June 2002a- Each month this page will be updated with new tips and ideas and the previous content archived. As time goes by our archives will grow. These will always be accessible, and always without charge. Enjoy.

Welcome to the free tips page for June 2002

Last month I promised you more details of our Towards Awesome Client Service program, or, as it's abbreviated, TACS. So, here it is.

TACS will be launched in October this year. It, as you probably know by now (if you visit this site regularly) is a specialized system for advancing client service for accounting firms.

It is unique to the special needs of, and is only available to, professional accounting firms in public practice.

It will not be a replica or "copy-cat" version of anything else, it is being written from scratch, and is currently being fine-tuned ready for launch.

It will not be prohibitively expensive - it's aimed at the sole practitioner and smaller firm (3 to 5 partners) and it will be delivered in modules that come in "pdf" file format.

The cost is yet to be finally determined, but it is going to be in the $2,000 (US) region, in four modules of around $500 each.

It will come with a series of coaching e-mails - helping you to implement and deliver awesome client service - and it's payback period is expected to be less than six months.

That's a good return on investment. Just think, if this system can produce just four new clients over the course of a year, at an average fee of $2,000 per client, then it will produce a return on investment of 4 to 1.

Then, add in the value of the additional fees you can generate by upselling existing clients, and the value of clients retained by the system that might otherwise be lost to your competitors and the value really starts to impress.

So, that's the background.

Our site http://www.awesomeclientservice.com will develop over the coming months, telling you more.

Can Radio Help You Grow Your Practice?

Yes.

Here's how.

Do you drive to your office in the morning? Most of you do, I'm sure. What do you listen to? A large proportion will listen, like me, to talk radio, where the issues of the day are discussed. Business news, world news, local issues.

Do you ever wonder how the producer of each show selects who they will have on as guests?

They don't search the locality for experts in the field they are going to discuss. Often, they don't even think of a topic - especially for local business news - that they are going to feature. They simply vet each of the approaches that are made to the show by proactive businesses with a story to tell.

It follows then, that if you approach the show with an interesting, relevant idea or comment on a current story (such as Enron), then maybe you could be their next guest. And the best news is that you often don't even have to leave your office to do so.

It's something I've done many times over the years, either for my own firm, or for a client firm. It really raises your profile. I've been broadcast on local radio such as BBC Manchester, BBC Radio London, small independent radio stations and large regional stations like CFRB in the greater Toronto area.

If you have the time, a cellphone and a little patience, you too can do the same, and it's completely free to do!

Many stations will have a toll-free number to call for their chat shows, where you can call in with your comments and opinions and get free airtime within minutes.

A longer-term policy is to call the station of your choice and ask to speak with the producer of the show you want to be on and "pitch" an idea to them over the telephone. If they like the idea, they'll seriously consider featuring you as their studio guest. They might invite you into the studio for an interview, or, as is more common these days, they might agree a time to call you back to interview you by telephone either for recording and broadcast later in the day, or to go out live on air.

Just think of all the radio stations in your area. Is there something you could talk intelligently about that has a direct link to the work you do? Here are some ideas;

• If there's a fraud case going on in your area and you specialize in forensic accounting here's your opportunity to showcase your expertise to all the local law firms by going on radio and adding something of value to the discussion.
  
  
• Towards the end of the tax year, you could offer "10 tax saving tips" to the listeners
  
  
• If you have followed our advice in our eBook "E-Marketing Your Firm For Results" you might have recently completed writing an e-book that can be downloaded from your web site - this is a great news item that, if the topic is suitable for the radio show's listeners, could be a really good publicity tools for you.

Give it a try and with practice you could soon be the local "expert" in your chosen field, and that's got to be good for business. Next month, I'll share with you how I became a regular columnist for Canada's leading independent newspaper for the accounting profession, The Bottom Line.

Important Announcement Regarding Our Free Newsletter, LEDGER

Don't panic. We're not about to stop producing it. Nor are we going to start charging for it. I want to announce that we are upgrading the newsletter to be in "pdf" file format from the June issue on. This will be sent out to our subscribers on Wednesday 12th June 2002.

The e-mail sending out the newsletter will include a link to download the free Acrobat Reader Software if you don't already have it, but here's a link for the free download now, if you want to go and get it in advance:

Important Update

The full set of our range of e-books is now available for immediate download. All are now available as "PDF" files AND eBook files - the choice is yours, or download both versions (no extra cost) to see which format you prefer!

Including:

For more details, see our products page

So, that's all for now, if you need more, sign up for our free e-newsletter, LEDGER, on our newsletter sign-up page, or look at our best-selling manual LOW COST HIGH IMPACT WAYS TO WIN NEW CLIENTS.

Thanks for visiting.
Have a great month.
Until next time.

More free tips to come as we next update our site in July 2002.