| After developing five accounting firms from 1984 to | | | | accounting services marketing program should |
| 1994, I spent the next fifteen years assisting over | | | | perform is showing you how to demonstrate your |
| 2,000 accountants develop and improve their | | | | ability to help your prospective client in your |
| accounting firms as a Practice Development | | | | presentation. Too many accounting marketing |
| Consultant. This experience showed that many | | | | programs fail because they are predicated on the |
| accountants had implemented many marketing | | | | CPA Accountant performing sales presentations to |
| programs that fail. | | | | new prospective clients. Businesses are not interested |
| The primary reason most accounting marketing | | | | in being sold accounting services. Businesses are |
| programs fail is because the accountant attempts to | | | | interested in how the CPA Accountant can help them |
| treat his or her services as a commodity. | | | | and their business. The CPA Accountant should |
| Unfortunately, this often leads to very low response | | | | provide the examples of how they can help and apply |
| and low quality of clientele. There are volumes of | | | | those examples to his or her business. It is important |
| accountants who have tried very expensive marketing | | | | he or she understands and sees the value you are |
| programs offered by many companies lured by | | | | providing. Most businesses do not understand the value |
| difficult-to-enforce guarantees experiencing disastrous | | | | a CPA accountant provides. If your |
| financial consequences. The majority of these | | | | accountant-marketing program centralizes your |
| marketing failures centralize on the programs using | | | | presentations about you and your firm, it is the wrong |
| commodity-marketing techniques. | | | | marketing program; the program must centralize your |
| The accounting industry is not commodity driven; it is | | | | presentation around the prospective client and your |
| driven by trust and loyalty. Trust has to be established. | | | | ability to help him or her. |
| It cannot be sold. Accordingly, if an accountant | | | | Finally, the fourth step your accountant's marketing |
| attempts to sell his or her accounting services as a | | | | program should provide you is techniques to price your |
| commodity or product, he or she will fail. | | | | services in relationship to the value you demonstrated |
| The first step for an accounting services marketing | | | | in your presentation. Your objective is not to discount |
| program should be to identify a business that is | | | | your firm's services to entice a new client to come on |
| seeking the services of a CPA or Accountant. If a | | | | board, but to price your service as a good value in |
| business is pleased with its current CPA or accountant | | | | relationship to the value you are providing. For example, |
| and is not seeking the services of a new CPA or | | | | if a prospective client could choose to spend $1,000 to |
| Accountant, that business is not going to change | | | | have a CPA or Accountant prepare his or her |
| accountants. Any attempt of an accountant using a | | | | business tax return, he or she or may not choose to |
| marketing program to sever that relationship by | | | | do so. However, if that same CPA or accountant |
| aggressive selling techniques will only diminish the | | | | showed the prospective client tax-saving strategies |
| business's perception of the accountant and his or her | | | | that will save him or her save $5,000 per year in |
| firm. The wise accountant will never pull a | | | | taxes, the client will definitely choose to have that CPA |
| businessperson away from his or her existing | | | | Accountant prepare his or her taxes for $1,000. He or |
| accountant if that person is satisfied with the | | | | she will perceive using that CPA or Accountant of |
| accountant or CPA. Acknowledge the situation as a | | | | great value. Observe in the example, the primary |
| good one for both the business and the CPA | | | | factor of why the prospective client decided to come |
| Accountant. Never attempt severing that which is | | | | on board was not the absolute cost of the service but |
| good for the business, neither the CPA Accountant | | | | the value received in relationship to that cost. |
| nor the Accounting Industry. | | | | In summary, there are four steps an accountant's |
| Having acknowledged that a CPA Accountant's | | | | marketing program should employ. It should: |
| marketing program should have the capacity to identify | | | | 1) identify a business seeking a new CPA or |
| a business seeking the services of a new CPA | | | | Accountant, |
| Accountant, the second step the accountants | | | | 2) generate an interest in that business in using you or |
| marketing program should produce is to have the | | | | your firm, |
| business seeking a new CPA Accountant to become | | | | 3) show you how to demonstrate value in your new |
| interested in you and your accounting firm. If your | | | | client presentation, and |
| marketing program has a business seeking a new | | | | 4) price your firm's services in relationship to your |
| CPA Accountant becoming interested in you, the new | | | | value. |
| client meeting will be much like meeting with referred | | | | If your accountant's marketing program fails to employ |
| prospective clients. They will be openly interested in | | | | any of the four basic steps or attempts to market |
| you. You won't feel yourself in the position of having to | | | | accounting services as a commodity, it is |
| sell them into using you or your firm. Remember, the | | | | recommended that you abandon the implementation of |
| accounting industry is based on trust. The key for your | | | | that program. You will avoid frustration and possible |
| success in your marketing program is its ability to | | | | financial disasters. Remember, the key to a successful |
| provide you the opportunity to establish trust and | | | | CPA Accountant's marketing program is never sales |
| demonstrate how you can help the prospective client. | | | | oriented. It is placing you and your firm in contact with a |
| Once you have a business in need of accounting | | | | business that has a need and is interested in you or |
| services interested in you, the third step your | | | | your firm fulfilling that need. |