TaxCoach Briefs:    October 2, 2008

Volume 3, Number 39

*****Attention All-Stars and Hall of Famers***** Our next teleseminar will be Tuesday, October 14, at 4PM ET.

Keith and I are long-time fans of Robert Cialdini, author of the classic Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. He's just released a followup, called Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive. It’s a series of 3-5 page lessons, beginning with a scientific survey or study then applying that lesson to business or everyday life. We’ll be focusing the call on those strategies most relevant for us:

Everyone on the call gets a free copy of the book. So don't miss it!

TaxCoach Briefs archives.

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

YOUR REAL BUSINESS

For several weeks now, Keith and I have discussed the series of PowerUser Roundtables we're hosting that kick off next week in California. Registrations are running strong, and we've seen a couple of patterns that have me thinking about our real business at TaxCoach -- with important lessons for your business too. Specifically, we're seeing relationships we've built over time bear fruit for us -- in a way that reminds me how important your relationships with clients are for you.

This June we hosted our first live event, the Spring Training 2008 boot camp. We had several goals in mind. Yes, we wanted to make money. Yes, we wanted to test-market our the new Hall of Fame "Done for You" program. But most importantly, we wanted a new way to build our relationship with you, as well as for you to build relationships with each other.

I've talked with hundreds of you individually, in new subscriber consultations and in person as I've traveled across the country for seminars and trade shows. Keith and I have enjoyed speaking with many of you more regularly in the All-Stars program. But nothing builds real relationships better than face-to-face contact and time spent together pursuing mutual goals.

Conventional wisdom suggested we should expect to draw between 5% and 20% of our members to the boot camp. We ended up with just shy of 10% -- not bad, considering we spent less than $2,000 to promote it. (I know one info-marketer who's spending over $100,000 to draw 100+ to his upcoming boot camp -- and who spent $40,000 to promote a free customer appreciation event this summer!) At the time, Keith and I thought we were succeeding with the "low-hanging fruit." But Roundtable signups have got me thinking otherwise.

We realized even before Spring Training ended that there was a real hunger for "nuts and bolts" TaxCoach training. We conceived the Roundtables in the weeks immediately following Spring Training, knowing we would have to act fast to host them before the upcoming holidays and start of the 2009 tax season sucked up all of your time.

The first surprise has been how many boot camp alumni have signed up. Nearly half of those who attended Spring Training will also attend a Roundtable -- knowing full well how much overlap there will be! That tells me they're not just "low-hanging fruit." It tells me they're committed to building their businesses, investing time and energy in search of even slight edges to set themselves apart from "the pack."

Pam Burns is a great example. She's the member who launched her new practice in Gainesville last October 1st with zero local clients -- then brought in nearly 300 by April 15. Pam joined the All-Stars program last August and has participated reliably in the teleseminars. She's brought us in to fine-tune her written marketing materials and local television campaign. And she and her assistant Tina joined us at Spring Training this June.

Pam is a real TaxCoach success. Truthfully, if Keith or I got hit by a bus, she could join the survivor "on stage" at the meeting and, while you wouldn't get the same presentation we've planned, you'd be just as satisfied with your $397 investment. Yet she sees the value in attending the Roundtable and honing her skills.

Of course, relationships work both ways. Pam's opening her new office in Gainesville the night before the Roundtable and she's invited us to attend. It means arriving in Tampa a little earlier and spending an extra three hours in a rental car getting to Gainesville and back. But we both immediately said "yes," and we're looking forward to seeing her new "crib."

Here's the lesson for us. We've delivered value in the past -- enough that our boot camp alumni trust us to deliver value at the Roundtable.

What's the lesson for you? Deliver value to your clients, nurture your relationships with them, and they'll trust you to deliver value when you lead them somewhere new.

The second surprise has been how many of you are willing to travel for a one-day event. It's common wisdom in the information marketing business that one-day events draw only from local markets. So Keith and I fed your zip codes into Microsoft MapPoint, and found places within driving distance of as many of you as we could.

