marketing & sales

six keys to getting a proposal accepted

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stressed businessman, heads on hands

plus seven things not to do.

by martin bissett
 business development on a budget

what makes a written proposal become accepted by the potential client – every time?

more: six keys to turning prospects into clients | seven mistakes in winning new fees | how to develop your communication abilities | five questions for measuring partner potential | five ways to rally your firm to its culture | when would-be partners aren’t candidates | make your expertise a new-client magnet | don’t think of it as selling | experts: what it takes to become partner
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

proposal writing is a micro-science in its own right but here are the proven principles that it takes to get proposals accepted.
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the four steps of your personal marketing process

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you’re not done once you land a client.

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

most new business comes about because of personal marketing efforts. there is a process that your personal marketing efforts need to follow. in fact, the only way you will get different results is to change your current marketing process. let’s look at the four steps in the personal marketing process.

more: eleven marketing strategies for smaller firms | five keys to successful marketing | how does your firm measure up? | five questions for developing your marketing plan | twelve fundamentals of planning | six questions before asking for all the referrals you deserve | you only have four strategies | one question to guide your growth plans | five rules for a marketing orientation | the damage that traditional fee methods do | four ways to prepare for new business development | ten keys to marketing success
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

first, you need to get known and develop a good reputation in the marketplace. there are many ways for you to do this. look around your community.
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bissett bullet: don’t put all of your eggs in one basket

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today’s bissett bullet: “identify your major form of marketing but beware of overdependence.”

by martin bissett

the key to developing an effective marketing strategy is understanding who your customers are and how to reach them. often, one form of marketing will yield by far the best results for your business and it is absolutely right to treat that as a priority but by focusing all of your efforts on that method alone, you are limiting yourself in terms of opportunity.

today’s to-do:

decide on a secondary marketing activity. what resources do you need to execute it correctly and what level of assistance will you need from your team in terms of “selling skills” in order to capitalize on the opportunities it will create?

see more bissett bullets here

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keep clients from “balance due” shock

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with just a little advanced marketing, you can get paid year-round and have more satisfied clients.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

when i talk with prospective clients in any medium, i lead with tax planning. i don’t care if i’m meeting them, calling them or emailing them. i lead with tax planning. the number one complaint clients have about cpas and tax preparers is a lack of planning. they get tax returns and nothing else.

more: stop clients from performing “favors” | who needs fall tax planning? clients … and you | get clients to bring tax docs early…yes, early | why time tracking still matters | make fewer mistakes, increase revenue and capacity | six ways to create a millennial-friendly firm
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the fun part is seeing the reaction when i mention planning. i tell them that they can know the results while there’s still time to change the results. tax season is no longer stressful because they know the answers in advance about refunds and balances due.
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internal communications are underrated

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ten categories of information your firm needs to manage … and how to make it happen.

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.

a terrific definition of chaos is when a client asks two different people in your firm the same question – and gets two different and conflicting answers.

more: manage knowledge as a marketing tool | how to put target marketing into context | everyone in your firm is marketing | professional services marketing requires flexibility | how to set marketing objectives | nine fundamentals for a healthy marketing culture in an accounting firm
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

another form of it is when there’s a crisis, and the media calls and gets somebody on the phone who hasn’t been briefed – but who answers the questions anyway. there’s real horror for you.

a managing partner bemoans the fact that his or her clear and well-defined vision of the firm has become so diluted by the time it gets transmitted down the line that there’s cause to wonder if everybody is working for the same firm.
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six ways to beat the competition

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big businessman crushing a small one in his fingers

stop losing business to others.

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

it’s rare that i lose business to competitors, and it’s also not an accident.

more: how to fight feeling overwhelmed | the art of prompt engineering for accountants | calculate your business relationship ratios | set bold new goals for the rest of the year | five ways to acquire more clients | five stages of any business | leverage your client list today | need leads? try a quiz | now’s the time to clean up your email list | don’t let prospects fall through the cracks | five lessons my clients taught me
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

if you are losing business to your competitors, here are some strategies you can use to “become a category of one,” as they say in marketing.

