Maximizing Your Customer Base

Turning Those Individual Returns into Business Returns

Have you ever wondered how you could translate the healthy influx of clients requesting individual tax help into the more profitable service of tax planning and preparation for small businesses? Have there been several candidates for whom you have prepared individual returns, people who could save on taxes if they were to turn their hobby or pastime into a business? Are you only preparing an individual’s tax returns when you could be doing their business’s as well?Here are a few tips to consider:

Getting the Profit Motive

In order for the hobbyist to become a business owner they must be interested in making a profit. Have them honestly answer the question, “Would I like to make money from my hobby?” If they would, then you are, or rather they are, in business!The IRS has some guidelines in determining the validity of this type of business. Their main interest is in determining whether the intent of your client’s hobby was to earn a profit. The IRS looks at the following factors to decide if those intentions are honorable:

• The manner in which they carry on the activity.
• Their expertise and the expertise of their advisers.
• The time and effort they expend in carrying out this activity.
• The expectation that the assets used in their business may appreciate in value.
• Their success in carrying on similar or dissimilar activities.
• Their history of income and losses with respect to the activity.
• The amount of occasional profits, if any, that are earned.
• Their financial status.
• The elements of personal pleasure and recreation.

This doesn’t mean that just because an individual enjoys doing their “job” the expenses cannot be deducted. The Tax Court has ruled that “suffering has never been made a prerequisite for deductibility.” It’s just important that there exist evidence that your client is conducting this hobby as a means of producing profit.

Easy Set Up

Often all that needs to be done for a person to set up a business is to file a “DBA” (an assumed name for the business, or “Doing Business As”) with the county or state in which they reside (minimal fees may apply).Once this has been done, you, as their tax advisor, can look at what possible deductions connected to their pursuit of making, building, providing services, etc. to those around them. Remember, companies don’t have to make a profit, but they must intend to make a profit. Make sure that they can meet that criteria, and then offer them the chance to save them money.The other way of maximizing your customer base is through those business owners who ask you to prepare their individual returns. Perhaps they don’t know you can also do their business taxes. Maybe they are having a great aunt take care of it and would like some help. They may even be trying to do their business taxes on their own. The key to capturing that account is to ask. Yes, simply ask them how they are taking care of their company’s yearly tax obligations. Once they tell you all that they can about how they are preparing their business taxes you can ask, “Can I help you out and see if we can save you money?”That one simple question is the best way to gain the business of those with whom you are acquainted. Again when you display a genuine concern for their business, they will be more inclined to let you in their door! Many of our students and graduates have used this tactic to gain account after account on their billing records. You can too.

Let Us Help You Grow Your Clientele

This is just one example of how you can maximize your client base and increase your bottom line. And we can share 20 more strategies designed to help you attract more clients. How? With our Universal Practice Builder Program. Designed to help financial professionals like you become trained in proven marketing strategies designed to secure 15 to 25 qualified leads per month, this program guarantees you will earn $30,000 more in annualized billings in just one year! Think about it; when you enroll in this program it’s as if you’re giving yourself a $30,000 raise. Don’t you deserve it? Make this the turning point of your business! Why wait another day to make your business more profitable? Order now!

Support Coaching

A Support Coach Will Bring Out the Winner in You

In a movie, The Legend of Bagger Vance, a caddy (played by Will Smith) coaches a skilled golfer (played by Matt Damon) to perform well above his capability. The golfer knew how to swing a golf club, and the entire town of Savannah was behind him, but he needed the perspective and guidance of a coach to meet the challenge.This is not only true of golf wins, but can be said of most success stories – we all have coaches of one kind or another. Though they may be friends, family members, or professional associates, coaches can and will influence our actions. These people can spell the difference between success and failure. The key is to find one that will lead you to meet your objectives.The ultimate Support Coach has three characteristics:

1. They are available to work with you.
2. They will motivate you when you need a little encouragement; and.
3. They understand what you are going through.

If you already know someone that matches this criterion, then congratulations are in order.

