Source: AICPA CPA Insider The following includes excerpts, reproduced with permission, from an article by Barrie MacQuarrie. Let’s look at the ways in which you can get your firm found using L...more
Source: RedZone, Play of the Month The following includes excerpts, reproduced with permission, from an article contributed by Accountants Advisory Group. It's hard to make it “rain,” bu...more
Source: VeraSage Institute The following blog post by Ed Kless is reproduced in its entirety with permission. Fellow Sage team member Greg Tirico posted an interesting link to an article which sugge...more
Source: Solutions for CPA Firm Leaders In a recent blog post, Rita Keller posted an informational graphic comparing the Millenial generation to Gen X, Baby Boomers, and the Silent Generation. It prov...more
Source: CPA Trendlines In this humorous video, Aries Technology, which is pursuing an aggressive value-pricing strategy, asks the question “Would you buy a pulled-pork sandwich if it was priced...more
Three strategies your firm must embrace to gain new clients....more
Bruce Marcus discusses the new generation of marketers and the integral role of marketing in your firm's success....more
Source: Rain Today In this article, author Michael W. McLaughlin explains that traditional “thought leadership” strategies — such as publishing articles and books and speaking at ...more
Source: Capstone Connection Jean Caragher, president of Capstone Marketing and a leading consultant to accounting firms, offers eight ideas for jump-starting your marketing program: Determine yo...more
Source: The Marcus Letter In this article, Bruce Marcus observes that in the current climate many marketers are battling for survival and that “all battles must be fought with a plan. If the ...more
Source: Rain Today In his article “The Great Myth of Sales: Why Logic and Value Propositions Matter Less Than You Think,” author Charles H. Green argues that the conventional wisdom &md...more
Source: Public Practice The following includes excerpts from an article by consultant Krista Remer of ConvergenceCoaching, LLC, reprinted with permission of the Texas Society of CPAs. What if you ...more
Source: RedZone, Play of the Month Following are excerpts from this article, reprinted with permission. The current recession and economic crisis can provide opportunities for firms that are creat...more
Source: Rain Today Every day in your business something happens that people should know about. Examples include: Winning an award or competition Being elected or appointed to office in a prof...more
Source: AICPA Blog: Economic Crisis Resource Center In his April 14 entry, Mark Koziel recommends an AICPA tool you can use to “set yourself apart as the trusted financial business advisor in the c...more
Source: CPA Practice Management Forum The following excerpts are reprinted with permission. Mitch Reno, CMO of Michigan-based The Rehmann Group, offers five tips for measuring the value of marketi...more
Source: Rain Today Author Charles H. Green argues that the conventional wisdom—that the key to selling is a compelling value proposition—is “demonstrably untrue.” Harvard Business School professo...more
...helps professional services firms enter or expand in government markets....more
...excerpts from the article “Deploying Professional Sales Staff: Experiences from the Trenches.”...more
Source: Partner’s Report Responses to the 2009 CPA Firm Practice Management Survey about marketing strategies that are working for their firms today included the following: Word-of-mouth and re...more
Source: MarkeTrends Five new marketing strategies are explained: E-mail newsletters Social networks Podcasting Webinars and Web meetings YouTube videos Here are highlights on social netw...more
Source: Golden Practices The following excerpts are from a blog entry about the excellent blog of a dentist. It’s worthwhile to use this in helping you start your own blog, but we wanted to spotlight...more
Source: Relationship Marketing The following are excerpts from the January 2, 2009, entry in this blog: The Professional Service Provider’s Top 5 New Year’s Resolutions: Resolution #1: Thank those ...more
Source: CPA Trendlines Following is a synopsis of an entry in the above blog: Gearing up (to get started on IFRS) doesn’t have to be hard. You don’t need hundreds of hours of CPE to get started. All...more
Source: What I’ve Learned So Far Following is an excerpt from the blog of Jean Caragher, president of Capstone Marketing, www.capstonemarketing.com.: In order to effectively identify clients’ needs ...more
Source: Crosley+Company In this article, Gale Crosley asks: “Why waste time and energy on stale tactics when you can strategically select and implement ideas that work?” Here are some of those stale...more
Source: Rainmaker Report The following includes excerpts, reproduced with permission, from an article by Erica Stritch, general manager of RainToday.com. A consulting company administrative staffe...more
Source: Capstone Connection Jean Caragher, president of Capstone Marketing and a leading consultant to accounting firms, has created a practical and insightful list of requirements for a marketin...more
Source: A Marketing Moment Troy Waugh, CEO of Rainmaker Academy, says one reason incentive plans don’t work is that they don’t include new business from existing clients. Partners frequently say t...more
Source: The Marcus Perspective Bruce Marcus lists some intriguing mistakes made by non-professional marketers in professional firm marketing. Here are some: Mistakes made by not understanding the ...more
