The Abundant Accountant: Leads, Sales & Business Growth for Accounting, Tax and Bookkeeping Professionals

Figuring out how to start something and growing it is often a struggle for many solo entrepreneurs who want to move out of their current jobs and start their own business. Talking to accountants, agents, bookkeepers, and those who are doing part-time CFO, Nellie Akalp dives deep into the process of scaling your own accounting firm. As a CEO of CorpNet.com - a trusted resource for Business Incorporation, LLC Filings, and Corporate Compliance Services in all 50 states - Nellie has the wisdom to give your business that competitive advantage. She shares the things an accountant must possess to differentiate themselves from everybody else and the three ways they can scale their accounting firm without adding overhead. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Abundant Accountant Community today: theabundantaccountant.com LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube

Why do clients leave their current CPA? With the birth of virtual accounting firms, several clients shift to it because they see some value, especially in the pricing comparison. Dominique Molina, the President of the American Institute of Certified Tax Coaches, reveals what's going on with all the competition and the cannibalism in the accounting industry. A firm believer that understanding the buyer’s journey is crucial, she unravels the three areas to focus on so you can protect and arm yourself from the rise of online competitors. Hit the books and learn the value of creating pricing lists and the two wow factors that will outwit competitors. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Abundant Accountant Community today: theabundantaccountant.com LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube

Charging for your accounting services without apologizing is one vital thing you should be implementing when you are working honestly and ethically. Unfortunately, we see too many accounting professionals who are overworked and underpaid. Stop undercharging for your accounting services once and for all as Michelle Weinstein shares some smart pricing strategy examples and her five-step process to start collecting higher fees with confidence and getting paid your worth. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Abundant Accountant Community today: theabundantaccountant.com LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube

How do you go from giving discounts to charging 5 times your old rates? In this special bonus episode of The Abundant Accountant Podcast, we’re hearing exactly how to do it--straight from the mouth of Aleksey Kaplan, a New York based accounting-preneur, who has successfully raised the price of his most basic service from $150 to $650! As an accountant, I know that you are frustrated and stressed trying to get the right clients through the door, maybe feel like you have no control over who you work with or how much you charge. Maybe you don’t even believe that you can get a potential client to say yes to a high-fee package. That’s why I invited Aleksey Kaplan on the show to share his story with you. When I first met Aleksey, he had a ton of challenges that were keeping him from getting his firm where he wanted it to go. In this episode, you’ll hear how Aleksey was able to overcome his limiting beliefs and went from sticking to the status quo to being a full-blown accountingpreneur who knows his value, only works with his ideal client, and charges premium rates. ----------------- Want to take it to the next level and beyond like Aleksey? I’m opening up a few strategy sessions to help you get your IDEAL clients coming to YOU so you can build your dream practice, work less, and still have the time and money to enjoy your family and kids. Head to theabundantcall.com now to schedule your coaching session with The Abundant Accountant team! Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Abundant Accountant Community today: theabundantaccountant.com LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube

Your elevator pitch is your opportunity to connect with someone. Denise Mandeau says you start building a relationship from the first 10 to 30 seconds that you meet someone and give your first impression. That's going to set the tone whether they’re going to a potential client or a potential referral source for you. Denise is a business growth strategist and co-founder of P3D Consulting. She has proven success as a business owner, financial planner and award-winning sales professional for over 35 years. Denise is passionate about teaching others to learn how to sell without being salesy! She joins us in this interview to talk about how to pitch your skills – whether you’re a CPA, an accountant, or a bookkeeper - without being too technical. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Abundant Accountant Community today: theabundantaccountant.com LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube

How can a particular sales strategy transform your firm and your CPA practices if you’re not a salesperson or entrepreneur? Not all CPAs are entrepreneurs and not all "accountingrepreneurs” become successful in their field. An expert in working with many top business owners and investors with Proactive Tax, Dominique Molina fills in the basics on how you can implement sales strategies into your CPA firm. A speaker, teacher, bestselling author and mentor to a bunch of tax professionals, Dominique shares the critical ingredient that would remove the restriction in taking your account firm to the next level. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Abundant Accountant Community today: theabundantaccountant.com LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube

For accountants, we often find it challenging to crack open the doors of small business to let us in to help. Sometimes, it is not what we do to encourage them, it is how we do it. Do you really know what your value is as a CPA or accountant, and can you confidently explain it to a potential client? In this episode, learn the ways you can recognize how small businesses actually need your help in three common scenarios and how you can show your value to them in a way that resonates. Increase your credibility and get more small businesses as clients as we dive in deep into bringing our value for them to see. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Abundant Accountant Community today: theabundantaccountant.com LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube  

