3 Essentials To Marketing A Tax Business

Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better.
– Jim Rohn
The one thing that most Tax Pros fail to understand is that although they’re NOT in the accounting or tax preparation business, their real business is the marketing of tax services.
You may have heard this before, but stop. Think about it. What does your business look like right about now?
Take a minute to really think about your current level of commitment to marketing your business. You may be the best Accountant in the country.
You may have the best training and all the top skills, but if you don’t have the tools and systems to automatically attract people into your office-and turn them into clients–then you’ll struggle.
This axiom is true of every other business in the world (at least the ones that have to turn a profit to survive); Is McDonald’s in the business of selling hamburgers or is it in the business of making you want to buy their hamburgers?
No, it’s not a trick question. The obvious answer there is — “both!” I won’t go into how they make their hamburgers (I don’t think we really want to know) but I WILL tell you that what McDonald’s does is they get people to go and get a hamburger that is no better than you and I can make on our own grill. (In fact, most definitely even worse).
The secret to succeeding in your business and taking your tax or accounting business to the next level is marketing, marketing … and client relationship/education.
Make note of this truth: “Educated Clients Refer More, Use More Services, and are Happier More Loyal Clients.”
Therefore, you should be asking: “Nate, how do I educate my clients…so that they refer, choose more services, & stay with me for years?” That is the real question.
Here are the three best ways:
1. Use targeted, relational Direct-Response Marketing
2. Have an internal referral generation system that works day in, day out, like an automated SYSTEM.
3. Send them regular ‘strategy’ tips that educate them, stimulate more referrals, and get them to refer.
Everything else falls under these categories. This is a simple template for you for the big picture–but now, less than three months before tax season, here’s what I suggest:
Send your clients a postcard or note “thanking” them for using your services this past year and ASK them to send you a referral. Many firms send a “holiday card” around Christmas or Hannukah, but may I posit to you that these cards get taped to the refrigerator alongside the other 67 cards families and businesses receive? So, send a Thankgiving card–or a Halloween one. Cut through that clutter. Get them ready to refer during tax season (and sell some tax planning while you’re at it!).
But don’t forget to educate them–in a way that they will actually engage with (not “Tax Tips” in a monthly email). Doing it effectively is the key, missing ingredient for too many firms.