Marketing & Business Development Webinar

The Seven Keys to Successful CPA Firm Management webinar series continues on September 16, 1:00-2:00 p.m. Eastern with Marketing & Business Development. Attend this webinar and learn:

• The economy's impact on marketing programs and budgets
• How marketing matters in client retention
• When is social media right for your firm?
• Conduct a reality check on your marketing program
• Firing clients: More important than ever

Special Offer! Attend both the Marketing & Business Development and Client Satisfaction (October 7) webinars for one low price of $125! Each separate webinar is $79.

The Client Satisfaction webinar features:

• The hidden landmine of your marketing program
• How to reduce fee resistance
• How to empower your team to satisfy clients
• Why CPA firms lose clients
• How client satisfaction can differentiate your firm

The Seven Keys to Successful CPA Firm Management is based on research conducted by Capstone Marketing and Bay Street Group LLC over the past year including thousands of survey responses and interviews with leading authorities.

If you'd like to learn more about our findings, you can click here to download the 12-page PDF, "The Seven Keys to Success in CPA Firm Management." (No charge, no obligation.)

CPAs and Social Media

Are CPAs looking at technology to strengthen their marketing efforts? As revealed in yesterday's Webinar, Technology: Investment and Implementation, part of The Seven Keys to Successful CPA Firm Management series, 35% of survey respondents are doing so. Leading firms are 35% more likely to identify using technology to strengthen their marketing efforts as a tech initiative.

CPA Trendlines research indicates that CPAs:

• 54% on LinkedIn
• 48% on Facebook
• 21% on Twitter
• 12% on Plaxo
• 6% on MySpace

Social media marketing is causing us to another look at how we create and execute marketing programs. The MarketingSherpa Social Media Marketing and PR Benchmark Survey 2008 reveals:

• Social media is changing the way your company communicates: 31% strongly agree, 45% agree
• 48% of respondents will increase their social media budgets
• Social media marketing and PR is very effective at influencing brand perception (39%), increasing brand awareness (37%), improving search engine rankings (38%), and increasing website traffic (33%).

What I've learned so far is that we need to embrace change. This can be uncomfortable. Yet, change enables us to enhance our skills and try new things, two characteristics of motivated achievers.

Best Ideas from AAM Summit 2009

Here is the final installment (3 of 3) of the best ideas learned at the AAM Summit 2009. What I've learned so far is to listen to the wisdom of my colleagues. Enjoy!

Technology: Seven Keys Webinars Continue

“Technology: Investment and Implementation”, the second key of the series, will be held on Tuesday, August 11, 1:00-2:00 p.m. Eastern.

In "Technology: Investment and Implementation," Jean Caragher, Capstone Marketing and Rick Telberg, Bay Street Group LLC will reveal:

- Top Five Tips to Economize Your Technology Spending
- How Leading Firms Differ from Laggard Firms in Technology Use
- Developing a Strategic Technology Plan
- Tips for Going Paperless
- How to Embrace the Mobile Environment
- The Impact of Social Media

Registration for the one-hour webinar on Technology, August 11, at 1 pm Eastern is now open. Price: $79; or, $379 for the remaining six-part series, a 20% discount.

More Highlights from 2009 AAM Summit

How to Judge CPA Firm Leaders

Rick Telberg's latest blog post, How to Judge CPA Firm Leaders, makes an excellent point. The ultimate test of leadership is in how results are achieved through the actions and behaviors of others.

Leadership is one of the Seven Keys to Successful CPA Firm Management identified by Capstone Marketing and Bay Street Group LLC. Details of our research will be unveiled in a series of monthly webinars starting Tuesday, July 14, 2009, at 1:00-2:00 pm Eastern, with "Leadership: New Rules for the New Normal."

In "Leadership: New Rules for the New Normal," Caragher and Telberg will reveal:
- Essential Qualities for Accounting Firm Leaders in Today's Economy
- How to Be a Leader if "Leader" Isn't in Your Job Title
- Key Skills Every Accounting Firm Employee Needs to Know
- Bridging the Generation Gap in Today's Workplace
- Why Teams Don't Work, and How to Fix Them
- What's Wrong with Every Firm's Compensation System

Registration for the one-hour webinar on Leadership, July 14, is now open. Price: $79; or $449 for the entire seven-part series, a 20% discount.

AAM Summit Video Highlights

What I've learned so far is that networking is a tremendous source for business development and education. Here is feedback from our accounting marketing colleagues on the best idea they learned from the recent AAM Summit 2009. Check back often this week for additional video highlights.