Making Your Voice Heard, Tax Season and Beyond.

Putting the Tax Practitioner’s Toolkit to Work

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Facing a changing competitive landscape and potential consumer confusion over

the IRS registered tax preparer program, how can CPAs deepen current client

relationships and build new ones?

The key to any successful effort is the ability to set yourself apart from other tax

preparers, and project a clear, consistent message about the unique value you

provide to clients and prospective clients.

The Tax Practitioner’s Toolkit: Communicate Your Value provides you with

customizable, client-facing materials designed to explain and enhance your

value for tax services — and beyond — in a way that resonates with clients,

potential clients and referral sources.

• Newspaper and magazine ads to promote your firm

• A series of blurbs for your firm’s newsletter that showcase your expertise

• Sample social media tweets to remind clients to come to you for

year-round services

• Tax brochures to share important tax law provisions during client tax planning

meetings or mail with your annual engagement letter

• A tax planning presentation for in-house meetings or use with outside

organizations to position yourself as a trusted financial advisor

All of these materials incorporate the underlying message of how you as a CPA

can add value, and position you, the CPA, as the premier provider of tax services.

Whether you want to run ads, talk to civic groups, interact on social networks or

simply have a conversation with clients, you’ll also have at your fingertips everything

you need to reinforce a point that often goes unstated: Quite simply, CPAs have

achieved a level of distinction that is unsurpassed.

This unmatched level of knowledge, experience and education gives you a solid

foundation for communicating the benefits of a long-term relationship with a CPA —

a relationship that goes beyond numbers and tax forms. As a trusted advisor, you

provide advice, guidance and peace of mind, all year round — and for years to come.

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Putting the Toolkit to Work

The “how to” information that follows is intended to help you successfully incorporate some of these materials into your own client retention and acquisition efforts. You don’t have to do everything at once, or use every item in the Toolkit. You can start by selecting something that complements what you’re already doing and fits within your budget, and then add materials as appropriate, based on seasonal needs or specific opportunities in your area.

Brochures and Handouts The brochures and handouts in the Toolkit are informational pieces designed to be discussed with or sent to clients and prospective clients. Print them for use in your office or work with a printer for wider distribution.

• Preparing For Life’s Important Moments — A detailed overview of the advantages of working with a CPA

• Tax Law Snapshot — An overview of key tax law provisions that affect individuals and small businesses

• Taxes and the Big Picture — Help your clients get a clearer picture of all the taxes they pay throughout the year with the Total Tax InsightsTM calculator — a great financial planning discussion starter

• Tax Planning Client Letters — Educate your individual and small business clients about potential tax law changes

• You’ll also see that there is space on the back of the brochures for you to add your own firm name, logo and contact information.

High-resolution PDF files for brochures and handouts are available for download in the Tax Practitioner’s Toolkit.

Use these pieces during

tax planning meetings with

clients, mail one with your

annual engagement letter

or tax client organizer, or

place printed copies in

your reception area.

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WORKING WITH PRINTERS

In most cases, you’ll be working with a local printer, and in all cases you should plan on getting several quotes, seeing samples of their work and asking for references before making your selection. A good place to start is by asking colleagues for recommendations. In order to get printing quotes, consider how many brochures you want printed. Ask the printer to provide costs for a range of quantities; you may want to get estimates for 100, 250 and 500 brochures.

Once you have selected a printer, you can work out the details of providing them with the print-ready files by uploading the files, emailing them or delivering them on a disk. There are specific spaces (indicated in the PDF file) for you to personalize the brochure or handout with your firm’s contact information and logo. Add it to the files yourself, or have the printer handle this. If the printer adds your logo, be sure to approve a proof before printing begins. For instructions on how to customize the PDFs with your logo, see the document, Stamping Your Materials with Your Logo.

Presentation Slides The presentation slides with speaker’s notes serve as an easy-to-follow template to use with larger groups — when you have the opportunity to speak to a civic organization, a professional group or the general public. As such, they are intended to be informational, talking about tax updates and situations where a CPA can provide value throughout the year — and over many years — rather than promoting your specific practice. They are also appropriate for client meetings, which gives you the opportunity to be more specific about your services.

These presentations can easily be tailored to fit your audience and areas of expertise. Use them as a source of ideas, topics and inspiration. The speaker’s notes can provide guidance in developing a speech. Make sure that whatever you have written on paper feels comfortable to you when saying it. Most important of all, be yourself.

The presentation slides are available for download in the Tax Practitioner’s Toolkit.

Have printed copies

of the appropriate

brochure or handout

available following your

presentation or speech.