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bissett bullet: stop relying on referrals

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today’s bissett bullet: “can you really call yourself an advisor if you don’t know where your own business is coming from and you have no plan to proactively grow?”

by martin bissett

if the majority of your new client income is generated by referrals then you’re getting something right. if you are providing a level of service that is resulting in a steady stream of recommendations then well done! but you can’t rely on referrals alone. if you needed to proactively grow, what would be your plan?

if you don’t know, that should ring an alarm bell in your mind. don’t be subject to external factors. you need a pipeline in place or should those referrals be turned off for whatever reason, would cash flow quickly become an issue?

today’s to-do:

revisit your marketing strategy and if you think you are too busy to implement it yourself, consider who you could put in place for you.

see more bissett bullets here

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want more tax clients? here’s how

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plus 21 ways to get additional business clients.

by ed mendlowitz
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practice doctor

a target is the result of a plan.

more on marketing: bundle tax services with financial planning | when clients haven’t filed taxes for years | how to help a client start a new business | second opinions: an old service under a new label | help clients with employment compensation | help clients with basic budgeting | questions for after tax season | 28 data points for a financial planning discussion | four additional services to suggest
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

so, what is your plan?
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six keys to turning prospects into clients

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six vintage keys

plus seven things that trusted advisors don’t need to do.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

what makes a written proposal become accepted by the potential client – every time?

more: seven mistakes in winning new fees | tell the world your worth | four surprising keys to communication | culture can’t be ignored | three questions about your competence | 10 can’t-skip steps for business development | attract clients, don’t chase them | success in business comes second | business won’t come to you | forged in fire: the pains of leadership
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

proposal writing is a micro-science in its own right but here are the proven principles that it takes to get proposals accepted.
read more →

would you buy your own services?

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don’t expect potential clients to if you don’t know what sets you apart.

by steven e. sacks, cpa, cgma, abc

do you ever wonder why after spending many hours on drafting, editing, proofing, and polishing—and proofing and polishing just once more—your engagement proposal efforts did not result in winning the engagement? and if this happens on a semi-regular basis, the frustration is never easier to take.

more steve sacks: how do you value your most important asset? | how to build a winning proposal | six ways to fix your firm agreement | the great resignation or a reshuffling? | listen to learn | build the framework to a solution with five answers | try for success, not a win
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

you may have the requisite knowledge, experience, and perhaps even a broad view based on a diverse set of clients. however, you may have become complacent by maintaining a “cookie-cutter” approach to developing your proposals. like the old joke defining a consultant: “a person who takes off your watch, tells you the time, and gives the watch back to you,” implies an approach that you believe is best for your potential client, yet reflects no understanding of what the client actually needs.

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bissett bullet: relationship building

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today’s bissett bullet: “if we’re on dragon’s den, we ‘pitch.’ if we’re an accountant meeting with new potential clients, we build a relationship.”

by martin bissett

never fall into the trap that we are pitching for new work or that we should have a “spiel” of any kind. this is not a junior sales opportunity. the relationship that a business owner has with their accounting professional is known as the “most trusted” and as a result of that it should be treated with due reverence in each meeting scenario. even when you are in a “beauty parade” situation, you are not pitching for the business, you are building relationships. make sure that your language reflects that.

today’s to-do:

review the last meeting you had with a prospective client. if you were on their side of the table, were they being pitched to or were they having a relationship built with them?

see more bissett bullets here

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who needs fall tax planning? clients … and you

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avoid balance-due whining sessions and earn additional revenue.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

you’ve surely had this conversation a million times during multiple tax seasons, most often in april. you give a client a tax return with a $20,000 balance due.

client: i didn’t expect to owe that much.
you: how much did you expect to owe?
client: about $5,000.

more: it’s ok to say no to clients (even the large ones) | control your time: avoid ambush meetings and calls | train your clients before they train you | don’t let clients dictate tax workflow | how small firms can win the talent wars | do you know your turnaround time?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

here’s where my conversations may differ from yours a bit.

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seven mistakes in winning new fees

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businesswoman in wheelchair meeting with potential client

plus nine metrics to measure.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

like it or not, the 21st-century accountant is in the relationship-building business.

when a qualified accountant learns the art of developing those relationships in such a way as they empower the practice to be able to forecast its new fee income each year, the accountant becomes a profit center and their value to the firm increases tenfold.

more: tell the world your worth | don’t overlook internal communication | four reasons people struggle with communication | why firm culture matters for partners | competence is step one of seven | three things that rich accountants do | make your expertise a new-client magnet
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

our fourth “c,” conversion, has flirted with being the top answer from respondents in the passport to partnership study and has featured in over 80 percent of all firms interviewed as to what makes a senior manager stand out as a potential partner.
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