Today's Features
MARKETING & SALES

The Secrets of Great Business Developers

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.

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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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MARKETING & SALES

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.

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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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LEADERSHIP

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
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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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OUTLOOK & ANALYSIS

Employee Retention Is Easier Than Attraction

four people seated around table

Five conclusions from a new report.

By CPA Trendlines Research

The accounting talent pipeline problem isn’t going away. It isn’t even improving.

But it isn’t hopeless.

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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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ABOUT US

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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PRICING, FEES & BILLING RATES

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

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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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CHARTS & GRAPHS

Payroll Leads Job Gains in Tax & Accounting Sector

line chart
Overall accounting profession employment

 

Everyone is earning more this month, and most downs are slight.

By Beth Bellor
CPA Trendlines Research

The tax and accounting profession is not a bad place for job seekers, it seems. A new analysis by CPA Trendlines shows a lot of up notes, including some in the double digits.

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New highs are coming in:

  • The accounting profession overall
  • Staff earnings
  • Payroll staff
  • Payroll staff earnings
  • Women overall and in CPA firms

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SPECIAL

Educators Can Benefit from New Generative AI Course

A teacher’s aide unlike any other?

By Rick Richardson
Technology This Week

Many people focus on the potential benefits of generative AI for kids when considering its application in the classroom. Still, teachers can gain as much, if not more, from the technology. Google and MIT Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education (RAISE) have launched a free Google Generative AI Educators course to assist middle and high school educators in utilizing generative AI tools to improve their workflow and their students’ learning environment.

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The self-paced, two-hour course is designed to help educators leverage generative AI to save time on routine tasks. From email composing to adapting content for various reading levels, creating innovative evaluations and organizing activities around students’ interests, generative AI can streamline these processes, freeing up valuable time for educators.

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