Effective marketing.
Editor's Note: This is the second of three articles by Gene Cole on effective marketing. The first article appeared in the June National Public Accountant. Now that you have a good marketing program and you've positioned yourself as the trusted advisor, it's time to plan to increase your client base.
Your written plan should include the costs for marketing and staff. New business is yours for the getting, but staffing is seal the real problem. Try to minimize staff contact with clients.
A good bookkeeper can complete the work of many more clients (nearly double), if not answering the phone. There are two major benefits to being the client contact. You will have a much better understanding of the client and be able to identify billable needs quicker.
The bookkeeper will not take 50 of your clients and start her own business. The program should focus on the message, the offer, the target market, marketing methods, and follow-up. Few clients will respond to your first effort.
Select a good prospect tracking software package and use it. The most important rule is the 3 Ps -- Persistency Pays Plenty. You must follow up in an organized, structured manner.
The software will make this job easier.
In your message, differentiate your firm from your competitors. Use credentials or niche experience to establish your credibility. Make your offer simple. "A FREE! Brochure with 30 tax tips" or "A FREE! 45-minute consultation" will encourage a prospect to respond.
Marketing, focused on new client acquisition, encompasses many different strategies. Consider the following: * Slowly. The best results may come from mailing 50 pieces a week instead of 2,500 at one time. Getting 20 new clients in a four- to six-week period is very stressful.
New clients have increased problems and require more initial handholding. Acquiring a new account in a short period of time is usually at a higher price. Your cost should be under $100 per monthly client if obtained under a slow plan.
Under a quick plan, that cost can quickly rise to $300-$500 per client. * Website. If you do not have one, get one, You can buy packaged sites from $10 to $30 per month. Several practitioner-marketing sites will give you one page for free.
Do not get fancy with lots of slow loading graphics and 25 buttons. Keep the main message short and make sure it can be read in ten seconds or less. The site headline must be your biggest benefit.
Mention your web address on every marketing document, including your business card. Websites work and do bring in a few new clients each year. * Phone Follow Up. You can double your sales from seminars or direct mail if you make a follow up call.
Three or four days after contact, call the prospect. Think first! Do not call restaurants during lunch or construction prospects in the morning. Your job is to book an appointment. Do not say, "Can we get together to talk about my tax services?" Do say, "Is Tuesday at two or Wednesday at ten in the morning best for you?" Assume they will book a meeting .
.. they will.
* Consistently.
The best marketing plan covers the entire year. A $1,000 marketing budget will result in more clients over twelve months than if you spend $1,000 in one month. You must be consistent in your efforts and consistent in your materials.
Use the seal same color theme and type styles for all of your marketing materials. * Ebay. Internet auctions and bid services offer another opportunity to pick up new business. The problem is the fee. You will need to bid at $20 to $30 per hour to win.
If you are just starting out or have excess capacity, you way wish to work the Internet market. A few professionals have established a practice that is almost totally Internet based. * Telemarketing. Many practitioners are very successful in this area.
A number of the franchise operations tout telemarketing as the only way to go. If you have little or no money for marketing, become your own telemarketer. Hire people who have two or three years of experience.
A good one will get you five to ten appointments a week. You should expect to close at least two or three. If you are making the sales call, concentrate on quality leads.
Establish a bonus plan with a small amount if the appointment is kept by the prospect. Awarding a nice bonus for each sale will stimulate quality leads. spring Develop a script and be prepared to invest time to train the telemarketers to overcome objections.
Telemarketers are not staff people.
If they do not workout in a week, two at the most, hire someone new. Make sure they smile before they dial. Do not become discouraged with your first few weeks in telemarketing. It does work, but the success rate depends on your phone people and the script.
* Networking.
Each day you come into contact with a wide variety of people. If your dry cleaner does not know about your services, why not? (Author's note: It took three and one half years to sell my current dry cleaner.) PTA, church, or school events are another chance to meet prospects.
You need to make sure everyone knows you, what you do, and has your business card. As a tax expert, everyone is a potential client and many of these folks are small business owners. The ones who do not have their own business are thinking about starting one.