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Advertisements You can use advertising to generate broad market awareness. Reach (the audience you’re hitting) and frequency (the number of times an audience member is exposed to your message) are important factors to consider. As you evaluate publications in which to advertise, you’ll want to understand each publication’s audience — is it effectively targeting your clients and prospective clients? Do you have the budget to advertise multiple times in order to increase frequency and raise general awareness? In addition, some publications offer special issues dedicated to a specific topic. These may be appropriate advertising opportunities; they can also provide ways for you to make connections on the editorial side of the publication — providing quotes or professional insights for use in articles or even writing articles of your own.

The campaign ads are suitable for a range of print publications, including newspapers, magazines and newsletters. High-resolution PDF files are available for download in the Tax Practitioner’s Toolkit.

Each ad includes an area for your contact information so it is neatly placed and integrated with the rest of the ad. You can add your firm name or logo, website URL and phone number yourself, or you can have the publication do that for you — just make sure you’re very clear with them on exactly what you expect, and have them send you a proof before the ad runs to ensure accuracy. Although these ads are in color, you may use them in black and white. Simply advise your salesperson at the publication.

WORKING WITH NEWSPAPERS

Establish contact with a local retail salesperson with the newspaper. Newspapers generally separate their sales staff into two categories: classified and retail; you need to work with the retail division.

Obtain a current advertising rate card for the paper and calculate the advertising cost per ad by reviewing the rate card with the salesperson. If you are running an ad one time, you will likely utilize the “open rate.” You will gain more visibility — and pay a lower advertising rate — by running your ads with some frequency. Contract-level discounts usually are outlined on the advertising rate card and are based on either a commitment of a certain number of column inches or dollars spent in an annual period of time.

Once you have determined the dates, ad sizes and costs, you are ready to place your order with the newspaper. For proof of performance, request that the newspaper provide you with a “tear sheet,” which is an actual page from the publication with your ad on it.

A CPA spends years preparing formoments just like these.

Visit 360taxes.org/CPA for more information

For tax and fi nancial advice based on unmatched knowledge, experience and education, ask a CPA.

• Graduated from college, often with 150 semester hours and a Master’s in Finance or Accounting

• Passed the demanding CPA Exam

• Licensed by a state to practice

• Dedicated to CPA ethical standards

• Committed to 120 hours of continuing professional education every three years

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All this talk about how taxes may

change – what does it mean for

my family, and our future? I can’t

fi gure it out on my own. I need to

work with someone I trust.

These ads can be placed

in color or black and white.

Personalize them with

your contact information

and logo, and look for

opportunities to promote

your firm as the premier

provider of tax services.

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WORKING WITH MAGAZINES

Working with magazines is very similar to dealing with newspapers, with two main differences. Magazine ads generally are sold as page increments (i.e., full-page, half-page or quarter-page) rather than by column inches. For magazines, the rate card is only a guide. Many magazine publishers will negotiate below rate-card rates; make sure you have a conversation with your salesperson to determine the rates you need to pay. Magazines have longer lead times, so plan in advance. You need to be ready to commit to placing your ad one to two months before the magazine is published.

Media RelationsAs a CPA, you often have valuable knowledge and insights that can enhance reporters’ stories about taxes, business and financial planning, among other subjects. This gives you an opportunity to become a trusted resource and build strong relationships with reporters and editors.

WORKING WITH REPORTERS: GETTING STARTED

Let the media know you’re available as an expert in a particular area. The media advisory template available in the Toolkit is a tool to help you begin, or enhance, relationships with reporters in your area. The sample media advisory suggests possible tax topics, but you can easily tailor it to your area(s) of expertise.

• Identify the key journalists in your area. – Newspapers, radio stations and TV stations usually have “contact us” sections on

their websites with names of editors and reporters by topic.

• Read, listen or watch reporters’ most recent stories so you become familiar with their work. – Are they short stories that provide tips or longer stories that explain more complicated

topics? Do they include real people to add color? Can you offer real-life examples to illustrate your subject, even if it is just in general terms?

• Email the media advisory to the reporters you’d like to work with, after you’ve tailored it to fit your expertise.

– Keep the subject line concise.

– You can follow up with a phone call.

• Before starting a conversation with a reporter, review the tips in Media Interview FAQs and write down the two or three things you want to say about the topic(s).

The media advisory template

available in the Toolkit is a

tool to help you begin, or

enhance, relationships with

reporters in your area.

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CEMENT THE RELATIONSHIP

Reporters will go first to individuals they trust. You can build such trust by giving them accurate information or pointing them to it in a timely way.

• Reporters are always on deadline. Return their emails and phone calls quickly in order to help them meet their deadlines. If you know you won’t have time to help them, let them know so they can move on to someone else.

• Keep your explanation simple. Reporters have to deliver the news in plain English.

