Practical ideas, lessons learned and shared experiences for those in the world of CPA firm management, human resources, administration, marketing and technology.
Sure, I know that the partners at McLain, Calhoun, McCullough, Clark & Co., P.C. were not thinking of me specifically this week, but I do know that they did think enough of me to add me to the list of people who receive their annual, unique gift.
Yes, I received my box of onions and I was simply delighted. I’ve been lucky enough to receive this gift for many years now and I don’t take it for granted. It seems special every year.
You see, McLain Calhoun is located in Vidalia, Georgia – you all know what that means when it comes to onions, Vidalia onions are sweet and delicious.
How about your firm, are you recognizing your important clients and your valuable people by “remembering” them each year with a gift?
There are a lot of great ideas out there for gifts, but I met the people from Gifts On Time last fall and they make it easy for busy CPAs to schedule their gift-giving. They call it “gift management simplified.” One of the founders is actually a CPA – Ron Orleans.
I also encourage you to consider gifts for prospects. How can they refuse a phone call from someone who has sent them a nice gift. At my firm we did this all the time – - – send a letter, then a card, then a gift – then make a phone call.
I bet you never thought you would see a picture of me with onions! Maybe I should add it to my “Is that you with Rita?” album.
Vidalia onions aren't just the most famous onions in the world; I think they may be the ONLY famous onions in the world.
Accountants in public practice, love numbers – their client’s numbers and their firm’s performance statistics. CPA firm managing partners can quote you “their” numbers accurately and rapidly – sometimes with pride and sometimes with guilt.
CPA firms participate in MAP surveys. MAP stands for Managing an Accounting Practice. After they submit their numbers, they anxiously await the report that compares their numbers to the numbers of other CPA firms. If they compare favorably with the average, they are happy.
Many CPA firm owners evaluate performance of their employees based on a rating scale of 1 to 5, one being “bad” and 5 being “excellent.” Most evaluators rate people a #3 – average and everyone seems to be happy.
To me average means mediocre. Who wants to be mediocre? Mediocrity is for losers, people with no passion or ambition.
If you are going out for a nice dinner, do you pick the mediocre restaurant?
Do you leave an above average tip for a mediocre waiter/waitress?
Do you take out-of-town guests to play golf at a mediocre golf course?
Why do you settle for your firm and your people being mediocre?
The way to win new clients and the best employees is to be talked about. Most people think CPAs and CPA firms all look alike, they all look average. Don’t accept this fate – be unique, be different, be the cool firm in town.
All good is hard. All evil is easy. Dying, losing, cheating and mediocrity is easy. Stay away from easy.
Many of the firm administrators and managing partners I know are also charged with the role of Marketing Director. The vast majority of CPA firms are not of the size to support a full-time Marketing Director.
If your firm is large enough, I am sure your Marketing Director is one of the busiest people in your firm. If your firm is not large enough, consider introducing the role of Marketing Coordinator, even if it is a part-time position at first. You will be amazed at how quickly this person’s schedule fills-up and even overflows.
Smaller firm or larger firm, it takes discipline to effectively market your practice. Please don’t think that now summer is just around the corner, you can wait until fall to market!
Go through some simple exercises with all partners and managers. Use forms to gather information about your firms uniqueness in your market then identify weaknesses and get busy now!
List each CPA and each community or charitable organization where they are active. Are there, key, high profile organizations where your firm is absent?
Have each CPA list their referral sources (bankers, attorneys) and identify the referrals they have given you in the last year. Are you referring more their way than they are your way? Did you discover some referral sources on every one’s list and some powerful ones that are missing altogether?
Does each CPA have a marketing action plan and submit a report each month on their activities?
Is your firm, no matter how large or small, holding pipeline meetings at least monthly?
How are you dealing with social media and who owns it?
Don’t let summer cause a lapse in vigorous attention to marketing activities.
The Association for Accounting Marketing annual conference is coming up in June. I hope your marketing director, marketing coordinator or other firm representative will be attending.
Discipline is he bridge between goals and accomplishments.
One of the best ways to enhance your reputation as being an outstanding CPA is to write. Don’t cringe! One of the best ways to attract new business is to write. One of the best ways to obtain more business from your current clients is to write
You should be writing about what you know – accounting, tax, auditing – or about a special industry you serve, where you have become extremely knowledgeable – auto dealers, distributors, high wealth individuals, non-profits. Write about a special tax situation you solved for a client.
For years, firm administrators, administrative assistants and marketing directors in CPA firms have been waiting on you to provide that article you promised.
Here’s how the story goes. At a pipeline meeting, Pete (the tax partner) mentions that he will write an article for the next firm newsletter. Sally, the firm administrator, thanks him and informs him that she will need the article in three weeks. Pete acknowledges that is enough time for him to provide her the brief (350 to 400 word) article.
Two weeks later Sally sends Pete an email to remind him that he has one more week to write the article and she even stops by his office to inquire about his progress (he hasn’t started it yet). Two days before the due date she inquires again via email and receives no reply. The next day she asks him in the hallway about the article and he explains, “I know I owe you an article but I have been too busy, maybe I’ll do it tomorrow.” Sally delays publication of the newsletter, awaiting the promised article. After three or four days of standing outside his office door to nag him, she gives up and substitutes a “canned” article. Now, repeat this scene over and over again. One of my favorite phrases applies: Good intentions, no implementation.
