TaxCoach Briefs:    November 12, 2009

Volume 4, Number 47

• Marketing Minute: Seven Secrets to Charging Premium Fees
• Marketing Minute: Girls Gone Wild!
• Client Alert: First-Time Homebuyer Credit Extended
• Member Resource: Member Call-In With Ed & Keith

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MARKETING MINUTE (EAL)
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SEVEN SECRETS TO CHARGING PREMIUM FEES -- AND MAKING THEM STICK

Here at TaxCoach, Keith and I have always emphasized how tax planning in general -- and TaxCoach in particular -- help you charge premium fees and make them stick. We've seen TaxCoach members charge fees as high as $20,000 (that's right, $20,000) for an initial plan -- then charge untold thousands for ongoing services once you prove what you're really worth.

We've discussed elements of pricing since the very beginning. We've dedicated countless articles to the subject, both here and in the monthly Lineup. We've covered it in several of our monthly All-Stars teleseminars. And most recently, we dedicated an entire session of each of our 2009 Roundtables to pricing. (Surprise, surprise, in every case it was the most popular session. In fact we're currently developing a full-day pricing program to present in 2010!)

Apparently, lots of you want to know how to charge more for your services. And we can tell you exactly how to do it. So as the year draws to a close and we begin preparing for 2010, we want to share a 7-step system for making the most of your practice.

Tuesday, November 17, at 4pm Eastern, we're hosting a new teleseminar, "Seven Secrets to Charging Premium Fees -- and Making Them Stick." We invite all of you to join us, whether you're a TaxCoach member or not. (In fact, this presentation will be especially valuable if you're not already a member.)

Here's a preview of the secrets we'll present on Tuesday:

1. Forget ____________________.
   (This is the biggest pricing mistake you can make.)

2. Change ____________________.
   (This single decision changes everything that comes after.)

3. Change what ____________________.
   (Here's how to escape pricing comparisons forever.)

4. Change how ____________________.
   (Today's economy demands this change.)

5. Don't ____________________.
   (You'll kick yourself when you realize how much this one has cost you.)

6. Always emphasize ____________________.
   (Do this right and clients will never complain about fees again!)

7. Get out of ____________________!
   (The first six secrets make this one a snap.)

Keith and I launched TaxCoach nearly five years ago. Since then, we've spoken with literally hundreds of you across the country. And in that time, we've seen you lose literally millions of dollars in fees that your clients would have gladly paid, if you had just known these secrets and how to use them.

The 2010 season is approaching fast, and now is the time to take advantage of these concepts and strategies. Please don't miss this important call.

To connect to the conference, dial (218) 862-1000, and enter participant access code 712276#.

No advance registration is necessary. So be sure to join us, Tuesday, November 17, at 4pm Eastern, for "Seven Secrets to Charging Premium Fees"!

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MARKETING MINUTE (EAL)
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GIRLS GONE WILD

If you've ever spent a sleepless night sitting up way too late in front of the television, you've seen ads for Joe Francis's "Girls Gone Wild" videos. (If you're a parent of daughters, the mere sight of those ads may be terrifying!)

Back in 2007, a federal grand jury indicted Francis on tax evasion charges. The indictment charged that he claimed over $20 million in phony business expenses on his corporate tax returns, including $3.8 million for a house in Mexico (featured on MTV's Cribs) and $10.4 million in consulting charges.

Francis pled not guilty at first, squawking that the case was merely "the IRS going wild." In the end, he pled guilty to two misdemeanor counts of filing false returns. He'll get credit for the 301 days he has already served being held without bail, serve an additional year of probation, and pay $250,000 in restitution.

Why on earth are we discussing this here? Well, Americans love celebrities -- even soft-porn moguls like Francis. And any time you can link your expertise and value to a celebrity, you get to enter the conversation your prospects and clients are already having about that celebrity. You'll also use the power of that celebrity's "buzz" cut through marketing clutter and attract your prospect's attention.

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CLIENT ALERT (KAV)
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FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYER CREDIT

On Saturday, President Obama signed the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Act of 2009. That Act extended the popular first-time homebuyer credit, which had been scheduled to expire at the end of this month, for an additional six months.

The 2009 economic stimulus act gave “first-time homebuyers” (those who have not owned a primary residence for three years) a tax credit equal to 10% of the new home’s purchase price, up to $8,000 ($4,000 for married couples filing separately). This credit is available for purchases through November 30, 2009. (Buyers who sell that home or convert it to rental use before 36 months must recapture the credit in the year the home is sold or converted, making the "credit" more of an interest-free loan.) That credit phases out for incomes between $75,000 and $95,000 ($150,000 and $170,000 for joint filers).

As for the new law:

• It extends the credit to purchases signed before May 1, 2010 and closed before July 1, 2010.

• It limits the credit to homes costing $800,000 or less.

• It raises the maximum income level to claim the credit ($125,000 for individual filers and $225,000 for joint filers).

• It extends the credit, up to a limit of $6,500, for buyers who have maintained the same principal residence for any five consecutive years during the eight-year period ending on the date they buy a new principal residence.

We've just prepared a new Client Alert to help highlight your role in taking advantage of this opportunity. When you click on the 'Client Alerts' button in TaxCoach, you'll see a list of alerts, with this latest on top. The file '________' contains letters addressed to each of your clients who indicate they do not own their own home. You can download the file to your computer, and print on your letterhead using MS Word, or any word processor. You'll find instructions on the Client Alerts page.

As with other Client Alerts, your clients may already have heard the news. But hearing it from you will reinforce the trust they put in you to be their proactive advisor, and increase the value of the long-term relationship.

We've also added a summary of the new provisions to the TaxCoach module entitled "Tax Breaks for Owning Your Own Home"

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

A couple of minutes before the Call-In yesterday, Ed commented to me how few people were connected — but by the time we got started, the number had tripled to almost a record number! So it was another great call, with wide-ranging discussion.

Here are some excerpts from the log of the questions raised by callers this week:

• Gas station with 2 LLCs, 1 LLC owns the property and rents to the 2nd LLC. 2nd LLC runs station and receives Distributions, no guaratneed payments. 2 questions, why do you think two LLCs and what can I really WOW them with regarding tax savings?
• What is the plan for further development of the www.CertifiedTaxCoach.com website?
• With the economy the way it is, I have had clients with reduced revenue in turn less write up work on my behalf. Do you have any suggestions on what to do with monthly fees?
• I just spoke to a salesman (selling me ValPak services). He mentioned that he always pays taxes, but that he's loyal to his current accountant. I told him that I could help him with a plan only and he can take it as he wishes, but it was an extremely weak pitch . Generally speaking, what would you say in such a situation?
• If you have an S Corp, is there any way to do a MERP - via a different entity sch c or c corp? What if the s corp has other employees?
• I have a an attorney client who works for an S corp. The S corp gives her all her income on a W2. She is not able to write off all her expenses because of AMT. Can she be her own S corp and get income from the law firms S corp?
• Can you go over again if you have a current client, how do you have them come in for year end planning then tell them you are going to charge for the plan?
• When will the CTC course be offered online?
  (A: Starting November 16.)
• I thought there was a presentation for real estate agents. When I looked in the playbook I only found one for business owners and real estate investors.
  (A: Not a separate one; use "Business Owners.")
• How does the accounting work when adding the 2% shareholder medical insurance to the W2? It seems like the medical insurance expense is ignored on the 1120S and instead the wages are increased. Then the shareholder deducts the insurance on their 1040. I also understand the amount added to the W2 is NOT subject to FICA, FUTA, etc.
• What are your thoughts on using Section 79 plans as a tax planning strategy? I have a client who wants to establish a term life insurance policy that has a cash value. He then plans to borrow against the policy in later years.
• Please discuss the "creating passive income" strategy by splitting out different income streams of an existing business. It appears that the rule under Reg. 1-469-4(f)(1) prohibits this.
• Can a c corp owner seggregate a stream of income into a sched c, hire his spouse and not have to cover the c corp employees in the merp?
• Remind us what tax deductions are going away?
• Will there be a logo to use on my advertising material for the CTC?
  (A: Logo files are available in the CTC Toolbox.)
• Where are you in the development of the Seminar for Traditional IRA conversion to Roth IRA’s?
• I'm thinking of doing a mailing for first time homebuyers. A Real Estate agent mentioned that I can find homebuyers through public records. Do you know of where I'd begin such a search?
• If a sole shareholder husband of an S Corp hires his wife as an employee, does that allow a MERP plan, since she would be an employee but not a 2% shareholder?
• At what point does a real estate investor look like a business in the eyes of IRS? They are constantly flipping houses bought at an auction but is not filing a Sch C and is not a corp. What is his best course of action?
• I'm sure it's too early for CTC training to qualify for cpa cpe. do you expect it to eventually?
  (A: Yes, in 2010.)
• Can you have teleseminar on succession planning...Dad wants to sell his business to the kids...How can he do this with minimal taxes. I believe you seperate assets/investments seperately.
• In the CTC academy I didn't get a good sense of what should be charged for the implementation of the tax plan. I'm sure it would depend on what needs to be done, but how would the amount be determined, etc?

If you're looking for pointers on tax strategies or profiting from TaxCoach too, join us for the next call, on November 18, at 1pm Eastern. Enter a question or just listen in on the repartee. Check the "Contact Us" button within TaxCoach for registration instructions.

Members occasionally ask if we can record and archive these calls. The answer is that we want to keep them as informal and uninhibited as possible. We’ve discussed specific tax-planning clients and cases, for example – but we don’t want to put ourselves on record as offering individual tax advice. We’ve also discussed outside tax software and marketing services (both good and not-so-good), and we don’t want to put ourselves on record with those comments either. Member Call-Ins are intended to be casual discussions among peers – and we don’t want recording them to threaten that chemistry.

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 have call-ins as many Wednesdays as we can, and we'll talk to you then.

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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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