Every client's seal insurance person, attorney, or banker should be part of your marketing plan. Use your prospecting software to help manage your efforts. An appointment that results from your networking efforts is high quality, and your close ratio should be similar to a referral.
Start collecting names today.
Your suspect database should grow by 200-300 per year. * Direct Mail. Use a big, gaudy stamp. Make sure to include two business cards. Mail so your prospect will get the promotion at the end of the week. Stay away from holidays like Christmas. Type the address on the envelope and address it to the owner.
Please, do not use labels.
Focus your efforts in the zip codes around your office. Sign the letter with a purple or blue pen and make it bold. Hi-lite two or three phrases in your letter.
Design several different niche letters.
Promote your credentials.
List selection is the key issue.
A one- or two-step direct mail program normally results in less than 1/2 percent becoming new clients. A phone follow-up will increase the results to nearly 1 percent. * Seminars. Seminars produce excellent results and are often overlooked.
You can purchase several different seminars complete with slides or develop your own. Consider having another professional as a presenter. This will increase the number of potential attendees because you can mail an invitation to their customers and your clients.
Established insurance agents are great as they often have a large number of business clients. Your invitation is important and should invite friends or business neighbors to come along. Call a number spring of the attendees to identify areas or interest.
A few days prior to the seminar, call the prospects who have indicated interest and remind them of the event. Make sure you plan for questions from the audience. Follow up with a thank-you card and then a phone call.
Attendees should receive something tangible to take home. If you are uncomfortable speaking to 20-30 people, start small. Five visitors will fit comfortably in your conference room.
Start giving seminars to five people at a time. * Tracking. You must know your results. Tracking the source of each response and sale is important. You should focus on your ROI. How much did it cost to acquire a new client? What is the average time from first response to the sale? As you progress down your plan, these facts will help you refine your efforts.
Do not rely on your memory.
Track the facts.
* Coupon Mailers.
ValPack is one of the popular coupon delivery services. This is more effective for tax clients, but many different kinds of coupon or flyer companies exist. New coupon distribution firms will often give you an excellent deal.
If your focus is on monthly write-up work, then only use a service that goes to small businesses. Consider a coupon program during tax season. Generally, a good coupon program brings in enough to pay the advertising bill.
Any money you make will be from referrals or returning clients the following tax year. Your goal should be one new referral from every ten clients including your tax base. * Yellow Pages. Advertising in the book is generally more helpful to your tax practice than the write-up side.
Do not buy the larger display ads.
They seldom even pay for themselves.
A one- to three-inch in-column ad will be most productive in the tax area. List your business under several headings. Review the current ads in your yellow pages.
Tailor your ad to differentiate your firm. Out-of-state tax preparation seems to work well. List any special services offered by your firm.
* Publicity.
The good news is the price.
FREE! You are building name recognition.
Send press releases on your seminars, employee promotions, new folks, achievements, and especially each seminar you attend. Most NSA seminars will include a pro forma press release in your materials. Make sure the editor knows about any of your paid advertising in the local paper.
Attach a photo when possible.
Sponsoring a local team and community volunteer work also make material for a good press release. * Radio. The ROI is generally bad. The only time radio seems to work is during tax season and then you need to be in rural area with one station. If you have several offices within the station coverage, you might want to give it a try.
Make sure you have a written contract.
Radio sales people will often dicker over the price. * Cable TV. This media is not very expensive. For a few thousand dollars you can get a lot of spots. Some practitioners report good results during tax season.
Cable allows you to narrow your market geographically. Testimonials from clients seem to work well. Trying this approach feels good, but it is a gamble.
If you do RALs, cable ads may help you give the local storefront tax shops a run for their money. * Niches. Design separate brochures for restaurants, contractors, and independent car dealers. Using specialty paper, you can run off a couple of hundred on your copier or computer printer economically.
If you adopt a niche, keep up with the trade groups on the Internet. Keep current about their concerns, since your prospects will have the same. Offer to speak at local trade group meetings.
Push your unique understanding of the vocation. Niche marketing by line-of-business is an excellent strategy. * Credentials. If you have them, flaunt them. Few clients know what an EA is. Make sure the prospect knows that you have passed a rigorous, two-day IRS examination in taxation, undergone an IRS background check, and are required to take continuing professional education.