In today’s business environment, writing has become more and more important. CPAs should be blogging, tweeting, sending newsletters with articles written by their own partners and staff, submitting articles to their local business newspaper, starting discussions on LinkedIn andiShade. The written word is being blasted around the planet in astronomical numbers and CPAs should be part of the noise. It has become absolutely critical for CPAs to be writing on social media.
Want to learn how to write for social media and how to make it an easy natural activity? Take 6 minutes and watch this excellent video from Jeffrey Gitomer titled, Writing is Not a Mystery. It’s Your Best Chance to Achieve Mastery.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.
I’ve heard it said many times over the years by CPA firm partners, “If we do technology consulting we’ll need to name it something different because our competitors will feel threatened and keep us away from their clients even though we don’t want the accounting and tax work.” – - – Well, maybe not stated each time in those exact words but I think you get the drift.
I always thought it was rather silly – who are you trying to fool anyway??
If your firm has a strong brand name in your business community or in your specialized niche, you should build on that brand. There is power in being a one-firm firm.
That’s exactly what Lou Grassi of Grassi & Co. is doing.
In a recent Accounting Today article, Grassi is featured for integrating his firm’s technology back into the Grassi brand. If you have struggled with this decision, be sure to read the informative article.
A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.
I was talking with Roy Keely of Xcentric last fall. He said, “I don’t even carry business cards anymore, with LinkedIn and other Internet tools, I can easily exchange contact information.”
I thought…. Roy is right-on, hardly anyone asks me for a business card anymore – they just want to know where to find me on the web (which is easy… just Google Rita Keller). Why bother with a business card?
An article appeared in many newspapers last week-end that validates this growing trend. Professionals are opting for LinkedIn and Bump as digital alternatives. Most of you are well aware of LinkedIn. If not follow the link to learn more about it. Bump is an app for your mobile device that enables you to simply “bump” hands while holding your mobile device and contact information is exchanges. Watch the cool video by following the link to Bump, above.
The article also notes:
To Web-savvy people who are accustomed to connecting digitally, business cards are irrelevant, wasteful and just lame.
If you have arranged to meet someone face-to-face, you have more than likely already connected via email, so there is really no need for a business card.
U.S. sales of business cards have been falling since the late 1990s.
Analysts say printed business cards, like newspapers, books and magazines, are fast giving way to digital alternatives.
85 million people have a professional network on LinkedIn and 77 million smartphone users have downloaded the Bump app.
Paper is not so appealing to this generation, says the chair of psychology at Golden Gate University.
Real life reality check: Each year as I speak to CPAs across the country and chat with them during networking events, when I ask for a business card, the most common reply is, as they quickly check every pocket: “Oh, I don’t have any with me.”
The liberty of speaking and writing guards our other liberties.
For years I have heard it said, in both small firms and large, “I’m just not comfortable with or good at networking.” Or, “I simply dread walking into a room of strangers at a business networking event.”
Advisors like me are constantly urging you to get out there, be visible, talk to people and take your team with you. To those of you who fit the old stereotype of accountants of being extreme introverts, this is truly a painful situation.
If you are a CPA introvert, I bet you have also been avoiding social media like the plague – when it could be your stepping-stone to making great connections and sharing your valuable expertise.
Jennifer Blumer of Blumer & Associates on a recent blog post on THRIVEal explains how social media can help accountants open doors and make connections via social media and then ease in to face-to-face meet-ups.
Many of you are introverts – as Blumer states: “Fellow introverts, I want to let you know once and for all, your personality type is NOT a weakness. But you may want to make some adjustments in your networking strategy.”
For the last few years I have been urging CPAs to focus on their website. Many have, many have not. Do you still have the old-fashioned look? Along with your boring website, is your logo stale and dated? How about your tagline? Are you the cool firm in town?
No? As the old saying goes, “there is no time like the present.”
Earlier this week I blogged about the increase in digital marketing efforts by firms this year. Where do you stand on this?
I often refer you to a firm who is leading the way with savvy, youthful, cool marketing efforts and communication to their marketplace – Freed Maxick.
Check-out this video for how they are introducing their new brand identity then begin jotting down notes about what you must do immediately after 4/15 (or better yet, don’t wait).
Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.
According to a recent survey by CPA Trendlines, accounting firms are significantly increasing their business-building efforts.
66% of accountants say their firms have been increasing their marketing and business development activities in the last 12 months.
85% say they will be continuing to step up marketing in the coming 12 months.
55% are accelerating their own personal business development efforts.
83% listed adding new clients as their #1 concern, followed by – client retention, lead generation, and niche or specialty service.
Firms also plan to upgrade their websites and e-newsletters and displaying more thought leadership.
Great news! – - I hope you have a plan in place for your firm. If not, you better meet early (late April, early May) and get busy. Make your planning day very focused and come away with an action plan with steps that are owned by a specific person in the firm. Build in accountability.
Do you know about Pinterest? It is an online pinboard and one of the fastest growing social media sites of all time.
I believe creative public accounting firms will find a way to utilize this vast audience. I’m probably like you – I was not aware of it until last week-end and I immediately thought “how could this work for accountants?”
Yes, I received my box of onions and I was simply delighted. I’ve been lucky enough to receive this gift for many years now and I don’t take it for granted. It seems special every year.
