TaxCoach Briefs:    July 9, 2009

Volume 4, Number 30

• Marketing Minute: Goal Setting Exercise
• Member Success Story: Office Grand Opening
• New Resource: Member Call-In With Ed and Keith

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MARKETING MINUTE (EAL)
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GOAL SETTING EXERCISE

Keith and I have said before that it's important to set goals for your practice. Every year, we sit down to set goals for TaxCoach, with specific targets for membership and revenue.

I've always found it helps to announce my goals, to family, friends, and colleagues. So, as Keith and I finalize our TaxCoach goals, I share them with my mastermind group here in Cincinnati. And we track our progress towards those goals, often daily, so we never take our eyes off the prize.

Back in 2001, I realized I was drinking too much. Eight to ten Budweisers a night, seven nights a week, was too much even when I was in college. And it was certainly too much for a dad of three launching a new business. So I decided to quit. Cold turkey.

I announced my decision to my wife and family -- making my commitment public and "hanging my cheese on the line" to put extra pressure on myself to keep it.

And then, starting February 17, 2001, I went to four AA meetings in four days. I did it mainly to emphasize my public commitment to my goal. I'm not actively involved in the program (although I frequently identify myself as a "friend of Bill" -- meaning "Bill W," who founded AA). One hundred months later and counting, I'm still sober.

Those of you who know about the meth lab I set up in my basement might say I just traded one addiction for another. (He's kidding -- Keith.) (He needs to stop drinking so much Diet Coke or he's going to turn his brain into Swiss cheese -- Catherine.)

Seriously, though, publicly announcing that goal helped accomplish it.

Now it's time for a new goal. I'll turn 45 next month, and as I move into middle age (ugh), I'm going to start facing the fun health issues -- the kind that lead to "procedures" (because, as Billy Crystal says in When Harry Met Sally, "procedure" sounds so much better than "surgery.") I'm 5 foot 9 (okay, on a good day) and 170 pounds -- my "Body Mass Index" is 27 and I'm not in bad shape by any means. But my doctor tells me it's time to stop talking about exercising and start actually doing it.

A couple of years after I quit drinking, my wife suggested I start working out. I've always enjoyed working at a desk more than working at a gym, so I told her I would "pick up" checks. She gave me a strange look, and I said "you know . . . from clients." She nodded her head, and I added "checks don't weigh much . . . so I'll have to do a lot of reps."

That worked for awhile, but it's not going to work forever. So I decided -- and I'm declaring publicly here in these Briefs -- that I've started training to run a 5K race on Sunday, September 6. It's the Cincinnati Zoo's "Cheetah Run," with a course winding through the Zoo grounds. And if it doesn't kill me, it will make me stronger!

Saturday morning, I went online and found a plan for going from "couch" to "race" in just 8 weeks. I found a schedule of local races. And I bought new running shoes and socks.

Sunday night, I went for my first outing: six minutes of walking, followed by a minute of jogging, repeated three times. I did it again Tuesday, and I'll do it tonight when I get home. Each week I'll shift another minute from walking to jogging, with the ultimate goal of completing the 5K course without embarrassing myself. I'll keep you posted here as I get closer, and let you know how I do in the race.

You can use the same strategy to build your tax business. In fact, TaxCoach even includes a complete plan, like my eight-week plan for finishing the race, called "30 Days to 30 Clients." It outlines a plan for using referrals to generate 30 tax-planning appointments in your first month of TaxCoach membership.

Start by announcing your commitment to your spouse and family, your staff, or another close colleague. You can even email us to let us know!

Now may be the best time of year to try it. It's easier than you think, and it can add thousands of dollars to your bottom line.

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MEMBER SUCCESS STORY (KAV)
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OFFICE GRAND OPENING

Christine Pavlik is an All-Star member from Elkton, Maryland, a postcard-pretty town off I-95 smack between Baltimore and Philadelphia. Christine has spent the last year renovating new offices in a supposedly haunted rowhouse. She's also created her own book, "A Balanced Approach to Business Growth" (based on the system we outlined in the April All-Stars webinar), that she timed to release at her office Grand Opening on June 30. Here's her report:

"I just wanted to drop a note to let you know, the Open House was a great success. We had a little over 40 people and I probably have 3 new clients and a few follow ups. The book was VERY well received and provided me an in with a banker who works with businesses that I have been trying to get in with for some time. So, all in all, a very successful evening and thank you for all the advice."

Renovating an office and commissioning a book are real accomplishments. Engineering an "event," as Christine did, is a great way to announce those accomplishments, as well as a new goal (like a new focus on tax planning) to the world. And events like grand openings or even just client appreciation nights are great ways to remind prospects and clients of the value you deliver.

What sort of event can you engineer as part of your plan to build your business?

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NEW RESOURCE (KAV)
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MEMBER CALL-IN WITH ED AND KEITH

Ed and I hosted our second Member Call-In session yesterday, July 8, and we were both pleased with the results. We used GoToWebinar.com, instead of the GoToMeeting.com bridge we used for the first call, and we were able to accomodate everyone who wanted in -- a total of 40 TaxCoach members. And we fielded some great questions, like "What do I say if my prospective client's old accountant dismisses our suggestions?" and "How do I emphasize my personal value when I'm delivering a plan?

The calls have been successful enough that we anticipate offering them most Wednesdays, unless we're traveling or on vacation. Our next Call-In will be on Wednesday, July 15, at 1pm Eastern.

Check the "Contact Us" button within TaxCoach for registration instructions.

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We're happy to answer your questions on TaxCoach content or features. (Save marketing and tax strategy questions for Member Call-Ins.) 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,

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