TaxCoach Briefs:    April 3, 2008

Volume 3, Number 14

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131 CLIENTS IN 6 MONTHS
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Congratulations to All-Star subscriber Pam Burns. Pam opened her new office in Gainesville, Florida on October 1, and has landed 131 new clients (so far) in just six months. We're pleased that TaxCoach's mix of planning and marketing tools helped get her there. For more information, visit www.taxcoachsoftware.com.

TaxCoach Briefs archives . . .

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MARKETING MINUTE (EAL)
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WHY CLIENTS NEED YOU

Those of you who live in the New York area can't have missed New York magazine's cover last week. Elliot Spitzer, standing in a conservative blue suit, conservative white shirt and conservative red tie. A bold red arrow pointing at his pants with the single word "Brain" in the caption.

If you looked past the mildly-offensive-yet-still-hysterical cover, you may have seen a two-page spread, titled Taxes, Three Ways, asking which tax preparer gives the best return: online software, a national chain, or a full-service CPA.

Author Jennifer Pellet shadowed "Scott," a freelance photographer, and his wife "Zoe," a government lawyer, as they prepared their taxes with "The Cheap, Do-It-Yourself Time Sucker" (TurboTax), "The Dependable Chain" (H&R Block), and "The Pricey, Fast, Confidence-Inspiring Firm" (Amper, Politziner & Mattia, CPAs). (Click here for the full article.)

Here was the magazine's bottom line:

Why was the client so much happier with the CPA? She took a proactive look at Scott and Zoe's return, writing off the difference between what they were deducting in health insurance as a couple and what they should have deducted for the self-employed husband. That one move dropped their taxable income, and even dropped their AGI low enough to qualify their Roth IRA contributions for the 10% Saver's Credit.

Sure, her fee was $605 more than Block's. But her value to the client was $1,178 more. And isn't value what we really want to sell?

It frustrates me no end when subscribers tell me they guesstimate what H&R Block would charge for a return, then undercut it by whatever they think is necessary to win the business. That's just the wrong way to compete.

You don't have to offer your clients a swanky Manhattan office. If you can give them training, experience, and a proactive attitude that your competitors can't match -- and show clients exactly how your advantages put more money in their pocket -- you can charge premium fees and make them stick. Even the magazine agrees that the "pricy" firm wins.

You don't offer your clients the same relationship as your competitors. So why limit yourself to their fees? Clients who try to compare your fees with your competitors need to understand it's not a fair fight -- and the advantage lies with you.

This Sunday, I'll be attending the last day of marketing guru Dan Kennedy's "SuperConference" in Nashville. We'll spend the entire day on pricing. Dan's agenda includes pricing breakthrough lessons from nationally-recognized entreprenuers and companies, strategies for presenting prices that make actual price irrelevant, and using "micro-targeting" to attract clients willing to pay 500%-5000% more than your competitors' prices.

I'll be summarizing those lessons for you here in next week's Briefs, and presenting them in detail at the upcoming "TaxCoach Spring Training 2008" boot camp this June. Until then, remember that your best clients need you for the value you deliver -- and don't be afraid to charge them for it!

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TAXCOACH "SPRING TRAINING" (EAL)
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EARLY REGISTRATION DEADLINE EXTENDED

We're pleased to announce that we've mailed invitations for the "TaxCoach Spring Training 2008" boot camp here in Cincinnati this coming June 20-22.

Keith and I are delighted with the response so far. The group includes a diverse mix of new subscribers and familiar faces, with both growing and established practices, in tax, accounting, and financial planning.

However, we were late getting the invitation out the door, which left little time to take advantage of the $99 "Early Bird bribe."

So we've decided to extend that "Bribe" another week -- through Monday, April 7.

If cash flow is a concern, you can break your tuition into three installments. And no payments are due until after April 15. So there's no reason to wait -- get your registration in now!

Having said that-- why should you want to join your colleagues who have already registered?

