Product, Positioning, Place, Price, and Promotion

Customers buy for their reasons, not yours. – Orvel Ray Wilson

Strategy and timing are the Himalayas of marketing. Everything else is the Catskills.- Al Ries

In marketing I’ve seen only one strategy that can’t miss – and that is to market to your best customers first, your best prospects second and the rest of the world last. – John Romero

If we’ve told you once, we’ve told you a thousand times: the key to a successful business is the ability to market your services effectively. We’ve long known that accounting and tax professionals aren’t very comfortable marketing their skills. But often what they don’t know hurts them. A little marketing expertise will take your business to the next level of profitability.

There are 5 elements of marketing that every small business owner should know about. Knowledge is power, and having a knowledge of these five elements and how they interact will improve your business. So here, for your reading pleasure, are the 5 P’s that comprise basic marketing theory:

Product
Product is, of course, the thing you’re trying to sell to your clients. You should constantly evaluate your services from your clients’ perspective. Is there something you could do differently that would improve their experience with your business? Are there services you could add that would enhance your value? Your ability to assess your “product” is key.

Positioning
Simply put, positioning is the way your target market views you in relation to your competitors. If well positioned, they will view your services as being more valuable than other tax preparers in the area. To improve your position you must consider what makes your business unique and how potential clients might consider that uniqueness beneficial to their business.

Place
Also called the distribution channel, place is the means through which you make your services available. Your distribution channels should accomplish the following: promote services, communicate with prospective clients, and negotiate terms of agreement.

Price
Obviously you must charge a price for your services in order to run a successful business. But to set a reasonable fee, you must know your position because the more valuable your target market perceives your services, the more you can charge for them.

Promotion
Once you’ve evaluated the other four elements of your business you can best determine how to promote it. With a better understanding of your position, the advantages of your services, and the channels through which you deliver them, you can determine which promotional activities will best serve your business.

Without effective marketing techniques your business can’t grow or progress. And sometimes when you know a bit more about your own business you can better market it. These five elements – product, positioning, place, price and promotion – all work together to create a successful marketing strategy. And it’s time you got started. If you would like to learn more about marketing your accounting practice, you need to visit Universal Accounting Center. For over 25 years we’ve taught professionals like you how to grow their businesses and market their services to those who need them most. Come learn more about our Universal Practice Builder Program, or what we like to call Marketing on Steroids. Doing so will increase your annualized billings by at least $30,000. Sound like the deal of a lifetime? It is.

Come visit our website to hear what others have to say about it. We have helped countless individuals like you make their accounting practices more profitable. Listen to some of those individuals tell you what this program can do for you. Scroll down and watch our new testimonial video to see what they have to say. It may be the best thing you ever did for your business.

You know the axiom: the only thing constant is change. Resisting change, especially when you run your own business, is lethal. As technology and the business world continue to plow forward you must maintain a steady jog in order to keep up. What can you do to avoid getting lost in the wake of change? Here are a few tips:

1. View change as opportunity

Many people fear change, and as a result, experience a reflex action against it. Before you can let change work to your advantage, you have to see it as a positive force. Make a concerted effort to think and talk about change in an upbeat way. Consider the surfer who uses the force of a wave to propel him forward, opposed to the tired swimmer who finds himself drawn further from the shore with each swell. In order to ride the wave of change, you must expel your fear of it.

2. Remember the client

The client is king, and if you don’t consider his/her needs as you respond to change, you may find yourself loosing touch with royalty. I once read about a great little coffee shop that had a loyal customer base. But all that changed when the coffee shop changed. Their prices rose drastically and the once-friendly servers became grumpy. The shop’s quaint atmosphere altered to a tense environment, and that loyal customer base began looking around for another quaint coffee shop. What was this small business’s big mistake? They didn’t remember their client as they began making changes. Perhaps they had to raise prices, but their approach was off-putting. Every time you make a change, or respond to one, ask yourself how it will affect your clients. It might even help to ask for a client’s opinion regarding impending changes; you may get great advice on how to approach them.

3. Anticipate the future

You don’t want to be blind-sided by significant industry changes. You’ll be better prepared for change if you can anticipate it. This requires you to do a little research and uncover general business trends as well as trends specific to accounting. Once you foresee a change, you can make strategic business decisions. You can also prepare your family and/or staff for necessary modifications.

