TaxCoach Briefs:    April 24, 2008

Volume 3, Number 17

• Marketing Minute: Sweat the Details
• Worth Visiting: Clinton and Obama Online
• Subscriber Event: Take Me Out to the Ball Game
• TaxCoach "Spring Training": Boot Camp Update
• Subscriber Q & A: Entering Plan Data

****Attention All-Stars****: The April 22 teleseminar is posted online at the All-Stars page. You'll also find links to Jeff Harmon's "Business Owner Mentality" video promotion, Jeff's site, and Tom Quigley's "Total Benefits" site and TPA site.

****Attention TaxCoach Subscribers****: Keep an eye on your mailbox for the TaxCoach Lineup, our new monthly newsletter. Your first issue should arrive shortly. Make sure your address is up to date in TaxCoach!

=====================================================
MARKETING MINUTE (EAL)
=====================================================

SWEAT THE DETAILS

We've talked before about the "marketing triangle" that defines all our marketing efforts. What market are you trying to reach? What message do you give them to win their business? And what media do you use to deliver your message to your market?

Dan Kennedy says that "message to market match" is the key to making your marketing work. How close can you tailor your message to your particular market? Can you use market-specific language or jargon in your copy? Can you offer to solve a problem unique to that market to demonstrate your affinity?

Yesterday afternoon I talked with All-Star subscriber Bill Zumwalt in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (My dad grew up in Oklahoma City -- I was 15 before I realized he wasn't an immigrant.) We were discussing how he's worked to tailor a message for Tulsa-area real estate agents:

• He started online with a realtor-specific web page with a realtor-specific domain name. This lets him craft a realtor-specific message. (This sort of online segmentation is cheaper and easier than you might think. You can register domain names for $10 or less per year, and point them to market-specific pages on a single web site. I can't even remember how many different domain names Keith and I use to promote TaxCoach.)
• He doesn't ask agents who visit his site to call him for the usual lame "free consultation." He invites them in for a realtor-oriented "1040 Appraisal." Appraisals are a crucial part of a realtor's business, so branding the "consultation" as an "appraisal" will score points with that market.
• He's compliled a list of the area's top several hundred realtors for direct-mail marketing.
• He's joined the Greater Tulsa Association of Realtors as an associate member. As far as we know, he's the only accountant who's done so.
• He's even planning to use breast-cancer awareness commemorative stamps for his direct mail. His rationale is that many succesful agents are women, and they'll appreciate the subtle nod to one of their big healthcare concerns. (We think most men won't even notice -- and if they do, they certainly won't be offended!)

I know firsthand that that sort of attention to detail pays off with target markets. I've done over 100 seminars in 30 states for real estate agents, and I've discovered that I sell more of my Instant Tax Relief system when I wear pink shirts. My wife says it's because pink sets off my skin tone -- and because chicks dig guys with confidence to wear pink. It makes perfect sense that a largely female audience appreciates a speaker who wears a more traditionally feminine color.

(Of course, I don't always wear pink when I speak. I delivered a similar presentation to a group of auto-repair shop owners last year, and decided to wear a blue shirt. I looked for one with an embroidered patch saying "Ed" on it, but couldn't find one in my closet!)

Here's the lesson. Details matter. If you're going to target a specific market, take the time and effort to understand their specific concerns, challenges and hot buttons. It's well worth the effort in developing a rapport with your chosen market.

Have you "sweated the details" to target specific markets? Tell us how, and we'll enter you to win a free month of TaxCoach!

=====================================================
WORTH VISITING (EAL)
=====================================================

CLINTON AND OBAMA ONLINE

Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama continue to slug it out for the Democratic presidential nomination. They're making obvious history as the first woman and African-American with legitimate White House prospects. But they're making less-obvious history for their fundraising prowess. Obama reports raising $40 million in March alone, mainly from small donors. And while Hillary lags behind, she claims to have raised $10 million in just 30 hours following the merciful end of the Pennsylvania primary.