Spring Training is a first-ever opportunity to spend a full weekend networking with TaxCoach users from across the country, working "on" your business instead of "in" it.

Here are just a few of the topics we'll be presenting:

Act fast to take advantage of the "Early Bird bribe." If you're not already a TaxCoach subscriber, or you haven't yet received your invitation, you'll find complete details and an "Early Bird" registration form here:

TaxCoach Spring Training 2008

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NEW TOOL (SORT OF) (KAV)
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MUCH ADO ABOUT VERY LITTLE

Ed and I crossed a watershed a few months ago. We acquired our first TaxCoach subscriber in another country!

I have to confess this is something we hadn't really expected. After all, TaxCoach's planning software is based on the US tax code. We've had an inquiry or two from folks in Canada and even in the UK, but we've had to tell them thanks, but it's for US taxpayers only.

But it so happens that Carla -- and we'll call her that because it isn't her name -- is an attorney living in Rome, who does US taxes for American expatriates. So it doesn't matter that we're not ImpostaAllenatore; she's a New Jersey gal and TaxCoach will do just fine.

"What does this have to do with me?" you might be asking. OK, probably not much, but maybe something. Either way it's a fun story.

The unexpected part, you see, comes with the planner's address. "It's making me choose a state on the Planner Info screen," Carla wrote. "But I don't practice in the US!"

Mamma mia! Hadn't thought of that. With clients, it's important that TaxCoach know their state, for the state supplement pages, etc.. But for the planner -- not so much.

So, we've just made an update that will let you save planner information with a blank state. The system will suppress the comma also, both on the screen and in the tax plan reports. Sounds simple, but it's pretty far-reaching.

Now, the good news is that this feature isn't limited to those of you with those beautiful, flowing European addresses. It's also useful for residents of big cities who feel their hometown needs no further qualification. "New Yawk, baybee!" "Beverly Hills 90210." Or if you're old enough to remember Let's Make a Deal, the Spiegel Catalog's address was "Chicago 60619."

It also may be a preference for those of us from lesser metropolises who feel indignant when seemingly educated people don't know what state our city is in. Or, haven't heard of it! And here's the story . . .

Many years ago I had a consulting and software partnership with some ex-Price Waterhouse pals in Denver. They moved to Denver to serve our primary client. But I had kids and roots in Cincinnati, so I commuted. And to Stapleton Airport, not even DIA! I date myself.

Anyway, to avoid constantly renting a car, I leased a Ford Explorer to keep out there. It also served as a conveniently deductible ski bus, but that's an even longer story.

Because my tax home was in Cincinnati, I titled it in Ohio. As I was moving into an apartment that happened to be near the Aurora campus of U of C, a young lady on an upper balcony saw the truck and called down, "Hi! What state are your license plates?"

I called back up to her, "Hi! Ohio!"

"Oh!" she said, in a cordial but slightly perplexed tone, suggesting she hadn't really considered that people actually lived in all those states she learned about in 4th grade. "So like, where ya from?" she asked, cheerily.

"Cincinnati," I replied, in that sort of non-committal, factual tone that we midwesterners use to express both pride and an understanding that we are considered "flyover territory" by our countrymen living nearer oceans and ski slopes.

She wrinkled her brow in that innocent, late-teen way, and said, "Like, where's that?"

Pregnant pause. Wry, paternal smile. "O-HI-O," I explained, patiently.

"Oh!" she said, with an implied, "I get it!"

"So what's your major?" I asked, recalling the college protocol for introductions.

Her answer? "Education!"

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We're happy to answer your questions on TaxCoach content, features, marketing, or general taxation. While we give first priority to our TaxCoach All-Stars, we work to answer all questions. For best response, email support@taxcoachsoftware.com. If we can't answer immediately, or we think the answer will be useful to all of our subscribers, we'll publish it (anonymously) here in the 'Subscriber Q & A' section of TaxCoach Briefs.

Regards,

Ed Lyon
Keith VandeStadt

www.taxcoachsoftware.com
(513) 321-2820

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