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
[Case Study] Washington State’s Economic Nexus and Apportionment
The state of Washington has a couple of interesting statutes they adopted in September as a way to increase the number of businesses with nexus in the state.
- Nexus for click-through retail transactions
- Economic nexus threshold for wholesalers
Both provisions establish additional requirements for out-of-state businesses to pay the state’s Business and Occupation (B&O) tax and file in the state depending on the type and amount of business they’re conducting with its residents.
Keep reading for a summary of the two provisions. As you can see, neither of them affects sales tax. We’ve seen more and more states adopt these types of laws for income or franchise tax. However, note that the B&O tax is not an income tax; it’s a gross receipts tax.Read more
Rainmaking – Indirect Strategies
Welcome to the “Rainmaker Series” Friday blog. Hopefully you’ve noticed that I’m dedicating Fridays to tips for accounting and financial professionals in the art of rainmaking. We’ve discussed that bringing in revenue (“rainmaking”) is not magic, but is essential to growing your service based consulting practice. Last week, we focused on direct strategies (meeting people in one-on-one networking situations) to begin developing relationships with potential clients and leads.
This week, I’m going to share the benefits of using indirect strategies in conjunction with the direct strategies to continue building that relationship at the potential customer’s leisure!
Indirect Strategies
Building the relationship at the customer’s leisure? What the heck does that mean? Quite simply, it is about allowing your potential target customer to find out about you, not in a face-to-face environment, but virtually, when it fits into their schedule. I’m talking about things like a robust website, informative newsletter, interesting blog, and catchy social media, to name a few. The key is that these items are still generated by you to send the messages that you’d like to deliver, but they can be viewed passively by your audience when they are ready to consume them – on-demand, if you will. Obviously, the more compelling the information you put out there on your own behalf, the better the chance to grow your audience, and ultimately, your client base as you are viewed as a subject matter expert.
Since there are various ways a potential client can consume the information about you, it’s also important to use a variety of these methods.
Website: It is important to regularly review your own website to see what others are seeing, and also to ensure that the information on it hasn’t become stale. Does your homepage accurately reflect what your company does? Is it easy to navigate through the website? Is your value proposition clear? Have you added calls to action to various sections? Have you incorporated videos? Is it easy for someone to find out more? If the answers to these questions are all “YES”, then you are doing a great job. If not, consider what it would take to get to yes. Maybe an overall website analysis is in order.
Newsletter: A friend and colleague told me many years ago that the key to a newsletter is consistency. Provide quality information in a format that your customers or targets will begin to recognize and expect at periodic intervals (preferably at least monthly). That will get them into a habit of reading your content. The content should also be somewhat consistent. As a consultant or service provider, a good newsletter layout may be to offer a useful technical article related to something you consult about, plus a guest article from someone in your network, plus a “what’s happening” section to talk about your upcoming speaking topics or other items of interest. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be very long. I’ve learned over time that consistency and short (but compelling) content are more important than length!
Blogs: What is true for the newsletter is also true of the blog. Consistent blogging (for instance, posting every week on Wednesdays) is also key because it keeps your website fresh with new content. While search engine optimization is a very complicated science of its own, there is evidence that regularly updating your website (by way of posting blogs) is a way to keep the search-engine-gods coming back regularly as well – and that’s always good! Also, blogs are a great way to multi-purpose your written materials. Blog articles can become fodder for your newsletter, or a great way to build credibility with your client about your industry trends.
Social media: With so many choices out there, it’s hard to want to spend a lot of time on social media when the images and posts disappear so quickly. However, it is amazing how many touches you are likely to get just from people seeing your name and an article or interesting fact or link to a relevant story in your industry. A combination of different social media tools is also a good idea. Where do your clients and targets “hang out”? Is it mostly Linked-In? Facebook? Twitter? Google+? Instagram? Something else? Hanging out there with them will get you noticed.
