Wayne Schulz: 5 Reasons I Hope My Competition Skips the Class on Social Media

What’s Social Media?

Wayne explains:

To my competition… I say it’s all a huge enormous waste of time. I warn them repeatedly not to waste their precious time with LinkedIn or Facebook. Instead keep writing fat checks for direct marketing or telemarketing that bring in under a 1% response. Ignore the fact that while costs of direct marketing grow every year the effectiveness shrinks twice as fast.

Get the 5 Reasons…

Video: Watch and Listen to CPA Scot Justice Talk about How His Blog Launched His Firm

You might have met Scot before, here…
Blogging and Twitter Send CPA 75% of His Business
and here…
What Are CPAs Doing Online? Answer: Serving Clients and Making Money

Or, you may know him from online as The Virtual CFO.

In this video, Scot is interviewed by Bil­l­ Seaver­ of­ M­­ic­r­oEx­pl­osion M­e­dia ab­o­u­t ho­w soci­al m­ed­i­a h­e­lps him grow his practice­.

Scot, a Na­s­h­v­ille­-ba­s­e­d CPA­ for­ s­m­­a­ll bus­ine­s­s­, s­ta­r­te­d a­ blog th­r­e­e­ ye­a­r­s­ a­go a­nd h­a­s­ a­ls­o be­com­­e­ a­ctiv­e­ on Twitte­r­ ov­e­r­ th­e­ la­s­t ye­a­r­. A­ccor­ding to S­cot, 75% of h­is­ bus­ine­s­s­ is­ ge­ne­ra­­te­d fr­om­­ h­is­ socia­l me­dia­ ef­f­o­rts­.

Tax Season Stress-O-Meter: How Stressed Are You Feeling Today?

First comments from Twitter:

@WinningEdge Not at all since I don’t work for a CPA any more and don’t have to deal as much with “tax season” yipee!!! enjoying spring 2

I am so grateful today that I now work from home and can go outside and enjoy the beautiful weather any time I want, 1st time in 12 years!

View the results here.

Tune in for the Live Webcast: Congressional Hearing on Mark-to-Market

Center for Audit Quality Executive Director Cindy Fornelli will testify.

Tomorrow’s hearing of the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Capital Markets on “Mark-to-Market Accounting: Practices and Implications” is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in Room 2128 of the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C.

But you may be able to catch it via a live webcast at the committee’s web site, here:

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/hr031209.shtml

Recession? Tax Season? 10 Questions to Gauge Staff Stress

To check office morale, CPA firms leaders may want to ask staffers a few questions like…

  1. Management is providing good leadership and guidance during difficult economic conditions.
  2. My job is mentally stimulating.
  3. I understand how my work contributes to the company’s performance.
  4. There are future opportunities for growth at my company.
  5. My company affords me the opportunity to develop my skills.
  6. I receive recognition and reward for my contributions.
  7. There is open and honest communication between employees and managers.
  8. I see professional growth and career development opportunities for myself in this organization.
  9. I know how I fit into the organization’s future plans.
  10. Considering the value I bring to the organization, I feel I am paid fairly.

How’s your office holding up?

Source:  www.quantumworkplace.com.

August Aquila: 25 Ways to Grow Your Practice

In this tough economy, many firms are going back to basics to find success again.

Here’s a list of 25 ideas for growing your practice from management consultant August Aquila. How many are you currently doing?

  1. Start with current clients. Look at clients that are only using one of your services. For example, a high income individual tax return client who is not using your wealth management services, an audit client that is using any of your consulting services. A client relationship services call is certainly due.
  2. Compile a list of clients by SIC codes and niches (e.g. not-for-profits, construction, manufacturing, professional services firms, etc.)
  3. Encourage your partners and managers to be aware of the above two lists.
  4. Hold partners and managers more accountable for cross serving clients.
  5. Meet with key clients quarterly about their needs and goals.
  6. Maintain a pipeline report by partner and manager on cross serving opportunities.
  7. Focus on the pipeline reports at your monthly partner and manager meetings.
  8. Emphasize teamwork between your compliance and consulting professionals.
  9. Provide incentives for clients to use more of your services.
  10. Provide ongoing service/product training and updates to all partner and manager level personnel.
  11. Quiz your partners and managers about your services and products to be sure they are knowledgeable about them.
  12. Institutionalize an on-boarding process for all new and existing employees.
  13. Invest in a professional sales training program.
  14. Make sure your employees know how to sell benefits to clients.
  15. Encourage your partners and managers to get a copy of the client’s current strategic plan/
  16. Provide coaching on deposit-only calls emphasizing how cash moves through the business.
  17. Have niche or industry teams develop prospect lists.
  18. Target new companies moving to the area.
  19. The managing partners and other leaders in the firm must constantly highlight the importance of new business development.
  20. Involve sales and marketing assistants in reviewing client accounts, following up on opportunities, etc.
  21. Get out of the office, you can develop new business unless you meet people.
  22. Go on joint sales calls whenever possible.
  23. Circulate industry best practices to your team.
  24. Focus on understanding your clients’ real needs. Then figure out how to satisfy them.
  25. Keep adding to this list.

Born in Chicago, IL, Dr. August Aquila holds an MBA from DePaul University (Chicago, IL) and a doctorate from the Indiana University (Bloomington, IL). He began his teaching career at Williams College (Williamstown, MA), and then joined the DePaul University Graduate School of Business, where he served as an adjunct professor from 1980 until 1994.