Fighting for New Business

Source: CPA Trendlines

The following is a complete reprint, reproduced with permission, of an article by Evelyn Edwards.

There is a war for new clients. But it's always been my policy to never go down in my prices. It confuses the client about the value of my services.

I do advertise, using search engine marketing. I pay someone to do this. It has been very profitable.

I also use the free advertising that comes with Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. It gives me a better ranking on Google.

There are still so many CPAs who do not use this free advertising. I paid somebody to train me for it.

I feel like I have the edge over other CPAs because I am also a Certified QuickBooks Pro adviser. I have people who look just for that.

I had a client tell me once that customers will pay for “hand-holding.” I do that and charge my highest rate. I recently increased my rate on this front.

I am also a teacher. The last CPA I worked for was not comfortable teaching me. I was disappointed. I decided I would be open to that. I charge my highest rate for this.

I've learned that the clients who are mostly concerned with price are not good clients. They will always try to whittle you down.

Lastly, this war is so negative, I just can't go there.

From CPA Trendlines, http://cpatrendlines.com, “Evelyn Edwards: What I've Learned in the War for Clients,” July 5, 2011.