We’ve just scratched the surface on these indirect strategies, and there are several other sources of indirect touches, including podcasts and recorded webinars (particularly those that can be accessed for several weeks or months after the live event has taken place). If you are fortunate to have been interviewed on camera and have a short video feed of that, it can be prominently displayed on your website, as can published articles or other media quotes. The key with indirect strategies (and direct strategies as well) is to determine what works for you and is fun. If it’s not fun, you won’t do it consistently. And that will undermine your own best intentions.
Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed reading this blog (at your leisure), and will come back next week, when I’ll address follow-thru strategies. Spoiler alert – my lesson from that blog will be “If you’re not going to do the follow up, you might as well not bother with the direct or indirect strategies!”
Monika Miles is President of Miles Consulting Group, a firm specializing in multi-state tax consulting for middle market businesses. Clients include technology, manufacturing, software and SaaS based companies doing businesses across state lines. Miles Consulting Group assists them in determining the sales tax and income tax ramifications of creating a taxable presence in a state and how to address these issues with the various states. When she’s not assisting clients with multi-state tax issues, she passionately shares Rainmaker strategies with other professional services firms. Join us for our “Jumpstart Your Rainmaking” webinar series coming up in January. Click here for more information.
Rainmaking - Direct Prospecting Strategies
Welcome to the “Rainmaker Series” portion of my blog. If you’ve checked us out, you’ll notice that I’m dedicating Fridays to tips for accounting and financial professionals in the art of rainmaking. We’ve discussed that driving home revenue (or rainmaking) is not necessarily magic, but is essential to growing your service based/consulting practice. Last week, we talked about defining your target market and determining where to find them.
This week (and next), we’ll distinguish between two strategies – the direct s indirect strategies that we can employ in order to put ourselves in front of the perfect potential client to begin building a relationship that might ultimately lead to business.
Direct Strategies
How often do you go to a networking event, buy a glass or two of your favorite beverage, hand out 15 business cards and expect to turn any (or all) of them into business that night? And how’s that working for you? We are all, hopefully, lucky enough to be at the right event, with the right people, and meet just the right person that needs our services today. We exchange business cards that night and by the next week, the prospect signs us up for a large consulting project. If this happens to you often, quit reading this article, and instead, check out my recent blog on California Tax Conformity! But seriously, if this were a regular occurrence, you wouldn’t be wondering how to drum up business and implement some new strategies. The truth is that in selling services, our clients need to trust us first. And that generally takes some time. In fact, in general, the larger the project you are trying to sell, the more time it will take to win that trust.
So, how do you do it? The easy answer is to build a relationship. I’m in a business development group called ProVisors. Our motto is “Know, Like, Trust, Refer”. The premise is that we meet each other monthly in a group setting, then meet in smaller groups during the month, and in the process get to know each other and understand each other’s business offerings. We also transition to liking each other and then trusting each other. Finally, we identify opportunities to bring our fellow members into business situations and refer them to provide value to our clients. It’s a great process that takes some time. Participating in a group like this is something I call a “direct” strategy. I’m actively building relationships with fellow professionals who are likely to have clients in my “perfect client” space. Once I’ve gained their trust through our interactions, they will hopefully refer me when their client begins to do business across state lines and requires a nexus or taxability review.
What are some other direct strategies?
- Live public speaking on technical topics (your specialty) to qualified audiences
- Public speaking on some webinars (if somewhat interactive and a qualified audience)
- Attending or sponsoring trade shows or conferences where your ideal client hangs out
- Becoming a member of industry networking groups and regularly attending or becoming a member of the board of your local chapter
- Engaging in breakfast or lunch meetings with current clients and/or referral partners that can help open the door to future relationships.
I view a direct strategy as one that involves interaction with people where both parties are present at the same time. And to me, in my business, these are the most powerful.
Everything else is an indirect strategy – good information out there about you that people can view at their leisure – like this blog, your website, webinar recordings, etc. I hope you will return at your leisure (or next Friday) to read more about how a good indirect strategy, coupled with your direct strategies, can provide a well-rounded foundation for moving your rainmaking plan forward.
In the meantime, I wish you happy direct (and directed) networking!
Interested in learning more? Check out our 3 part webinar series - "Jumpstart Your Rainmaking", starting November 9th!
