Million Dollar CPA

Posted in Client Management, Management, Marketing, Member Resources, Seminars, Videos

Tags: 2012 2020 UK Gordon Gilchrist Ian Fletcher Marketing planning practice management

November Webinars

October 29th, 2011

Join us for the upcoming webinars. All webinars are FREE. Attend one or attend them all. All webinars are 60 minutes in duration. NASBA certification is still pending so at this stage CPE is not offered.

1. Tuesday November 8 11 am (PST)

Understanding Debt Options in Today’s Economy: Learn How to Incorporate An Annual Debt Review into your client services

with Ami Kassar

In today’s economy, loan markets for small businesses are complex. This webinar will help you understand the fundamental’s of today’s market — and how to advise your clients. You’ll also learn how to provide an annual debt review for your clients.

2. Wednesday November 9 11 am (PST)

How to Systemize Your Accounting Firm

with Michael Mills

It’s estimated as much as 2 hours of productivity is lost each day due to a lack of internal systems. In accounting firms too much information is stored in the minds of the knowledge works rather than in accessible systems. With tax season just around the the corner this is the perfect opportunity to review your current systems. Michael Mills will guide you through the process of identifying and creating systems to make your business run smoothly.

3. Thursday November 10 11 am (PST)

How to Be Successful with Social Media

with Damien Greathead

Social media is not going away. Instead it’s changing dramatically how we make buying decisions. Social media platforms allow you to become a famous person, overcome geographical limitations, connect with experts around the world, communicate with your clients and prospects and generate new business. This webinar will show you the steps you need to take to make this free and powerful platform work for you.

4. Tuesday November 15 11 am (PST)

Discover the Benefits of iShade

with Lisa Benson

iShade is an online community for accountants with a whole host of benefits. The forums are a perfect place to ask questions of the community, the 2020 Gateway allows you to connect with other 2020 members around the world (and allows other accountants to find you), the firm intranet is the perfect place to deposit your knowledge; and the list of benefits goes on and on. Lisa Benson from iShade will guide you through the platform and give you the first steps you need to take to make iShade work for you.

5. Wednesday November 16 11 am (PST)

Tax Season Marketing Strategies

with Damien Greathead

Tax season is the perfect time to be marketing for new clients. We’ll show you proven strategies to grow your firm.

Find out more and register today.

Posted in Client Management, Marketing, Seminars, Social Media, Social Networking

Tags: ami kassar iShade lisa benson michael mills multifunding systemizing your accounting practice tax season marketing webinars

Hello San Francisco

August 2nd, 2011

“I learn something new to increase my net profit every time I attend Chris’ seminar.”

That was a comment from last week’s seminar in Irvine. Tomorrow (August 3-4) we’re in San Francisco and for 2 days we’ll discuss what it is the small to medium sized firm needs to do to stay competitive.

Over the last couple of years we’ve seen flat if not declining revenues. However some firms are enjoying their best years ever. This 2 day seminar is designed to show you exactly what to do and who to partner with.

Next week, we’re in Chicago (8/9-10) and St. Louis (8/11-12), followed by Atlanta (8/16-17) and Philadelphia (8/18-19) the week after.

Don’t miss out!

Posted in Client Management, Management, Marketing, Seminars

Cost Segregation may help reduce your client’s quarterly estimated payments

March 25th, 2011

I know you have a lot going on right now, but I had to share this client experience with you.

I was meeting with a new client who owns their own building discussing their depreciation schedule. Their previous accountant had depreciated the entire building over 39 years and having met the guys from Cost Segregation Partners I knew we could do better.

I gave them the specifics and their analysis identified an additional $300k in additional depreciation in year 1 which continued into years 2 and 3. The cash flow benefit was astronomical and the client was delighted at the prospect (if not somewhat annoyed that his previous accountant had not discussed this with him).

If you have clients who have:

Commercial property placed in service after Dec. 31 1986, with a cost basis of,
- At least $500K (excluding land) for an owned building, or
- Leased property with a minimum of $250k in leasehold improvements, and
The entity is paying taxes,

Then you should give Cost Segregation Partners a call.

Speaking to Charles yesterday, he said there’s still time to reduce Estimated Quarterly Payments by leveraging Cost Segregation Benefits Projections. Charles said many CPA firms were using the Benefits Projections before engaging in the cost segregation project to help reduce their clients Extension/Estimated Quarterly Payments.

Charles shared a couple of other examples of recent cost seg work they had done for CPA firms:

Class A Office Building Placed in Service: June 2010

Cost basis: $20,484,823

2010 2011 2012

Additional depreciation: $ 1,687,936 $ 634,582 $ 444,035

Cash flow benefit: $ 725,812 $ 272,870 $ 191,051

Health Club (Leased) Placed in Service: July 2010

Cost basis: $566,000

Additional depreciation: $ 302,306 $ 29,847 $ 16,789

Cash flow benefit: $ 129,992 $ 12,679 $ 7,219

Urban Grocery Market Placed in Service: September 2006

Cost basis: $2,916,050

Additional depreciation: $ 414,799 $ 29,152

Cash flow benefit: $ 178,364 $ 12,535

From my own experience they turned the Benefits Projection Benchmark Report around quickly which we were able to leverage immediately. We even negotiated the initial analysis to be done for free for 2020 members.

If a client comes to mind, get in touch with Charles Sirro of Cost Segregation Partners. His phone number is 602-206-0522 and his email is Charles.sirro@costsegregationpartners.com.

