the process, you have assigned fees you think might be in the ballpark of what you believe you could get from a new piece of work or a new client. you may tend to estimate on the low side, which is not a bad idea in theory, because it lets you be pleasantly surprised when it’s anything beyond that.

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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
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

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.
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

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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