Discussion:Introduction Letter?

tough question, its more of a science than anything else.

we need to know who you are sending to, when, what type of client are you looking to attract (basic 1040, complex, businesses, all of the above)

and very important, are you sending totally cold letters (i.e. they dont know you at all), or will the recipient be an acquaintance, a neighborhood store you frequent, a former college buddy, etc. who wil know who the letter is from?

if the letters are going out to people who dont know you at all, its very difficult to get new clients thru the mail, or i should say low reply rate (1% would be good from what i've seen and read, so you are looking at 1,000 letters to possibly get 10 inquiries and then when you get a call you need to be prepared to know how to go about sealing the deal and getting the prospective caller as a client).

I would concentrate on trying to get your family, friends/acquaintances, former collge buddies as clients and ask them to spread the word, ask fomer employers if they have clients that might be too small for them if they can send them your way, you may want to go door to door in your neighborhood and drop letters in mailboxes(minimal cost)

it starts out slow but once you get your niche of finding new clients it gets better.

go to social functions, be a social bug, ask people what THEY do for a living first and before you know it they will ask what you do, and then it stirs interest adn doesnt seem like a lame sales pitch.

may want to purchase new homeowner lists, lists of people who earn certain incomes, ask a buddy who works at certain companies if he could hand out your business card, pick up a tax practice marketing book (i believe there is one that comes up when you google but really only one i could find)

read a general book on how to get new business and then incorporate it into what you are selling.

get a few clients under your belt get your feet wet, and then try to build off of the clients you have, then you can use the # 1 proven method of getting new clients - REFERRALS FROM CURRENT CLIENTS.

i hope this helped some, and if any more thoughts pop into my head i'll try to send them your way.

friendly note : i've found that more specific questions will get you a better response rate on tax almanac - for example "how do i ask a current client for a referral?" or "where would i get a new homeowner list and does anyone know the success rate?" will get you more replies.

especially during tax season, it will be tough to get answers to general questions, on "how do i build my business" building the business we are all still trying to perfect, or at least many of us are still learning what works well in building a practice.

good luck !

Will

Why not send them some useful information about tax laws or deductions that might be of benefit to them? You know everyone is wondering how Obama's tax changes are going to affect them. Send something twice a month for a few months. At the end of each letter, tell them what services you offer. Later, when you get a website, invite them to come to your website and have a form where they can sign up for your "newsletters." Then your mailing costs go way down.

You know, there is this roofing company in my city that, several times each year, sends me an envelope with their sales pitch and a little teddy bear refrigerator magnet. I now have a collection of teddy bears on my fridge. Each bear has the name and number of the roofing company on it. Guess who the first company is that I'm going to call in the next few years when I need to put on a new roof?

Keep us posted.

Newtaxguy2008: Wkstaxprep nailed it. Referrals will be your #1 source. After preparing family and friend's returns for a number of years, I decided this year to aggressivley ask for referrals and handed them tons of business cards. To my surprise, the emails are starting to roll through. I'm confident taxpayers would rather come to people like us rather than go to many of the tax chop shops. Personalization is key - Let them know you're here year round.

Other methods I'm utilizing: Post a letter in my apartment building by the mailbox, display business cards with my hairstylist, local subway, mailbox store - everywhere you can think of, make a facebook business page and invite EVERYONE in your area (10 mins to set up the page-you'd be amazed how quickly that spreads), put letters in mailboxes surrounding my area (elimnates postage costs and all I need to do is buy my friend a couple drinks)

Good Luck!

Wildcat24

Check my advice to CS Tax for a "fast start" option.

Wanted to give you a quick update on the facebook attempt. The page was a breeze to set up and I fired it away to all my "friends" on my page. Even though I am utilizing the free business page version, it allows you to track unique viewing history and other helpful features. Since Monday Jan 5, I've had over 500 unique visitors to the site (with the help of friends spreading the word posting my page to their sites). All in all, I've had 24 paying clients from the page and it generated just under 50 inquiry emails. Of those that will materialize into clients is yet to be determined. But so far so good. I'll keep you posted with my experiment.

Wildcat24

It's a free business page.

Go to any business page (Do a search at the top - for example "tax service") and scroll to the very bottom (assuming you have a profile/page set up for yourself) Click on "create a page for my business" and follow the instructions. Enter the type of business etc... You'll be on your way in 15 mins.

The facebook clients you are getting are they solid clients? I would imagine so because its like networking correct?

Will

While I'm getting plenty of emails for "a quick tax question", the clients are mostly solid, as they're coming from past friends and associates.

Let me know if you try it - and if you come across ideas to improve.

Wildcat24

i joined facebook last week to give it a try, im going to try the business posting u mentioned above.

thanks and congratulations on all the new clients!!!

Another method I attempted a few weeks ago (albeit primitive) was placing business cards on the driver side window of cars all over my neighborhood. My budget is very tight and the means for "proper" advertising isn't there quite yet. I admit my card isn't your typical tax preparer/CPA design. I created a funky colorful layout. Cards were very cheap (vista print) and I swallowed my pride and must have placed them on over 2,000 cars within a 10 block radius (thanks to the help of some friends).

My expectations were very low, but as of this past Monday, it brought me 18 solid clients directly (0.9% success rate!) and 5 paying referrals from those 18.

Tacky? Yes. But the 2 hours it took paid off-and I got exercise! Just another idea.

Wildcat

My cheapest and now most effective method of advertising is a classified ad in my neighborhood / community newspaper. I actually put it in a few of them. I spent $350 this year and the last 5-6 and I've generated roughly 10 new clients per year and most repeat. The key this year was that I put my address in the ad for the first time and it really focused my calls to people all within a mile of my office. That really helps.

Also, go to a cemetary with a lot of rich people in it, and strategically place some of your cards near the graves. Have an older person you trust write on the back of the cards "I don't know what poor Harry would have done without this preparer. You must hire him Myrtle" Chances are, someone will pick up your card, and think you are highly recommeneded by some of the most well to do clientele in town.

I've also left my cards in the restrooms of expensive hotels. People are desparate for something to read, and they will pick up your card and read it over and over again. Leave them in the stalls. Business is business.

It's the early bird that catches the worm! Good luck!