This is fairly embarrassing, and therefore not something I discuss very often in public.

But I’ve spent the past couple of days hanging out in Colorado with my friend, mentor, and partner, James Orr. We’ve been discussing a lot about how he his simplifying his real estate business model, and focusing on building really strong referral relationships with a small group of folks that are friends first, and clients second (more on this concept in the future).

One of the things he reminded me of was the fact where you come from really does matter, and it does have an impact on your ability to relate with others.

It’s obviously difficult to get to know each and every one of the readers of Tax Marketing Tips. However, despite the limited interaction capability of email, I genuinely enjoy hearing from readers, and I’m always open to answering questions and bouncing ideas around, so please feel free to use me as a resource.

Anyway, one of the important “where I come from” components has to do with how I got into taxpayer representation in the first place. The reason why I think this might be of interest to you is because it partially answers the question, “Why should I listen to you?” You may not have necessarily verbalized this question, but it’s something that often lingers in the back of our minds, right?

So here’s the deal: In 2007, in the wake of the real estate bubble bursting, I basically lost everything and was flat broke. Here’s the embarrassing part: After my own home was foreclosed on, I was literally living in a van, down by the river (Boulder Creek, to be precise).

This is even more embarrassing than the fact that I filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy the day after the bank took my home.

I tell …

» Continue reading this article: An embarrassing bit of my past you may not know…

Over the weekend, I discovered an Enrolled Agent that is simply rocking it with the simplest marketing plan on the planet.

In fact, it’s an even more simplified version of the simple plan that I’m always talking about for solo practitioners. [link]

This EA asked not to be named, but he allowed me to share with you the details of how he’s building his practice. In short, he has the simplest marketing plan in the world, and it’s working very, very well for him.

He is a solo practitioner that does ONLY collections representation work. He doesn’t have a large practice, but more than adequately supports his family on three new clients each month.

His fee model is also simple: Hourly billing with a $2500 minimum retainer. Most of his cases exceed the initial retainer by at least $1,000.

Here’s his entire marketing plan:

Every month, purchases 800-1000 tax liens for 941 debtors across the country, with debt amounts between $50,000 and $200,000. Runs the contact info from the lien through a separate data service to obtain the home address of the business owner, from which he will obtain at least 500 home addresses. Using the 500 best results, send a simple, one-page, no frills letter of introduction in a stamped, hand addressed envelope (his wife and two children help with the addressing). In the letter, he does nothing but mention how he found them, how he can help, and offers both a free consultation and invites them to sign up for his email newsletter. Every other week, he emails out a helpful piece of tax advice.

Between the mailings themselves and the email newsletter follow up, he generates $7500 per month in new retainers.

That’s it. That’s the entire secret sauce. Let’s look at his costs:

Liens: $200 Address lookup service: $160 Paper: $20 …

» Continue reading this article: You gotta see what this guy is doing to get clients…

I just posted a new 30-day supply of “Done For You” social media content (short Twitter/Facebook/etc. posts) for you to use. Be sure to refer to last month’s post regarding Twitter marketing tips for my suggestions on how to use this content.

I’ve also added two new articles for you to use on your own blog, in your client newsletter, or in your client/prospect emails.

Premium members can download this using the links at the end of this blog post (must be logged in), or directly in the Premium members area.

I’ve also got a bonus Tax Marketing Tip for you, to even better leverage the articles I’ve written for you. In short, use that article to create a YouTube video and post it.

There are a couple ways you can do this. The easiest is simply to record yourself in front of a camera. Don’t necessarily read the article word for word, be a bit more conversational about it, and definitely add your own commentary. This is the easiest way to create a two to five minute YouTube video which can help you get new web site traffic and leads.

You can record a video like this using the web cam built directly into your computer screen or laptop, or even using a tablet or smartphone. I don’t really like being on camera, but when I am, it’s usually recorded just using the camera on my iPod Touch, as it works just fine for this purpose.

