8 Simple Steps to Accelerate Your Accounting Practice

Sandi Smith Leyva, CPA, CITP, CGMA, Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, Xero Certified Advisor

Where to Get Your Materials

• AccountantsAccelerator.com/simple-steps – PowerPoint – Video recording – Link to generate your CPE certificate

Agenda

• 8 simple steps to take your practice to the next level, so you can enjoy more revenue

• The #1 hottest marketing topic in the accounting industry and why you need to learn this skill (it’s NOT social media!)

Agenda

• 3 ways that marketing affects your profits and how to stop losing money in this area

• 3 places you may be blocked (that you don’t even realize – I didn’t) and how to become unblocked so you can accelerate

About You

• Accounting Professional – Have your own business – doing <

$1 MM /year • Looking to grow or improve your

business

– Starting your business – In your first three years

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About You

• Services – Software consulting, setup, conversion, training,

troubleshooting, reseller – Controller, CFO, bookkeeping, accounting, payroll – Tax, write-up

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About Me

• CPA • Started practice in mid-1990s • QuickBooks version 4 • Drove around Dallas metroplex

– Fixing QuickBooks • Charged by the hour • Took “everybody”

3 places you may be blocked

• Being a technician will only take you so far

From Technician to Business Owner

• Leanne is more deliberate in how she approaches what she wants her business to be.

• “That’s a real turnaround,” Leanne says. “I’m now thinking about what I need in order to sustain my business.”

3 places you may be blocked

• Valuing your time

Valuing Your Time

• “We have a whole procedure around prospects that we developed after implementing the program.” When new leads come in the door, Joye’s staff� is trained to handle the sales and onboarding process for clients under a certain revenue threshold.

3 places you may be blocked

• Understanding the risks you are taking

Lowering costs, lowering risks

• “I can see an increase in the number of clients coming in the door based on the changes we’ve made to the marketing materials and the selling process,” says Wanda.

• “It never occurred to me to do this before.”

#1 Hottest Marketing Topic in Accounting

• Pricing – We’re at a tipping point in the

accounting industry

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8 simple steps

• #1 – Getting the right business model – Bookkeeping/controller vs. consulting/training

8 simple steps • #2 – Services

Passion

Skills

$$$

Market

8 simple steps

• #3 – Creating a revenue plan # Clients Revenue / yr. Total

Bookkeeping 12 $6,000 $72,000.00

Consulting 7 $2,000 14,000.00

Training 28 $500.00 14,000.00

Total 47 $100,000.00

8 simple steps

• #4 – Creating a marketing plan – Where do I get those 47 clients I need?

8 simple steps

• #5 – Building your skill set – What skills am I missing? – On a scale of 1-10, 10 being best, how would I rank

my ___ skills?

8 simple steps

• #6 – Learning leverage – Dollar for Dollar, investing in marketing training pays

back more than another technical certification – Learning how to leverage your time, marketing, your

team, all of your resources

8 simple steps

• #7 – Opening your mind – Be willing to be open to what you

might not know – Leave skepticism behind – Be coachable – The possibilities have never been

better • Technology, cloud • Need for your financial skillset

8 simple steps

• #8 – Desire transformation – Don’t settle for incremental change

3 ways marketing affects your profits

• Using methods that are not sustainable – Ads – Online – Direct mail – Cold calling

3 ways marketing affects your profits

• Skills are directly related to your ability to charge higher rates – Your ability to communicate your value – Judging how much your prospect can pay

3 ways marketing affects your profits

• Stuck in the past when marketing was illegal – Thinking selling is sleazy – Not demonstrating your value cheats the world out of

benefiting from your skills

Accountant’s Accelerator 2013

• Bundled practice growth program – Marketing – focus - Pricing – Revenue growth – cool part - spreadsheets – Time management – On Millionaire Time – Mindset – Practice management – Procedures section! – Leverage – Tech tools

• Runs through October 31, 2013

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5-figure return

• “I leave less money on the table and my general verbal communication to my clients is much better as I’m more confident in my services and in communicating my value.” Cathy Martin, Purple Martin Advisory in Lenexa

Accountant’s Accelerator 2013

• Bundled practice growth program – Self-study – Training webinars with Q&A – Group coaching with me on Q&A webinars – Community interaction – Done-for-you marketing materials – Vendor discounts

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Increase profits

• “The Accountant Accelerator program has changed my practice by teaching me strategies for managing my business and marketing my services. Truly, Sandi Smith Leyva has helped me work more efficiently, grow my business, and increase profits!”–Heidi Morgan, Balanced Bookkeeping & Beyond

Accountant’s Accelerator 2013

• 6 in-depth Marketing Training webinars – 2 tracks – new business owner / experienced

• Getting your first client • Automated Client Retention plan

• 4 Tech Tools webinars – Project management, remote tools, cloud stuff

• 4 live group Q&A webinars

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Move out of comfort zone

• The information Sandi has shared is helping me to move out of my comfort zone and now I am developing plans for my business that I had not even considered. I’m excited for what the future holds for my business. Thanks Sandi!!” — Linda Paulsrud, President, Summit Business Solutions, LLC,

Accountant’s Accelerator 2013

• Sample marketing plans • Lots of forms and procedures • CPE for CPAs: Up to 8 hours QAS self-study

and up to 8 hours group internet based • Community forum • Vendor discounts, success stories, bonuses,

surprises, and more.

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More than pay for itself

• “Any hesitation I had in joining the program vanished within the first 10 minutes of the call. I am just establishing my practice, with very limited funding, and I know that finding your program will more than pay for itself in the years to come!” — Leslie Hornyak, Beyond Basics

Discounts on Summer Workshops

• Marketing Accelerated – Marketing plan in one day

• Staffing Accelerated – A complete hiring process

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Charging 3-4 times more

• "Words cannot describe the success rate in just a couple of months. There have been Returns where I would have been charging $500 and now charging 3 to 4 times NOW and GUESS WHAT, the CLIENTS are Paying and NOT Complaining.“ --Hubert MCINTOSH EA

Price / ROI

• Price – $525 through Friday, February 22, 2013 – Doors close Friday – no more members – AA 2014 opens in 8-9 months

• Return on investment – Up to you – Nothing if you do nothing different – There is not another program at this price point that

does what this program does

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Where to Sign Up

FillYourAccountingPractice.com

Program closes February 22, 2013

Two ways to pay:

In full 4-pay plan

Your Action Items

• What one thing will you do from this webinar? • Post on Ning below the Training call entry or on

your profile or on your status • Mark your calendar, to do list, project

management system, etc. • Questions? Post in Q&A