What a Coach Can Do for You

How you work with a coach depends upon your particular needs. If you’re adequately motivated, you may just need answers to questions as they arise. In this case, find someone that is knowledgeable and experienced in the areas you need the greatest support. Explain to the coach why you need his or her help, and then get contact information including a phone number, best hours to be reached, and an email address. The fee for such services depends upon the coach you’ve chosen and what it’s for. But, if it’s for professional assistance, then you’ll want to at least offer to pay for the help. The cost is really an investment. And when you consider that a coach’s help could be the difference between success and failure, the price is typically irrelevant.If you often wonder if you did the right thing, or you find that you’re letting yourself down, then you need a coach that will help you re-examine your objectives, put you back on course, and hold you accountable to yourself. This can only be done by setting up a regular appointment to review what is happening, what is expected, and sometimes, what you’re dreaming about. These meetings may occur weekly, if necessary, but never less than monthly. Otherwise, you and the coach run the risk of losing touch with the progress. A good coach will review action items with you from the previous meeting, and keep detailed notes on follow-up steps.Frankly, most people will find a coach that falls short on one or more of these key attributes. When that happens, the experience usually ends in frustration for both the individual and the coach. So, an increasingly popular option is to seek a professional coach – someone who is skilled at helping a person succeed.

Universal Accounting Center’s Master Coaching Programs

Universal Accounting Center has two coaching programs designed to give you that extra help you need to succeed. If you are already a Universal student, chances are that you are familiar with the Academic Coaching program. Most likely you received support when you purchased the training program. At that time, you were assigned an academic coach who is qualified to answer all of your accounting, software and tax questions. Academic Coaches are full-time staff located at our corporate headquarters in Utah who are skilled professionals in accounting, tax, and marketing. They spend all day, during normal business hours, responding to student questions. To read more about this program, go to www.know-accounting.com/follow-up-support.htmlFor those who want the regularly scheduled coaching sessions, Universal offers the Master Coaching Program. For a relatively modest fee (especially when compared to other coaching programs), a student is assigned a Master Coach who will follow-up with the student at pre-arranged times each week to review progress on past objectives, discuss the student’s current position, and recommend action steps to take the student to the next level.Probably, the greatest advantage in using a Universal Master Coaching Program is that these professionals are focused exclusively on the accounting and tax careers. Unlike other coaching programs, the Universal Coaches are masters in helping the financial professional reach his or her expectations – they know what works and what doesn’t. This specialization gives them insights that no other Coach will have.

Your Greatest “Play”: Becoming a Full-Service Financial Provider

You don’t need a coach to tell you that your business will grow significantly once you are able to promote additional, complementary services. If you add accounting to your menu you can increase your bottom line without acquiring new clients. How? By focusing all your attention on existing clients you’ll discover that the person they trust to do their taxes is the same person they want dealing with all their financials. This is called cross-selling and is an extremely effective marketing approach.

Universal’s Power Package Can Help You Increase Your Services AND Promote Them, All for One Low PriceUniversal Accounting Center has nearly three decades worth of experience training professionals just like you small business accounting. Every year the number of small businesses grows; every year small business owners need trusted financial providers to help them manage their financials. The Professional Bookkeeper Program can teach you everything you need to know to do just that in less than 60 hours! Imagine, for a fraction of the time you would spend in a university, and for a fraction of the cost, you could earn professional certification that indicates your experience and expertise as a Professional Bookkeeper.Add to that the Universal Practice Builder (UPB) Program and you’ll gain marketing expertise that will enable you to promote your new and improved practice. As a full-service financial provider, UAC can teach you how to maximize your marketing efforts so that you can spend the majority of your time doing what you do best: accounting and tax.

It’s time to take your tax practice full-time! By adding accounting services to your menu, you’ll have more than enough to keep you busy year-round. Add to that the marketing expertise you’ll gain through the UPB Program and you’ll have so much work you’ll have to turn clients away. Change the forecast of your future. Brace yourself for success and purchase your Power Package today!

Writing an Effective Marketing Plan – Part IV

(Part IV of IV part series of Writing Your Business and Marketing Plans)

“Marketing is not an event, but a process . . . It has a beginning, a middle, but never an end, for it is a process. You improve it, perfect it, change it, even pause it. But you never stop it completely.” — Jay Conrad Levinson

We can’t emphasize enough the importance of good marketing. Like Levinson says, sound marketing is continuous, never-ending if you want your business to thrive. And the best way for a business to thrive is to have a good marketing plan.

