TaxCoach Briefs:    January 8, 2009

Volume 4, Number 2

*****Attention All-Stars and Hall of Fame members ***** Our next teleseminar is Tuesday, January 13, at 4PM EST, and this is one you will not want to miss. We'll be interviewing "Agent X," one of our newest All-Stars, who just opened his own practice after working six years as a Revenue Agent for the IRS.

"Agent X" will discuss the hidden dangers of e-filing, the Service's focus on S-corporation owner compensation, and updated information on hobby losses and "real estate professionals," among other topics. He'll also be available to take your questions in the masterminding session. So mark your calendar now, and don't miss this call!

TaxCoach Briefs archives.

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MARKETING MINUTE (EAL)
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DO THESE MAKE MY BUTT LOOK BIG?

Late last year, my wife Mary picked up some new pants for her company Christmas party. As she was dressing for the party, she asked me the question so many women ask when they try on pants. "Do these make my butt look big?"

Those of you who attended our Spring Training boot camp may remember meeting Mary. She's a petite little thing, which means I can tell her the pants make her look great. (I'd say the same thing, even if they made her butt look like an armoire -- but that's a topic for a different Briefs.)

Mary's pants looked great. But she still felt the need to make sure there wasn't any risk in wearing them.

Does it make sense that your tax planning services can look great too -- but that clients still want to make sure there's no risk in trying them on?

Removing risk has always been important when it comes to closing new clients. It's even more important in today's economy. People are pulling back on all sorts of purchases, from big tickets like houses and cars to daily luxuries like manicures and lattes. They're skeptical of any marketing claims -- including ours -- and really, who can blame them?

Here at TaxCoach, Keith and I show you how to attract clients with proactive tax planning. Selling "dollars at a discount" is the easiest business on earth, and tax savings are more effective "bait" than anything else you can offer. But today's economy makes clients tougher nuts to crack.

So how can you remove the risk your clients might perceive in doing business with you? Here are three rules to follow:

  1. Emphasize tangible results. Show your ROI! If you show your client how to use a Section 105 plan to write off her LASIK as a business expense, be sure to show her how much she'll save. Don't obsess over counting it down to the penny. (The more precisely you estimate the savings, the more likely clients are to hold you to that estimate.) But make sure she sees that you deliver immediate, measurable value.

  2. Emphasize credibility. TaxCoach reports can include over 200 footnoted references to the Tax Code, Treasury regulations, IRS publications, and even tax court cases. Those footnotes aren't there for you. They're there to reassure your clients that your recommendations won't make the IRS think their butt looks big.

  3. Guarantee your results. If you prepare a TaxCoach plan for a client and they're not delighted with the results, you'll probably refund their fee. Right? So why not make that guarantee a selling point? Why not reassure them, in writing, that there's no risk in your service? (We put our own money where our mouth is by offering TaxCoach with a 30-day no-risk trial.)

    Seattle All-Star Joseph Conrad spent the week before Christmas delivering TaxCoach plans to 21 of his current clients. He wound up waiving the fee for three of them -- but still managed to bill $9,400 for his week's work. Honoring the guarantee didn't come close to spoiling his holiday -- not after a week like that!

The "bottom" line here (pun intended; hope Mary's not reading!) is that even in rough waters, your proactive service is tremendously valuable for clients. I know and you know it. The challenge isn't delivering that value. The challenge is making clients see that value and giving them confidence that there's no risk in pursuing it.

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NEWS YOU CAN USE (EAL)
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TAXCOACH INDEX A RARE BRIGHT SPOT IN 2008 MARKET

About a year ago, I remember catching a Fox News broadcast on the stock market. I don't remember if it had been up or down that day, but I do remember the anchor mentioning something about the "Fox 50" -- an index of "consumer friendly" companies.

At first I snickered at the whole idea. Who needs another made-up stock index to worry about, especially in today's market? But then I realized it can be an interesting peek at what's happening in one corner of the economy. I also realized -- hey, if Fox can do it, so can I! And that's how the TaxCoach Index was born. Why not track an index of publicly-traded tax-oriented businesses? What could such an index tell us about the state of our business relative to the overall economy?

The answer, it turns out, is "plenty." Here's a copy of a press release we're sending out today:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tax-Related Businesses A Rare Bright Spot in 2008 Market

Cincinnati, Ohio -- January 8, 2009 – TaxCoach Software, LLC, is pleased to announce that its TaxCoach Index of tax-oriented businesses fell just 15.3% in 2008. While this sounds like a significant drop, the TaxCoach Index handily beat the broader Dow Jones Industrial Average (down 33.8%) and S&P 500 (down 38%) for the year.

“Benjamin Franklin first said that nothing in life is certain except death and taxes,” reports TaxCoach Member Ed Lyon. “That makes tax-related businesses good bets, even in today’s lousy economy. While H&R Block was the only one of the six stocks to actually gain in 2008, the Index’s outperformance means good news for those of us whose business involves helping our customers make sense of the Tax Code.”

The TaxCoach Index consists of publicly-traded companies that derive much or all of their revenue from tax compliance activities. They include:

The index was constructed by buying equal amounts of each stock at its 2007 closing price, then holding the stock and collecting any cash dividends until the end of the year.

TaxCoach Software markets tax-planning software, coaching, and turnkey marketing services to accountants looking to grow their business. More information is available online at www.taxcoachsoftware.com.

Contact: Edward A. Lyon, JD, Member
Telephone: 513.321.2820
elyon@taxcoachsoftware.com

I realize six stocks don't make much of an index. And I doubt the CBOE is likely to start writing options on the group. But we can still draw a couple of lessons that make the TaxCoach Index more than just a gag:

Today's 24-hour media is always hungry for news. And it doesn't take much to attract attention. (YouTube.com drew 2 million viewers for this stupid video of a hamster on a piano eating popcorn.) You can scoff at it, like I first did with the "Fox 50" index. Or you let it inspire a little creativity, and put it to work to grow your business like I am now.

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TAXCOACH PRESENTS (EAL)
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JANUARY TELESEMINARS

We all know that crunch time follows close on the heels of New Year's. So we want to give you something help ease the sting -- and how about something normally reserved for our All-Stars and Hall of Fame coaching and masterminding groups?

Earler this afternoon, Keith and I hosted my high-school classmate Phillip Hughes for a webinar on identity theft. I had always known it was a problem, of course, but I had no idea how damaging it could be to us as financial professionals. (TaxCoach members, if you missed the original, we'll be posting it on the site shortly.)

We're pleased to present two more webinars for all of you reading these Briefs -- before you bury yourself for "the season":

Keith and I realize you'll be very busy very soon, and we're pleased to present some "food for thought" before it begins. Save the dates; we'll have call-in information as we get closer.

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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 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

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