• If you don’t know, say so. – If you can get the answer for the reporter, tell them you will look it up and call them back

before their deadline.

– If the topic is outside your area of expertise, do you know someone who can answer the question? Tell the reporter to mention your name when they make the call, or you can call to give the person a heads up that you made the referral. You won’t have a quote in the story, but the reporter will appreciate and remember your help, and you will have built credibility as a trusted resource.

Compelling Blurbs for Your Website and Client NewsletterThese short pieces cover many tax and financial planning topics, providing content that you can use to stay in touch with clients and prospects throughout the year. They can be posted on your website or blog, inserted in your client newsletters or attached to an email.

Below are a sample of the general and time-sensitive topics that are available for your next communication:

• Preparing for Disaster

• How Do Taxes Affect Your Financial Picture?

• Claiming a Tax Credit for Hiring Qualified Veterans

• Is a Like-Kind Exchange a Good Option for Your Business?

• Is Your Will Up to Date?

• Have Questions? We’re Here All Year!

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Google AdWords — Online Pay Per Click Ads (PPC) Pay Per Click is an online advertising strategy that allows advertisers to only pay when a user clicks on their ad. PPC is a way for your firm to quickly generate website traffic with a low financial risk.

The campaign includes several sample Pay Per Click ads that can be customized with the name of your practice and your web address.

Text for these sample ads is also available for download in the Tax Practitioner’s Toolkit.

PLANNING A PPC CAMPAIGN

AdWords (adwords.google.com) is Google’s popular advertising platform that allows businesses to run short ads on Google’s flagship search engine, as well as on their network of partner websites. Using an auction model, businesses pay for keywords that will trigger their ads when a user searches for them. For a more detailed explanation, review Google’s AdWords Beginner’s Guide.

It is critical to a successful PPC advertising campaign that you carefully select the keywords — or search terms — that will trigger your ad being displayed. Consider these keywords for starters: tax planning, tax return, financial planning and CPA.

Keep in mind that in addition to searching for a type of service, Internet users also will search for specific locations (typically a city). Google provides a free keyword research tool (adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal) that can be used to research popular words and phrases to use in your PPC ad campaign. More information on using Google’s Keyword Tool also is available at adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=160320.

With AdWords, every character counts. If you choose to create your own Pay Per Click ads, know that there are very strict guidelines. The default ad unit on Google AdWords is a text ad comprised of a 25-character headline, two 35-character lines for the body and a 35-character display URL line.

These guidelines just scratch the surface of the Pay Per Click world; much more information is available at adwords.google.com/

Google’s popular advertising

platform allows businesses

to run short ads on Google’s

flagship search engine, as

well as on their network of

partner websites.

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Social Media No longer a curiosity, social media has grown into a force that’s having a significant impact on the way businesses interact with clients. Social media allows firms to directly engage clients in conversation — making it a powerful tool for those who understand how to use it.

One of the most popular social networks today is Twitter (twitter.com), with more than 465 million registered accounts. Twitter allows users to share messages that are 140 characters or fewer. It’s easy to set up an account — and it’s free!

The Tax Practitioner’s Toolkit includes three types of Twitter posts to get you started: holiday-themed, technical and general. These should be personalized with a link to your website or Web page with more specific information. To make the most of your 140 characters, consider using a free service such as bitly (bitly.com) to shorten your firm’s URL.

Sample Twitter posts include:

• Holiday-Themed — Treat yourself to a scoop. Then get the scoop on the latest tax law changes from @firmname. bitlyurl #StrawberryIceCreamDay

• General — Concerned what your taxes may be this season? Visit @firmname for tax guidance. bitlyurl #CPA360Tax

• Technical — Which is the best tax break to use for tuition costs? Ask @firmname for details. bitlyurl #CPA360Tax

The AICPA® also offers a Twitter User Guide, complete with step-by-step information on how to get started or build on what you are currently doing. It’s an easy read with practical tips on how to use this exciting channel. If you are a PCPS member, you will find additional social media toolkit resources in the Practice Growth & Client Service Center on aicpa.org.

Another popular social network — and one specifically dedicated to working professionals — is LinkedIn (linkedin.com). It currently counts more than 187 million users worldwide. To get a taste of how you can use LinkedIn as a networking and information-gathering tool, we invite you to join one or more of the AICPA LinkedIn groups: AICPA member-only, Tax Practitioners and PCPS for starters.

The AICPA also offers a LinkedIn User Guide to help you maximize your presence on this professional networking site.

If you are a PCPS member, you will find additional social media toolkit resources in the Practice Growth & Client Service Center on AICPA.org.

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Copyright © 2014 American Institute of CPAs