Tax Season Marketing Right Now

Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.
– Theodore Roosevelt
It’s a crazy week for you right now, I know.
Personally, it’s pretty crazy at the Hagerty homestead, as well–my son just came out of surgery. It was a “routine” matter [Let’s just say that his nether regions “look more like Daddy” now. ed.– Is that too intimate? Probably so. :)], but life and work [esp. right now for you] is rarely “routine”.
Well, I just wanted to give you a quick “shot in the arm” about how to operate during the “fire” of tax season as a business OWNER…not an employee.

Be A Tax Business OWNER, Not A “Do-er”
I want to be the fly in your ointment, to remind you that wherever you are in your business, the world isn’t over. And by the way, if you’re kicking tail (like I know some of you are)…it ain’t over for you either. Now is the time to build on your success, systemize…start taking a look at your ROI.
In short–business OWNER activities, not business slave activities.
And if you are staring at numbers that are down–well, you should know that you’re not alone. It’s no secret that the industry is facing major shakeup right now…and there’s probably a bunch of reasons why you think your numbers are down–vendors, employees, yourself, location issues, etc., etc., ad infinitum .
But forget about all that right now. What do you do now ?
1) Focus on your business , not the tax work. An employee can do the taxes (it’s true), but nobody else is watching the bottom line of your business like YOU are.
So what does that mean? It means (for now): forget about what has happened to this point … What can you do NOW to bring in more business? I suggest you focus on the following places in your business:
A. Phone sales
This may actually be the reason some of those marketing campaigns bombed, by the way! See my previous blogpost for coaching on how to improve on this area.
But here’s a hint : it’s probably worse than what you think. Especially if you’re not checking. So check (i.e. have somebody call in and “play prospect” for whomever answers your phone–do they get them to come in?)
B.  Additional ways to bring in clients NOW.
You can use a cheap coupon that can be left at local merchants, but this is really the tip of the iceberg. There’s JV’s you can do with businesses with similar clientele (and they don’t have to be complicated–try an “endorsed” mailing to each other’s list), procrastinator mailings, existing and lost client mailings (you are doing those, right?), etc.
C. “Sticking” and Stimulating your current clients
As you’ve probably discovered, this does NOT just “happen”–you have to MAKE it happen! Here is a simple system which you can use . Or this . But it doesn’t have to be mine. Concentrate on follow-up, and relationship, and you won’t go wrong.
2) Concentrate on what’s Urgent and Important.
Hopefully, you’ve heard of Stephen Covey’s Four Quadrant Theory. Here’s a refresher…

 
 
 
 
 
 
Now is the time to concentrate on what’s Urgent, and what’s Important…but I would make a particular focus on what’s important. Urgency can often be manufactured. Importance–not so much.

Remember what business you’re really in.