Happy Sunday!
Oh, did you think there were days off during the 30-day challenge?
Nay, nay, as we say. If you want the pay, you gotta play every day. So let’s do more lead harvesting via referral marketing.
(See what I did there? It’s the weekend, it’s ok to have a little fun.)
Before we get to today’s challenge task, a quick reminder about the next two upcoming CPE webinars:
July 6: Another presentation of the sweeping overview of tax resolution. This will be a rebroadcast of last week’s presentation, but still counts as CE/CPE. Free. Click here to register.
July 7: Inside the IRM™: Financial Analysis Handbook, Part 1. Only $10. Click here to register.
Day 2 Challenge
Birds of a feather flock together.
You and I are weird birds. We chose to build our professional careers around taxes. By most measures, that’s a strange topic to get excited about. But, we do. And since nobody else around us wants to talk about the IRS, we have to go out of our way to find other tax geeks like ourselves.
Most areas have a local professional organization for tax and accounting professionals. As in, a local-only organization. It may be at the city, county, or state level, but it’s not associated with or affiliated in any way with a national organization. Here in my bend in the creek, it’s a group called Washington State Tax Consultants (WSTC), and they have county-level chapters in the more populous parts of the state. It’s only $90 a year, and is primarily a CPE provider.
Your challenge today is to go find your local organization and join.
Now, I don’t know what yours is called, or where they’re based, or what they do, or if they’re any good or not, so don’t email me asking if I know what exists in YOUR area, because I don’t. And who knows, there may not be one (I’ll get to that in a moment). But hop on to the Googles and start searching. Spend at least five minutes trying various search terms to try finding a local professional society for tax/accounting professionals.
If you find one, do some more research. Due diligence, if you will. Search for reviews. Send a few emails to colleagues asking if they are familiar with the organization, etc.
Now, it may very well be that one doesn’t exist in your area. For example, if you live in a very rural, low-population state like Wyoming or North Dakota, I would be surprised if one existed (but you should still look). If you absolutely can’t find one, consider looking one state over, especially if you live close to a state line.
Failing that, then look for a local chapter of a national body, such as NATP, NSA, NAEA, and AICPA. Better yet, take a look at organizations such as Latino Tax Professionals Association, National Association of Black Accountants, Accounting & Financial Women’s Alliance, etc. A local-only organization is better for referral marketing purposes, but join what you can find. For example, NATP has a combined ND/SD/NE affiliate based in Sioux Falls.
Now what you’re going to do is get involved. Yep, I want you to sign up as a member, and commit to attend the next meeting. If there is no next meeting, then I want you to step up and volunteer to organize a meeting. The bottom line is just to start participating and get to know some of your fellow tax pros.
Is there some anxiety kicking in? Feeling a little uncomfortable at the idea of organizing something? Congratulations! That’s the feeling of success right there.
When you participate in a local organization like this, and you let other members know that you specialize in handling tax debt problems, you WILL get referrals. If you start teaching some CPE, or at least organizing/hosting meetings, you WILL get referrals. It’s inevitable.
But it also starts with finding the group and becoming a member. So start with that. For most readers, this should literally take 10 minutes or less.