Have you ever had a nightmare client? By that, we mean those people who suck the life and energy out of you that you wish you could get rid of. How do we avoid getting these types of clients in the first place? Ross Jeffries shares how you can tell good clients versus bad clients. He outlines the three ways to avoid working with PITA clients, or what we call as “pain in the ass” clients, as well as the three qualities to look out for to qualify your leads. Ross is the author of Subtle Words That Sell and has over 30 years of sales experience and has been featured in leading media outlets including BBC, CNN, and The Huffington Post. His speeches and trainings have motivated tens of thousands to discover their power to design their own results through the power of persuasion and language. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Abundant Accountant Community today: theabundantaccountant.com LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube

Do you find the sales process fun, or do you find it scary? We’re changing things up for this episode of The Abundant Accountant Podcast. Dominique Molina, Co-Founder and President of the American Institute of Certified Tax Planners is interviewing the Pitch Queen herself about how accountants can change their sales conversations to lead to higher conversions, and more abundant clients. Our guest today is the Co-Founder and President of the American Institute of Certified Tax Planners.  She is a best-selling author and a frequent television guest and media expert on tax issues. She has previously been named as one of the “Top 40 Under 40 Most Influential Accounting Professionals” by CPA Practice Advisor Magazine.  However, she will not reveal to us today if she is still under 40.   Sales conversations can be scary and intimidating - so much depends on them! But once you’ve moved past the stage in your business where your ideal client is anyone who has a heartbeat and breathes, you can really have fun with it - and find out just how much these sales conversations can change your business. After you find that balance between being detached and being desperate, and can focus on your clients and serving their needs, you’ll love showing them just how you can serve them and save them money and keep their goals at the forefront. Learning to listen, and finding ways to incorporate these tricks will help all seasoned sales professionals and beginners alike - these are The Pitch Queen’s techniques that are even used today! In this episode of The Abundant Accountant Podcast, The Pitch Queen shares all her juicy tips and tricks with Dominique Molina about how to have successful sales conversations. Once you can master those little tricks, you’ll see what a big impact they can have on your firm!  This episode is sponsored by Terra Optima. Terra Optima provides tax efficient real estate strategies for small to mid-size accounting firms and have become a proven resource to help grow the high net worth client base for firms all over the country. They possess a wealth of resources in the conservation space, as well as tools to add to your success in assembling and presenting tax plans attractive to your clients. Whether it's to manage a personal land conservation project for your client, or to participate in a "best in class"  real estate project that could have a conservation outcome, make them a part of your resource team today. Learn more at www.Terra-Optima.com Here are a few key secrets we talked about in this episode: Dominique Molina introduces Michelle, the Pitch Queen, and her business. Every time you talk to a client, it’s a sales conversation! The more powerful your sales conversation is, the more people you will be able to help. A sales conversation can be powerful because it helps educate people. People don’t know what they don’t know: you help them move past their own blocks to help them know what is good for them. When you care about a client, that impacts your attitude and you’ll be able to serve them effectively. Bring your full self and full ability to serve in every sales conversation. Listen to your clients! Keep your gallon of water, your green juice, or your coffee pot close! Take a good sized gulp all throughout the meeting - when you’re gulping, you aren’t talking! Use the 80/20 rule: you should be listening 80% of the time, and talking 20% of the time. Take notes while you’re meeting with clients - don’t be intimidated; tell them that you’re making sure to note what is important to them. Those notes will help you know what is important to your clients; the words that they say, and their goals. These notes will help you connect them with the meaning of future actions: “We’re going to do A, B, and C so that you can accomplish these goals…” Make an agenda for client meetings, so that they can relax and listen, and not be waiting for your pitch. Remember, your client meetings are interviews to see if YOU want to work with them - you get to flip the script! The mindset you bring to client meetings is important. Don’t schedule meetings around major deadlines (e.g., during tax season, around March 15th, or April 15th, or when you’re under a lot of pressure). Your mood will impact that new client relationship. When meeting with a client, most of the time, you sit across from each other. Imagine yourself sitting next to them, go through the experience with them! Put yourself in their shoes, and empathize with them.  Keep it real! Clients can sense anything that’s fake - even if it’s a white lie, like “I understand this can be shocking….” if you don’t truly empathize, don’t say that you do.  If you come across as deceptive in any way, it unravels the trust that you have with your client. When you develop this skill to have good client sales meetings, it will change your business! Learn More & Connect With Me Here! Read The Abundant Accountant Blog Certified Tax Coach website Dominique’s Facebook page Join us on Facebook Follow Michelle on LinkedIn To share your thoughts: Email The Pitch Queen @ hello@thepitchqueen.com Share The Abundant Accountant Podcast on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, & LinkedIn  To help the show out: Please leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe to the show on iTunes.   If you are an accounting professional who worries about where your next client may come from, or even struggling with inconsistent cash flow not during tax season then head over to 5stepstoabundance.com to get my simple 5-step process accountants use to go from “waiting around for the busy season” to closing high-level clients who are happy to pay the fees you deserve and who actually appreciate the work you do for them!  Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Abundant Accountant Community today: theabundantaccountant.com LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube

When you started your own accounting firm, did you know that you were signing up to be in sales?  Most accountants who start their own firms are shocked when they realize that they are now in a 24/7 sales job. Every conversation that they have with a client is a sales conversation, believe it or not! So how can you get better at those sales conversations? How can you turn those conversations into business opportunities that save your clients thousands of dollars, and bring abundant revenue into your firm? The solution for many accountants is hiring a sales strategist. However, it’s easy to hesitate: Is it worth the time/money investment? Do I really NEED a sales strategist? How do I choose a sales strategist? These are all great questions, that I am here to answer!  It’s important to remember that no matter how good you are at the numbers, most of your clients won’t buy based on the spreadsheets - they buy from an emotional perspective. In this episode of The Abundant Accountant podcast, The Pitch Queen breaks down the value of a sales strategist, how they can help explode your business, and how to choose the right sales strategist.  If your sales have been in a slump, or you’ve taken a month off because you haven’t had any business, you’ll want to tune in to this week’s episode of the Abundant Accountant podcast!  This episode is sponsored by Terra Optima. Terra Optima provides tax efficient real estate strategies for small to mid-size accounting firms and have become a proven resource to help grow the high net worth client base for firms all over the country. They possess a wealth of resources in the conservation space, as well as tools to add to your success in assembling and presenting tax plans attractive to your clients. Whether it's to manage a personal land conservation project for your client, or to participate in a "best in class"  real estate project that could have a conservation outcome, make them a part of your resource team today. Learn more at www.Terra-Optima.com Here are a few key secrets we talked about in this episode: The Pitch Queen, Michelle, introduces herself and shares about her business.  I invested in myself and went to a big digital marketing conference. One of the biggest takeaways for me is that you want to be the thermostat in your firm, not the thermometer. You want to set how hot you want your firm to be! Invest in yourself! That allows you to set the thermostat MUCH better! When you started your firm, did you create a JOB for yourself? Although data and numbers are great, it’s sometimes not enough to enroll new clients. Not everyone buys from a spreadsheet - people buy from emotion. A sales strategist helps you focus on new skills, knowledge, and strategies. “If I am not my best self, how can I serve YOU? If I am not learning and growing, how can I help you?” ~ The Pitch Queen You go to learn technical knowledge, you do continuing education credits. You need these skills and knowledge to help your client at a greater level! If you can’t get them to come and work with you, the technical knowledge doesn’t help! “The best MBA is the one you figure out on your own.” ~ The Pitch Queen In order to serve, you have to see your weaknesses. It’s not the most fun, but it’s the biggest way to grow and get past fears blocking you. No one knows everything. You should strive to learn one new thing every day. If you are the best tax planner out there, then how can you learn a new thing every day in an area you are NOT great in? Choose sales, client relationship, or followup. No matter how good you are, you can always become better. Do you want a thousand clients at $10 each, or do you want a few clients at maybe $1000 or $10,000 each? Working with a coach will help you learn new methods and get the best outcome for your firm and your clients. You forget that you signed up for sales - but every time a client calls you, it’s a sales conversation. Consider - how many missed opportunities have you had in the past 6-12 months by not working on yourself? Not having time to seek out anyone or work on yourself is not the best way to set yourself up for success. You don’t want to be complacent - not working on yourself is the first step to a failed business. Learn More & Connect With Me Here! Read The Abundant Accountant Blog Join us on Facebook Follow Michelle on LinkedIn To share your thoughts: Email The Pitch Queen @ hello@thepitchqueen.com Share The Abundant Accountant Podcast on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, & LinkedIn  To help the show out: Please leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe to the show on iTunes.   Do You want to MAKE MORE MONEY and WORK FEWER HOURS? Join me so you can unlock the secrets to growing a profitable accounting firm with less stress by joining our upcoming Abundant Accountants Masterclass! You will learn: The easiest ways to sift through clients and get to the RIGHT ones! Proven tactics to actually get paid instead of giving away FREE advice! How to stop competing on price FOREVER!  Join our Abundant Accountants Masterclass today over at theabundantaccountant.com. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Abundant Accountant Community today: theabundantaccountant.com LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube