TaxCoach Briefs:    July 1, 2010

Volume 5, Number 25

  • Marketing Minute: Beat Me Like A Rented Mule, Part Two
  • Member Event: Member Appreciation Registration
  • Member Success Story: An Amazing Year
  • Member Resource: Member Poll, July 7

****Attention All-Stars and Press Club members ****: The next monthly webinar is July 13 — mark your calendar now and we'll update you with agenda and registration info via The Scout as the date draws closer.

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MARKETING MINUTE (EAL)
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BEAT ME LIKE A RENTED MULE, PART TWO

This week's Marketing Minute is short and sweet because the lesson is short and sweet.

A few weeks back, I wrote an article called "Beat Me Like a Rented Mule". I talked about two of our TaxCoach elite members (one Press Club and one All-Star), whom I dubbed "Sigfried" and "Roy," who were hitting a wall growing their practices:

  • Both of them knew what they should be doing to generate new business and client referrals.

  • Both of them were having trouble getting motivated to actually do it.

  • In each case, I recommended they plan to call a specific number of people every day for the next week, approaching them with the primary goal of generating a planning engagement and the secondary goal of generating referrals. I said they should write down the results of each of those conversations in order to report back to me with their results on our next coaching call.

Well, as it turns out, Sigfried and Roy weren't the only ones suffering from Motivation Deficiency Disorder. Around that time, I had lunch with a third TaxCoach member. I'll call him "Liberace," to continue the Vegas metaphor and because I think he'd look silly in a sparkly suit. Liberace just opened his own practice here in Cincinnati, and he's looking forward to approaching business owners for planning engagements.

My advice to him was the same. Pick five people every day. (That's not an intimidating number, is it?) Get them on the phone and start talking about tax planning.

Well, Liberace stopped by the office this morning. (That doesn't happen often - I can think of just five members who've actually seen where the magic happens.) He mentioned the "Beat Me Like a Rented Mule" piece, and even wondered if he might have been "Roy." But, he's actually done what I told him to do. In fact, that first day he made ten calls, got four appointments, and ended up closing two new clients!

Not bad, right? Of course not! Even if you're one of those accountants who hates picking up the phone, you'd probably do it ten times too, if you knew you'd get two clients out of it!

So what happened the next day . . . ?

Click here for his actual answer.

Come on, Liberace! We told you what to do. You did it. And hell, it even worked!

And you didn't wake up the next morning and think "I'm gonna get me two more clients today"?

Sigh . . . .

Those rented mules must really like taking a beating.

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MEMBER EVENT (EAL)
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MEMBER APPRECIATION REGISTRATION

The Member Appreciation Event that Keith and I are hosting here in Cincinnati on September 30 and October 1 is filling fast. I haven't even written the sales letter yet, but since we opened early-bird registration two weeks ago, we've already filled over 20% of the room. I'm especially excited to see how many first-time registrants we have who have never attended a previous TaxCoach event.

This one's a no-brainer. Two free days masterminding with a national group of peers. Plus a special workshop on understanding and using personality types to grow your business.

Some promoters load up their free events with outside speakers and outside sales pitches. Not us. You'll get the chance to explore our own All-Stars, Press Club, and Certified Tax Coach™ programs. But this is no pitchfest. It's a true meeting of minds, with smart colleagues who are not your competitors!

Last week, I said that if you want to wait for the sales letter, that would be fine. But at this rate, I'm not sure I even have to write one. So don't risk getting shut out. Click here to register now!

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MEMBER SUCCESS STORY OF THE WEEK (KAV)
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"Thank you both for all your information, advice, patience, assistance, and everything you guys have done.

"I am constantly told by clients and referral sources, 'No one else in the county has a firm like yours, or looks at businesses and taxes the way you do.'

"It truly has been an amazing year, and while I have worked hard getting it there, it is from utilizing everything you guys have taught me."

Christine Pavlik, CPA
Elkton, MD

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

No call yesterday, but we are set for next week. Calls are generally held each Wednesday, and we'll resume the standard on July 7.

In response to a question on last week's call, we're going to poll attendees on the next call about what tax prep software you use, to see what general trends or urgent opinions we can dig up on the subject. Don't miss that one!

If you're looking for clarification on TaxCoach strategies or additional ways to profit from TaxCoach, join us for the next call, on Wednesday July 7, at 1pm Eastern. Enter a question or just listen in on the repartee. Check the "Contact Us" button within TaxCoach for registration instructions.

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.

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We can answer questions on using TaxCoach system features anytime. (Save marketing and tax strategy questions for Member Call-Ins.) For best response, email support@taxcoachsoftware.com.

Regards,

Ed Lyon
Keith VandeStadt
http://www.taxcoachsoftware.com/
(513) 321-2820

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