Both candidates have harnessed the power of the internet to build their war chests. So I thought it would be worth visiting their web sites at www.hillaryclinton.com and www.barackobama.com to see what they have in common.

Both sites are as attractive and professionally-designed as you would expect. Both sites offer links to various news and information resources. And both offer multiple calls to action, including requests to make phone calls, find campaign events. Both sites pack a lot of material into a small amount of screen real estate.

Here's what else they both have in common. They both display email signup boxes prominently in the upper-right corner. And they both display big red "Donate" buttons immediately beneath those email signup boxes. So clearly, building a list and generating cash are each site's primary goal.

Most of us have web sites to promote our practices. But many of us try to do too much with our sites. Take a lesson from the Democratic candidates. Decide what you most want to accomplish with your site, and make sure you focus your efforts there.

=====================================================
SUBSCRIBER EVENT (EAL)
=====================================================

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME

Wednesday, May 7, Keith and I are closing the office early to watch the Reds play the Cubs at Great American Ball Park here in Cincinnati. It's a Business Day Special, with the first pitch at 12:35 PM. And we're inviting all of you to join us. We'll even spring for the tickets! (Beer and hot dogs are on you.)

Since we first invited you to join us last week, the Reds have dropped to 9-14 on the season, in last place, 7 games behind the division-leading Cubs. But Junior's HR total remains at 597, making it even more likely that we'll see his record-making 600th.

RSVP at 513/321-2820 or support@taxcoachsoftware.com by Friday, May 2, to guarantee a seat. We'll look forward to seeing you at the ball game!

=====================================================
TAXCOACH "SPRING TRAINING" (KAV)
=====================================================

BOOT CAMP UPDATE!

Registrations continue to arrive for the first-ever "TaxCoach Spring Training 2008" boot camp here in Cincinnati this June 20-22. We've confirmed that Tom Quigley will be joining us to present his "Total Benefits" strategy for showing your clients who sponsor group health benefits how to cut those costs by 20% or more without cutting benefits.

Subscribers, you'll receive an updated invitation with your first TaxCoach Lineup. If you're not a subscriber, click here to learn more about the Boot Camp.

=====================================================
SUBSCRIBER Q & A (KAV)
=====================================================

Q: When I open up the Client Data Questionnaire, I can't enter anything into it. How do I get client data into the system?

A: Thanks for writing. Actually the Client Data Questionnaire is a PDF, just meant as an interview guide for your first conversation with a tax planning client or prospect. You'd use this to capture information in a face-to-face interview, or, you might have your staff complete the basics for current tax prep clients, before you begin.

You enter client data into the TaxCoach system by clicking on the green 'Add A Client' button, which is below the 'Client Data Questionnnaire' button, on the Home Page once you sign into TaxCoach.

The 'Add A Client' button starts you out on the Client Contact Info screen. From there it's virtually a 1:1 transfer of data from the Client Data Questionnaire into the TaxCoach system.

The detail screens are all laid out on tabs, and you simply work the tabs from left to right. Keying in data for a new client will take no more than 5 minutes. Afterward, the last tab you encounter takes you to the Reports screem, where the system will make the first cut at selecting appropriate strategy modules for the new client. From there you can produce the detail Tax Plan Report and Summary Report specific for this client -- as well as the Outlook Letter, later on.

If you would like a "turnaround" version of the data questionnaire, to ask certain clients to complete for themselves, you'll find a copy in the Playbook. Several subscribers have asked for this, and we were happy to provide one several months ago. However, we counsel you to resist the urge to automate the process and have the clients do too much work on their own. The goal of TaxCoach is to increase your value to your clients, so you want to work through this information with them first-hand as much as possible. Show them who they can trust to guide them!

=====================================================

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,

www.taxcoachsoftware.com
(513) 321-2820

TaxCoach Briefs Archives...
TaxCoach All-Stars
TaxCoach Cost Segregation