TaxCoach Briefs:    September 3, 2009

Volume 4, Number 37

• Marketing Minute: More Marketing From Daniel Boone
• Member Event: Fall Roundtables
• Member Resource: Member Call-In With Ed and Keith
• Member Q & A: Certified Tax Coach Academy Curriculum

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

MORE MARKETING FROM DANIEL BOONE

Last week, we outlined a quick, five-step marketing system "from Daniel Boone" to generate fall tax-planning engagements by being your clients' "lookout" for higher taxes. Very briefly, it works as follows:

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. For example, 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 critical 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!

This week, I want to elaborate on one specific proposal. President Obama has proposed raising top rates on capital gains and qualified dividends from their current 15% to 20%. This proposal probably offers more planning opportunities than any other. Clients with appreciated assets and corporate stock are more likely to need tax-planning services and be able to afford them. And it's especially valuable marketing "bait" if you offer financial services to your clients.

Here are some of the specific strategies you can discuss with those clients and prospects:

• Harvesting tax losses to offset gains before they even hit taxable income

• Selling appreciated assets right before rates rise to avoid the higher tax on future gains

  Example: Your client bought 1000 shares of Microsplat at $2/share. Those shares reached $40, but your greedy client wanted to hold out for $60. The shares are down to $20, but your client still has an $18,000 gain. He can sell now, pay $2,700 in tax, and buy back the shares to increase his basis so that only the appreciation above $20/share is taxed at the higher rate.

• Evaluating your client's portfolio to determine the mix of dividend-paying stocks vs. non-dividend-paying stocks

• Evaluating real estate and business holdings for appropriate dispositions

• Evaluating cost segregation studies before selling appreciated real estate

Don't think you have to pull a rabbit out of a hat to impress a client. They'll be shocked just to hear you call them before the new rates take effect. And they'll be delighted to reward you with the referrals you need to build your business.

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

2009 ROUNDTABLES: GOING ONCE . . . GOING TWICE . . .

The San Francisco "Basic Day" is now sold out. That leaves less than a dozen seats left. So reserve yours now!

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!

=====================================================
MEMBER RESOURCE (KAV)
=====================================================

MEMBER CALL-IN WITH ED AND KEITH

Our next Member Call-In session will be Wednesday, September 9, at 1PM EDT. Check the "Contact Us" button within TaxCoach for registration instructions.

This week's call had more great questions. It's interesting that on some calls the questions are mostly tax-strategy related, like last week, and other times they are predominantly marketing and practice-management related, like this week. I guess the discussion gets rolling in one way or another and it snowballs.

Here are some of the questions we discussed this week, straight from the log, in the participants' own words:

• How would you price the strategic planning?
• Would you elaborate on the satisfaction guarantee as part of a marketing plan?
• For the guarantee would you count multi year savings or just savings in the first year?
• What if the client refuses to use your ideas?
• Could you elaborate on how to establish a fee schedule?

Sound like a useful discussion? It is! Join us, most Wednesdays at 1pm Eastern. Connection instructions are on the "Contact Us" page within TaxCoach.

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.

=====================================================
MEMBER Q & A (EAL)
=====================================================

CERTIFIED TAX COACH VS. PRESS CLUB

Q: Does the monthly enrollment fee in the CTC program include access to TaxCoach, or is that extra? Seems it competes with TaxCoach "elite" programs . . .

A: Your Certified Tax Coach ("CTC") membership does include your TaxCoach base membership, which is currently $69/month. If you're enrolled in one of our elite programs (All-Stars, Press Club, or Hall of Fame), you'll get a $69/month discount on your monthly TaxCoach fee.

The Certified Tax Coach program actually complements our elite programs, rather than competing with them. Our elite programs focus on marketing proactive tax-planning services to high-income and high-fee clients. The Certified Tax Coach program focuses on technical skills you need to actually fulfill those services.

Take a look at the CTC Academy curriculum, as just released by CTC founder Dominique Molina:

Friday, October 23

• Check-in and Registration
• What Our Clients Want
• Certified Tax Coach: Vision, Mission and Values
• Mistakes You Make with Clients That Cost a Million Dollars!
• Certified Tax Coach: A System for Selling
• 5 Reasons Dominique Has a Waiting List for Clients (and how you can have one too)
• Tax Planning IQ Test (where are you now as a tax planner?)
• Group Sponsored Lunch
• Basic concepts in tax planning
• AMT Planning Strategies that Work!
• Passive Activity Rules and Opportunities (group case study)
• Real Estate Professional Status (group case study)

Saturday, October 24

• Income Shifting (group case study)
• Captive Insurance Companies Strategy
• Retirement Planning – Are you recommending a ticking time bomb? (group case study)
• Tax Exempt Income Planning
• Group Sponsored Lunch
• CTC’s Trademark “Tax Map” (how to use it to book appointments and put cash in your bank account)
• Joint Venture Marketing with Other Professionals (connecting with the RIGHT professional to create a steady stream of prequalified, pre-sold clients)
• Live Case Study Presentations (students will develop a tax plan using a live case and present framework to group)

Sunday, October 25

• Live Case Study Presentations (continued)
• CTC Plan Selling System (turning leads into clients)
• How to Use Checklists, Forms, Letters, and Templates
• Presentation Tips (how to “wow” clients, leave them wanting more, and generate referrals)
• Bio Sketch Writing Workshop (create a winning bio page for your personal listing on the CTC website)
• 5 Action Steps to Generate $10,000/Month in Planning Fees in 6 Months or Less
• Lunch and Certificate Ceremony

As you can see, this is a solid curriculum, packed with a mix of both technical and marketing content ("floorwax" and "dessert topping," as we call it at TaxCoach).

You'll find complete details, along with an enrollment form, at Certified Tax Coach. But don't hesitate -- there are just 30 seats available for the inaugural training, and half of those are already taken!

Questions? Dominique and I will be hosting a teleseminar on Thursday, September 10, at 4PM EDT:

Conference Dial-in Number: (218) 862-1000
Participant Access Code: 712276#

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

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,

TaxCoach Briefs Archives...
Certified Tax Coach
TaxCoach Roundtables
TaxCoach All-Stars
TaxCoach Press Club
TaxCoach Cost Segregation