Here’s what you’re looking for: August J. Aquila

MARKETING & SALES

The Four Steps of Your Personal Marketing Process

You’re not done once you land a client.

By August J. Aquila
Price It Right: How to Value Accounting Services

Most new business comes about because of personal marketing efforts. There is a process that your personal marketing efforts need to follow. In fact, the only way you will get different results is to change your current marketing process. Let’s look at the four steps in the personal marketing process.

MORE: Eleven Marketing Strategies for Smaller Firms | Five Keys to Successful Marketing | How Does Your Firm Measure Up? | Five Questions for Developing Your Marketing Plan | Twelve Fundamentals of Planning | Six Questions Before Asking for All the Referrals You Deserve | You Only Have Four Strategies | One Question to Guide Your Growth Plans | Five Rules for a Marketing Orientation | The Damage That Traditional Fee Methods Do | Four Ways to Prepare for New Business Development | Ten Keys to Marketing Success
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First, you need to get known and develop a good reputation in the marketplace. There are many ways for you to do this. Look around your community.
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MARKETING & SALES

Eleven Marketing Strategies for Smaller Firms

man wearing glasses working in office at desktop computer, laptop off to sideYou probably haven’t used all of these.

By August J. Aquila
Price It Right: How to Value Accounting Services

Small firm owners know they need to market, but they don’t always know which marketing activities they need to focus on. Here are 11 strategies for increasing your client base that are easy to implement.

MORE: Five Keys to Successful Marketing | How Does Your Firm Measure Up? | Six Questions Before Asking for All the Referrals You Deserve | Five Rules for a Marketing Orientation | Four Ways to Prepare for New Business Development
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

1: Get Known in the Marketplace

Before you start marketing, you need to answer these two questions:

  • Who are you?
  • What do you offer?

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MARKETING & SALES

Five Keys to Successful Marketing

man looking at five giant keys on the ground

Do you have a plan, or just a lot of activity?

By August J. Aquila
Price It Right: How to Value Accounting Services

There are, of course, a lot of things you can do to have a successful marketing campaign, but here are five that you should seriously consider.

MORE: How Does Your Firm Measure Up? | Five Questions for Developing Your Marketing Plan | You Only Have Four Strategies | The Damage That Traditional Fee Methods Do
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

1. Create a marketing culture in your practice.

At the end of the day, it’s your firm’s culture that drives results. How would you define your current marketing culture? What is important and rewarded in your firm – bringing in new business, identifying new opportunities for existing clients, generating awareness for the firm in the marketplace or billable hours and administration? A marketing culture is outward looking and helps your people look for ways to expand the practice with profitable work.
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CLIENT SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

How Does Your Firm Measure Up?

Woman leading meeting, flipchart in background

A new kind of “A” client.

By August J. Aquila
Price It Right: How to Value Accounting Services

There are many ways that a firm can evaluate itself, but there is only one way that really counts. At the end of the year, you must determine how you have made your major clients more profitable.

MORE: Five Questions for Developing Your Marketing Plan | Twelve Fundamentals of Planning | One Question to Guide Your Growth Plans | Four Ways to Prepare for New Business Development | Ten Keys to Marketing Success
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Remember that 80 percent of your profits still comes from 20 percent of your clients. That also means, as I recently heard, that only 20 percent of your efforts go to the clients who produce 80 percent of your revenue.
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MARKETING & SALES

Five Questions for Developing Your Marketing Plan

woman smiling, writing, sitting at desk with laptop and lamp

Include your firm culture and recruiting in your execution.

By August J. Aquila
Price It Right: How to Value Accounting Services

It makes no difference what size practice you have. The following tips apply if you are developing an individual marketing plan, a departmental plan or one for the entire firm.

MORE: Twelve Fundamentals of Planning | Six Questions Before Asking for All the Referrals You Deserve | Five Rules for a Marketing Orientation | Ten Keys to Marketing Success
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

From an overview perspective you will want to consider the following five questions:

  1. What will be the range of services you offer?
  2. How will you price these services?

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MARKETING & SALES

Twelve Fundamentals of Planning

man with hand on chin, looking at computer screen

How much control do you have?

By August J. Aquila
Price It Right: How to Value Accounting Services

There is no time like the present to get ready for the future. Here is a checklist of 12 things you should thinking about. Remember planning never stops. Our environment is constantly changing.

MORE: Six Questions Before Asking for All the Referrals You Deserve | You Only Have Four Strategies | One Question to Guide Your Growth Plans | Five Rules for a Marketing Orientation | The Damage That Traditional Fee Methods Do | Four Ways to Prepare for New Business Development | Ten Keys to Marketing Success
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

  1. What business am I in? Are you in the automobile business or the transportation business? One is very narrowly defined and the other can broadly include anything that moves people or products. Make sure you understand your business model and purpose.

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GROWTH STRATEGIES

Six Questions Before Asking for All the Referrals You Deserve

woman and man meeting in office; chart on his laptop screen

And how to approach your clients.

By August J. Aquila
Price It Right: How to Value Accounting Services

You would think that if you do a good job, you should get all the referrals you need. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Sometimes, you must ask clients and referral sources for referrals. And many times, professionals just don’t know how to ask.

MORE: You Only Have Four Strategies | One Question to Guide Your Growth Plans | Five Rules for a Marketing Orientation | The Damage That Traditional Fee Methods Do | Four Ways to Prepare for New Business Development | Ten Keys to Marketing Success
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Before you set up that next meeting to ask a client for referrals, ask yourself the following types of questions:

  1. Have I provided meaningful service to the client?

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GROWTH STRATEGIES

You Only Have Four Strategies

businessman turning compass labeled "strategy" like a steering wheel

Look at your service offering like a stock portfolio. Any losers?

By August J. Aquila
Price It Right: How to Value Accounting Servic

Can you ever spend too much time thinking strategically about your accounting and consulting practice? If you are like most professionals, you usually have outlined some goals. You know where you want to go.

MORE: One Question to Guide Your Growth Plans | Five Rules for a Marketing Orientation | The Damage That Traditional Fee Methods Do | Four Ways to Prepare for New Business Development | Ten Keys to Marketing Success
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

The real question you must ask is this: “Do you know the best way to get there?” In other words, “What’s your strategy?”
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