Brian O'Connell, President
My wife Kathy is a CPA. I’ve been at her side plenty of times when an acquaintance asks for free tax advice at a party or at one of the kids’ games.
That probably happens to you, too. It can be a little tiring – like a busman’s holiday.
But there is an upside to all the free advice you give: It lets you really impress folks with your knowledge and it raises your professional reputation.
Now what do you think would happen if you ran into the same person once a month and gave them free advice for a full year?
They would remember you. They might even switch from their current accountant to you – or recommend you to a friend.
Take a break! Your client newsletter does the work of connecting with prospective clients.
That sounds pretty nice. To make that happen, you could frequent as many parties, sports events, and other gatherings as possible in the hopes of running into the same people over and over…
Or you could take the weekends off – catch up on your sleep – and leave the networking to your Monthly Client Newsletter, which comes free with our CPA websites.
9 Meetings to Make a Sale
The Direct Marketing Association states that it takes an average of 9 contacts to turn a prospect into a client.
That’s 9 times you need to connect with an individual – in person, by phone, or by email.
Chances are very good your competitors are not making that much contact with prospects. It’s frustrating and time-consuming to keep calling or emailing someone, and most people give up after the 4th or 5th attempt.
If you use your client newsletter to make those contacts, it gets done once a month, every month – 12 times a year, year after year. Of course, not everyone will convert to clients – but touching base with them once a month significantly increases your chances.
Then, if you run into them at a party 6 months down the road, that’s just icing on the cake.
Newsletter Jam-packed with Helpful Tips
Is the newsletter really something your acquaintances will appreciate?
You bet.
The monthly client newsletter addresses the topics people are interested in – like saving for college, financial planning, and, for small business owners, hitting their tax due dates. There’s even a regular column on how to make the most of QuickBooks.
The table of contents of the July 2010 issue of the client newsletter. Click on the image to enlarge.
Hearing from you every month – with customized, firm-specific messages, if you wish – makes your contacts feel like they know you. This is important in their choice to switch to your firm or recommend you.
They’re also grateful for the gift of useful information that helps them protect what’s most valuable in their lives. This practice of “gifting” – especially to folks who aren’t paying you yet – is an effective way to build long-lasting client relationships.
A Favorable Equation
The monthly client newsletter comes with CPA websites from CPA Site Solutions at no additional cost.
And it has the potential to make you extra revenue. Say you add 10 prospects to your newsletter distribution list in a year and 1 becomes a client or recommends a friend to your firm. If you do just a standard tax return for them, you make $250.
That’s $250 for you with no additional expenditure and almost no effort.
And remember, $250 is a conservative estimate. Your extra revenue could be much higher.
If you’d like, consider the equation this way: one night off a week – with no schmoozing necessary – earns you $250 . . . or about $4 per night of sleep!
Get Started
How does it work? Each month, you get 10 new financial or tax saving articles automatically updated to your website. The articles are written by our award winning team of CPAs and MBAs and provide your clients with enough information to pique their curiosity – while giving them a consistent reminder to contact your office for more details.
We give you time to customize the newsletter if you like – and then the newsletter is automatically sent to your list of clients and contacts, using the Email Newsletter Marketing System.
If you don’t have a web suite with us, give us a try free for 60 days. See if the newsletter does what I claim – and enjoy all the other features of your site, like the secure Client Portal, 3,000 pages of financial guides, Online Tax Organizers, plus 111 other features.
If you already have a site with us and have questions about your client newsletter, call us at 1-800-896-4500 or email support@cpasitesolutions.com.
Do you enjoy networking in person, or would you rather have your newsletter do it for you? What other methods do you use to establish relationships with potential clients? Let us know in the space below.
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