Last week we began outlining the key elements of a good marketing plan. We discussed the following:

• Marketing Goals and Objectives
• Pricing of Products/Services

Today we’ll wrap up the discussion by covering two more elements of a good plan.

Key Marketing Strategies It’s important to determine which marketing strategies you’re going to use from the onset. Obviously you can assess their success and revise your strategies after they’ve been implemented, but you need a starting point. And remember, the marketing plan is only making projections for one year; you have plenty of time to change course and revise your strategies.

Questions to ask as you develop a marketing strategy: Which promotional methods work best for your target market? Which methods will you use? What type of tangible results will you use to measure your success? How long will you wait to see those results before revising your strategy?

To help you brainstorm marketing tactics that might work for you, we’ll list a few here:

• Direct mailings (brochures, postcards, flyers, etc.)
• Television advertisements
• Radio advertisements
• Print advertisements (in magazines, newspapers, local publications, the phone book, etc.)
• Website promotions
• Ezine
• Newsletters
• Press releases
• Promotional games and activities (ability to win or receive promotional materials)
• Exposure at conferences, seminars, workshops, and community outreach programs
• Host an open house or business party
• Networking opportunities (Chambers of commerce, luncheons, business ‘getting-to-knows’)

And that literally names just a few. As with most of the other elements in your business plan, it’s good to do a little research before you write this section. Purchase a book on marketing, find out what strategies your competitors are using, and ask members of your target market how they’ve found their current tax preparer.

One way in getting new clients is to be unique in what you do and to broadcast that to as many people as possible. There may be ways in your community, or city that have not been thought of, or tried before. Look at those opportunities to spread the word about your business and how you can benefit their business by coming to you.

Implementation of Your Marketing Plan This portion of your plan articulates how you will implement your strategies. This should include a schedule and list of key tasks you’ll need to complete in order to start and complete your plan. You should also consider the resources you’ll need and who you might use when outsourcing some of these tasks. It’s a plan for success, and once you’ve written it you’ll have an easy blueprint to follow; you won’t get a few months into startup and have to waste time and energy thinking through things you’ve already researched and decided.

Two words that you need to know about implementing your Marketing Plan- Test and Prepare. Especially when you are on a tight budget you need to be mindful of how much you spend, and that goes double for something that you haven’t tried before. Test out a segment of the market, if there’s an introductionary rate or if you can get a discount of some kind. Once you have tested out your marketing message on a smaller segment, and depending on your response you can ramp up what you tried or close it down altogether.

The second word is Prepare. In Marketing a message will prove itself one way or another. You need to be prepared with other materials, if it goes south on you and you need to be prepared if the message sticks and the phone starts ringing of it’s hinges. Try to plan for the best and anticipate the worst and you will be able to continue to move the growth of your practice forward.

Writing Tips It’s important to realize that none of these elements should be written independent of the other. The marketing plan is closely related to the entire business plan, and you’ll learn more about how to market as you write the rest of your plan. Each section can be revised and rewritten as you learn more from writing other sections. Don’t think that simply because you’ve completed one element that it’s written in stone. Writing your business plan is a learning process and you’ll learn more about your business, your approach and your marketing philosophy as you write it. Give yourself the time to do it right.

UAC Can Help You Develop a Marketing Plan Universal Accounting Center understands that marketing may not one of your strengths and has designed a DVD intended to help those of us who are marketing-challenged. For just $9.95 you can learn effective marketing strategies for your tax practice. You’re less than $10.00 away from learning which marketing strategies to include in your marketing plan. Order today!

Writing An Effective Marketing Plan – Part III

(Part III of a IV part series on Writing Your Business and Marketing Plan)

“The fact is, everyone is in sales. Whatever area you work in, you do have clients and you do need to sell.” –Jay Abraham

No matter how good you are at tax preparation, how well you do what you do you still have to focus your energy on marketing; if you don’t do any marketing, you’ll have no one to prepare any taxes for. So what do you do? You create a marketing plan to go along with your business plan.

