PRACTICE MARKETING blog

Marketing does not have to take a back seat just because you are swamped during tax season. In fact, this is one of the best times to grow your practice. Your prospective clients are right now getting frustrated with their current practitioner because they are:

- Dealing with an inexperienced tax preparer — not you, a CPA; - Not having their calls returned from their current accountant; and - Not receiving the high-level service that you provide.

By following these three tips, marketing will be a natural extension of client service.
#1: Answer a Question With a Question

Your clients will naturally have accounting questions about their household income and/or business. They’ll ask about new write-offs, tax incentives and mundane bookkeeping issues. Of course, many clients don’t know what to ask.

As their trusted adviser, it is your responsibility to bring up insightful questions. Moreover, if they do ask a seemingly simple question, there’s probably more to it, as surely you’ve found out in the past. Instead of just answering their question, ask a follow-up, such as: “What prompted you to think of asking it now?”; “I’m sure there’s more behind that question.”; or “How would you answer that question for yourself?”

Such questions help to uncover, discover and reveal misgivings, misunderstandings, assumptions, myths, stigma and mistakes that would otherwise remain hidden under a shroud of embarrassment, blank stares, shrugs and absent-minded head-nodding. Of course, it’s easier and quicker to simply answer and move on to the next tax return. After all, you’re the financial doctor and you have a waiting room full of tax patients. Then again, how does it feel when your doctor dismisses your questions and your presence in mere minutes of his time?

In the age of blogs, newsletters and online group discussions, the answers your clients are seeking are out there. They may not be complete, thorough or correct, but your peers — who are willing to invest time educating your clients — are waiting with greener grass. More importantly, client retention is as important as new business.

So, take the time to peak under the hood by asking follow-up questions, which will lead you to more business and help avoid costly surprises.

Click here to read #2 & #3 ways to grow your practice this season on the AICPA 'CPA Insider' Newsletter website...

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I have been speaking about this for the past month... on Friday, Mark Bullock & I will be presenting a CLE seminar to the New York State Council for Divorce Mediation. We will be sharing many marketing techniques for up and coming divorce mediators. Many of them are practicing attorneys, and thus must comply with the attorney advertising codes of ethics.

March 12, 2010: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruling: New York’s lawyer advertising rules are unconstitutional http://www.law.com/jsp/nylj/PubArticleFriendlyNY.jsp?id=1202446174823&hbxlogin=1

HERE'S MY SUMMARY OF THEIR RULING:

• Actors can portray judges but not fictitious law firms
• Testimonials from current clients relating to pending matters are OK
• Attention-getting techniques unrelated to attorney competence are OK (except claims that cannot be measured/verified)
• Nicknames, Mottos, Trade Names, & Logos – even implying results – are OK

UPHELD – Moratorium on targeted advertising

Of course, the ABA professional responsibility Attorney Advertising disclaimers remain: For example, when using testimonials, etc., attorneys should use what I call “The Weightwatchers Disclaimer": Prior results do not imply future results.

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Many speakers hide behind their PowerPoint slides, I prefer not to use PPTs at all. Instead, I opt for a simple, interactive handout which serves as my notes while speaking and for them to remember. By keeping much of it blank, it forces participants to pay attention! Also, the act of writing reinforces memory (and keepsake value of my collateral).

Remember to ask questions: This puts the attention from what you're saying to what they're thinking. And what they're thinking should be what you're saying! PPT slides are often a crutch for co-dependence; it can be a catalyst for interaction. Also, they may not be plants, but it's great to interact with participants you know already (and know what they would say already). If you can't ask them questions, at least mention them. Everybody likes to be complimented from stage!

When I do 'Marketing with LinkedIn' seminars, I feel obliged to walk through a series of slides of {power} Points and Screenshots. (I don't rely on any supposed WiFi that may be wafting.) So, one of the greatest compliments I can hear - which I did hear again last week - was "wow, you really made that topic interesting!" Of course, that means 'Marketing with LinkedIn' sounds like an inherently boring topic. To me, it is not.

Within professional codes of ethics, attorneys and accountants can make great use of LinkedIn to (not share advice, but) network through their colleagues and clients. FINRA does allow financial advisors to use sites like LinkedIn, so long as every movement is archived (which can be done simply and inexpensively through 'social middleware.') Of course, the vast majority of broker-dealers and insurance agencies still prohibit any LinkedIn access. Those who understand the value of networking, and how to work within FINRA's compliance, can have a real competitive advantage; e-mail me to ask me how.