Source: Services Insider Blog, Wellesley Hills Group Mike Schultz, president of Wellesley Hills Group, writes: A lot of companies market only their benefits statements…'We'll increase your revenue....more
Source: CPA Practice Management Forum This article defines Search Engine Optimization (SEO) as "the process of making a Web site and its content highly relevant for both search engines and sea...more
Ask yourself the questions a marketing consultant would ask you....more
The following tips are based on an article by Larry Bildstein, CPA, CEO of The Whetstone Group Inc....more
Practical Accountant asked prominent marketing people for their advice on getting referrals:...more
Practical Accountant interviewed prominent people on how they set up their firms to generate referrals....more
Allan Boress is a well known marketing consultant to CPA firms....more
Neil Fauerbach, partner and director of business development and marketing at Smith & Gesteland, LLP in Madison, Wisconsin, rebukes a leading consultant for saying he disparages marketers because they only make brochures....more
Giving free samples of your work is effective in attracting new clients, but you don’t want potential clients to get so much they don’t need you any longer....more
Giving free samples of your work is effective in attracting new clients, but you don’t want potential clients to get so much they don’t need you any longer....more
If you expect a response rate of more than ½ of one percent, you won’t fill your room unless you’re famous or your subject is incredibly compelling....more
Marketing expert Bruce Marcus says about academics: “With obvious exceptions, they are astigmatic observers of processes they rarely understand, except on an abstract theoretical level....more
The pipeline report can be done on an Excel spreadsheet. See the following sample:...more
The Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM) conducted the “2006 Accounting Marketing/Sales Responsibility and Compensation Survey.” The results include:...more
The five essential elements are listed in the author’s order of importance....more
In most accounting firms, about a third of the partners are business developers....more
Search engine marketing will help get prospects to your Web site....more
The difference between netweaving and networking is that in the former your initial objective is to help others get referrals....more
A major objection to sales professionals in accounting firms is that the “product” is a person serving a client. How can another person sell that?...more
Only about 30 accounting firms currently write blogs (Web logs), but there is evidence of their significant marketing success....more
Printed newsletters are staples in accounting firms. But e-newsletters have a significant advantage—...more
CPA Trendlines asked CPAs what marketing initiatives they employ and asked CFOs about their responsiveness to certain marketing vehicles....more
Prospects rarely tell the truth about why they have selected someone else....more
On a sales call, at least an initial call, you should go alone....more
Accountants are taught to ask for referrals. But this may not be the best way to get them....more
Half the CFOs surveyed by Bay Street Group LLC might hire new auditors this year. The implications for CPAs are obvious. Hold on to your clients and be aggressive in landing new ones....more
Branding is about differentiating your firm, yet few firms do it well....more
Highlights from the AICPA/Northstar Accounting Marketing Forum in New York....more
“Develop a strategic Internet marketing strategy" and "Learn how to write special reports and white papers."...more
Trying to close a sale can destroy trust. It places what you need above what the client needs....more
Prospective clients don’t want to know as much about you as you think....more
A study of small businesses. Average income of these businesses is just over $70,000....more
Advice on closing the gap between new business opportunities and available staff resources....more
If someone you meet in an elevator asks you what you do, it may be a marketing opportunity....more
Typical marketing practices are inappropriate for professional services firms....more
A key element was training staff to communicate the new brand identity to clients....more
A summary of an article by Larry Bildstein, CPA and CEO of The Whetstone Group....more
Selling is not a one-time event, but rather a series of steps....more
Fifteen percent of qualified leads should become clients....more
CPA Insider has received 500 responses so far to its survey asking finance managers what marketing initiatives resonate with them....more
Prospects may view it and fear it as a sales pitch....more
Firm members can each contribute to different elements of the firm’s overall marketing plan....more
Firms that send e-newsletters can demonstrate leadership in the industry, and small firms can use this format to appear to be larger....more
PA interviewed various managing partners, marketing personnel, and consultants for this wide ranging article....more
You can improve your marketing by fixing these mistakes....more
A sample ad and an explanation of why it will bring prospects to you....more
Suggestions for maximizing new business development benefits of association memberships....more
What is insignificant to you may be important to your clients....more
Bob Zeitlinger gives this advice to accounting marketing professionals....more
