Rainmaking – Accountability: Keeping Yourself Honest
If you’ve been following my Rainmaking blogs in the last few weeks, you know that we’ve talked about identifying your target market, determining active and passive strategies for reaching out to that target market, and follow up strategies. We’ve talked about following up and saying “thank you”. And recently we featured a topic on the importance of setting SMART goals.
Goal-setting is so important! And writing those goals down is imperative. There are statistics upon statistics that will tell you the hugely increased likelihood of achieving your goals if you write them down. The other important part – after writing down the goals, is to revisit them periodically. How often is that? I recommend looking at your big goals at least once per month. And if you can’t commit to that, at least once per quarter. But your tasks to complete those annual goals (i.e.; the action items that you will commit to) should be reviewed much more frequently. I recommend to review them several times per month. Yes – this is where the commitment comes in. Rainmaking doesn’t happen overnight. It happens by building relationships and nurturing those relationships over time. In order to nurture a relationship, you must continue to connect with people on a regular basis.
Step 1: Goals as Swim Lanes
In my Rainmaking program, I refer to the annual goal setting process as developing your swimlanes for the year. What’s a swimlane? It’s simply a visual term to denote a spreadsheet, with goals down the left hand column and quarters listed across the top. Each quarter is a “lap” in your annual goal process.Read more
Focus on Alaska
As the holiday season, Christmas and a new year come our way, there has been the inevitable emergence of cold weather imagery in stores, restaurants, etc. The mascot of the season, of course, is none other than Santa Clause! Do you ever stop and think of where Santa Clause came from and lives? People say it’s the North Pole. But could that famous workshop maybe be in Alaska?
For our State of the Month, we decided to take a journey up north and show you our largest state. This might just be the place where Santa spends most of his days.
Business Climate
Alaska’s land area of 663,300 square miles is more than twice the size of Texas, yet despite its incredible land size, its population of 735, 601 (as of 2014), is one of lowest in the nation. A much smaller Rhode Island has a bigger population (1.055 million) than Alaska. Nonetheless, its lack of citizens does not speak poorly of its business environment.Read more
RAINMAKING – Are you being SMART?
As we find ourselves in the middle of a hectic holiday season with the year-end quickly approaching, I find that I’m juggling balls in the air more than ever. When it comes to running your business, many activities occur daily that need to get done but don’t necessarily provide measurable value. It can be overwhelming at times. So it’s important to regularly take a step back and refocus on your broader goals. We all want to be “successful” in our businesses. However, being successful can mean different things depending on each person’s perspective.
As I’ve developed the Jumpstart Your Rainmaking program, I’ve focused on providing the tools to be successful in the area of generating a steady flow of clients. And that starts by setting measurable goals so that throughout the hectic year we can regroup with ourselves and maintain focus on the bigger picture. The program encourages people to dream big and aim high. But we also encourage people to consider setting their goals under the SMART model. Many of you are already familiar with SMART goals – those that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic/relevant, and Timely. I debated even talking about them because so many people think that just because they’ve heard of SMART goals they are actually setting them. And I didn’t want to have to be the one to tell you that you might not be setting the right kind of goals, particularly around Rainmaking! Here’s what that might look like as you do think of setting your revenue generation goals for the upcoming year.Read more
Extending Online Tax to the Cloud
We’ve written about online sales tax multiple times before, but it’s a complicated topic without a simple solution. And that’s why we keep coming back to it! In the past we’ve discussed how states are attempting to extend the definition of nexus to broaden their online tax reach, or potential legislation coming through Congress. But one area we haven’t really taken a look at is the question of cloud-based services. How do they fit into the online sales tax debate?
About Cloud-Based Services
More and more, consumers are opting for digital versions of software, music, DVDs and games over physical copies. They purchase the rights to use these goods online and stream them directly from the “cloud” to their computer, tablet or smartphone without ever holding a tangible item that can be taxed in the traditional manner.
Consumers aren’t the only ones relying on the cloud. Businesses are continuing to move their company’s storage to the ominous “cloud,” hiring third-party cloud-based organizations rather than needing to rely on their own data-management. Many companies are therefore entering the software-as-a-service (“SaaS”) models.Read more
Jumpstart Your Rainmaking
As a professional, do you ever find yourself getting a little complacent? Do you find that there are days when it’s easier just to stay in the comfort zone than to venture out and stretch your boundaries? Of course! We all do. But when we have too many of those days in the comfort zone – and they stretch to weeks or months (hopefully not years!), it can be difficult to re-energize yourself and move forward with goals, visions, etc. That’s why, it’s so important to have a written plan for your goals and to revisit it regularly. And that’s true not just for your business or professional goals but also your personal goals. How often have you said something like, “This is the year that I learn to speak French!” But then you don’t buy the books, or the online classes, or register for a live class. And at the end of the year – amazingly, you don’t speak French!
