Tips on Running a Tax Practice | Tax Strategies & Preparation Articles

Taking a Sales Pulse

Published under Growing Your Practice, Increasing Your Profits, Starting & Running a Practice

4 Ways to Determine the Health of Your Sales Efforts

A stethoscope rests on some bills. In an article published on Entreprenuer.com entitled “Vital Signs: Give Your Sales a Checkup by Analyzing Crucial Data,” Kimberly McCall addresses the importance of regularly assessing the effectiveness of your business’s sales efforts. McCall references Frank J. Rumbaukas Jr.’s book, Never Cold Call Again, and shares 4 ways to determine sales success. Rumbaukas suggests that small businesses run a sales checkup every three months in order to correct potential problems before a company suffers. He explains that when companies wait too long to take a sales pulse they “allow too much damage to occur-the longer you wait, the harder it is to correct a problem.”

Rumbaukas recommends looking at the following four elements in taking your business’s sales pulse:

Conversion Rate

The conversion rate indicates how many potential clients become actual clients. A good conversion rate indicates that your leads are qualified; you’re promoting your services to the right market and your potential clients generally find your services to be valuable. A low conversion rate indicates that you may be focusing your marketing efforts on the wrong people, or perhaps, your pitch isn’t strong enough and doesn’t appeal to your potential clients’ wants and needs.

Profit Margin per Sale

If your profit margin per sale is high that indicates you’re marketing to the right people, those willing to pay your fees without negotiating. They value the services you offer without asking for a discount. If you find yourself continually lowering your prices in order to secure clients then your marketing methods may be faulty or, perhaps, the demographic to which you’re marketing them. Continuing too long with a low profit margin is one sure way to set your business on a failing course.

Length of Sales Cycle

The length of your sales cycle is measured in the amount of time it takes potential customers to enlist your services from the point at which you first make contact, which may include an advertisement, the exchange of business cards or a phone call. A short sales cycle indicates that your marketing efforts are effective and your leads qualified. A longer sales cycle indicates that you should revisit your marketing strategies and consider different approaches.

Consistent Performance among Sales Reps

This indicator probably doesn’t apply to most small business owners who have no sales reps on their staff. In fact, many don’t even have a staff. If you’re the only sales rep you have, and if you’re not doing a very good job marketing your services, you should consider investing in some training that would enable you to better fulfill your business’s marketing needs. Some consider the cost of training to excessive, but ask yourself if an improved marketing plan could improve the profitability of your business and perhaps decrease its likelihood of failure.

Our UPB Program Will Build Your Practice

The Universal Practice Builder Program logo If, after taking your business’s sales pulse, you determine that your marketing plan could use a little revamping, we suggest you enroll in our Universal Practice Builder (UPB) Program, designed to train even the most marketing-averse business owners how to promote their services in the right way and to the right people. Our experience training financial professionals like you for over 25 years has proven that most tax preparers and accountants lack confidence in their marketing abilities; most feel more comfortable with a calculator than they do with a prospective client. But in order for your tax practice to truly succeed you must learn to get over those fears by placing your confidence in new-found marketing strategies and approaches. Most of our graduates agree that next to the practical training they receive through this program, confidence is the most valuable thing they take with them upon completion. Would your business benefit from 12 proven marketing strategies and 15 to 25 qualified leads per month? Would your business profit from having a sales rep (i.e. you) confident with their marketing skills and expertise? If you answer “yes” to these two questions, the time to enroll in this program is now-the time to change the course of your business, today! Don’t wait another minute to quicken the pulse of your tax practice.