Marketing + Business Development Live Online Assessment and Workshop Executive Summary

Transcription

1 Marketing + Business Development Live Online Assessment and Workshop Executive Summary info@sevenkeyscpa.com

2 The Seven Keys to Successful CPA Firm Management The Seven Keys to Successful CPA Firm Management is based on a massive research project launched in 2007 that now encompasses thousands of survey responses from professionals in all ranks and sizes of firm and dozens interviews with leading authorities. Our research identifies the best practices and common characteristics that separate the competitively successful firms from the not-sosuccessful. We call them The SevenKeys CPA Leaders and The Laggards. In this brief Executive Summary, we ll share some of the highlights of our findings, implications for your firm, and we ll provide some guidance so you too can begin to understand the secrets of the SevenKeys CPA Leaders.

3 Leaders Get Results The research proves that the most successful CPA firms are distinguished by a few key characteristics. SevenKeys CPA Leaders evidence above-par, even world-class, performance in the generally accepted metrics of practice management, such as:! Revenue growth! Profit margins! Technical excellence! Client satisfaction! Staff morale and tenure! Professional reputation and brand value. Leaders clearly do things differently. And clearly, they get superior results.

4 The Seven Keys to Successful CPA Firm Management are: 1. Leadership and Management 2. Technology Trends 3. Marketing and Business Development 4. Client Service and Satisfaction 5. Creating a Great Place to Work 6. Building the Agile Learning Organization 7. Strategy Execution This Executive Summary will focus on

5 Key #3. Marketing and Business Development SevenKeys CPA Leaders are 19 times more likely than Laggards to enjoy faster revenue growth than their competitors. How does this happen? There are many reasons. But here are just three from the Marketing and Business Development module of the SevenKeys CPA program: SevenKeys CPA Leaders have written marketing plans. SevenKeys CPA Leaders target niches. SevenKeys CPA Leaders fire clients that don t fit their target. Client was too demanding, not appreciative of work and took long time to pay. - SevenKeys CPA respondent How can firing clients be considered a marketing activity? Bad clients have an impact on profits, productivity, staffing, and being named a best place to work. Here s one strategy that SevenKeys CPA Leaders use that you can too: Consider rating your clients based on annual revenue, payment history, growth potential, referral history and potential, profitability/realization, job risk or complexity, timing of the work, and satisfaction/enjoyment working with the client. Use these criteria to identify your A-B-C-D clients: A clients are your most valuable clients and D clients are the least valuable those to consider firing. Typical D Clients: Have unreasonable expectations Show little willingness to follow advice Pay late Continually put your firm at risk

6 SevenKeys CPA Leaders are 15 times more likely to follow a written marketing plan. In the SevenKeys CPA program we show you how to take the first steps. Developing your marketing plan requires you to ask: Where are we now? Where Your marketing plan should identify who is responsible for doing what by when. This helps make your team members more accountable to each other. Identifying niches do we want to go? How do we get there? The marketing plan actually has impact on: goal setting time management budgeting strategy supports the strategic direction of your firm Marketing plans should focus on building the business. Your marketing plan needs input from across the firm including your partners, chief operating officer, training director, information technology manager, and marketing professional. This will help get your marketing plan approved and implemented. The elements of a marketing plan are Vision, Mission, and Core Values; Current Situation; Goals and Strategies; Timetable; and Budget. Be sure that your goals are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound. Ask yourself: "Are we focused on the right things? If we do these things, will we achieve our goals?"

7 SevenKeys CPA Leaders are twice as likely to target niches. Niche marketing = market segmentation, focusing on a particular industry or service. The SevenKeys CPA program teaches you how to understand your firm s current niches, strengths, and areas of expertise. Can you describe your niches With most CPA firms offering similar types of services it is important for you to focus on your areas of strength and expertise. Unique skills and expertise. to your partners? Do your partners know your niches? How much communication and training has been done? Everyone must know the elevator pitch know what you re selling for each niche. The industry knows you for this niche. You have famous partners. Characteristics of a Successful Niche Critical mass of staff and clients. You are hired for experience versus fees. A niche marketing plan. Team serves industry 100% of the time. Without a champion you do not have a niche. The champion needs: Industry knowledge. Willing and able to lead the team. Has the respect of other partners. Wants to achieve famous person stature. Will get things done be accountable.

