TaxCoach Briefs:    July 30, 2009

Volume 4, Number 32

• Marketing Minute: Marketing Lessons From Henny Youngman
• It's A Party: Ed's Birthday and "Press Club" Rollout
• New Resource: Member Call-In With Ed and Keith

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MARKETING MINUTE (EAL)
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MARKETING LESSONS FROM HENNY YOUNGMAN

Three weeks ago, I announced here that I had set a goal to run a 5K race on Labor Day weekend. If you're in any kind of physical shape, that may not sound like much. But I haven't done any physical exercise since MTV actually showed music videos. So for me it's pretty ambitious.

I've been gratified by how many of you have called or written with your support. All-Star Jim Cantwell suggested I run the course before the actual race to scout it. Press Club member Sean O'Hare told me about his training for his first marathon. And Hall of Fame member Todd Mussard told me I had inspired him to look at his sneakers a couple of times.

I spent most of the last week taking my family to Chicago. I forgot my running shoes, so I lost a few workouts. As I write these words, Keith and I are in cosmopolitan, sophisticated Cleveland, attending Dan Kennedy's "7-Figure Academy." This time I made sure to remember my shoes to make up for lost time. (We're off to a great start; I won $50 answering a trivia question after a lunch break.)

None of this has anything to do with this week's marketing lesson. So, since I couldn't come up with a clever transition, I'll just dive in.

If you're like most Briefs readers, you read this issue's subject line and immediately thought of four words: "Take my wife - please!" Comedian Henny Youngman was a Borscht Belt staple back when there was a Borscht Belt. He gained fame for firing off endless streams of one-liners:

• A doctor gave a man six months to live. The man couldn't pay his bill, so the doctor gave him another six months.

• I once wanted to become an atheist, but I gave up - they have no holidays.

• I take my wife everywhere, but she keeps finding her way back.

• I've got all the money I'll ever need, if I die by four o'clock.

• My father was the town drunk. Most of the time, that's no so bad. But New York City?

I could go on for pages here. (It might even make these better Briefs!) But you get the point.

Of course, his most famous line, was "Take my wife - please!" That line became so famous that people constantly approached him to ask him "How's your wife?"

His answer:

"Compared to what?"

"Compared to what?" Is a great answer to all sorts of questions. You can use it to distinguish yourself and your strengths from your competition. You can even use it to deflect attention away from your weaknesses.

Let's start with the obvious application. You've just met a prospective client and reviewed his tax return. You've found missed opportunities that are costing the client taxes they don't have to pay. You've quantified those missed opportunities - we'll say it's six or eight thousand a year. You've confronted the client with the cost of those missed opportunities. And you've presented your tax-planning service - at a $1,500 fee - as the solution to those missed opportunities.

What does your client say? "Your fee is too high!"

Your answer? "Compared to what?" Compared to the $1,500 flat-screen TV they just saw at Best Buy? The weekend trip to Vegas they just took? The kid's week at sleepaway summer camp?

How about compared to the $6,000 in wasted taxes you just found?

If you can convince them that you can put six grand in their pocket, it's worth something, right? They should be happy to pay more than a lousy $1,500. Really, you're just fighting over your share of the savings - savings that you create!

This should actually be an easy example. We're all in the business of numbers, in one form or another. But how many of us are in the business of using those numbers to demonstrate our value to our clients?

We've got it easy compared to most professionals and business owners. If you're a dentist, a chiropractor, or an internist, how do you quantify your value for patients? If you're a decorator, a landscaper, or a pool cleaner, how do you quantify it for clients? If you're a retailer, how do you demonstrate your value other than by price?

Doctors, decorators, landscapers, and retailers certainly can do that. But it's easier for us.

Summer is coming to a close. Fall will be here soon, and that brings with it year-end tax-planning engagements.

The tough economy is squeezing your clients. Runaway federal spending makes higher taxes a safe bet. Even your clients who "win" with new tax breaks are confused by changing laws. They're worried and confused, and they'll welcome a resource like you to reassure them that they're doing everything they can to protect themselves.

These circumstances make now a great time to market tax planning. And you should be paid well for delivering the reassurance clients want. So if they balk at your fee and say it's too high, just ask what Henny would ask them: "Compared to what"?

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IT'S A PARTY! (KAV)
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ED'S BIRTHDAY AND "PRESS CLUB" ROLLOUT

Monday, August 10, is Ed's birthday! (Quick, which U.S. president was born on August 10? That's right, Herbert Hoover!)

He'll be thirty-fifteen (or forty-five, as my cynical daughter Mary Claire calls it -- Ed). And we want to celebrate. So we'll be launching our new "Press Club" program, a territory-exclusive, "done-for-you" referral generation and client retention program.

Press Club is essentially a "lite" version of our flagship Hall of Fame program, incorporating the most popular features of HOF without the direct-mail expense. We're pretty excited about how much interest it's generated so far when we've floated it as a trial balloon with our elite members. We expect many of you will want to take advantage of the opportunity -- both of the new program and the special offer around the launch.

We'll have more information over the next week, leading up to the official August 10 launch. So keep your eyes out for the TaxCoach Press Club and Ed's 45th birthday!

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

Ed and I hosted our third Member Call-In on Wednesday, July 29. Once again it was a great success, with nearly 30 participants and questions that kept us going even past the allotted hour.

We'll be out of the office next week. So our next Call-In will be Wednesday, August 12, at 1PM EDT. Check the "Contact Us" button within TaxCoach for registration instructions.

Please note that while our elite members (All-Stars, Press Club, and Hall of Fame) can schedule time directly with Ed as part of their coaching programs, we simply cannot answer content and marketing questions via email or unscheduled calls. So we'll make as many Call-Ins available as we can, and we'll talk to you then!

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We're happy to answer your questions on the TaxCoach system itself and its 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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