Musings of a Burbank CPA: Five Sales Lessons from a Toddler

Whether selling a new service to a client, trying to acquire a new client or pitching an idea to your partners, CPAs as well as other professionals can take a few lessons on selling from kids.  See this posting in Accounting Today by Natalia Autenrieth for more details on this idea: http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/marketing/five-sales-lessons-from-a-toddler-72257-1.html Like the article says, toddlers are selling things all the time, they don’t get discouraged (at least not until they become teenagers), so they are the greatest sales force to learn from the world has ever seen (I guess many used car salesmen have learned from their kids, or they have a natural flair for continuing to annoy people until they buy something to shut them up!)  Well, if it can help you pitch your idea or get a client, it is worth looking at.   For financial,  accounting and tax musings, You can count on us to count for you! Email: bstonercpa@sbcglobal.net  Phone: 818-317-6035  Website: www.briantstonercpa.com    Android and the IPhone:        Has been Featured On https://twitter.com/bstonercpa

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General Musings of a Burbank CPA: How to Get Referrals from Friends

A lot of times it is hard to ask friends to refer business to you.  The friend is afraid of hard pressure sales tactics and you don’t want the friendship to suffer, so you don’t talk about it.  How do you break the ice and encourage friends to get you referrals?  See this article in AccountingWeb by Bryce Sanders for a three step way to get things started: http://www.accountingweb.com/article/how-get-referrals-friends/223930 The thing I like about this technique is it is low pressure and is just a conversation between friends.  It more or less is the start of a conversation and is just more of a note to friends to just mention your name when someone they know needs professional expertise.   For financial,  accounting and tax musings, You can count on us to count for you! Email: bstonercpa@sbcglobal.net  Phone: 818-317-6035  Website: www.briantstonercpa.com    Android and the IPhone:        Has been Featured On https://twitter.com/bstonercpa

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CPA Business Musings: Are You a Brand or a Business?

So the million dollar question – Are you a brand or a business?     You are both. The problem is that you might not think of yourself as a “Brand”. You think brands are Apple, Facebook, Starbucks, McDonalds, etc. Wikipedia says a brand is a… “Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.” I underline the word “distinct” because I believe that’s the key to a good brand. So what’s distinct about you? Are you the BEST bookkeeper on the north side of Atlanta? The small business EXPERT in the western suburbs of Chicago? The LEADING firm for Accounting and Cloud Computing in Las Vegas? If you haven’t thought about this, or haven’t thought about this recently, you should. In this Social Media age, you need to establish yourself as something. Give your clients and prospects a way to distinguish you from all others that may offer a similar (but lesser) service. Your website, newsletter, Social Media and Blog have a lot to do with your brand. These outlets can establish you as a thought leader. They give you the opportunity to make your case. Your well [...]

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