4. Release the past

Too many people live by the motto, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The horse-drawn carriage still works, but it won’t win any races against a bullet train. The past was good; it got you to the present. But holding on to it will only hold you back. Acknowledge the things you learned in the past, change what you need to change, and move forward.

5. Involve others

It’s important that you involve family and staff in your business decisions. Hold staff meetings where you discuss imminent changes and how to approach them. Talk with your family about them. It’s important for you to get feedback that will help you respond to the change well. Involving these individuals will also help you get buy-in from team players; they will be more invested in the changes if they were involved in making these crucial business decisions.

6. Design a plan

Now that you have talked to your family and/or staff, it’s time to design a plan to manage the change. List all necessary steps and the tasks associated with each. If you have a staff, be sure that each member knows which tasks they are responsible for.

7. Over-communicate with your staff

Over-communicate this plan with your staff. Remind them of what these changes will look like and how everyone is to deal with them. Sending one quick memo will not likely do the job.

Bill Gates is quoted as saying, “In three years everything my company makes will be obsolete. The only question is whether we’ll make them obsolete or somebody else will.” The most important thing you can do is be more aware of change. Embrace it; view it as an opportunity to grow your business. Because if you don’t respond to change well, chances are your competition will. Good luck riding that wave of change. You may be surprised at how much you’ll enjoy it.

Take What You Have and Make It Better

Under the Universal Business Model (UBM), there are three business functions that must work well together in order to increase profits: accounting, marketing, and production. Any of these business functions that act independently from the other two can doom a company.

The function we would like to focus on today is production; production is the internal workings of a business. Production is the profit center of a business, and when the profit center is running well, the entire business has profit potential.

In order to improve production, and in turn improve profitability, you must look at ways of taking what you have and making it better. Here are three things you can do in order to improve your services:

Ask critical strategic questions of your employees, clients, and economic forecasters

If you’re content sitting on your haunches enjoying your current success, then you’ll never be able to increase profitability. In order to build upon your current success and improve your business, you need to question how things are currently running and how they could be improved. Many of the people you work with and for could answer a lot of key questions for you. Questions like: Where is the market headed? What types of new technology might you take advantage of? What types of synergy might you introduce to production? How could you be better, faster, and cheaper all at once? How might you improve the quality of your services and better meet your clients’ needs? If you are constantly looking to improve your business, you’ll ask and eventually answer many of these questions, improving production and profitability.

Hire people smarter than you!

If you’ve gotten to the point where you need to hire employees to increase efficiency, then you realize that you’ve grown your business beyond your own capacity. You can no longer do it all, so why not hire the best and brightest to do some of it for you? The thought may be intimidating, but the truth is your business will be better off if you can hire staff that will make a significant contribution to profitability. Be willing to partner with your employees, allowing them to contribute to your success and rewarding them when they do.

Develop products and services that will sell without having to educate clients

Your cost to market a product or service that already exists will be a fraction of the cost to market something clients don’t yet know they need. For example, all your current and potential clients will recognize the value of tax preparation services without you having to educate them. This will minimize the cost of marketing this new service to clients.

The best way to determine the products and services your clients are looking for is to ask them directly what they need. If you have employees, ask them what clients are looking for. You may be surprised at the new and innovative ways you can improve your products and services.

“Take What You Have and Make it Better” is just one of 9 principles that will make your business more profitable. Allen Bostrom, president of Universal Accounting Center, has written the book In the Black: 9 Principles to Make Your Business Profitable to help small business owners like you succeed. If this one principle has helped you, order the book to read 8 more tried and true principles that you can apply immediately! For less than $20, you can take the necessary steps to build a more lucrative business today.

Rather than trying to be all things to all people and attempting to appeal to the widest possible market, there is considerable merit in selecting a specific market and “drilling deep”.

If you choose the latter strategy and specialize in an industry or small number of industries, it’s critical that you determine the most effective strategies to reach those businesses within the industry or industries and make them aware of your services which you feel are unique. Some examples of specialized industries are law offices and independent truckers.

Strategies that should be considered include the following:

• Networking at industry related functions. This provides an excellent opportunity to meet industry people and exchange business cards
• Participating in industry association activities – e.g. trade fairs. Again, your participation will be noticed and you will have many opportunities to talk about your business and its specialization
• Write articles for industry trade magazines and ensure, wherever possible, that your photograph is included with the article along with your attribution highlighting your specialization in the industry
• Ask for referrals from existing clients to other industry members
• Develop a reputation for expertise in the particular industries involved and harness this reputation by speaking at industry meetings or conventions. You should take advantage of this situation by providing your own introduction which, needless to say, will highlight your specialization in the industry and, coming from somebody else, sounds more convincing
• Promote your unique selling proposition (USP) at every opportunity

It’s imperative that you discover a strategy to develop your unique brand and distinguish it from the competition.