Oh boy, you’re thinking, the Business Plan was enough to overwhelm me. But because you’re writing the marketing plan in conjunction with your business plan, you’ve already done some of the necessary work for this portion. In fact, determining your marketing strategy will probably require the most effort. But let’s review the information from your business plan that will help you with the marketing portion of your plan:

• Description of products/services

• Market analysis

• 3 to 5-year financial plan (which should have allowed for a marketing budget)

In your business plan, you’ve already connected your services to a target market, analyzed your competition and their marketing strategies, and defined a marketing budget. Here are the first two elements of an effective marketing plan:

Marketing Goals and ObjectivesFirst you need to determine what you hope to accomplish through your marketing efforts. It’s important to be as specific as possible because once you state your goals you can use them later as a measure of success. Once you have created the road map you wish to follow with your business plan, you need to create your “game plan” on how you are going to get from milestone to milestone. When you do this you will often find that there are things that you may have not considered before but are essential to achieving your ultimate goal. The focus of your business actions will become more clear, and your everyday activities that you undertake will then have a purpose.

Clarify each Marketing Objective, that’s a key concern in writing your goals and objectives: are they measurable, meaning, can you determine later whether or not you’ve achieved them? For example, saying you want to be more successful is not necessarily something you can measure later on. But saying you want 10 new clients by the end of the year is measurable. And be realistic. Setting unrealistic goals will only discourage you as you move forward. This may require you to do more research; what are some realistic expectations for growth in a successful tax preparation practice?

Pricing of Products/ServicesThis will also require a little research on your competition. Do you have competitors in your market? What are your competitors charging for similar products and services? How may they be “packaging” the services that they do? Knowing these things will give you an edge once you sit down with that potential client. It will also give you the a competitive advantage in your marketing efforts.

Again, be specific. If offering various services (tax preparation, tax planning, filing tax forms, consultation, etc.) create a pricing sheet that lists each product and service and how you plan to charge for it. With this in place you can better project future sales and possibly better estimate how many clients you need to become self-sufficient and more importantly, profitable.

UAC Can Help You Develop a Marketing PlanUniversal Accounting Center understands that marketing may not one of your strengths and has designed a DVD intended to help those of us who are marketing-challenged. For just $9.95 you can learn effective marketing strategies for your tax practice. You’re less than $10.00 away from learning which marketing strategies to include in your marketing plan. Order today!

Come back next week to go over the final two portions of your marketing plan, including helpful writing tips:

• Key Marketing Strategies

• Implementation of Your Marketing Plan

Marketing Mistakes

Avoiding These Marketing Mistakes

Sometimes It’s All About What NOT To Do

“No matter what your product is, you are ultimately in the education business. Your customers need to be constantly educated about the many advantages of doing business with you, trained to use your products more effectively, and taught how to make never-ending improvement in their lives.” –Robert G. AllenEvery business, regardless of what it sells, is in the business of marketing. If you’re not selling your business, your business isn’t selling. And sometimes success in marketing comes in knowing what not to do. Here are five marketing mistakes to avoid this upcoming year:1.Become distracted

Does this sound familiar? A husband, bless his soul, has an interesting approach to DIY projects around the house. First he goes shopping and buys lots of new tools. Next he sets up shop, getting tools out and prepping the area. Then he circles the project in question a few times, cocking his head from side to side in a very manly way. Then he goes and watches football for the rest of the day and those in the home spend the next few months stepping over the unfinished project.

Granted, all that preparation might be necessary, but it doesn’t accomplish the objective at hand. The same applies to marketing. You can buy countless how-to books, go to lots of seminars, and have an articulate marketing plan, but unless you act on it you will not be doing any marketing at all. Don’t let yourself get distracted. Focus on the task at hand, wave the fear aside, and market.

2. Expect your business to sell itself.

Word-of-mouth marketing can work in your favor, but the last thing you should do is sit on your haunches and expect the business to sell itself. Regardless of how fabulous your product might be, you still need to let people know what you’re selling in order to get them through your door. Allen Bostrum, author of In the Black and president of UAC, says the first principle in making your business more profitable is to remember that nothing happens until you make a sale. While positive thinking may improve your outlook, it doesn’t make for a good marketing executive. Bottom line: in order for your business to be profitable, you must market your products and services.

