TaxCoach Briefs:    May 29, 2008

Volume 3, Number 22

Summer is almost here, and that means your clients' children and grandchildren will be out of school. That's usually more fun for the kids than the parents -- but you can be a hero if you show your self-employed clients how to hire those kids! Hiring family lets clients effectively deduct the private and parochial schools, college tuition, summer camps, and even weddings they finance with those wages. TaxCoach shows clients how and includes a turnkey Implementation Guide.

TaxCoach Briefs archives.

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MARKETING MINUTE (EAL)
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COMIC BOOK SUPER HERO

Most of you reading this are sole practitioners. You may have staff accountants and support people working for you, but you represent yourself as the "go to" guy or gal to your clients.

Now think about what you have to offer those clients. You may offer tax planning and preparation, bookkeeping and accounting services, payroll processing, business consulting, or financial planning. Are you the only provider in your area who offers those services? Probably not. So how can you make your services unique -- or at least distinctive enough to give your clients a reason to choose you over your competitors?

Clients want more than just services. They want to do business with people they like and trust. So offer them more than just services. Offer them a relationship with your genuine self. You'll attract them faster and more effectively than if you present yourself as "just another accountant" or "just another financial planner." You'll keep their business longer than if you leave the door open to competitors more willing to show their personal side. And you'll probably enjoy your relationships with your clients more yourself.

Even the biggest companies can put human faces on their products and services. Think Lee Iacocca, singlehandedly saving Chrysler from bankruptcy. Or Dave Thomas, genially serving up Wendy's hamburgers. Over time, these CEOs made themselves bona fide celebrities.

And even real celebrities sometimes go so far as to create "roles" for themselves to play. Years ago, I guested on comedienne Roseanne Barr's short-lived talk-show. (That's when I officially became "the funniest tax guy in America.") You may think of her as a screeching loudmouth. But I can tell you, just from the conversation we had before taping my appearance, that she's a very sharp lady, and well aware of the reputation she's deliberately created for herself.

Donald Trump has gone overboard with this approach (as he goes overboard with everything else in his life!) He's created a comic book character -- a cocky, controversial mogul named Donald Trump -- and he's reveling in the role. Those of us who understand what he's done love him for it; those of us who miss it tend to detest him. He embraces the controversy, knowing it just makes him even more prominent. And now, like Midas, he has a golden touch. All he has to do is attach his name to a project, and it's instantly more valuable than it would be without him. (What's not to like about that?)

Keith and I aren't aiming for Trump-sized reputations. But we do work hard to present ourselves as our real selves, not cogs in some nameless faceless corporation. That's why we write about ourselves and our families here in these Briefs and our new monthly Lineup. We really are "Ed and Keith at TaxCoach Software," just like our emails say.

We're not Thomson, Intuit, RIA, or the bulk of the vendors you deal with in your practice. You've rewarded us with loyalty those bigger companies don't enjoy. And you can create the same sort of persona to build relationships with your clients.

You probably don't want to play a comic book super hero -- even if you do have superhuman tax-saving powers. (And what would you embroider on the front of your spandex super-uniform? A pen? An adding machine? An abacus?)

But you can -- and should -- give your prospects and clients a real personality to bond with. Don't just offer them financial services to build business relationships. Give them human connections to build personal relationships, and you'll both profit from the business you do.

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NEW TEAMMATE (EAL)
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WELCOME CATHERINE CHIARA

For three years now, Keith and I have been the public face of TaxCoach. But we've never done it on our own. Among others, Jon Keel has been a friend and mentor from the start. (You'll see why when you see his presentation at the upcoming Spring Training 2008 Boot Camp.) Melissa Atchley, our graphic designer, gave the system and site their look and feel. And Darren Williamson has been Keith's technical guru as he has developed the system.

Now we're pleased to welcome Catherine Chiara as our new Manager of Subscriber Services. And since relationship and personality are such big parts of what we offer, I wanted to take a few minutes to tell you a little bit about her.

Catherine was born here in Cincinnati, the youngest of four girls, and grew up right around the corner from Keith's wife Barri. She finished high school here in Cincinnati, then moved to Southern California briefly before returning to the Queen City. Keith and I were impressed with her administrative, sales, and customer-service skills, and we felt comfortable trusting her with our subscribers.

Catherine's real passion is painting. She started early, while still in kindergarten, with a Sherwood Elementary art exhibit. Since then, she has created several series of paintings, including a surreal series titled "Another World," "Boats on the Bayou of Lake Ponchartrain," "Baskets of Charleston," a series of baseball players (which of course appeals to us at TaxCoach), and a series of Cincinnati landmarks. She has artwork in the collection of McGraw Hill in New York City, and she regularly exhibits at the Pendleton Arts Center here in Cincinnati. You can see her work yourself at http://catherinechiara.mosaicglobe.com.

You'll enjoy talking to Catherine when you call in, and Keith and I are pleased to welcome her aboard.

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TAXCOACH "SPRING TRAINING" (KAV)
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BOOT CAMP DRAWS NEAR

Ed and I are spending more and more of our time preparing for the upcoming TaxCoach "Spring Training 2008." We're ordering "swag" for attendees (not quite as nice as the Oscar goodie bags the Hollywood stars get, but still pretty good), arranging the Saturday night All-Stars banquet just off downtown Cincinnati's signature Fountain Square, and finalizing the agenda.

We've often wondered which of you would travel furthest to attend. We thought for a while it would be Dominique Molina, from San Diego. But we learned just this week that Ron Morgan and his assistant will be flying in all the way from Wasilla, AK -- 50 miles north of Anchorage. That's a flattering vote of confidence in our ability to grow a business!

We don't have a formal deadline for registering. (We'd rather hear from you at the last minute than see you miss the event.) But there is a June 1 deadline for room reservations. The special room rate, which includes breakfast, will still be available after June 1 -- but only if space is available.

Subscribers, you should have received two mailed invitations, one in late March and one with your first TaxCoach Lineup. If you're not a subscriber, or you don't have a copy handy, click here to learn more about the Boot Camp.

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SUBSCRIBER Q & A (KAV)
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Q: Why are gas prices so high?

Just kidding . . . here's my real question:

I have the registered trademark symbol and some quotation marks in my TaxCoach "Bio Sketch." When the tax report prints out, it replaces those symbols with gibberish. Just wondering if you could take a look at it or tell me how to fix it. Thanks!

A: Easy to fix. The funky characters come from cutting and pasting text from MS Word or another word processor into the Bio Sketch block. Bio Sketch is a "plain text" box, whereas the text coming out of a word processor is formatted. HTML (standard browser language, which compiles the actual TaxCoach report before rendering it in PDF) doesn't always recognize those formatted characters in the same way.

For apostrophes and quotation marks, all you have to do is locate the character in the text box that corresponds to the "funky" character in the formatted report, delete it, and type it in again. It will now be in "plain text."

For symbols, you can put the HTML code right in your text, as follows. Make sure you include both the ampersand and the semi-colon:

Good to hear from you. Let us know if that doesn't fix it for you!

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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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