8 SevenKeys CPA Leaders are 32 times more likely to have a marketing culture. How can you create and sustain a marketing culture in your firm? The Seven Keys to Successful CPA Firm Management program shows you how to: Provide ongoing marketing training. SevenKeys CPA Leaders are three times more likely to conduct training that supports their business strategy. Implement your firm s marketing plan consistently. SevenKeys CPA Leaders are 15 times more likely to meet regularly to check progress A marketing culture keeps marketing top of mind and reinforces the need for continual, consistent marketing activities. against their plan. Implement a system to track individual marketing efforts/accountability. Leaders are nearly twice as likely to hold top management accountable. Implement a rewards and recognition program. SevenKeys CPA Leaders are four times more likely to reward people for winning new business. Be sure to also reward your team for their marketing efforts. Nurture knowledge of your firm s growth goals. Share this information with your entire team. Your people want to know where your firm is headed and how they are expected to participate. Creating and sustaining a marketing culture in your firm also requires the recognition of the role that marketing plays in the growth of your firm and the understanding that non-billable hours spent on marketing is an investment in your firm s future.

9 HOW THE WORKSHOP WORKS "Building Your Accounting Firm's Marketing Plan" -- Live Online Workshop You'll discover how high-performing firms become 19 times more likely to produce superior revenue growth. With the exclusive SevenKeys CPA selfassessment tools... Step 1: You'll pinpoint your firm's critical deficiencies and opportunities (and we think you'll be surprised). Step 2: Then we'll help you focus on the critical areas that can really leverage success. Step 3: At the end, you'll have the specific action items your firm needs to produce real results. (Or your money back!) Join the live online workshop webinar, get the study materials and the SevenKeys CPA marketing planning workbook. In just two hours --- on-line, at your own computer -- a small group of professionals like yourself get a personalized self-assessment and a short, manageable to-do list of actions designed to yield proven results. 1. JOIN in the two-hour online interactive workshop. 2. CONNECT with your peers and experts in a live discussion, or by chat message, or both. Compare notes with colleagues. Get all your questions answered. 3. GET "The SevenKeys CPA Self-Assessment and Marketing Plan Workbook." 4. FREE one-half hour consulting per purchase.

10 5. AND... Your own promo code for 20% OFF on your next SevenKeys CPA purchase. (Expires 12/31/2011.) Use it to go deeper into the Seven Keys to Successful CPA Firm Management program. BUT: Bring a pen or pencil and a calculator. Be prepared to roll up your sleeves and get to work for a ruthless self-evaluation of your firm's activities and attitudes. Using exclusive, proven, data-driven SevenKeys CPA methodologies, practitioners will identify and analyze the most effective habits of highperforming firms and focus on the techniques most likely to achieve success at your firm. This is a chance to cut through the unwieldy to-do lists of firm management, concentrate on the handful of strategies that will have the biggest impact, and get a head-start on planning for SPACE IS LIMITED In order to provide an intimate and productive learning environment, we are restricting the number of registrations available. So please hurry to reserve your seat now. And if you have any colleagues who could benefit from the proven success secrets of high-performing firms, please forward them this Executive Summary. They'll thank you for it. OUR DELIVERABLES TO YOU: 1. The two-hour online workshop. (Interactive. Confidential. Convenient.) 2. Study materials and handouts. (Digital PDF) 3. The SevenKeys CPA Self-Assessment and Marketing Planning Toolkit and

11 Workbook. (You'll need your own pencil.) 4. FREE consulting -- A half hour follow-up to get you going and keep you going. (At a mutually convenient time.) 5. AND... Your own promo code for 20% OFF on your next SevenKeys CPA purchase. (Expires 12/31/2011.) Use it to go deeper into the SevenKeys to Successful CPA Firm Management program. YOUR TAKE-AWAYS: We guarantee (or your money back) you'll finish the session with: 1. A checklist for your year ahead. 2. A framework for prioritizing strategies. 3. Tried-and-true methods for budgeting investments. 4. Keys to developing new marketing ideas. 5. Processes for positioning your firm for growth and success. Please note: High-speed internet connection required. No CPE available for this session.