Most clients are hiring you to help with their tax issues so why not tell them you are the local expert. Prospects will invariably ask about your background during the first "sales" interview. Explain your ACAT credentials, and then tell them why your being an ABA is good for their business.
Credentials have the primary benefit of increasing the value in the price < value formula prospects use. Credentials justify your fee. Don't have a credential? Get one. * Newspaper Column. Local, weekly papers are your best bet. The daily papers are expensive. Seek out church and club newsletters. They are often hungry for copy and will run your column for free. Put your photo at the top of each column.
Do not expect overnight results.
Using a column as part of your plan is a longer-term project. Expect results after six to nine months. If you can afford a weekly column, that is best. The key with columns is to be consistent.
Columns are reliable, but slow producers of new clients. * Promotions. A wide range of marketing opportunities are available. You can donate a tax return to your local church raffle, or outfit a softball team, or sponsor a golf tournament, or be the treasurer of your local PTA.
Promotion costs vary widely.
Your marketing plan should include participation in various local events. Consider donating a month or two of write-up work to a charity auction. Offer your time and office for meetings of local groups.
Malls have annual events where you can rent a table to present your services. Sample fairs where local businesses donate different items are popular. At any public event, you should plan on a drawing for those who visit your booth.
At well-attended business events you can easily collect 400 business cards in a few hours. Turn those suspects into prospects. * Signs. "Tax" is the best single word on a sign if size is limited. The purpose of outside signs is to inform clients of what you do, not who you are.
The firm of Rodriguez & Smith should make sure that tax and accounting take up much of the sign face. A sign simply stating "Rodriguez & Smith" does not tell anyone what you are or what you do. Inside signs are very important and should be changed on a regular schedule.
Five by seven inch plastic picture frames should be on each desk. Use your word processor or graphics program to design a different sign each month. This can tie into your monthly theme. One month you can feature an insurance check-up, and the next month you might promote retirement plans.
This will keep your visitors aware of the many services you offer. A client who expresses interest in your desk sign should be converted to a billable appointment. * Collateral Materials. An attractive firm brochure is helpful. Be sure to focus on the benefits of your service.
Do not write much about the nuts and bolts of your work. Using specialty paper you can have a number of brochures that feature different service or niches. Add a client testimonial or tax horror story to provide credibility.
Quality is important.
Select the best papers if you are printing a small quantity. Make sure you carry two sets of sales material in your car trunk. Each person you visit should get a sample financial report, sample payroll journals, proposal, brochure, and business cards as a minimum.
Use your collateral marketing materials to differentiate your firm. Your best input for prospect marketing materials comes from clients. Make a couple of mockups and show them to clients.
Ask for their advice.
Ask, "What would you change?" Clients like to feel wanted and part of your business family. Listen carefully. * Business Cards. Passing out ten business cards a week is a good goal. When you are introduced, it is perfectly acceptable to offer a business card.
Make sure each person on your staff has his or her own cards. Your spouse and children should have cards to pass out. For a few dollars you can buy specialty card stock and print them out at your desk.
Offer your staff an incentive to bring in new clients. Their network is not any smaller than yours! Do not make it a token. If the average cost to acquire a new account is $100, then give them the $100.
Always leave your card with any tip.
Business cards are your cheapest form of advertising. Spread them around. How many cards did you pass out last week? Plan your marketing efforts. Follow up is the key to improving your closing percentage.
Carefully keep track of the responses and costs. Calculate your return on investment for each segment. ROI analysis is very helpful in planning next year's program.
The cost to acquire a new client is an important consideration. Concentrate on a steady effort throughout the year. Even a minimal effort will bring results if it is consistent.
One of the best ways to build your personal net worth is to increase the size of your practice. Prices for accounting firms are at an all time high. Increase your paycheck from year to year and build the value of your practice.
Unlock your firm's potential.
The key is persistent marketing.
