TaxCoach Briefs:    August 27, 2009

Volume 4, Number 36

• Marketing Minute: A Marketing System From Daniel Boone
• Member Event: Fall Roundtables
• Member Resource: Member Call-In With Ed and Keith
• Member Q & A: MERP Resources in TaxCoach

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MARKETING MINUTE (EAL)
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A MARKETING SYSTEM FROM DANIEL BOONE

Living as we do in the 21st century, it's sometimes easy to forget the history that goes in making the places where we live. Keith and I are both "native" Cincinnatians, and our area enjoys a rich history from pioneer days. We're especially associated with famed frontiersman Daniel Boone. In fact, Cincinnati lies right across the Ohio river from Boone County, Kentucky.

Boone commanded various groups of settlers to blaze a trail from Virginia to Kentucky. He didn't expect trouble from the Indians he encountered along the way. But he didn't take his safety for granted, either. So he always posted a lookout before his party went to sleep.

Your clients don't fall asleep at night worrying about Indians. But they're still afraid of things that go bump in the night. You know what really scares them?

That's right. Tax hikes!

(How's that for a transition? It reminds me of comedian Sarah Silverman's famous joke. Q: "What do babies really like?" A: "Ethnic jokes!")

We've talked before about how the new administration's tax proposals can make you rich. But what's the best way to use them to build your business? How can you "frame" them to motivate clients and prospects to hire you to defeat them?

Here's a simple, five-step system to generate fall tax-planning engagements by positioning yourself as your clients' "lookout":

1. Identify those proposals most likely to affect your clients. If you work with investors, you might focus on higher rates on capital gains and qualified dividends. If you work with professionals, focus on higher marginal rates and new employment taxes on income above $250,000.

2. Identify the specific clients most likely to be affected by those proposals. If you're focusing on capital gains and dividends, have your tax-prep software rank your clients by income reported on Form 1040, Lines 9b and 13.

3. Call those clients and ask if they're aware of the proposed tax hikes. Smart clients love when you call them with ideas to save money. Taking this step alone will reinforce your value and position you as the proactive resource your clients really want.

4. Invite them to discuss moves they can make now to minimize the pain of new taxes. This doesn't have to be a formal sit-down. It can be an informal phone chat. (If you haven't already prepared a TaxCoach plan, you might at least prepare an Outlook Letter or "mini-plan" with just the most relevant modules.)

5. Ask your client who they know, just like them, who also wants advance warning of tax hikes. This is the key. First you do your client a favor with immediate and measurable value. Your client will naturally want to return that favor. Give them an easy way to do it, by passing that value along to another, equally valuable client!

Now . . . take a breath and ask yourself if this system makes sense.

if your answer if "yes," then don't just close this email with some vague plan to follow up. Do it now while the iron is hot!

Identify the clients you want to call. Go ahead, do it now. Just write them down on a blank piece of paper. The rest of this email can wait . . . .

Got your list? Good. Now open your schedule and reserve an hour to start making calls. Go ahead, do it now. The rest of the email can wait.

When it comes time to make the calls, just do it. Don't make excuses and don't find something else to do.

I can guarantee that if you actually do this, you'll get referrals. I can also guarantee that if you don't do it, you won't get them. The choice is simple and it's all yours!

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MEMBER EVENT (EAL)
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2009 ROUNDTABLE: FOCUS ON MASTERMINDING

If you're like most TaxCoach members, you're the boss. You run your practice yourself, probably with a staffer or two, but no partners and nobody looking over your shoulder.

Sure, it's good to be the King (or Queen). But who do you turn to when you have questions you can't answer yourself? Who do you have to bounce ideas or strategies off of? Your local competitors?

TaxCoach Roundtables are a great resource for sharing questions and ideas with regional peers who are not local competitors. In fact, over 70% of last year's attendees who have registered for this year's event are choosing to repeat the Basic presentation. They've all cited the networking and masterminding, as well as the value of the material, to justify the repeat.

