Client Intake: What to do & when after a new Collection representation client hires you

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Step 1:  Marketing
Step 2:  ?
Step 3: Profit!

See, it’s sooo easy to build a profitable tax firm!

Of course, the devil is in the details.

For IRS Collection cases, there are a bunch of steps that need to be taken after a client hires you. The bulk of the work you do for the client is “front loaded” in the first two weeks. The generic progression of a tax resolution case looks like this:

1. Tax module research
2. Client financial analysis
3. Determine resolution options
4. Negotiate with the IRS
5. Go to Appeals (if necessary)
6. Seek penalty abatement (if applicable)
7. Withdraw or offer POA Monitoring

Those first three steps — that’s the bulk of the two weeks I just mentioned. But even those three steps can themselves be broken down into dozens of additional steps.

Collectively, I label this early part of a Collection engagement as the “Client Intake” phase. It includes everything from filing your 2848 with the CAF unit to verifying client contact info in your CRM system to making sure you get paid to requesting a Collection hold from the Service to requesting a Form 9297 from the Revenue Officer — and much, much more.

If you’re interested in getting into the weeds on these nitty-gritty details of client intake and early resolution steps, you’re invited to join me this coming Friday for a 2-hour CE/CPE webinar on this topic. When you attend, you’ll receive copies of my actual checklists for getting this all done and making sure I never missed an important step.

This class is CTR-104 in our ongoing CTR™ curriculum. Tax Resolution Academy® members can register for this class from the “Events” calendar inside the online community. But if you’re not an Academy member, you can still attend this individual class. Go here to register:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5538215188952001805

Here’s to efficiency via checklists,
~Jassen Bowman, EA, CTR™… Continue reading

The ultimate strategy for creating new referrals

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You’ve heard this for eons: People do business with people they know, like, and trust.

It’s one of the truest sentences in business, and everything else in your marketing derives from that statement, in one way or another.

But have you ever thought about how it applies to getting referrals?

It works the same way. Existing clients will refer new clients to you only if they like and trust you.

Specifically in relation to getting more referrals, there is another universal law of marketing that also comes into play: The Law of Reciprocity.

If you’ve read any of Chialdini’s work, such as Influence, then you’ll recognize this principle with no further explanation. In short, the law of reciprocity states that when you do something nice for somebody, they normally feel compelled to do something nice in return.

In a business context, what we often want in return is to get referrals.

But most service professionals, accountants included, tend to make the assumption that the fact that you did good work for somebody, or saved them a bunch of money, is reason enough for a client to send you referrals. Saving them money on taxes or expenses is the nice thing you did for them.

No, that’s the service they paid you for.

To proactively generate referrals, you have to be nice to clients in other ways. When you are, they will reciprocate with referrals.

There is one single thing that works better than anything else for putting the law of reciprocity into action. One thing that can drive referrals more than anything else.

I’m dedicating my entire section of the July 2020 issue of The Profitable Accountant to explaining what this one thing is.

If you’re ready to start triggering the law of reciprocity in your practice and generate more referrals, then you need to subscribe to the newsletter before it goes to the printer on the 1st, which is this Wednesday. Here’s the link:

https://profitableaccountant.com/newsletter/… Continue reading

Daily CPE webinars for week of Jun 29 – Jul 3 2020

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Next week, we’ll be doing daily webinars, including some much-requested topics. All sessions will start at 10am PDT (1pm EDT) and run for a full two hours.

Click on the session title below for complete course details and to register.

Monday: Intro to IRS Collections, Enhanced Edition
Tuesday: Pre-Resolution Case Actions
Wednesday: Ethics! The Musical
Thursday: CPE by IRS – People First Initiative
Friday: Introduction to 941 Collections Resolution… Continue reading