new clients

Rise to the Top with a Fresh Elevator Speech

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3 tips for a powerful pitch.

By Sandi Smith, CPA
Accountant’s Accelerator

An elevator speech is that short and sweet 30-second answer to the question “What do you do?” In networking circles, it’s critical that your elevator speech is clear and interesting. If it’s not, people will be confused, and no one who is confused will know how to refer you to others.

Sandi Smith

More for soloists and small firms from at CPA Trendlines:  Four Ways to Practice Entrepreneurial Perseverance • 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Seeking New Clients •  The Success Secrets Women Already Know  • His and Her Brains at Work in Tax and Accounting  • The Power of Deadlines in Closing a Deal • On the Road to a Stress-Free Life: Identify Your Character Strengths • The Missing Ingredient in Your Marketing That Will Make All the Difference  • 3 Steps to Start Running on Millionaire Time  • 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Seeking New Clients • Why You’re Missing Out on 98% of Your New Business Potential • How to Win New Clients with a Freebie Strategy  • The Top 12 Business Card Blunders Accountants Make • Seven Tips to Keep the Clients You Have • How to Attract Clients Like a Magnet • Eleven Easy Ways to Deliver More Value to Clients• Five Things Accountants Take for Granted That Costs Them Revenue • What’s in Your New Client Funnel? • What’s In Your Welcome Kit for New Prospects? • Five Fun and Easy Ways to Wow Your Clients • Six Ways to Give Yourself a Raise • Strategies to Stop Losing Business to Competitors

The typical networker recites their elevator speech by listing everything they do. For example, I recently heard an insurance agent say, “We insure your auto, car, home, life, …” Well, I heard part of it. She listed a dozen more things – the kitchen sink may have been in there – and I bet some of those services haven’t been sold in years. READ MORE →

Why You’re Missing Out on 98% of Your New Business Potential

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Three ways to master the art of follow-up.

By Sandi Smith, CPA
Accountant’s Accelerator

It seems there are hundreds of questions swirling around how to follow up with prospects. The raw truth is that very few people follow up at all. On average, only 2 percent of people buy on the first contact with a vendor.

So if you’re not following up, you’re walking away from 98 percent of your sales.

Sandi Smith

More for CPA Trendlines PRO Members:  The Missing Ingredient in Your Marketing That Will Make All the Difference • 3 Steps to Start Running on Millionaire Time  •  On the Road to a Stress-Free Life: Identify Your Character Strengths   •  The Power of Deadlines in Closing a Deal   •   His and Her Brains at Work in Tax and Accounting • 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Seeking New Clients • The Top 12 Business Card Blunders Accountants Make •

Here are my tips to maximize sales and take the pain out of following up: READ MORE →

5 Mistakes to Avoid When Seeking New Clients

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Business development for sole practitioners and small firms.

By Sandi Smith, CPA / Special to CPA Trendlines

If you’re a sole practitioner or small-firm operator,  you’re probably very good at what you do — or you wouldn’t be in business today. But when it comes to marketing and selling yourself, well, many of us didn’t voluntarily sign up for that part.

As a matter of fact, some of us are resisting — kicking and screaming — marketing ourselves. So no wonder, for some of us, business is slow or not growing at the rate we’d like.

Sandi Smith

More for soloists and small firms from Sandi Smith at CPA Trendlines: The Top 12 Business Card Blunders Accountants Make •  Seven Tips to Keep the Clients You Have • How to Attract Clients Like a Magnet • Eleven Easy Ways to Deliver More Value to Clients • Five Things Accountants Take for Granted That Costs Them Revenue• What’s in Your New Client Funnel? • What’s In Your Welcome Kit for New Prospects? • Five Fun and Easy Ways to Wow Your Clients • Six Ways to Give Yourself a Raise • Strategies to Stop Losing Business to Competitors

We all hope we will have enough referrals so that we will never have to sell ourselves. But in the last few years, referrals, even for those with huge followings, have slowed down. It’s past time that we work on more fully developing the marketing and selling function of our businesses.