Gene Cole is NSA's Membership Committee vice chair for 2001-2002; the previous year he chaired the Member Benefits Committee. Gene is a partner in an accounting and tax practice in Tampa, FL, and has written extensively on marketing and public relations. If you have a question, a selling tip you would like to share, or
Your written plan should include the costs for marketing and staff. New business is yours for the getting, but staffing is seal the real problem. Try to minimize staff contact with clients.
A good bookkeeper can complete the work of many more clients (nearly double), if not answering the phone. There are two major benefits to being the client contact. You will have a much better understanding of the client and be able to identify billable needs quicker.
The bookkeeper will not take 50 of your clients and start her own business. The program should focus on the message, the offer, the target market, marketing methods, and follow-up. Few clients will respond to your first effort.
Select a good prospect tracking software package and use it. The most important rule is the 3 Ps -- Persistency Pays Plenty. You must follow up in an organized, structured manner.
The software will make this job easier.
In your message, differentiate your firm from your competitors. Use credentials or niche experience to establish your credibility. Make your offer simple. "A FREE! Brochure with 30 tax tips" or "A FREE! 45-minute consultation" will encourage a prospect to respond.
Marketing, focused on new client acquisition, encompasses many different strategies. Consider the following: * Slowly. The best results may come from mailing 50 pieces a week instead of 2,500 at one time. Getting 20 new clients in a four- to six-week period is very stressful.
New clients have increased problems and require more initial handholding. Acquiring a new account in a short period of time is usually at a higher price. Your cost should be under $100 per monthly client if obtained under a slow plan.
Under a quick plan, that cost can quickly rise to $300-$500 per client. * Website. If you do not have one, get one, You can buy packaged sites from $10 to $30 per month. Several practitioner-marketing sites will give you one page for free.
Do not get fancy with lots of slow loading graphics and 25 buttons. Keep the main message short and make sure it can be read in ten seconds or less. The site headline must be your biggest benefit.
Mention your web address on every marketing document, including your business card. Websites work and do bring in a few new clients each year. * Phone Follow Up. You can double your sales from seminars or direct mail if you make a follow up call.
Three or four days after contact, call the prospect. Think first! Do not call restaurants during lunch or construction prospects in the morning. Your job is to book an appointment. Do not say, "Can we get together to talk about my tax services?" Do say, "Is Tuesday at two or Wednesday at ten in the morning best for you?" Assume they will book a meeting .
.. they will.
* Consistently.
The best marketing plan covers the entire year. A $1,000 marketing budget will result in more clients over twelve months than if you spend $1,000 in one month. You must be consistent in your efforts and consistent in your materials.
Use the seal same color theme and type styles for all of your marketing materials. * Ebay. Internet auctions and bid services offer another opportunity to pick up new business. The problem is the fee. You will need to bid at $20 to $30 per hour to win.
If you are just starting out or have excess capacity, you way wish to work the Internet market. A few professionals have established a practice that is almost totally Internet based. * Telemarketing. Many practitioners are very successful in this area.
A number of the franchise operations tout telemarketing as the only way to go. If you have little or no money for marketing, become your own telemarketer. Hire people who have two or three years of experience.
A good one will get you five to ten appointments a week. You should expect to close at least two or three. If you are making the sales call, concentrate on quality leads.
Establish a bonus plan with a small amount if the appointment is kept by the prospect. Awarding a nice bonus for each sale will stimulate quality leads. spring Develop a script and be prepared to invest time to train the telemarketers to overcome objections.
Telemarketers are not staff people.
If they do not workout in a week, two at the most, hire someone new. Make sure they smile before they dial. Do not become discouraged with your first few weeks in telemarketing. It does work, but the success rate depends on your phone people and the script.
* Networking.
Each day you come into contact with a wide variety of people. If your dry cleaner does not know about your services, why not? (Author's note: It took three and one half years to sell my current dry cleaner.) PTA, church, or school events are another chance to meet prospects.
You need to make sure everyone knows you, what you do, and has your business card. As a tax expert, everyone is a potential client and many of these folks are small business owners. The ones who do not have their own business are thinking about starting one.
Every client's seal insurance person, attorney, or banker should be part of your marketing plan. Use your prospecting software to help manage your efforts. An appointment that results from your networking efforts is high quality, and your close ratio should be similar to a referral.