We originally planned to host four roundtables: one in California (north or south), one in Chicago, one in Newark, and one in Tampa. But we figured as long as we were flying all the way to California, we might as well hit both locations. And the eastern seaboard "BosNYWash" corridor includes enough members to host two events. So we wound up scheduling a full six-pack.

And what have we found?

Well, we're hosting the Chicago Roundtable at the Metropolitan Club on the 67th floor of the Sears Tower. We expected to see the "usual suspects" from Chicagoland. (Given Chicago's mob hisory, the "usual suspects" seemed the best terminology.) But we'll also see boot camp alumni from Cleveland, Toledo, St. Louis, and Oklahoma City!

We're hosting the Tampa Roundtable at the Centre Club on the top floor of the Urban Centre complex. We'll see familiar faces from the surrounding area. But we'll also welcome new faces from Texas, Arkansas, Indiana, and South Portland, Maine!

Bottom line for us: we're pleased and flattered that we really are building the relationships we set out to build. And those relationships will sustain our business more reliably than any tax-planning tool, teleseminar, or "Done for You" service ever can.

Bottom line for you: you're in the business of building relationships too. We give you tools and templates to establish your value to your clients. But your real goal should be to translate that value into relationships. Ultimately those relationships will sustain your business more reliably than any specific tax savings ever will.

=====================================================
MEMBER EVENT (EAL)
=====================================================

"POWER USER" ROUNDTABLES

The first "PowerUser" Roundtables are less than a week away. Keith and I have booked flights, reserved hotel rooms (Hampton Inns so far-- we're not charging you enough to put ourselves up at the Ritz-Carlton) and told our wives we sure are sorry we won't be able to cart kids to soccer games, dance practices, or choir rehearsals for much of the next month. (Keith says his wife Barri actually misses those halcyon days when he was on the road for weeks on end -- but they don't have a 3-year-old still in pull-ups or a 16-year-old who just failed her driving test!)

More than 10% of you have already registered. And those are the 10% of you that will enjoy the most success from your TaxCoach membership. But there's still room for at least a couple more at each location.

As I said in this week's Marketing Minute, we picked locations within driving distance for as many of you as we could. But don't be afraid to travel if you have to. There's still time to book advance-fare flights to the Newark, Baltimore, and Tampa events. We already have members from Texas, Arkansas, Indiana, and Maine who think it's worth their effort to travel to Tampa. Shouldn't it be worth your effort too?

Here are the locations and dates once more:

Are you serious about making 2009 your best season ever?

Stop and think about it. Really. Close your eyes for a moment and ask yourself if you're serious about making 2009 your best year ever.

If not, that's OK. Our feelings won't be hurt. Keep taking advantage of all the TaxCoach tools and strategies you're currently using, and we'll be here when you're ready for more.

But if the answer is "yes" -- if you really are ready to grow your skills, grow your value to your clients, and grow your business, then this shouldn't be much of a decision at all.

Seats really are limited to the members who fit around the table. So don't wait. Click here for a detailed agenda and register now!

=====================================================
DID YOU KNOW THAT TAXCOACH...
=====================================================

...includes 18 separate Implementation Guides, outlining the steps necessary to put the more complex strategies into place? There are also Document Templates associated with these guides where applicable - and we've got more in the works. (You can even request a Guide or Template for your favorite strategy!)

You'll find the Implementation Guides and the Document Templates in the 'Forms & Templates' folder within the TaxCoach system.

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

We're happy to answer your questions on TaxCoach content, features, or marketing. While we give first priority to our All-Star and Hall of Fame members, 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 members, we'll publish it (anonymously) here in the 'Member Q & A' section of TaxCoach Briefs.

Regards,

Ed Lyon
Keith VandeStadt
www.taxcoachsoftware.com
(513) 321-2820

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