As you do, here are five mistakes to avoid: READ MORE →

15 Off-the-Hook Ideas for Accountants to Dream Big

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Start your business ‘bucket list’ today.

By Sandi Smith, CPA
CPA Trendlines / Accountant’s Accelerator

Do you have a business bucket list?

Did you see the movie “The Bucket List?” Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson played men who didn’t have too long to live. They each wrote up a bucket list, a list of things they wanted to do or accomplish before they kicked the bucket (as we say in the South).

Why not apply the concept to your business? You can do this whether you have your own business or a job, although you have a bit more control when you’re the boss. What do you want to do before you retire or sell your business?

Sandi Smith

More from Sandi Smith at CPA Trendlines:  3 Money Leaks that May Need Plugging in Your Business  •  Seven Tips to Keep the Clients You Have  • How to Attract Clients Like a Magnet  • Eleven Easy Ways to Deliver More Value to Clients • Five Things Accountants Take for Granted That Costs Them Revenue  • What’s in Your New Client Funnel?  • What’s In Your Welcome Kit for New Prospects? • Five Fun and Easy Ways to Wow Your Clients  • Six Ways to Give Yourself a Raise  • Strategies to Stop Losing Business to Competitors  • Five Tips to Manage Your ‘Overwhelm’ Level  • Easy Ideas for a Quick Business Boost  • Four New Mega-Trend Marketing Strategies  • How to Stop Leaving Money on the Table

Here are some ideas: READ MORE →

7 Tips to Keep the Clients You Have

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New revenue may be closer than you think.

By Sandi Smith CPA
Accountant’s Accelerator

It’s far less expensive to keep your existing clients happy than it is to find new clients, especially since the trust factor between people is at an all-time low. So you might want to think about re-directing a portion of your marketing attention on your existing client base instead of networking for new clients.

I’ve met a lot of business owners who have trouble getting their employees to sell while they’re on site, and I’ve also heard from some customers who’ve remarked that their vendors don’t stay in touch with them. So here are some tips to mine the pot of gold that lies right before you: your current clients who already trust you and are eager to hear about new solutions that will ease their pain and problems.

Sandi Smith
Sandi Smith

More from Sandi Smith at CPA Trendlines: • How to Attract Clients Like a Magnet • Eleven Easy Ways to Deliver More Value to Clients•Five Things Accountants Take for Granted That Costs Them Revenue • What’s in Your New Client Funnel? • What’s In Your Welcome Kit for New Prospects? • Five Fun and Easy Ways to Wow Your Clients • Six Ways to Give Yourself a Raise
• Strategies to Stop Losing Business to Competitors • Five Tips to Manage Your ‘Overwhelm’ Level • Easy Ideas for a Quick Business Boost • Four New Mega-Trend Marketing Strategies • How to Stop Leaving Money on the Table

  1. Change your attitude about staying in touch with your client.You might feel like you don’t want to “bother” your client, but I bet your client would be delighted to get a phone call out of the blue, especially if you have an idea that will save them time or money. They already trust you, so find out how you can help them even more than you already are. READ MORE →

Is Business Too Good for Your Own Good?

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Business is good, but CPAs say the workload never eases up.

by Rick Telberg

CPA across all areas of the profession this summer are confirming the best hopes and worst fears that the profession felt when the year was beginning. Yes, business is up across all sectors and should continue to improve, especially for public practice firms, but there are not enough people to handle the work.

Our readings are showing that two-thirds of CPAs in all sectors of the accounting profession are enjoying better business than last year. Asked to look 12 months into the future, roughly the same number expect their business conditions to be even better, although members in public practice are slightly more optimistic than members in business and industry.

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Five Lessons from the War for Clients

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Bruce Bailey, Guild Accountants, Sydney, Australia
Bruce Bailey, Guild Accountants, Sydney, Australia

Hint: The secret weapon is communications skills.

by Bruce Bailey
Guild Accountants

While the victor in war is he who wins the last battle, every battle and every outcome is significant (even the battles you lose – we often learn more from our losses than our wins!).

About three years ago we looked at our war for clients by assessing: the nature of our troops, their skills and training, the battlefields on which we would operate and the armaments we would carry.

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