Marketing

My friend Al is a sole practitioner with seven staff members and a thriving audit practice, besides the typical tax and small business tax clients. He is getting older, and while he has no plans to retire and is actively trying to grow his practice, he periodically meets with larger firms to see if there is an interest in acquiring his practice when that day comes. By doing this he stumbled on a fantastic business development formula.

You have a great reputation, excellent credentials, went to all the right schools, and plenty of practical, relevant experience. I think you may just be the perfect CPA for me and you are exactly what I am looking for to help with my business. But I just signed an engagement letter with another firm. Huh?

Thomson Reuters has introduced Thomson Reuters Checkpoint Marketing for Firms Social Media Infographics and Fun Facts, with visuals that tax and accounting professionals can use on social media every week.

How do you gain the trust of your current and prospective clients, as well as colleagues, subordinates and others with whom you do business or want to do business?

“Why should I give free advice?” That’s a question we sometimes hear when we advise clients to blog, answer questions in public forums and generally offer professional insight to their audiences.

Every year Accounting Today publishes the results of their survey that identifies the “Best Firms to Work For.” Since I have been out of the daily management of an accounting firm for a few years, I was curious to learn what new and innovative policies the leading firms today are embracing that puts them in the rankings as a great place to work.

CPA firms have made significant strides in improving their website designs and functionality, according to Skoda Minotti Strategic Marketing’s 2016 Website Audit.

When was the last time you had a speaking engagement? If the answer is “never” or “a long time ago” you may want to focus on finding an opportunity to present to an audience, either in person, through a live webinar or another online option.

The Institute of Management Accountants is launching an advertising campaign on television, radio and online to promote the Certified Management Accountant credential, including commercials on late-night talk shows and Saturday Night Live.

By my reckoning there are about 42,000 accounting firms in the United States, and 41,600 might be considered to be small.

Many dream of the day they can start their own business. For some CPAs, the leap to self-employment means a chance to set their own schedule and balance work and family on their own terms. For others, it’s about leaving a boss behind and taking the reins.

We all use the cliché that we give the clients the best we've got, but what does it really mean?

Last week I wrote about benefits of attending practice management programs and gave a suggestion to try to make eight changes a year from each hour of the program. Today I am recommending some MAP books and repeat the suggestion of implementing one idea a year from each book.

There’s probably no one “right” time for tax preparers to start a newsletter, but the end of summer might be an optimum time. Vacation memories are beginning to fade, and people are gearing up to get back into the real world of work, busy schedules and tax.

The CPA Consultants’ Alliance has appointed Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk of bbr marketing as the group’s new Marketing Chair and Carrie Steffen of the Whetstone Group as the new Deliverables Chair.

In last week’s column, I described various specializations for accountants. In this week’s column, we’ll talk about gaining the necessary expertise.

How can a CPA firm differentiate itself?

I was not a specialist. In some respects, I am the last of the “expert generalists” and generalists are fast becoming extinct.

Your firm could be in a heap of trouble if you tweet about #TeamUSA, post a photo to Facebook of the Olympic rings or even mention the term “Olympics” from your firm’s accounts.

I like to wear shirts with my firm’s logo. We have an arrangement with Land’s End where we can order what we want from their catalog and have the Withum logo applied. It is a very easy process.