Monika Miles is President of Miles Consulting Group, a firm specializing in multi-state tax consulting for middle market businesses. Clients include technology, manufacturing, software and SaaS based companies doing businesses across state lines. Miles Consulting Group assist them in determining the sales tax and income tax ramifications of creating a taxable presence in a state and how to address these issues with the various states. When she’s not assisting clients with multi-state tax issues, she passionately shares Rainmaker strategies with other professional services firms.
[California Legislation] State Updates Conformity to Federal Code
Good news for California corporations: Gov. Brown signed Assembly Bill 154, which updates conformity to Federal Internal Revenue Code. The legislation was created for two reasons:
- To simplify state income tax returns, the filing and administration of California's income tax laws.
- To provide relief to corporations facing income tax penalties.
Because it's defined as an urgency statute, this bill is effective immediately, meaning taxable years on or after January 1, 2015. Keep reading for more details about the bill.
Provision 1: California’s Conformity to Federal Revenue Code
To summarize, this recently passed conformity bill means that California’s income tax laws for individuals and corporations will follow the federal Internal Revenue Code as of January 1, 2015. Of course there are a few exceptions, such as:
- The Worker, Homeowner, and Business Assistance Act of 2009, which includes an increase in penalty for failure to file a Partnership or S Corporation Return and requires certain tax return preparers to file electronically
- The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which includes a modification of the itemized deduction for medical expenses
- The Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014, which includes an extension of the Work Opportunity Credit
- The Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2014, which includes qualified ABLE programs and an inflation adjustment for certain civil penalties
Rainmaking - Finding your Perfect Client
Welcome to Miles Consulting Group’s Rainmaker blog series, tailored to accounting and finance professionals. If you’ve made it here, hopefully, you’ve had the opportunity to check out our previous discussion about how to revisit your sales mentality (see discussion) and think differently about having sales conversations with your existing clients and prospects.
If you are here, you are probably, like me, responsible for bringing in some client work. Maybe you are a manager in a CPA firm; maybe you’re already a partner. Perhaps you are a very new staff person and don’t know where to start. Or maybe you are well trained in a firm, but have decided to go out on your own and need to start building that book of business. In any of those situations, I can help!
The first step in the process, as you sit down with your blank sheet of paper or computer screen in front of you, is to determine your target market. Easy, right? Not necessarily! Actually, determining and really defining your target market can be difficult, but deserves the attention that you must give it. Read more
Focus on Delaware
A famous saying is “don’t judge a book by its cover.” Delaware is significantly smaller than most states (2nd smallest) but packs a punch. It is often referred to as the “Diamond State” or “Small Wonder” due its physical size and big contributions to the nation. This state can also be seen as a hidden gem; being surrounded and overshadowed by its neighboring states, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey, it constantly screams for our attention.
Business Climate
Delaware has a positive economic outlook with job growth expected to rise approximately 2% annually. Just like being the first state of the union, Delaware tries to get a head start with everything. It’s known for promoting business growth, technology and innovation. More than half of the U.S. publicly traded companies are incorporated in the state of Delaware. The state wants to provide safe haven for businesses to grow with their friendly corporate laws. A few notable companies that call Delaware home are DuPont, AstraZeneca, and Nemours. So the state has a strong foundation in biotechnology, material sciences, and research.Read more
Rainmaking and Your Sales Mindset
Last week, I introduced my first blog on rainmaking, and introduced why and how I plan to share my 20+ years’ experience of selling professional services with my readers. I’ve learned many things over those years - most of them in the 13 years of building Miles Consulting Group, where as the owner, it is absolutely my responsibility to bring in the revenue. But, like many of my readers, clients and strategic partners, I’m a financial person. I certainly didn’t start out wanting to be in sales and marketing! Now, some of the biggest compliments I can get are, “Are you in sales?” OR “You don’t SEEM like an accountant! You have a much better personality.” Thank you very much.
For many of us in public accounting or financial consulting, the thought of having to go out and drum up business is scary and daunting. Our profession is largely comprised of very bright, yet often introverted individuals that very much want to get to the right answer, and in the process benefit our clients. Many of us are good with people as well and genuinely want to build relationships of trust and longevity with our clients.