In short you must focus on your unique selling proposition and ensure that as many potential clients as possible are aware of it.

Additional Marketing Training

Module 4 of our Professional Bookkeeper program, entitled “Building a Successful Accounting Service” describes other marketing methods to make your Accounting or Bookkeeping service grow!
To see an overview of marketing concepts that the Professional Bookkeeper course will teach you Click HERE.

How Making a List Could Score You Countless Clients

In order for you to effectively market your accounting services you must determine your competitive advantage. A competitive advantage is gained when you offer your target market something a competitor cannot.

When you market using that competitive advantage, you are able to edge out the competition. In order to become the premier freelance accountant in your area, you must determine your competitive advantage and incorporate it into your marketing strategy. Today we’ll talk about the competitive advantage you have through all your contacts. How does that work?

Create a List

First, we suggest you list the following, collecting approximately 250 names:

1. Friends
2. Family
3. Neighbors
4. Neighboring businesses
5. Businesses you frequent

This list represents the competitive advantage you offer simply because you know someone, either personally or through business. Your proximity and character speak for you here, and will determine how comfortable these individuals feel talking with you about their accounting needs. Now that you have your list, follow these steps:

Write a Letter

It’s time for you to spread the word about your business. Put that competitive advantage to good use and write a letter to these contacts, telling them about your accounting services so they can retain them and/or refer their own friends and family your way. Include 3-4 business cards with each letter.

It’s important that you not send these letters out to all 250 contacts at the same time. This will afford you no time to follow-up with each of them. We suggest sending 5-10 a week, taking the time to call or email these individuals later to see if you can answer any questions they may have.

Have a Chat

It will make more sense to talk with some of those contacts face-to-face. For example, your competitive advantage with neighboring businesses is the fact that your business is close to theirs. Making this competitive advantage known requires a personal introduction in which you can talk about what you do and build a relationship in which you could ask who does their accounting and whether or not they’re happy with those services.

This may require more than one discussion as you ease your way into a professional relationship with these businesses. The same applies with businesses you frequent. Take the time to get to know the owners to see if you might be able to help them with their accounting.

Offer a Free Consultation

In order to demonstrate the value of your services, offer a free consultation. This can be as casual as suggesting, “Could I take a look at your books to see how I might help?” When you do so you will notice key indicators that will let you know how their business is faring and what might be done to make it more successful. Offer some suggestions on what they can do to increase their profitability. Also let them know that you would be happy to manage their accounting on a regular basis for a reasonable retainer.

You’ll be surprised at how this free consult enables you to secure clients with ease. Not to mention, as soon as these individuals become satisfied with your services, they’ll begin referring them to friends and family of their own. In this, you will eventually take advantage of word-of-mouth marketing.

Learn All This and More with Universal Accounting Center

It really is that easy to build your client base. And you can learn all this and more by enrolling in Universal Accounting Center’s Professional Bookkeeper Program. Not only will we train you in the practical application of small business accounting, but we’ll help you market those new skills, acquiring the clients you need in order to make your business successful. And you can see by this article just how simple marketing can be.

Really, could it be any easier than making a list, sending out letters, and chatting with your neighbors? For over 25 years Universal Accounting Center has been training professionals just like you in small business accounting and marketing. We know what works. And we know what doesn’t.

Let us share all that information with you so avoid wasting time trying to figure it out yourself. Do you have 25 years to spare? We didn’t think so.

Combine Small Business Accounting Services with QuickBooks Expertise

In working with small business owners you’ll quickly realize just how popular QuickBooks is. And when you master QuickBooks you can offer QuickBooks setup, consultation, and help services as well.

Not only that but you can teach your clients how to use it properly and get you the information you need in the format you need it in. QuickBooks could make you a more efficient and profitable accountant! The combination of these two products is a professional investment that will provide you with a substantial return.

Don’t wait to improve the success of your practice while enhancing your lifestyle. Click HERE to pay in full or HERE to finance both programs.