Start collecting names today.
Your suspect database should grow by 200-300 per year. * Direct Mail. Use a big, gaudy stamp. Make sure to include two business cards. Mail so your prospect will get the promotion at the end of the week. Stay away from holidays like Christmas. Type the address on the envelope and address it to the owner.
Please, do not use labels.
Focus your efforts in the zip codes around your office. Sign the letter with a purple or blue pen and make it bold. Hi-lite two or three phrases in your letter.
Design several different niche letters.
Promote your credentials.
List selection is the key issue.
A one- or two-step direct mail program normally results in less than 1/2 percent becoming new clients. A phone follow-up will increase the results to nearly 1 percent. * Seminars. Seminars produce excellent results and are often overlooked.
You can purchase several different seminars complete with slides or develop your own. Consider having another professional as a presenter. This will increase the number of potential attendees because you can mail an invitation to their customers and your clients.
Established insurance agents are great as they often have a large number of business clients. Your invitation is important and should invite friends or business neighbors to come along. Call a number spring of the attendees to identify areas or interest.
A few days prior to the seminar, call the prospects who have indicated interest and remind them of the event. Make sure you plan for questions from the audience. Follow up with a thank-you card and then a phone call.
Attendees should receive something tangible to take home. If you are uncomfortable speaking to 20-30 people, start small. Five visitors will fit comfortably in your conference room.
Start giving seminars to five people at a time. * Tracking. You must know your results. Tracking the source of each response and sale is important. You should focus on your ROI. How much did it cost to acquire a new client? What is the average time from first response to the sale? As you progress down your plan, these facts will help you refine your efforts.
Do not rely on your memory.
Track the facts.
* Coupon Mailers.
ValPack is one of the popular coupon delivery services. This is more effective for tax clients, but many different kinds of coupon or flyer companies exist. New coupon distribution firms will often give you an excellent deal.
If your focus is on monthly write-up work, then only use a service that goes to small businesses. Consider a coupon program during tax season. Generally, a good coupon program brings in enough to pay the advertising bill.
Any money you make will be from referrals or returning clients the following tax year. Your goal should be one new referral from every ten clients including your tax base. * Yellow Pages. Advertising in the book is generally more helpful to your tax practice than the write-up side.
Do not buy the larger display ads.
They seldom even pay for themselves.
A one- to three-inch in-column ad will be most productive in the tax area. List your business under several headings. Review the current ads in your yellow pages.
Tailor your ad to differentiate your firm. Out-of-state tax preparation seems to work well. List any special services offered by your firm.
* Publicity.
The good news is the price.
FREE! You are building name recognition.
Send press releases on your seminars, employee promotions, new folks, achievements, and especially each seminar you attend. Most NSA seminars will include a pro forma press release in your materials. Make sure the editor knows about any of your paid advertising in the local paper.
Attach a photo when possible.
Sponsoring a local team and community volunteer work also make material for a good press release. * Radio. The ROI is generally bad. The only time radio seems to work is during tax season and then you need to be in rural area with one station. If you have several offices within the station coverage, you might want to give it a try.
Make sure you have a written contract.
Radio sales people will often dicker over the price. * Cable TV. This media is not very expensive. For a few thousand dollars you can get a lot of spots. Some practitioners report good results during tax season.
Cable allows you to narrow your market geographically. Testimonials from clients seem to work well. Trying this approach feels good, but it is a gamble.
If you do RALs, cable ads may help you give the local storefront tax shops a run for their money. * Niches. Design separate brochures for restaurants, contractors, and independent car dealers. Using specialty paper, you can run off a couple of hundred on your copier or computer printer economically.
If you adopt a niche, keep up with the trade groups on the Internet. Keep current about their concerns, since your prospects will have the same. Offer to speak at local trade group meetings.
Push your unique understanding of the vocation. Niche marketing by line-of-business is an excellent strategy. * Credentials. If you have them, flaunt them. Few clients know what an EA is. Make sure the prospect knows that you have passed a rigorous, two-day IRS examination in taxation, undergone an IRS background check, and are required to take continuing professional education.