I often say that I have a face made for radio, and a voice made for print, which is why I’m primarily a writer. If you’re like me in that regards, you can still create a video, but just use PowerPoint to create a few slides (it doesn’t need to be many …

» Continue reading this article: New “Done For You” social media & blog/newsletter content for your use

Just a quick reminder that the extended time period for the discount on the Renegade CPA Workshop ends today. You can register here. Even if you are not a CPA, this workshop will be invaluable for growing your tax or legal practice.

Salim received several phone calls and emails this week from practitioners who were interested in attending the upcoming workshop but needed a few questions answered before making a decision.

Today, he is doing a “Q and A” call at 3:00pm EST today (Friday) to answer any question you might have about this once in a lifetime event.

You can ask any questions you have, from what will be covered at this workshop, how it will impact your practice, your income, and your lifestyle, etc.

All you have to do to be on this call is to follow the access info below. No registration required:

Time: 3:00pm EST (Today)

Call in Phone number: 832-225-5200

Access code: 73151#

If you have questions that you want Salim to answer about the workshop, please jump on that call. And don’t forget that today is the last day to register for the event with the $500 discount. In fact, it may be the last day to register at all, as there are only 7 seats left, and they’ll probably sell out today.

Don’t forget that I’ll be doing a special “representation dinner” for attendees during the evening of May 31st, which you’ll be welcome to join me for.

Salim mentioned something in pass towards the end of today’s teleseminar that I’ve been chewing on ever since we wrapped up, and I wanted to express a few thoughts on that today.

Speaking of which, if you weren’t able to make the call today, Salim normally has the recording available within a few days — I’ll let you know when he sends me that. Also, if you want to take him up on the special offer he mentioned on the call, including the three bonus issues of his marketing newsletter and interview CDs, click here.

So during our conversation regarding how to differentiate yourself from your competition, rather than competing on price, Salim mentioned the customer service factor, and how important that really is to making yourself the dominant practitioner in your marketplace.

If you haven’t noticed, America is becoming more and more “self-service” oriented. From making bank deposits at the ATM instead of with a teller, to self-checkout at the grocery store, to the endless robo-phone systems when calling customer service numbers for just about any company, service is itself dying a pretty quick death.

Even where customer service does exist, with a real human being, the quality of that service is declining rapidly. Mediocre customer service is becoming the norm. It’s like a plague spreading across the country. From a waitress griping to me about a customer at another table, to software support reps being utterly clueless and unable to help, the problem really is getting worse.

The level of service you can offer your customers really is one of the things that you can use to make you stand out. Of course, you must actually offer your tax clients top notch service, and you can’t just say “service is #1″ in your marketing. You must offer very particular specifics, and …

» Continue reading this article: Profiting from our self-service world

Today, I’m going to provide my final wrap-up of lessons I learned from participating in tax season, including how I plan to apply those lessons to fit into my vision of my own “lifestyle practice” — which I’m already living, but want to grow.

But first, just a quick reminder about tomorrow’s teleconference call with Salim Omar, CPA. In case you missed my last couple emails about it, I’m hosting a special teleseminar with my good friend Salim Omar this Tuesday (tomorrow), titled:

“How Renegade Practitioners Succeed during Tough Times”

If you have not registered yet, click here to do so.

This will be the most complete, detailed and valuable teleseminar on EVERYTHING YOU need to build a Million Dollar practice, working just a few days each week, and eliminating money worries out of your life once and for all.

Salim Omar was in massive debt several years ago, and on the brink of bankruptcy. By going outside-the-box and applying strategies NO other practitioners in his market were, he built a massively successful eight person practice, and he works only three days per week.

I’ve invited him to share his secrets with you, but you MUST register NOW to secure your spot on the Here are a limited number of lines available for the call, so don’t lose your spot.

Date: Tuesday, May 7th, 2013 Time: 12 noon (EST) Registration: click here to do register

Earlier during tax season, I shared with you this mid-season gut check. Part of what I shared there was that I was far behind in m revenue goal for the tax season, and I shared what I was going to do to help catch up.