3. Avoid defining a target market.

Every business owner would like to think that anyone with a pulse would love their product. The truth is you can’t hit a target unless you know what it is; you may want to appeal to everyone, but for marketing to be successful you have to aim for a specific audience. Trying to fulfill everyone’s needs is impossible, but if you’ve defined a target market, it becomes much easier to anticipate those needs and promote your services. Recognize that your market can expand and evolve, but you have to start someone; define your market now.

4. Focus all your efforts on getting new clients, rather than marketing to current or previous clients

Often business owners get so wrapped up in attracting new clients that they forget how important it is to retain current and previous clients. Keeping current clients happy is key; it’s less costly than finding new clients to replace them, and they represent a significant income stream. Be sure you have excellent customer service and continually question how you can meet more of their needs; then tell them about how you can meet more of their needs.

5. Reinvent the marketing wheel

I’ve heard it said that there are really only about 10 conflicts authors write about in their novels; the key is in trying to make them sound new. Marketing works the same way; there are key strategies businesses pick and choose from. And thank heavens — you went into business because you’re good at preparing taxes, not because you want to create new and inventive marketing strategies. You don’t have to; you just have to make current marketing strategies work for you. Don’t waste time trying to come up with a promotion no one has heard of before. Pick a promotion that would appeal to your target market and make it work for your business.

UAC Can Show You Marketing Strategies that Do Work Universal Accounting Center knows what marketing strategies do work for the small to mid-size business. For just $9.95 you can purchase the DVD “The Art and Science of Getting Clients” which shows you how to grow your business $30,000 to $125,000 per year; that’s quite a return on your investment. Don’t wait another day to learn more about what you should do in order to successfully market your business. Visit Universal Accounting Center today!

How Does Tax Reform Impact Your Practice

Tax simplification? Despite efforts of the Federal Government to make the tax code easier to understand, it continues to get more and more complicated. In fact, the “code” today represents a volume a little larger than the King James version of the Bible.As efforts to simplify the tax code press forward, this presents a great opportunity for you to build your tax and accounting practice. Every year the number of people who have professionals file their income taxes continues to increase.

The Need For Professional Tax Preparers Continues to Rise

Of the 224.3 Million returns filed in 2004, 43.9 Million were filed by professionals. That’s up from 25.2 Million in 2000. (During this period of time the total number of tax returns remained fairly constant.)You might be surprised to know that 81% of people surveyed thought the tax code was too complicated and 70% said they hated to do their own taxes.* This is really good news for you… if you are considering starting your own tax preparation business.

43.4% of the Federal Budget is Funded by Individual Income Taxes

$2,473,298,000,000.00 is the projected budget for 2006. Whether or not they “simplify” the tax code, the need for professional tax preparers will continue to increase.In fact, the US Department of Labor predicts that as the economy grows, the number of businesses will increase, requiring more accountants/bookkeepers to prepare taxes, set up books, and provide management advice. As these businesses grow, the volume and complexity of information developed by these professionals regarding costs, expenditures and taxes will increase as well.They also say that the increased need for qualified tax preparers and accountants will rise from changes in legislation related to taxes, financial reporting standards, business investments and other financial matters.

How Does “Tax Simplification” Create a Marketing Opportunity for My Business?

It’s been said, “People who complain about taxes can be divided into two classes: men and women.” As long as people feel this way about taxes, it doesn’t matter whether the code becomes easier to understand or not, the opportunities for professional tax preparers will always exist.Make tax simplification a point of discussion with your clients. Turn this current event into a conversation that allows you to offer your services. Feel free to quote the statistics that we’ve discussed here as you communicate with your clients.Utilizing current events in your communications and marketing material is a great way to introduce your services to your present clients as well as potential clients.

The Professional Tax Preparer Certification Teaches You How to Market Your Tax Practice

Don’t reinvent the wheel. Over the years, Universal Accounting has discovered time tested methods for finding clients and building a profitable and successful practice. We employ some of the finest marketers in the business whose sole purpose is to help you market your tax and accounting practice.We can’t do it for you, but you’ll have access to the best marketing experience and advice available anywhere. This is a Universal Accounting exclusive. I don’t know of another program anywhere that offers you the advice and expertise that you’ll find here.Click on the link below and learn more about the Professional Tax Preparer Certification and how you can make $100 per hour or more providing professional tax preparation services to your clients. But that’s not all. You’ll also learn everything you need to know to find and keep the clients that will make your business profitable.Click Here to Learn About Making $100 Per Hour or More With a Professional Tax Preparation Business

*Tax Foundation Annual Survey of Attitudes on Tax and Wealth

Marketing 101

Product, Positioning, Place, Price, and Promotion

Customers buy for their reasons, not yours. – Orvel Ray WilsonStrategy and timing are the Himalayas of marketing. Everything else is the Catskills.- Al RiesIn marketing I’ve seen only one strategy that can’t miss – and that is to market to your best customers first, your best prospects second and the rest of the world last. – John Romero

If we’ve told you once, we’ve told you a thousand times: the key to a successful business is the ability to market your services effectively. We’ve long known that accounting and tax professionals aren’t very comfortable marketing their skills. But often what they don’t know hurts them. A little marketing expertise will take your business to the next level of profitability.There are 5 elements of marketing that every small business owner should know about. Knowledge is power, and having a knowledge of these five elements and how they interact will improve your business. So here, for your reading pleasure, are the 5 P’s that comprise basic marketing theory:

ProductProduct is, of course, the thing you’re trying to sell to your clients. You should constantly evaluate your services from your clients’ perspective. Is there something you could do differently that would improve their experience with your business? Are there services you could add that would enhance your value? Your ability to assess your “product” is key.

PositioningSimply put, positioning is the way your target market views you in relation to your competitors. If well positioned, they will view your services as being more valuable than other tax preparers in the area. To improve your position you must consider what makes your business unique and how potential clients might consider that uniqueness beneficial to their business.

PlaceAlso called the distribution channel, place is the means through which you make your services available. Your distribution channels should accomplish the following: promote services, communicate with prospective clients, and negotiate terms of agreement.

PriceObviously you must charge a price for your services in order to run a successful business. But to set a reasonable fee, you must know your position because the more valuable your target market perceives your services, the more you can charge for them.

PromotionOnce you’ve evaluated the other four elements of your business you can best determine how to promote it. With a better understanding of your position, the advantages of your services, and the channels through which you deliver them, you can determine which promotional activities will best serve your business.Without effective marketing techniques your business can’t grow or progress. And sometimes when you know a bit more about your own business you can better market it. These five elements – product, positioning, place, price and promotion – all work together to create a successful marketing strategy. And it’s time you got started. If you would like to learn more about marketing your tax practice, you need to visit Universal Accounting Center. For over 25 years we’ve taught professionals like you how to grow their businesses and market their services to those who need them most. Come learn more about our Universal Practice Builder Program, or what we like to call Marketing on Steroids. Doing so will increase your annualized billings by at least $30,000. Sound like the deal of a lifetime? It is. Come visit our website to hear what others have to say about it. Scroll down and watch our new testimonial video. It may be the best thing you ever did for your business.

Marketing Your New Small Business

Spread the Word: Launching Your New Small Business

You’re ready to take your part-time business full-time. But how do you spread the word so that more clients come your way? Here are five marketing tips that will help you spread the word about your small business without opening your wallet.

1. Issue a press release.

Writing a press release that’s published in your local paper is a great way to get free publicity. Fairly easy to write and straight forward, a press release will expose local business owners to your name and the valuable services you offer. But do a little research before you write — you want your press release to multitask; it should be newsworthy and generate good PR.

2. Write an article for the local newspaper.

Again, your local paper is a good place to look for some publicity. Weekly circulars are always looking for pieces to fill their paper at a low cost. Volunteer to write an article that gives tax advice. In exchange you’ll get a byline and bio that will drive readers to your business. You may be surprised; if you do a good job, they may ask you to write a reoccurring column. The more often readers see your name, the more likely they’ll be to come to you as soon as they need tax services.

3. Tour the small business circuit.

Create a flyer that details your services and take a tour of the small business circuit, generating both the flyer and multiple copies of your business card. Be informative, not pushy and see what their needs are. Regardless of whether or not they need your services, ask if you could leave your flyer and business card in case they change their minds. And for those small businesses that do use your services, consider asking to leave a business card dispenser at their desk or cashier counter. This is a great way to get more exposure for your small business at no cost.