Yet when we think about “Selling” – which often comes at the very beginning of that relationship that we wish to build, we get outside of our comfort zone. After all, no one wants to be “sold to”. People are selling to us all day long, and as trusted business advisors to our clients, we want to be above that fray. And yet, we need to engage in honest business development in order to build our businesses as well. It’s finding that balance that will lead us to the right place.
So much of it is truly believing that we have a product or service that people want and need, and that we offer it for a fair price. But since we are in the financial services industry, people also need to trust us before they’ll buy from us. And that doesn’t happen overnight. So, the mindset needs to be more about believing that we have a good product, people want and need it, we’ve priced it correctly, AND we need to spend time up front developing a relationship enough such that we can ultimately have the right to ask for the business. How long is that? It varies, of course. And it HAS happened to me that someone found out about my services at a networking event, took my card, and then called me to engage with me. But more often than not, it’s a process that can take weeks or months – even if they need my service. Patience is key. But it’s also not just about sitting by the phone and being patient. There are things you can be doing to gain that trust and credibility with a potential client while you wait!
In this blog series, we will share tips with you about how to get into the right frame of mind AND how to get the right practical tools to become more successful at starting and building those relationships and ultimately turn them into your “perfect client”. Check out our blog next week, when we discuss the perfect client and how to identify them.
Monika Miles is President of Miles Consulting Group, a firm specializing in multi-state tax consulting for middle market businesses. Clients include technology, manufacturing, software and SaaS based companies doing businesses across state lines. Miles Consulting Group assists companies in determining the sales tax and income tax ramifications of creating a taxable presence in a state and how to address these issues with the various states. When she’s not assisting clients with multi-state tax issues, she passionately shares Rainmaker strategies with other professional services firms. Check out our “Jumpstart Your Rainmaking” webinar series, debuting in November! Stay tuned.
What's out and what's in for California Legislation
Last Saturday, October 10th was a very busy day for Gov. Jerry Brown as decisions were made on the status of multiple bills. The Governor of California vetoed a package of nine bills that would have created new tax credits for the state. Here is a list of vetoed Assembly and Senate bills:
WHAT’S OUT
- A.B. 35 by Assembly member David S. Chiu (D-San Francisco) – Income taxes: credits: low-income housing: allocation increase.
- A.B. 88 by Assembly member Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles) – Sales and use taxes: exemption: energy or water efficient home appliances.
- A.B. 99 by Assembly member Henry T. Perea (D-Fresno) – Personal income taxes: income exclusion: mortgage debt forgiveness.
- A.B. 428 by Assembly member Adrin Nazarian (D-Sherman Oaks) – Income taxes: credit: seismic retrofits.
- A.B. 437 by Assembly member Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego) – Research and Development: Small Business Grant Program.
- A.B. 515 by Assembly member Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) – Income taxes: credits: food bank donations.
- A.B. 931 by Assembly member Jacqui V. Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks) – Taxation: credit: hiring.
- S.B. 251 by Senator Richard D. Roth (D-Riverside) – Disability access: civil rights: income tax credit.
- S.B. 377 by Senator Jim Beall (D-San Jose) – Income taxes: insurance taxes: credits
Welcome to the Rainmaker Series
I recently attended the Women’s Business Conference, sponsored by NAWBO – the National Association of Women Business Owners. As a member of NAWBO for over 10 years (and current chapter President of NAWBO-Silicon Valley), I’m proud to say that the recent conference made me even more inspired to be a Woman Owned Business. As we celebrated the organization’s 40 year anniversary, some of our “founding mothers” were introduced, as were many Past National Presidents and other women who have truly blazed a trail for those of us who own our businesses today.
I got to thinking, what do we all have in common – besides being women? As business owners, we are responsible for bringing in the revenue – making rain. Without these skillsets in attracting customers, we could not have started or grown our businesses.
According to Wikipedia, “In business, a rainmaker is a person who brings in new business and wins new accounts almost by magic, since it is often not readily apparent how this new business activity is caused.” Read more