9 Steps to Help You Choose Wisely

When you have to make a choice and don’t make it, that is in itself a choice. – William James

Choices are the hinges of destiny. – Edwin Markham

You can be the best tax professional in your area and still have a failing business. Why? Because a successful tax practice depends upon its owner making wise business decisions. If you struggle when making prudent and profitable decisions regarding your business, this article can help. This is the first of a two-part series on making wise business decisions. The following are the first five of 9 tips in choosing wisely:

1. Define the decision
If you have an important decision to make, it helps tremendously to first define the decision. When you do so you’ll be better equipped to determine who is responsible for this decision, when it has to be made, and what your potential options are.

2. Articulate your options
It doesn’t matter whether or not some of them are unappealing to you; it’s important that you look at countless possibilities before making your choice. Brainstorm to find as many as possible.

3. Research your options
You shouldn’t just rely on your own experience and understanding to find potential options; you should research to find more. And while you’re at it, look into those options you found on your own. Have other business owners made similar decisions? What was the impact on their businesses? Could you talk with professional peers and business associates to see how they might respond to this particular choice? Don’t be too anxious to make your decision without doing a little footwork first.

4. Anticipate possible outcomes for all options
Now that you’ve developed a solid list of options, anticipate potential outcomes for each option. Relying on both the research you’ve done and your own experience, imagine what would most likely happen if you implemented each option. Visualize those outcomes, paying particular attention to how they make you feel.

5. Eliminate unlikely outcomes
Now for the reality check. It can be fun to imagine grand success upon choosing various options, but how realistic is that? Be honest with yourself and eliminate unlikely outcomes. This will help narrow your list, leaving you with a short list of potential options and their outcomes.

Of course we don’t expect that every decision you make will require this much time and attention. However, when it comes to making significant business decisions, the worst thing you can do is randomly select one of the first options you consider. Choosing wisely depends upon your ability to define the decision and examine all potential options. Once you do so you are better equipped to choose wisely and enjoy a more profitable business as a result.

Return next week when we’ll discuss the final four steps in making wise business decisions:

6. Note most appealing options and potential outcomes
7. Pick the option that’s a good match for you and your business
8. Get started!
9. Evaluate your progress

9 Steps to Help You Choose Wisely

Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently. – Agnes de Mille

There is one thing all successful business owners have in common; they make wise business decisions. How do they do it? We can guarantee they don’t make their choices willy-nilly. Many approach decisions strategically, following simple steps that enable them to make the best choices possible. Last week we discussed the first five of 9 steps in choosing wisely:

1. Define the decision
2. Articulate your options
3. Research your options
4. Anticipate possible outcomes for all options
5. Eliminate unlikely outcomes

This week we will wrap up this two-part series by discussing the final four steps:

6. Note most appealing options and potential outcomes
You have researched your options and anticipated all potential outcomes. Following that you should have taken a reality check and eliminated unlikely outcomes. Now it’s time to note those remaining options that appeal to you. Those are often the ones your subconscious recognizes as most doable for you and your business. Eliminate those options that are unappealing.

7. Pick the option that’s a good match for you and your business
Hopefully you’ve narrowed your list down to two or three possibilities. Now is the time for you to pick the one that’s a good match for your business. At this point you know all there is to know about your options and their potential outcomes. Often it takes a leap of faith to make your choice and move forward.

8. Get started!
Once you’ve made your decision you need to more forward and put your plan into action. The choice has been made and you’ll do yourself more harm than good if you second-guess your final choice. Take action with confidence and don’t look back. When you do so, you’ll be able to concentrate all your energy on making this choice work in your behalf.

9. Evaluate your progress
It’s important to take the time to assess your progress and determine how your decision is panning out. Acknowledge any success and right any wrongs. Do all you can to ensure your plan is on track and determine whether or not you need to make any follow-up decisions. The more leeway you have when it comes to making wise business decisions, the more likely you’ll take the time necessary to make the best one.

These 9 steps will help you to make the best choices for your business. And while we haven’t included it in our list, it’s important that throughout the process you listen to your intuition. Often it’s that gut feeling that can propel you to success, but only when you learn how to trust it. Research your options and consider all potential outcomes; but most importantly, choose what feels most right for you and your unique business situation.

“Where did the time go? I wish there were more hours in the day!”

If you’ve ever found yourself echoing these sentiments at the end of a long workday, consider this: You may not need more time. You just need to find ways to eliminate less profitable tasks that rob you of the ability to complete the tasks that matter most.

