TaxCoach Briefs:    July 3, 2008

Volume 3, Number 27

***** Attention All-Stars *****: Our next teleseminar will be Tuesday, July 8, at 4PM EDT. Our topic will be structuring fees, with a special emphasis on monthly retainer fees. Specifically, we'll discuss pros and cons of monthly retainers; services to include in your package (including the "secret" to moving clients to the highest level); and how to present new fee structures to current clients. We'll spend most of the call masterminding, so this is one you won't want to miss!

TaxCoach Briefs archives.

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MARKETING MINUTE (EAL)
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"I WANT TO THINK IT OVER"

Don't you just love it when prospective clients tell you "I want to think it over"? (If you've never heard that, please switch lives with me!)

You can spend hours schmoozing prospects, getting them in the door, analyzing their taxes and finances, and presenting the "perfect" proposal that you know is the right move for them -- only to hear them say "I want to think it over."

Keith and I like to think that TaxCoach gives you a system for presenting your value so convincingly that clients don't have to think it over. But some people need more convincing. And some people just don't like to make decisions. They want to think it over.

Now what do you do?

When prospects tell you they want to think it over, it may be because they have a real objection to your proposal. Or it may just be a stall.

Here's a strategy that moves them towards a decision. Ask them why they need to think it over, in a way that identifies what the problem really is.

Let's say I've proposed to prepare a tax plan for a $1,200 fee:

Client: I want to think it over.

Me: When clients tell me they want to think it over, they're usually worried about one of two things. Either they don't think they can afford the fee, or they aren't convinved that I can save them what I'm projecting. Can I ask which of these you're worried about?

Now, the client has four choices:

Regardless of which path he takes, we've identified why he wants to think it over, and moved closer to a decision.

As I said earlier, some clients don't like to make decisions. And some people just don't like saying "no." If they're stalling, at least you'll know it, and you can decide how much effort you want to invest in pursuing them.

You can try to suggest a deadline for making a decision. ("Why don't I call you on Friday for your answer?")

Or you can try to push him off the fence now. I might say something like this:

I think we've got a great solution that will save you far more in taxes than we're asking you to invest. But some people just don't like to say "no." If you're really not interested, that's fine -- I'd rather you tell me now so I don't waste your time following up.

You just might find that "pushing them away" like that actually pulls them in. Or you'll save time you would have wasted following up a lost cause.

Either way, you'll be past the dreaded "I want to think it over" and on your way to closing this client or the next one.

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SUBSCRIBER Q & A (EAL)
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We've gotten a couple of questions in the last week from potential members who are "thinking it over." Fortunately, they came directly to us without forcing us to smoke out their objections! Here are their questions:

Q: My office is located in a rural town just outside of [a struggling Indiana city]. I have problems believing that I can garner the kinds of fees that TaxCoach is promising me based on my local economy with most of its major manufacturers moving out of the country, and lots of tiny mom-and-pop businesses forming. The medium income is about $25,000.

I grew up in [a bigger midwestern city] and I can see how you can charge the fees that you have mentioned in your advertising. You have a much larger client base. I can't see CPAs in small, rural towns able to do so. So, apparently I'm not seeing something about TaxCoach that is appealing to me to join. Please set me straight as I do want to grow my business and don't want to pass up a great opportunity.

A: We thank you for your question on using TaxCoach in a small town. And so does your fellow Hoosier John Cougar Mellencamp!

I agree that you’re less likely to charge $1,500 – 5,000 tax planning fees in a small town than in a bigger city – especially when manufacturers are moving out and the median income is low.

Having said that, you’ll certainly sell more tax-planning engagements, even at lower fees, with a tool like TaxCoach that gives your client a tangible deliverable to emphasize the savings you create.

Even if you choose not to charge separately for up-front tax-planning engagements, you’ll find TaxCoach gives you an edge competing for bread-and-butter clients. In a shrinking economy, you and your competitors face a smaller pool of prospective clients – and their first move may be to cut fees! You need an edge to stand out from those competitors, one that lets you command the fees you’re worth. TaxCoach gives you that edge. Now you can begin an engagement with a formal tax plan and give them a tangible deliverable that your competitors can’t give them.

We like to boast about what our subscribers have accomplished with TaxCoach. But we don’t mean to imply that you have to charge $5,000 fees to get value out of the system. You can use it to attract new clients, keep the ones you have, and easily justify the investment in a subscription even if you never actually “sell” a plan.

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SUBSCRIBER Q & A (EAL)
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Q: Love reading the stories about how accountants turn their practices around and are making more money than they dreamed of. I am closing my practice, I lost focus after three years of moving against the marketing mountain and have to go back to full time employment if anyone will take me after three years out of employment.

Any suggestions for starting small again at home to save on the heavy overhead and building up again over time. The work thing is not looking very appealing right now.

A: Thanks for your kind words about the TaxCoach Briefs and your question on “starting over.” Most of us reading these Briefs work for ourselves, and Keith and I agree that after three years here at TaxCoach, we're both flat-out unemployable.

Our subscribers generally fall into three groups: 1) those looking to quickly ramp up a new practice; 2) those looking to reinforce their value to their existing clientele; and 3) those looking to reinvent their practices – usually by shedding their lower-value clients in favor of higher-fee clients or adding financial planning services. It sounds as if you’d fit into the first or third of those groups.

Having said that, we recommend that new subscribers focus on three steps: 1) defining a target MARKET of prospective high-fee clients to serve; 2) crafting a benefit-oriented MESSAGE for that market (usually based on saving taxes, and emphasizing that your role is to sell clients “dollars at a discount”); and then finding the most effective MEDIA to deliver that MESSAGE to your chosen MARKET.

I don’t know enough about your business to know why you haven’t yet found success. But I would expect you have at least some high-value clients that you like working with, and around whom you can build a business. What can you do to identify what those clients have in common? And once you identify what they have in common, what can you do to reach new clients just like them?

We have several TaxCoach subscribers who operate successful practices out of their homes. They focus on a smaller number of higher-fee clients, and make no apologies for the home office. They tend to position themselves as “boutique” practices, and make the home office a part of the marketing approach. High-value clients generally respect a provider who makes a conscious business decision to operate out of a home – and they don’t want to mix in a waiting room with EIC clients anyway. The "pitch" goes like this:

“I focus on developing close relationships with a small group of high-value clients. I actually invite them into my home for appointments, and I expect them to be willing to invite me into their homes as well.”

The concept here is simple – it’s easier to find a small number of clients willing to pay the necessary fees than to find a larger group of clients. And it’s NOT twice as hard to find a $2,000 client as a $1,000 client. The trick is to position yourself as offering some “hook” that higher-value client is willing to pay you for. We’ve found that TaxCoach can be exactly the hook you need.

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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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