Posted in Client Management, Type 2 Services

Tags: added value additional services cost segregation

A New Dialogue

November 21st, 2010

I’ve been reading “Breakthrough Business Devlopment” by Duncan MacPherson and David Miller and one of the chapters really struck me and I have been putting into action in my own conversations. They argue, and I agree, that too often when we speak with our clients and prospects we’re too quick to get to the message – or what we want them to hear. It’s one directional and more often than not sales focused. The authors suggest a new framework for speaking with your clients and prospects. Here is their F.R.O.M. model.

F – Family – Ask about their family. And make sure you have a good CRM system to record that information. Find out about birthdays, anniversaries, children etc.

R – Recreation – Ask about their hobbies and what they like to do in their spare time. Who’s their favorite team? Where did they go for vacation?

O – Occupation – How’s work? Fairly straight forward, I think you’d agree.

M – Message – Last but not least, your reason for calling.

Given that we’re in the business of relationships this framework is incredibly insightful. It’s not rocket science, but we make sure we give the client ample time to talk about themselves before we promote our message. Importantly use this conversation to uncover information that could be used in the future. For example, asking about their children might prompt a future discussion on college fund planning, finding out that cash is tight in the business might prompt a cash flow planning conversation. The opportunities are endless when we listen to our clients.

Next time you have a client meeting, give the F.R.O.M. framework a go.

Posted in Client Management, People

Tags: breakthrough business development cross selling FROM

2020 Group Annual Conference October 14-15, 2010

October 27th, 2010

We recently returned from the 14th Annual 2020 (UK) Conference. Lord Digby Jones started the day with his take on the changing face of business and was followed by the 2020 Directors, Gordon Gilchrist, Ian Fletcher and Chris Frederiksen who discussed the changing face of marketing, technology and client care and how accounting firms can seize on these opportunities and leave their competition behind. Check out the highlight video.

Posted in Client Management, Management, Marketing, Seminars, Videos

Tags: 2020 Annual Conference

What do Your Clients Really Think?

September 5th, 2010

When was the last time you asked how satisfied your client were with the service you provided them? We fall into the trap that because clients pay we assume they are happy with our services. This is a dangerous trap that all firms must avoid. A better indication of satisfaction is the number of referrals your firm is receiving from current clients.

The best way to uncover what your clients really think is to survey them. There are 2020 member firms who undertake a satisfaction review after every engagement. This review comes in a variety of firms. For smaller engagements a survey is sent to them by email, for larger engagements, someone not on the work team calls the client and asks them a series of questions to make sure the firm met their client’s expectations.

Some of our members have asked us to survey their clients for them. We contact the client as an independent 3rd party and garner a great deal of insight into how firms can better serve their clients. Email us if you would like more information on 2020 Client Satisfaction Surveys.

WARNING: If you ask your clients for their feedback you must be ready to act on it!

Moving forward make it a policy to survey clients once a year or after every engagement. You can use web based surveys from providers such as www.surveymonkey.com or www.constantcontact.com.

Each method (Web, phone, or 3rd party) will have different response rates, so don’t be alarmed if the first time you do an internet survey you get a low response. It will build over time.

If you use internet surveys, make entering their contact details optional as this may help them be more honest. Keep it to 10 minutes and let them know that the survey will take no more than 10 minutes. And finally reward anyone who responds (and identifies themselves) with a small gift such as an iTunes/ Starbucks gift card.

Visit the Resource Center for the survey questions.

1 comment »

Posted in Client Management, Management, Marketing, Member Resources

Why do Clients Complain? Reason 4 – Attitude

August 30th, 2010

Clients have a right to expect that the people who work in your firm have a positive, enthusiastic, “can do” attitude. If you have any member of staff, or a partner for that matter, who doesn’t display this kind of attitude, it can be disastrous in terms of client relations. Overwork, lack of training and a remuneration scheme that is perceived as inadequate or unfair can all contribute to poor attitudes among your staff.

Discord among the partners; poor management systems and/or a lack of leadership are the most common conditions that de-motivate members of the team. And if the team members aren’t motivated, it will impact your clients and their behavior.

If you think there might be an attitude problem in your office, a quick activity you can undertake is to survey your staff anonymously using www.surveymonkey.com. Here are a couple of sample questions:

Rate on a scale of 1-5, how you think the firm is doing
Rate on a scale of 1-5, your level of job satisfaction
What have we done well this year? (Open ended)
What have we NOT done well this year? (Open ended)

Don’t ask for names, and don’t be offended by their responses, and remember that when you ask for input you need to act on that input. Alternatively you ask us to conduct the survey for you and compile a report of recommendations. Email us for more information

Posted in Client Management, Management, Marketing, Member Resources, People

Why do Clients Complain? Reason 3 – Perceived Indifference

August 20th, 2010

Accountants often get totally focused on the task at hand, and neglect to communicate sufficiently with the client along the way. Alternatively, the main communication the client receives is ‘super-technical’ and over their heads. Either way, the perception the client has is one of indifference. Obviously, we’re not actually indifferent to the client’s needs. However if the client perceives that that is what is occurring, the difference is academic, remember perception is reality!

We believe that the most common reason for losing a client is perceived indifference. Think about the last time you took over a client from another practitioner and remind yourself about what the client said about that person. Remarks like, “they just didn’t seem to care” and “we felt like we were too small for them” are remarkably common.

Set up a system to communicate regularly with your clients. For Premium Members ($35/month) the client relationship letters in the Premium Resource Section are perfect for this ongoing communication. Set a goal. Add another 4 ‘touches’ to your communication plan. Who knows, you might even pick up some extra work. A new letter on Unique Selling Propositions has just been added to the collection. Send it out today! Not a premium member? Find out more.

For regular (free) members, even a thank you letter is a great way to start, and you can find them in the Resource Center.