I ended up doing some “catch-up marketing”, and made up some ground. I went from 30% behind goal, to …

» Continue reading this article: What I *really* learned from this tax season

I don’t usually send out emails on Sunday, but I just got a message from Salim Omar, CPA reminding me that the $500 discount for the Ultimate Practitioner Lifestyle Workshop expires tonight at midnight Eastern time.

The workshop is actually almost sold out, and only 11 seats remain. This workshop will absolutely change your practice and your life, and you have absolutely ZERO risk with Salim’s Iron Clad Guarantee.

For complete information about the workshop, including Salim’s Money Back Guarantee, the venue, and the lineup of speakers (including myself), just click here.

I’ll even sweeten the deal if you register for the event: You can join me for a 2-hour mastermind group dinner on the evening of the first day of the workshop, to discuss any and all things related to collections representation marketing. Just email me your receipt from Salim with your registration info, and I’ll add you to the dinner guest list.

This Tuesday, May 7th, I’m hosting a special teleseminar with my friend: Salim Omar, CPA on…

“How Renegade Practitioners Succeed in Tough Times”

This is a very IMPORTANT subject because in these “changing” times, you need to be asking yourself…”how will I live the remainder of my life”. How will you conduct your practice: independently, in control, or controlled; as master or slave.

Salim is one of the few practitioners I know that practices in total autonomy. His income and lifestyle are NOT dependent on any outside forces (economy, location, etc) and are mainly determined by the systems and strategies he uses in his practice. What are they?

You need to be on this call to find out.

Date: Tuesday, May 7th, 2013 Time: 12 Noon (EST) Registration link: Click here to register.

Lines are limited. Be sure you call in at least 10 minutes in advance because it will be a FULL house.

If you are a highly motivated practitioner who’s open to a FRESH set of strategies that gives you the power to achieve your EVERY GOAL, your every DREAM, in your practice and your personal life, then you’ll definitely want to join a special teleseminar I’m holding with my friend, Salim Omar, CPA on the topic:

“How Renegade Practitioners Succeed in Tough Times”

Register here: Click here to register

This will be the most complete, detailed and valuable teleseminar on EVERYTHING need to build a Million Dollar practice, working just a few days a week… and eliminating money worries out of your life once and for all.

Salim Omar was in massive debt several years ago and on the brink of bankruptcy. By going outside-the-box and applying a set of strategies NO other practitioner in his market was, he built a massively successful eight person team practice, working only 3 days a week.

I’ve invited him to share his secrets with my readers, but you MUST register NOW to secure your spot on the call.

Date: Tuesday, May 7th, 2013 Time: 12noon EST Registration: Click here to register

On this call, Salim will go through everything he does inside his Practice layer by layer, strategy by strategy, decision by decision. Register before you miss out on this amazing opportunity to get into the mind of one of the most successful practitioners I know.

Register Now

The single most difficult part about building a multi-million dollar tax and accounting practice is simply getting all the right systems in place.

When I decided to “go solo” and leave the firm that I was well established with and had helped build into a $2.5 million per year business, there was no question about how I was going to get started.

Sure, I’d fix some of the issues that prompted me to leave that firm in the first place, but the core systems and tactical methodologies would be retained. Why? Because they worked.

From my decision to start taking IRS representation clients to the $30,000 per month mark took less than 60 days, starting from absolutely zero prospects or clients.

This was proof positive that the systems worked. The checklists that I had developed at my old firm could be applied anywhere, pretty much at will. Want to know the even more miraculous part of this? During the majority of the time that this new tax firm was being birthed, I wasn’t even in the United States, and clients and prospects had no idea. That’s the real power of systems.

Important Announcement: I’d strongly encourage you to set aside next Tuesday at noon to attend a special teleconference call with myself and Salim Omar, CPA. We’re going to be discussing precisely the steps that Salim took to go from near-bankruptcy to a multi-million dollar accounting practice. I’ll be sending out a registration link later today or tomorrow, so be on the lookout for that.

Once you have systems in place, you can turn your business on or off at will. You can take a break if you want (like I’m doing now), and come back later and fire things back up with very little lead time. Systems also let you continue to grow to …

» Continue reading this article: It gets easier after this