7 Surprisingly Simple Strategies
to Build Your Accounting Practice
Without Being Salesy or Pushy
or a Cold-Caller or a Stalker
Sandi Smith Leyva, CPA, CITP,
CGMA, Certified QuickBooks
ProAdvisor
Goals
• Work less
• Make more
• Serve clients better
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You’re in the right place if
• You help clients with any aspect of their
accounting or accounting system or accounting
workflow or accounting reports or accountingrelated (financial services, admin support,
payroll, paralegal, IT support, etc.)
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You’re in the right place if you are
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CPA
CFP, CFE, audit certifications
CITP, CGMA
EA
QuickBooks ProAdvisor
AIPB, ASWA, AWSCPA member
NATP, NAEA, AICPA, State Society member
Reseller of QuickBooks (IRP, IAP), Sage Certified, Fishbowl
Certified, FreshBooks Certified, Xero Certified, Method
Certified, Intacct Partner, AccountMate Partner, etc.
• School of Hard Knocks
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You’re in the right place if
• You are in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, Europe, and speak English
• Big cities
– Competition
• Rural areas
– Businesses are small or scarce
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You’re in the right place if
• You need more clients now
• You are time-starved
• You’ve been stuck for years at the same
income level
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You’re in the right place if
• You’re doing OK, but want every edge to grow
your business
• You already know and trust me
• You are an “A” player, a driver, want the best
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Agenda / Promised
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1 10-minute exercise to gain more income
5 counter-intuitive things that are costing you
7 non-salesy growth strategies
Where you can get further information
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Value of this Webinar to You
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Revenue of additional sales to current clients
Lost revenue gained back in stopping bad behaviors
Relief of not having to do things people say you should
Saved expenses in doing wrong things in marketing
Better planning – moving from reactive to proactive
Less stressed-out
Why Me?
• Grew up in Dallas, TX
Why Me?
• Clients in college
• CPA practice 1995-2007
• Re-incorporated in 2007
Why Me?
• CPA
• Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor
Why Me?
• RELUCTANT marketer
Why Me?
My personal goal
• You are all a best-kept secret
• Clients need you more than they think
• You have the answers to help small business
thrive
• Disconnect / marketing is counter-intuitive
Stamp out the disconnect that’s costing
you to work harder, earn less, etc.
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Marketing Is a Skill
• On a scale of 1-10, how would you rank your marketing skills?
• Dirty little fact: Marketing vs. technical education
• Price-sensitive clients?
10-minute, no-cost revenue booster
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Excel spreadsheet!
Clients in rows, services in columns
Consciously and open-mindedly
20% pickup
Bookkeeping/
write-up
QuickBooks
Training
Tax
Sally’s Seashells
No
Yes, $1K
No
Larry the Lawyer
Yes, $12K
No
No
Mo the
Manufacturer
No
Yes
Yes
Charlie
Construction
Yes
Yes
Yes
Bonus revenue booster – reverse-engineering
• Reverse engineering your revenue numbers
Revenue plan:
$300,000 =
60 clients x
$5,000 each
Marketing plan:
60 clients =
How are you going to
get those clients
Counter-intuitive things that cost
#1: Over-serving
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Counter-intuitive things that cost
#2: Feeling too busy to market – feast or famine
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Counter-intuitive things that cost
#3: Doing billable work
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Counter-intuitive things that cost
#4: No or below-average marketing skills
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Counter-intuitive things that cost
#5: Need for freedom/control
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Strategy #1
• Build your value
Strategy #2
• Fix your time problem
– Time is never a problem – how you use it is
– Multi-millionaires have the same amount of time you do
– Time batching
• Just another skill
– Overwhelm
• Just another skill
Strategy #3
• Display your credibility
Strategy #4
• Learn how to ask questions of your
prospect or client
– NOT technical questions
– “What’s that costing you?”
– “What’s the cost of NOT doing anything?”
Strategy #5
• Choose marketing channels that fit your
strengths.
– Make it a numbers game
Strategy #6
• Understand the emotional component of
small business, marketing, and selling
Strategy #7
• Fix your weakest link
What Tip Did You Like the Best?
Revenue-builders
• Upsell spreadsheet
• Reverse-engineering
Counter-intuitive
• Overserving
• Too busy to market
• Doing billable work
• No marketing skills
• Need for freedom
Strategies
• Build Value
• Fix Time
• Display Credibility
• Ask Non-Technical Questions
• Market Based on Strengths
• Understand Emotional
• Fix weakest link
Value of this Webinar to You
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•
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•
•
•
Revenue of additional sales to current clients
Lost revenue gained back in stopping bad behaviors
Relief of not having to do things people say you should
Saved expenses in doing wrong things in marketing
Better planning – moving from reactive to proactive
Less stressed-out
Ready to Boost Your Bottom Line?
What one thing will you do
to fill your accounting practice
when you get home?