Below is a video presentation of my latest 'Marketing with Linkedin'. [Click play (the big picture will play a small video); pause it for a few seconds to enable the buffer to stream the video smoothly.] The screenshots have been updated for 2010; the slides are interlaced throughout the video. I have also uploaded the PPT below for your download. Feel free to share it with others; please leave the content (and my contact info) intact.

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At yesterday's 'New Marketing for Practicing Professionals' seminar yesterday (at the Nassau County chapter of the Society for Financial Service Professionals), I recounted how my client was exasperated at all the different parts of on-line marketing. I quickly mapped out the 3 on-line components necessary for any Branded Expert: newsletter <-> blog <-> status updates (with profiles). Here's how it looks:

I explain a bit of it in the seminar video.

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For the third year in a row, the American Bar Association is rating the bLAWg 100 as the Cover Story of their December 2009 issue. They have 9 categories of editor-picked blogs which you can now vote for: Click for the complete list. This is extremely significant for the legal profession; the ABA has mainstreamed the use of blogs as informational (and promotional) resources. Thus, there should be no excuse or hesitation by any lawyer to start a blog - especially if you have a newsletter. The ABA has strict codes of ethics how websites, blogs, and other promotional materials must be labeled. But as followed, the ABA not only condones blogs, but wants to promote yours (if it's good enough). So start now, and you can be among the dozen new blogs for 2010 (40 new bLAWgs made it for 2009).

I also commend the ABA for taking such a pro-active and progressive stance on blogging. As a premier professional association, I am sure much debate went into this new form of media and its potential consequence on the public. The Internet has brought on new complexity for the profession, like lawyer ratings; not all of them are so welcome as bLAWgging.

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You can click to read my latest marketing column for the AICPA newsletter, the CPA Insider:

‘Tis the season for greeting cards, thank you gifts and holiday party invitations. How to use these to market your practice to better client relationships and bring in better referrals. Unfortunately, the bounty of cards, gifts and parties can be overwhelming and exhausting. Thus, your impact can easily be diluted or lost. Here are a few marketing ideas to help make your cards, gifts and party participation more worthwhile.

I have received more positive response than negative, but I look forward to your questions & comments (post below). However, I did receive one nasty e-mail from a CPA (I've excluded her name). Here's a quote in context:

Christmas is not about buying gifts, attending or throwing parties, sending out Christmas cards, or trying to lubricate a client's ego or wallet to make a profit. The other religious celebrations during the month of December typically do not send cards to friends and loved ones to tell them they are thinking of them or wishing them a Merry Christmas and happy holiday season, they have their own traditions and practices they follow. As a result, I can only assume Mr. Rajan was speaking of Christmas when he mentioned the religious entanglement associated with cards in his article.

The religious entanglement of this response is rather ironic: That aside, SHE IS CORRECT on 2 points, 1) Christmas is a wonderful religious holiday and shouldn't be exploited for marketing/commercial purposes. 2) I was referring to our nation's religious diversity vs. only wishing a Merry Christmas. By all means, observers should send out Christmas cards for personal purposes... just not in marketing pursuit.

Of course, we know what happens when we assume. What do you think?

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My monthly marketing column for the AICPA newsletter, CPA Insider, premiered yesterday:
http://email.cpa2biz.com/cgi-bin15/DM/y/hesH0Rslgz0HDL0opf0EA

You survived September’s quarterlies, and this month’s extensions. As you begin to endure the flurry of compilations, audits, and review, don’t let your marketing lapse! The last quarter is the perfect time for CPAs to grow new business, for two main reasons:

• 1. In the next few weeks, you will naturally be speaking to your clients.
• 2. Financial review is end-of-year zeitgeist.

Everybody is thinking about your expertise — they want to hear from you. CLICK TO READ five marketing opportunities to seize the day, in bold. There are less than 10 weeks left in 2009...

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Neil Guilmette of The CPA Network invited me to present a 'cross/through marketing' seminar to his Roundtable of accountants. It was a full day of speakers on a variety of topics, pertaining to practice development. While my segment was close to an hour, I've included an excerpt as a podcast and the handout embedded below. It should be self explanatory; please ask me any questions.

T.R.E.E. Marketing

Listen Now:

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Last week, I was interviewed by Tim Healy of The Profit Express, an hour show on Long Island 88.7 FM WRHU. A 7 minute excerpt is on Youtube, and I just finished editing the full 42 minute interview:

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