One of my goals during 2015 was to finally (finally!) fulfill my dream of developing a training program for accountants to assist them with generating sales and building their practices. I unveiled my “Jumpstart Your Rainmaking” program in late October, and am excited to put it into full motion (see below) in 2016! But to avoid some confusion for my clients and long-time colleagues, I wanted to share a little more. Read more
California Competes Tax Credit Program
For some companies, the California Competes Tax Credit Program may be a gift from the government during this holiday season (or early 2016). This program is designed to assist companies that plan to re-locate to or stay and expand in the state of California. It appears that more businesses should take advantage of this program which has a budget of over $200 million in tax credit annually. There are three filing periods for the current fiscal year of 2015-2016:
- July 20, 2015, through August 17, 2015 ($75 million available)
- January 4, 2016, through January 25, 2016 ($75 million available)
- March 7, 2016, through March 28, 2016 ($50.9 million plus any remaining unallocated amounts from the previous application periods)
The upcoming committee meetings to review and approve applications are as follows:
- April 14, 2016
- June 16, 2016
Even though the first filing period has passed, it is not too late to apply in January. In the most recent committee meeting held in November, less than $45 million out of the $75 million available was requested for approval. A total of 59 large companies filed for $33 million in tax credits and only 30 small businesses filed for $10 million of tax credits. The California government has created this pool of tax credits for businesses to thrive in the industry, and a huge portion of it is left untouched.Read more
Rainmaking - Being Thankful!
In our last few Rainmaking blog posts, we’ve covered the active and passive networking components to the Rainmaking process, as well as follow-up strategies. As our most recent blog discussed, following up with new contacts within 48 hours is a great way to let them know you are really interested in getting to know them and would like to continue the relationship. Similarly when a colleague sends a referral your way, it’s great to quickly thank them for that referral. That seems logical enough, but do we really always do it? This Thanksgiving week is a good time to talk about that!
Being Grateful
In the professional service business, many of us rely on referrals from colleagues or other clients. My business is no different. In fact, because I am in a very niche market (multi-state tax consulting), much of my business comes from referrals from other CPAs (in firms that don’t have an in-house state tax practice), attorneys, temporary CFOs, and from current or previous clients. I spend much of my networking time and outreach directed at those kinds of referral partners, because when a trusted advisor recommends me to their client, it most often ends up becoming a client for me. And I’m always very grateful to those who recommend me.
Saying Thank you!
So, what’s the best way to truly say “thank you” to the person who referred you? It likely depends upon the nature of your relationship. Is it a formal referral arrangement, or more casual? Is it likely to be a recurring referral relationship? The way you say “thank you” could depend on the answers to those questions. Following are some possible ways to express gratitude for a referral.Read more
[Thanksgiving] The Taxability of Turkey Dinner
As we get ready to take a few days off and perhaps join the millions of Americans traveling this holiday, we thought we’d invite you to ponder the question: What do taxes have to do with Thanksgiving? As it turns out, they’re directly related to your holiday meal! In honor of Turkey Day on Thursday, here’s a look at the taxability of your dinner.
What items are taxable?
Although you may already own some of these items, sales tax was likely included on their purchase:
- Place settings, platters, flatware, etc.
- Candles, centerpieces and other décor items like table runners, leaves from craft stores, etc.
- Wine and spirits (in fact, depending on where it’s purchased you may pay additional taxes as it’s not uncommon for alcoholic items to be taxed at higher rates)
Focus on Pennsylvania
For this month’s focus, we decided to showcase Pennsylvania as I recently came back from the AFWA National Conference held in Pittsburgh. One of the original colonies, the state has had a head start on others in terms of innovation and community development. The first baseball stadium, the first daily newspaper, the first computer and the first American flag were all built or created in Pennsylvania. If you love history, Pennsylvania should be one of your must-see destinations.
Business Climate
Pennsylvania lives up to its nickname the “Keystone State.” It has an abundance of natural resources, medical and educational institutions that it uses to its advantage. Pennsylvania is the second-largest natural gas electricity producer. The State also boasts a bountiful production in its agriculture. It had more than $2 billion in agricultural commodities in 2014 and its food manufacturing industry is quickly growing. The state is home to top-caliber educational institutions such as University of Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon University, Lehigh University, and Pennsylvania State University; all of which supply the state with a skilled workforce.Read more
Rainmaking - Follow Thru Strategies
In the last few weeks’ blog posts, we’ve covered the direct and indirect networking components to the rainmaking process. Getting in front of the right people, both in face-to-face settings and with your good indirect or more passive strategies like a good website, compelling blog, etc. is key in building your potential client base and referral base. Another big part of the Rainmaking strategy, and maybe even the most important, is to follow up with potential customers.
Follow-Thru Strategies
Follow-thru should be the easy part of the strategy! And yet, this is the place that most people drop the ball. As such, it’s also an area that you can easily outperform your competition! If most people drop the ball, you will stand out for following up.
Imagine this: You go to a great networking event. You have several good conversations, you exchange business cards with a few potential leads, and you even think that some are likely to really need your services in the upcoming months. You put those business cards in your purse, pocket or wallet with good intentions of following up. The next day, you get to the office, start working on your to-do list, answer emails and phone calls, catch up around the water-cooler, and forget that stack of business cards. If you don’t follow up with the people in the stack that even MAY have been good contacts for you, you’ve wasted your time at the networking event. Why? Because the other person you exchanged cards with is equally as unlikely to follow up with you. Alas, time, effort and likely money have been squandered.Read more