Understand What Robs You of Time

How can you get the most out of every minute on the job? Audit your time.

The best way to do this is to create a time log. With this log, you’ll monitor your current work habits–both good and bad–for 10 days.

To set up such a log, divide a blank piece of paper into three columns. From left to right, label the columns “Hours,” “Activities,” and “Improvements.” In the first column, list all the hours you work in a day. Beneath each hour, draw a line across the page to create a row.

Where Did All My Time Go?

Each day, take a few minutes every hour to chart your activities in the “Activities” column. At the end of the day, examine the activities you’ve jotted down and the amount of time each one took. Then ask yourself some questions:

• Which jobs got done smoothly today, and why?
• Which jobs hit a lot of snags, and why?
• What time-use patterns do I see?
• What were my biggest time-wasters today?
• What part of my day was the least productive, and why?
• What didn’t I finish today that I should have finished, and why?

Streamline Your Day

After you’ve assessed your activities by using these questions, jot down ideas in the “Improvements” column on how you might have used your time more efficiently. By the end of the 10 days, you’ll have an excellent idea of exactly how effectively (and ineffectively) you’re using your time. You’ll be better able to target the areas that need most improvement and you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that you’re making every minute of your work time “quality time.”

Techniques To Make Your Accounting Work More Efficient

The Professional Bookkeeper program teaches time-proven techniques to help you get done quicker and make more per hour. The more that you do a job, the more efficient you get at it. Universal Accounting has captured and refined the best ways to get more done and get home quicker. Over 25 years of real-world accounting and bookkeeping know-how is distilled into 40 hours of training that teaches you accounting skills with a focus on small business, the most profitable market for freelance accountants.

Learn How to Earn $30 to $60 Per Hour Helping Businesses Be More Profitable

It has often been said that “You only get one chance to make your first impression.” What kind of impression do you give when you meet a prospective client? We all try to put our best foot forward when meeting new people, but if that first impression is to continue, we have to follow up.

Whenever a prospective client gives you his or her business card, write the following information on the back of the card when the meeting is over and you are alone:

• The date you received the card
• Where you met this person and when
• Any other details, such as personal information, that may be helpful the next time you see that person. Remembering things like the contact’s spouse or something about their hobbies or interests tells a person that you care about them beyond simply what they can do for you.

You can also use speedwriting/shorthand to specify whether the individual was pleasant or not. If someone else sees the back of the card, they would not know what you wrote.

Writing down what kind of mood the client was in is helpful next time you meet them. You may have to go out of your way to be extra kind to those who were in an unpleasant mood when you first met them. But reminding them of what you talked about during the last visit demonstrates that you either have a very good memory or are very efficient, and they tend to respond more favorably.

Other sections from this week’s newsletter:

• Purchase the Professional Bookkeeper Program and get the Financing a Small Business Course at No Additional Charge
• Keep Your Bookkeeping Service Flying High
• Client Secrets are Your Secrets

Make Your Client Presentation Stick

You’ve scheduled a meeting with a terrific prospective client. You’ve got one chance to reel this potential client in. Don’t leave your office without enough bait.

Strong visuals will boost the impact of your presentation. Audience retention jumps from 14 to 38 percent with the appropriate use of visuals. And there’s another plus: You can reduce the time required to present a concept by up to 40 percent.

For most prospective client presentations a 3-ring binder is the medium of choice. Include a sample chart of accounts for the industry the client represents. Include sample computer input and output reports to give the individual an idea of what you will provide.

This can be output from another client in the same industry which has been masked and doctored to protect the identity and confidentiality of the client. Or, you might make up a business and enter transactions into the computer from what you know of the client’s industry.

Here are some more techniques to make the visual aids even more effective:

* Keep yourself in the spotlight. Remember that you are the focus of the presentation, not the visuals.
* Don’t use visuals as a crutch. Know your subject matter cold.
* Stress the benefits of each financial report. If they don’t understand how to use it, they won’t understand the value you offer.
* Say more than you show.

Remember that when you speak, you should be the focus of the presentation. Use your visuals to complement your message and actively involve your audience. Visuals are effective if they reinforce what you say and make your message stick.

Module 4 of our Professional Bookkeeper program, entitled “Building a Successful Accounting Service” describes other marketing methods to make your Accounting or Bookkeeping service grow!
To see an overview of marketing concepts that the Professional Bookkeeper course will teach you Click HERE.