Most clients are hiring you to help with their tax issues so why not tell them you are the local expert. Prospects will invariably ask about your background during the first "sales" interview. Explain your ACAT credentials, and then tell them why your being an ABA is good for their business.
Credentials have the primary benefit of increasing the value in the price < value formula prospects use. Credentials justify your fee. Don't have a credential? Get one. * Newspaper Column. Local, weekly papers are your best bet. The daily papers are expensive. Seek out church and club newsletters. They are often hungry for copy and will run your column for free. Put your photo at the top of each column.
Do not expect overnight results.
Using a column as part of your plan is a longer-term project. Expect results after six to nine months. If you can afford a weekly column, that is best. The key with columns is to be consistent.
Columns are reliable, but slow producers of new clients. * Promotions. A wide range of marketing opportunities are available. You can donate a tax return to your local church raffle, or outfit a softball team, or sponsor a golf tournament, or be the treasurer of your local PTA.
Promotion costs vary widely.
Your marketing plan should include participation in various local events. Consider donating a month or two of write-up work to a charity auction. Offer your time and office for meetings of local groups.
Malls have annual events where you can rent a table to present your services. Sample fairs where local businesses donate different items are popular. At any public event, you should plan on a drawing for those who visit your booth.
At well-attended business events you can easily collect 400 business cards in a few hours. Turn those suspects into prospects. * Signs. "Tax" is the best single word on a sign if size is limited. The purpose of outside signs is to inform clients of what you do, not who you are.
The firm of Rodriguez & Smith should make sure that tax and accounting take up much of the sign face. A sign simply stating "Rodriguez & Smith" does not tell anyone what you are or what you do. Inside signs are very important and should be changed on a regular schedule.
Five by seven inch plastic picture frames should be on each desk. Use your word processor or graphics program to design a different sign each month. This can tie into your monthly theme. One month you can feature an insurance check-up, and the next month you might promote retirement plans.
This will keep your visitors aware of the many services you offer. A client who expresses interest in your desk sign should be converted to a billable appointment. * Collateral Materials. An attractive firm brochure is helpful. Be sure to focus on the benefits of your service.
Do not write much about the nuts and bolts of your work. Using specialty paper you can have a number of brochures that feature different service or niches. Add a client testimonial or tax horror story to provide credibility.
Quality is important.
Select the best papers if you are printing a small quantity. Make sure you carry two sets of sales material in your car trunk. Each person you visit should get a sample financial report, sample payroll journals, proposal, brochure, and business cards as a minimum.
Use your collateral marketing materials to differentiate your firm. Your best input for prospect marketing materials comes from clients. Make a couple of mockups and show them to clients.
Ask for their advice.
Ask, "What would you change?" Clients like to feel wanted and part of your business family. Listen carefully. * Business Cards. Passing out ten business cards a week is a good goal. When you are introduced, it is perfectly acceptable to offer a business card.
Make sure each person on your staff has his or her own cards. Your spouse and children should have cards to pass out. For a few dollars you can buy specialty card stock and print them out at your desk.
Offer your staff an incentive to bring in new clients. Their network is not any smaller than yours! Do not make it a token. If the average cost to acquire a new account is $100, then give them the $100.
Always leave your card with any tip.
Business cards are your cheapest form of advertising. Spread them around. How many cards did you pass out last week? Plan your marketing efforts. Follow up is the key to improving your closing percentage.
Carefully keep track of the responses and costs. Calculate your return on investment for each segment. ROI analysis is very helpful in planning next year's program.
The cost to acquire a new client is an important consideration. Concentrate on a steady effort throughout the year. Even a minimal effort will bring results if it is consistent.
One of the best ways to build your personal net worth is to increase the size of your practice. Prices for accounting firms are at an all time high. Increase your paycheck from year to year and build the value of your practice.
Unlock your firm's potential.
The key is persistent marketing.
Gene Cole is NSA's Membership Committee vice chair for 2001-2002; the previous year he chaired the Member Benefits Committee. Gene is a partner in an accounting and tax practice in Tampa, FL, and has written extensively on marketing and public relations. If you have a question, a selling tip you would like to share, or
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