4. Offer current client incentive for referring family and friends your way.

Jim Rohn said, “One customer, well taken care of, could be more valuable than $10,000 worth of advertising.” If your current clients can refer more clients your way, imagine all that you’re saving in advertising costs. These valuable referrals are worth far more than the discount or complimentary services you can offer these loyal clients. Consider providing a free service or giving them a significant discount on future services. This not only provides incentive to refer friends and family your way, but it gives these clients just another good reason to stay with you.

5. Start a blog.

Everyone seems to be blogging these days. You can start a simple blog for free and include the URL on your business card. Be sure you update it regularly with helpful advice. The nice thing about blogging is that readers expect posts to be short and to the point, so you’re not obligated to create long-winded articles that take up a considerable amount of your time. Search the internet for tax blogs so you can see how other financial professionals are using this marketing tool.

Universal Accounting Center (UAC) Can Help Your Small Business Achieve Success

UAC is in the business of helping financial professionals like you build successful businesses. If you’d like more information on the Art and Science of Getting Clients, or if you’re interested in expanding your services, we have a DVD 4-pack designed to give you valuable information on doing just those things. This power pack includes:

Introduction to the Professional Bookkeeper ProgramLearn how becoming a Professional Bookkeeper will improve your accounting skills, enabling you to expand your business and become a full-service financial provider.Introduction to the Professional Tax Preparer CertificationLearn how becoming a Professional Tax Preparer will improve your tax skills and help you earn a professional designation that will evidence your expertise.Start Today and Have Your Own Bookkeeping ServiceLearn how to make over $80,000 per year working from home while getting more clients than you can handle. Know how to charge your client so you can afford to take that next vacation while they get such a great deal they will be telling all their friends about you.The Art and Science of Getting ClientsLearn how to get more clients by using our proven methods.

Purchase the DVD 4-pack and add to your reference library while learning how you could enhance your business and achieve true success.

Order now!

Managing Business Success

It’s a problem every business owner wants to have-more success than they know what to do with. So what’s an entrepreneur to do? It sounds like we’re making light of a small problem, but the truth is, a business can crumble under the weight of its own success. If you’ve been experiencing more business than you know what to do with, this article is for you. Don’t allow yourself to get lost in overnight success or an avalanche of clients; take control and manage your success so that you can enjoy the fruits of your labors. Taking the following steps can help you use your achievements to catapult your business to the next level:

1. Stay level-headedWhile it’s good to acknowledge your success and celebrate in small ways, you should stay level-headed in order to remain focused on your business. Take the time to evaluate what you’ve done to see this success and what you might do to continue it. Whatever you do now is not the time to go on a cruise or fly off to Europe. As much as you may want to reward yourself for this success, you must take the time to evaluate how you achieved it and what you must do to maintain it.2. Consider hiring employeesHiring employees is an obvious step if you find yourself swamped with new clients. When you increase your productivity with a support staff you can keep up with the onslaught of new work without loosing sleep yourself. Just be sure you hire individuals who are competent, who can handle the many tasks you will need to assign without a lot of supervision.3. Don’t get financially recklessWith all those billable hours on the books you may be tempted to go out and buy yourself that new SUV or look for a new house with a bigger office. Hold on there, chief. You know enough about accounting to realize that just because it’s on the books doesn’t mean it’s in your account; and just because it’s in your account doesn’t mean your should spend it recklessly. Be patient; there will come a time when you can spend a portion to improve your lifestyle and enjoy your leisure time. But squandering it away right now will only put you and your business at risk.4. Leverage your successConsider how you might leverage your success in order to move your business to the next level. Can you add complementary services, like accounting, to improve your offerings and better satisfy client needs? Consider how the editors of Chicken Soup for the Soul expanded their offerings to make millions. It’s important to strike while the iron’s hot; take advantage of current success in order to leverage all those new clients who have chosen you over your competition.5. InvestNow is the time to take the profit you’re making and use it to generate even more profit. How can you improve your marketing efforts? Is there software you can purchase to make you more efficient? Building a bigger business will require you to put that profitability to work. And because you’re self employed you should also consider boosting your retirement savings and allocating a percentage of your new and improved income to an investment vehicle of your choosing.