12 TESTIMONIALS People are loving our online workshops. The reviews are in! Thank you both. I really enjoyed it and learned some good things today. J. Paul Stockwell, CPA Ridgeland, MS It helped me grasp what I am trying to do. I will recommend it to my state society members at our monthly MAP meeting. Marja Beltrami, CPA Anchorage, AK The information is very useful and the presenters move through it in a quick and interesting way. CPA firm owner Good content CPA, Wheeling, W. Va. It's most effective for persons committed to change and improvement. Most folks settle and view the profession as that's the just the way it is. Kim Fusch, CPA, EA Half Moon Bay, CA Timely topic, very well organized. Content was a broad brush, but very useful. CPA, Birmingham, Mich.

13 THE SEVENKEYS CPA ONLINE WORKSHOP: Building Your Accounting Firm's Marketing Plan WHAT YOU LL ACCOMPLISH IN TWO HOURS In this comprehensive two-hour workshop, participants will cover: 1. Today s Hottest Marketing and Business Development Trends. 2. What s working in marketing strategy today. 3. The most popular tactics firms are using. 4. How the best firms are planning their marketing budgets this year. 5. Developing the right incentives at every staff level for practice development. 6. Evaluating your marketing culture. 7. Marketing s impact on profits. 8. How to guarantee your marketing plan achieves its goals. 9. Why Leaders are 23 times more likely than Laggards to be happy with their marketing strategy. 10. How to create the right environment for everyone on staff to be invested in business development efforts. 11. The connection between marketing and client satisfaction and retention. 12. How firms get 10% to 20% more out the clients you already have. 13. The role of top management in marketing and business development 14. The essential elements for building a marketing plan. What s included and what s not. 15. Getting top management buy-in for the marketing discipline.

14 16. Why vision, mission and values matter and how the best firms turn those ideas into profits. 17. Establishing realistic budgets, timetables and accountability. 18. Defining the role of the marketing partner, marketing director, marketing manager and marketing assistant. 19. Trends in marketing personnel compensation. 20. How to understand who your real competitors are. 21. Why your competition isn t who you think it is. 22. Identifying high-return niches and specialties. 23. The ins and outs of a SWOT analysis. 24. Marketing KPIs for accountants. 25. Getting the most for your marketing dollar. 26. Developing SMART goals that produce real results. 27. The templates you need to plan marketing budgets, activities, timetables and accountabilities. 28. The 12 essential marketing budget categories you can t overlook. 29. Surging into digital marketing: Is it the right time for your firm and how to get started. 30. What every accounting firms needs to know about of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn. 31. How vision, skills, incentives, resources and action plans can translate into success if done right. Or confusion, anxiety and frustration if done wrong. 32. How much CPA firms spend on marketing. 33. How to know when you re spending too much. 34. When firing clients is good marketing. 35. Why rating clients can save you trouble and add to revenues. 36. The key criteria to use in rating clients. 37. How to gracefully fire clients.

15 38. The essential role of , the web and digital marketing. 39. Why you need to stop advertising in the Yellow Pages. 40. Thought leadership on a shoestring. 41. Blogging when you don t have time to blog. 42. Maximizing your referral network. 43. When s the best time to ask for a referral.

16 About Us Bay Street Group LLC Connecting People and Ideas Turning Ideas into Growth Bay Street Group LLC provides actionable information, strategic insight, and results-driven solutions to the professional tax, accounting and finance communities -- and the vendors who serve them. Services include: Custom research and business intelligence, new product development and strategy, organizational alignment and improvement, and executive leadership training and team building. Rick Telberg is president and chief executive of Bay Street Group. He is a veteran analyst, commentator, publisher, editor, media professional and the profession s most widely-followed commentator. Capstone Marketing Jean Caragher is an award-winning, recognized industry expert with 25 years accounting marketing experience. Known as a knowledgeable, experienced, and tenacious marketing consultant to CPA firms Jean uses a practical, relationship-based approach to help CPAs achieve marketing success. Her approach is based upon her experiences as a CPA firm marketing director, a CPA

17 association executive director, and her 13 years of consulting experience since forming Capstone Marketing. Capstone Marketing provides a variety of services including: Brand Surgery SM Marketing Plan Development and Implementation Retreat Facilitation Training Marketing Director Recruiting

18 Next Steps To learn more about the Seven Keys to Successful CPA Firm management go to: The program is designed with your busy schedule in mind. You can pick-andchoose any one or all of the Seven Keys, depending on your immediate need. And you can select how and when you want the program delivered to your desktop or office. Look for these symbols when ordering: Live Webinar Streaming Webcast Audio Podcast Downloadable e-book Report Contact Use or contact one of us directly: Jean Marie Caragher Rick Telberg