1. Effective Marketing for
the Public Practitioner
Marketing for Accountants, Demystified
Michael ‘MC’ Carter - Director of Practice Paradox

2. Effective Marketing for
the Public Practitioner
Marketing for Accountants, Demystified
Michael ‘MC’ Carter - Director of Practice Paradox

3. What We’ll Cover Today
1. Why marketing is now a focus for many firms
2. Why you need to start taking marketing seriously
3. Dispelling common myths about marketing
4. Practical marketing tips you can apply today
5. Start you on your learning journey about marketing

4. FASTEN SEAT BELTS
4

6. Write down your
No.1 Marketing
or Growth-Related
Challenge

7. Who’s in the room?

8. Ranking of Top Challenges Facing Firms
2010 Rank Challenge 2008 2009 2010 ↑ or ↓
No.1 Growth 25% 31% 37% ↑ 6%
No.2 Profitability 24% 27% 28% ↑ 1%
No.3 Cash Flow 15% 23% 26% ↑ 3%
No.4 Productivity 24% 23% 20% ↓ 3%
No.5 Introducing New Services 14% 12% 20% ↑ 8%
No.6 Debtor Management 13% 16% 19% ↑ 3%
No.7 Write Offs 21% 23% 18% ↓ 5%
No.8 Getting New Clients 12% 14% 18% ↑ 4%
No.9 Efficiency of Firm’s Processes 23% 20% 14% ↓ 6%
No.10 Client Relationships 7% 9% 12% ↑ 3%

9. Survey Practice Paradox™ Conducts
• Marketing skills training
• 41% have never been trained in marketing
• 14% haven’t received training in over 5 years
61%
• 6% haven’t received training within the past 2 years
• Selling skills training
•
•
48% have never been trained in selling skills
16% haven’t received training in over 5 years
77%
• 13% haven’t received training within the past 2 years

10. So what’s the Paradox?

11. MORAL OBLIGATION?

12. YOU ARE IN THE
BOX SEAT
You can change lives.

13. ✓Compliance
?

16. The Golden Triangle
Leaders
Advisors Support Team

17. Marketing is ...

19. MARKETING
MYTHBUSTING

20. MARKETING MYTHBUSTING
MYTH TRUTH
1. Marketing is advertising. 1. Advertising is dead.
2. Sponsorships are marketing. 2. Sponsorships are donations.
3. Marketing is difficult. 3. Marketing has never been easier.
4. Marketing is a creative pursuit. 4. Marketing is logic and numbers.
5. A ‘corporate’ website matters. 5. Traditional websites are dead.
6. A website client portal matters. 6. Clients don’t care much about it.

21. MARKETING MYTHBUSTING
MYTH TRUTH
7. Accountants are not marketers. 7. Accountants must be marketers.
8. Marketing is about persuasion. 8. Marketing is about EDUCATION.
9. Clients like your newsletters. 9. Most clients don’t read them.
10. Marketing is about new clients. 10. It is first about existing clients.
11. Marketing is differentiation. 11. ‘Differentiation’ is a pipe dream.
12. Social media is a fad. Kids’ stuff. 12. Social media is POWERFUL.

23. Marketing is
the communication
of value
one-to-many

24. Because the purpose of a business is to create a customer
the business enterprise has only two functions
marketing and
innovation
These produce results. Everything else is a cost.
Peter F. Drucker

26. What you can measure,
you can manage.
What you measure,
improves.

27. What do you measure
for achieving growth?

28. Clientshare™
Definition: Number of Services Provided
Per Client Group Per Year
Can be measured across entire firm,
per Partner/Director, per Client Manager
and per Client Group.

29. Measuring Clientshare™
Example: Married couple who own a business:
1 for the two ITRs,
1 for the Company Return,
1 for the End of Year Accounts,
1 for Quarterly BAS preparation,
1 for their SMSF administration,
1 for their Family Trust work
___________________________
= Clientshare™ of 6

30. Growing Clientshare™
Example (continued): Potential services:
1 Tax Planning,
1 Cash Flow Budgeting,
1 Succession Planning,
1 IT Consulting
_____________________________
= Increases Clientshare™ from 6 to 10

31. Exercise
How many services is your firm
currently capable of delivering?
(Separate, nameable services)

32. So what is your
Clientshare™?

33. FASTEN SEAT BELTS
33

34. Your Marketing Machine

35. Your Marketing Machine

36. Defining your niche(s)
1. Write down your favourite 6 clients
2. Write WHY you like dealing with them
3. Is there a common element between them?
4. Get CRYSTAL CLEAR on WHO your firm is targeting

37. NICHING MAKES
YOUR MARKETING
EASIER AND
MORE EFFECTIVE

38. Your Marketing Machine

39. Your Marketing Machine

40. Your Marketing Machine

48. Don’t teach
elephants
to dance
Bugger this for a joke
It wastes your time and annoys the elephant
48

49. Does your firm
mix
have the right
of social styles?

51. }
Amiable Expressive
Reminder Minder
Rainmaking Zone
Go to website
practiceparadox.com.au
Grinder Finder
Analytical Driver

52. PEOPLE
Amiable Expressive
Reminder Minder
ASK TELL
Grinder Finder
Analytical Driver
TASK

53. PEOPLE
• Cooperate to gain • Create excitement and
agreement involvement
• Provide support Amiable Expressive • Share ideas, dreams,
• Communicate trust Reminder Minder enthusiasm
and confidence • Motivate, inspire, persuade
ASK TELL
• Focus on facts, logic
Grinder Finder • Focus on results
• Act when payoff clear • Take charge
• Careful not to commit Analytical Driver • Make quick decisions
too quickly • Like challenges
TASK

54. If you only ever do what clients ask for
Then you are a human vending machine
(:

55. If you only ever do what clients ask for
Order takers can be replaced by technology
Think webjet.com.au
Why? Advisers add value. Order takers do not.

56. QUESTION TIME
www.twitter.com/practiceparadox
http://www.facebook.com/PracticeParadox
http://www.linkedin.com/in/getmc
Michael ‘MC’ Carter - Director of Practice Paradox