While your newfound success may have been just what you were waiting for, you must manage it well in order for it to carry your business to the next level. The most important thing for you to do is to step back and take a moment to reflect on what’s brought you to this point and where you’ll go from here. That will help you to wisely channel your success.

Playing the Numbers Game Will Increase Your Profits

A Lesson My Friends and I Learned as Boys Will Help Your Tax Practice Grow and Prosper…

“These are really great light bulbs, Mrs. Hoffman.”Mrs. Hoffman’s home was where I refined my sales pitch. My Boy Scout Troop was selling light bulbs to earn enough money to buy new tents.I knew that she would buy light bulbs from me. Her youngest daughter was one of my best friends and she liked me. I could practice my sales speech with her, get my first sale and build up my confidence to contact everyone else in my neighborhood. (Mrs. Hoffman bought 2 dozen light bulbs.)

It Was a Number’s Game

I discovered that if I wore my Scout Shirt and was very polite, I would sell a dozen bulbs for every 5 or 6 people I talked to. If I needed to sell 8 or 9 dozen light bulbs to earn enough for a tent, I knew that I would need to knock on 40 or 50 doors to earn my tent. I could do that.Knowing that 40 or 50 doors equaled 8 or 9 dozen light bulbs sold made it easier to knock on the 40 or 50 doors.Over the 2 or 3 years I was a Boy Scout, I sold door-to-door light bulbs, candy and mailbox-signs. Mrs. Hoffman was always a soft-touch and always where I would go first to refine my sales pitch. She always made suggestions that helped me, and over the years I didn’t have to knock on as many doors to get the sales I needed.

Knowing How to Play the Game Makes It Easier

Allen Bostrom, President of Universal Accounting says, “Nothing happens until you make a sale.” Finding and keeping clients is just a numbers game. Winning the game is easy if you know the rules. Let me show you how.

The Famous Sales Funnel

If you are ever in a room alone with a bunch of salespeople, you’ll probably overhear them talking about “filling the funnel”.Just what is the famous “Sales Funnel”?In the numbers game of finding and keeping clients, the sales funnel is where prospects go to turn into client relationships.It’s a lot like my experience selling light bulbs The 40 or 50 doors I knocked on would go into the top of the funnel and the 8 or 9 dozen light bulb sales would come out the bottom.I didn’t know that this was called the sales funnel back then, but it sure worked. And it will work for your professional tax preparation business too. Remember, it’s simply a numbers game.

The Professional Tax Preparer Certification Teaches You Easy Ways to Fill the Funnel

Unlike any other tax preparation education I’m aware of, the Professional Tax Preparer program will not only teach you everything you need to know to prepare and file taxes for individuals and businesses, it will teach you how to fill the funnel. (How to find and keep clients.)Any education that doesn’t give you all the tools to make your life better and earn a better income doesn’t teach you everything you need to get paid what you’re worth. At Universal Accounting, we don’t believe that learning the ins-and-outs of tax preparation is enough. That’s why for over 25 years we’ve taught our graduates how to set-up their practice, how to ask the right questions so they can meet the needs of their clients and how to market and sell their services.But you don’t have to take my word for it. There are literally thousands of graduates who have started very successful tax preparation and bookkeeping practices with Universal Accounting and the Professional Tax Preparer program. Click HERE to find out what they are saying about how the education they received from Universal Accounting helped them find the personal and professional success that they were looking for.

It’s Easy… and It’s Guaranteed

The Professional Tax Preparer program is not only the most complete education of it’s kind. It’s also guaranteed. Unlike any college or university course, you can rest assured that the Professional Tax Preparer program will teach you everything you need to know to start a successful tax practice.

Universal Accounting’s Ironclad 100% Money Back Guarantee

Purchase and complete the course, and if you don’t feel that you’ve received your money’s worth, you can return the materials and get a complete refund. All of us here at Universal Accounting are so confident that you will find this training to worth more than the cost of the program, that we all stand behind it, 100%.

You’re just a couple more mouse clicks away from an exciting and rewarding career in professional tax preparation. Follow the link below to learn more about filling the sales funnel and growing your business. You can do this.

Click Here to Learn How to Fill the Sales Funnel, Earn a Better Income and Grow Your Tax PracticeHave you got a question about our products or who we are? Click HERE and let us help you find the answer.