What is insignificant to you may be important to your clients.

At the firm of Hereford, Lynch, Sellars & Kirkham in Conroe, Texas, Debra and Mike Seefeld (husband and wife) have created and elder care practice called Prime Plus. They write their reports in large type, make house calls, and send personalized notes on birthdays and other occasions.

Phil Liberatore, a CPA in La Mirada California, provides two-day service for tax returns, returns calls within 24 hours, uses three receptionists, offers coffee and donuts, and presents high quality deliverables.

Financial advisor Rob Hoxton in Sheperdstown, West Virginia goes all out to create a prestigious depiction of his small firm, including high quality business cards, firm brochure, and report covers. He says, "Our marketing materials show we're in the same league with firms in larger cities."

It isn’t easy to differentiate your firm from others, but it is crucial that you do it. You should provide special, distinctive services, but you should also think about all the little things—your dress code, your receptionist’s attitude, your responsiveness, the quality of your report and tax return covers, and how you communicate with your clients

From CPA Insider, April 24, 2006 (www.cpa2biz.com). For the complete article, click on the following link: https://www.cpa2biz.com/News/ Columnists/Telberg/You+Are+What+You+Deliver.htm.