In the fast-paced world of tax resolution, the season is more than just a time for filing returns; it’s a golden opportunity for growth and profitability. This comprehensive course is wonderfully designed to transform your tax season into a strategic advantage, ensuring your resolution firm not only survives but thrives.
Section 1 – Mindset Mastery
Do challenges in team management weigh you down? Do doubts about your capabilities creep in, leaving you with imposter syndrome? Or perhaps, finding motivation feels like an uphill battle? It’s time to recalibrate your mindset and harness your full potential during the most crucial revenue-generating period of the year. Let’s transform these challenges into stepping stones for success and make this tax season your most triumphant yet!
Section 2 – Time Management
First, we emphasize the importance of realizing that time is limited, guiding you to prioritize and execute tasks effectively. You’ll learn to concentrate on high-value jobs and delegate others, including strategies to determine the prioritization of tax resolution clients.
Additionally, we’ll explore how to identify and mitigate ‘Time Vampires’ such as inefficient meetings and excessive client communications. Emphasizing self-care, we’ll discuss the importance of taking short breaks to prevent burnout and maintain focus.
Finally, we’ll cover strategies for planning for peak times, ensuring you’re well-prepared for the busiest periods with tactics like adjusting work hours, hiring temporary staff, or streamlining processes. This comprehensive approach to time management is designed to enhance your efficiency and productivity, transforming how you navigate the demanding tax season.
Section 3 – Business Analysis
We’ll start by thoroughly assessing your current client portfolio, pinpointing which services yield the most revenue and profit, and evaluating your average tax preparation fee against industry benchmarks. Next, we dive into a Financial Health Check-Up, offering an overview of key financial metrics and demonstrating how to calculate and interpret them.
We then will shift focus to a Operational Efficiency Review, identifying critical areas impacting operational efficiency, such as staffing, technology use, and process workflows. This comprehensive analysis sets a solid foundation for strategic growth and improvement.
Section 4 – Effective Communication
We will begin with an overview of various communication tools and channels, with a special focus on client portals, email, and phone calls, understanding their unique roles and advantages. You’ll learn best practices for each method, including email etiquette, maximizing the efficiency of client portals for secure document sharing, and tips for engaging and productive phone conversations.
A significant emphasis is placed on the importance of client education as a tool for building trust and alleviating anxieties surrounding tax issues. We’ll explore techniques for breaking down complex tax concepts into understandable language, ensuring your clients are well-informed and comfortable.
Additionally, we’ll guide you in developing educational materials or sessions tailored for clients, covering common IRS issues and resolutions. This comprehensive approach not only bolsters your communication skills but also positions you as a trusted advisor, making your firm the go-to for clients seeking clarity and confidence in their tax resolutions.
Section 5 – Raising Fees
We’ll guide you through developing a comprehensive communication plan template, which will include crafting key messages, setting appropriate timelines, and choosing the most effective delivery methods, such as email or in-person meetings.
Understanding and addressing client objections to fee increases is a critical aspect of this process. We’ll identify common objections you might encounter and equip you with well-prepared responses. This includes strategies for empathetically listening to client concerns while effectively communicating the rationale behind the fee adjustments.
Moreover, we’ll delve into techniques for maintaining positive client relationships amidst these changes. It’s about striking a balance between being understanding of client perspectives and standing firm on the necessity of fee adjustments. This section aims to empower you with the skills and confidence needed to navigate fee increases smoothly, ensuring that your clients continue to see the value and quality in the services your firm provides.
Section 6 – Cross-Selling Opportunities
This section of the course is dedicated to unlocking the potential of your existing client base by exploring cross-selling opportunities. The goal is to encourage your current clients to engage with a broader range of services that your firm offers, thereby increasing their value to your business.
Section 7 – Up-Selling Opportunities
This section is crucial for leveraging upselling opportunities, focusing on encouraging your clients to invest in higher-tier or premium versions of services they already utilize. The aim is to guide them towards more comprehensive, advanced, or extended services that offer greater value, thereby increasing their spend with your firm.
Section 8 – Marketing Tips During Tax Season
This section is dedicated to harnessing the unique opportunities presented during tax season, a period when taxes are at the forefront of everyone’s mind. Recognizing this time as one of the most potent for your tax business, we’ll explore targeted marketing strategies that capitalize on the increased public attention to tax matters.
Section 9 – Gathering Social Proof
In this section, we focus on the power of social proof through client reviews and testimonials, which are essential in building trust and credibility for your tax business. We’ll explore effective strategies and best practices for encouraging clients to share their positive experiences.
Section 10 – Orchestrating Referrals
This section delves into the significant impact that referrals can have on the growth and success of your tax business. We’ll explore various methods and strategies to encourage client referrals, ensuring that they are done ethically and effectively.
Larry Lawler, CPA, EA, CTRS
Larry is the National Director of the American Society of Tax Problem Solvers (ASTPS). Larry has represented literally thousands of taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service and is a frequent public speaker, a writer on professional topics, and a regular trainer of tax professionals nationwide.
Mitchell Piper
Mitch is the Director of Marketing for ASTPS and has been running the marketing for Lawler & Witkowski, CPAs for over 9 years. He has generated thousands of tax resolution leads and helped hundreds of members jump start their tax resolution businesses. During the ASTPS Accelerator Mitch created and taught the marketing module.
Event Details:
Friday, Jan 12th
10:00 – 1:00 | Morning Session
1:00 – 2:00 | Lunch
2:00 – 5:00 | Afternoon Session
ALL TIMES IN EASTERN