Just listen to what some of last year's attendees said about the networking and masterminding opportunities:

“You’ll learn almost as much from the attendees as from Ed and Keith”
James Fleming, Largo, MD

“You should absolutely go – you’ll learn so much more than the cost, and not just from Ed & Keith.”
Diane Little, EA, CFP, California, MD

“Either the Ed & Keith information or the group discussion would make it worthwhile – together they equal an excellent day.”
Dave Toney, CPA, Cincinnati, OH

"I thoroughly enjoyed your presentation and I learned a lot from both of you. The round-table format was great and I learned a lot from the group . . . .
James E. Hall, CPA, Ontario, CA

“If you want to capture the high-end clients, you need to attend the Roundtable. Nothing beats interaction from other tax business owners & the expertise Ed & Keith bring to the table!”
Larisa Humphrey, Atlanta, GA

TaxCoach Roundtables are intensive full-day sessions in hands-on, small-group settings -- hosted at private business clubs, not convention hotels -- dedicated to exploring TaxCoach’s unique combination of tax-planning and business development tools.

There are no outside speakers. No outside sales pitches. Just Keith and I, walking you step-by-step through getting the most from your TaxCoach membership.

Each Roundtable offers two value-packed days:

• On Thursdays, we host Basic Roundtables for new users. This is a reprise of last year’s agenda in case you missed it, you want a refresher, or you want to send an associate.

• On Fridays, we host Advanced Roundtables for more experienced users. We suggest you attend the Basic session before joining the Advanced session, but it's not required. (These sessions include the fee discussion I outlined above.)

Come to one or come to both and put your tax-planning practice on steroids! Click here for complete details, including daily agendas, and a registration form. (All-Stars and Hall of Famers, see the Roundtables link on the left (blue) side of the All-Stars page to register for free.)

Space is limited, so reserve your seat now. And we mean it! There are currently less than a dozen seats left!

Click here to register. (All-Stars, Press Club, and Hall of Fame members, see the Roundtables link in the blue on the All-Stars page to register for free.) Keith and I look forward to meeting you at a Roundtable this fall!

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

Our next Member Call-In session will be Wednesday, September 2. 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 still schedule time directly with Ed as part of their coaching programs, we simply cannot answer marketing and tax-strategy questions via email or unscheduled calls. We'll make as many call-ins available as we can, and we'll talk to you then.

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MEMBER Q & A (KAV)
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MERP RESOURCES IN TAX COACH

Q: I need to learn more about the MERP plans.

A: Ain't that the truth; the 105 plan is one of the best opportunities for generating tax savings for your business owner clients, but it can get complicated. So we try to offer assistance and explanation in a variety of forms.

This question was posed in last week's Wednesday Member Call-In, so we guided the member to (most of) these resources in TaxCoach:

• Strategy Module "Your Business: Consider a Medical Expense Reimbursement Plan" — an excellent introduction and overview — on the Reports tab, once you create or select a client within TaxCoach
• MERP Mini-Presentation — in the Playbook, for explaining to clients how it works
• Medical Benefit Comparison Grid — in Forms & Templates, summarizes the differences between HRAs and Health Savings Accounts, and will help explain to clients
• MERP Implementation Guide — in Forms & Templates
• 105 Plan Document Template — in Forms & Templates
• Letter Introducing 105 Plans to Clients — in the Playbook, under Sample Letters
• "Evergreen" Client Alert introducing MERPs — in Client Alerts; can be used anytime
• White Paper "Medical Reimbursements for Self-Employeds" — in the Playbook, under Articles
• Claim Linx — a Third-Party Administrator we recommend, for implementing MERPs at your business clients with more than a couple of employees — in the Playbook, under Shiny Things
• Past Briefs articles — in the Briefs archives, including the following:
  • July 16, 2009 — MERP Third-Party Administrator
  • May 8, 2008 — Spotlight on Strategy: There's Something About MERP
  • May 17, 2007 — MERPs with S-Corps
  • January 11, 2007 — MERP Direct-Provider Payments

If you have questions on the MERP, marketing it, or implementing it, by all means ask away, on one of our Member Call-Ins with Ed, most Wednesdays at 1pm Eastern. See the Contact Us page in TaxCoach for connection 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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