Well it’s a good feeling to have Tax Week behind us. I’ve always dealt with my own taxes, they’ve never been particularly difficult to cope with. But this year I decided to get the help of a CPA. It’s something I’ve always thought about doing, but have just never been organized enough to do. Usually the new year begins, I think about Tax Day on the horizon, then after all my procrastination it’s suddenly the end of March.

I finally got my backside in gear and did it this year because my freelance work is massively increasing, and has now progressed from just a hobby to a business venture. So it made sense to get some expert financial help. Although I’ve always coped doing my taxes without any problem, I knew that I was likely missing out on a lot of tax breaks, just from not knowing about them. Additionally, since my business expenditure and income is getting more complex, I wanted to make sure I was getting my quarterly payments right.

I actually managed to find a great CPA very close to where I live (highly recommended to me by another CPA who I’d called, but was too booked-up to fit me in) and spent an hour discussing things with him. I’d taken everything from my “financial file” to the appointment, including the list of things I usually plug into my tax software for tax breaks, and yet I still came out with a list of things to email him information about. Things that I was unaware I could add to that list, like:

• Annual car mileage
• Utilities
• Home insurance costs

As well as feeling good about the fact that I’d be able to sleep easy, knowing my CPA would be able to get my quarterlies right, it’s great to know that he’ll get me all the tax breaks possible. Plus, my taxes only took me about an hour and a half! Basically just the time of an appointment with my CPA & a little research to find some additional information for him when I got home. It was very freeing just to hand over my documents and let an expert do all the work.

I’m still waiting to hear the final, final word from him, but my quarterly estimated payment for April was mailed out last week, and he tells me that it’s looking like I’ll get somewhere in the region of $1500 as a refund – I certainly wouldn’t have received that on my own! In recent years, I’ve really just drawn even by doing my own taxes.

So if you’re just setting up in your business venture, or if you’re like me and have often pondered on the value of using the services of a tax professional, but have just never done it – I can definitely give a thumbs-up to an appointment with a CPA next year. I chose not to use one of the H&R Block types – I didn’t simply want someone to plug in my numbers, I wanted someone to give me some financial advice for my business, so I chose this particular office on that basis.  

And just as an aside, I actually just found this article about my CPA – what a success story, and so heartwarming!

All in all, I wish I’d done it sooner!

Hope your taxes weren’t too traumatizing.

Image credit Grant Cochrane @FreeDigitalPhotos

Last week I mentioned that I’ve been listening to some webinars by Ed Gandia on warm email prospecting. I shared some of his thoughts about why he feels it is a useful marketing tool.

This past week I listened to the remaining one in which he discusses what warm email prospecting actually involves. So here goes with more of his thoughts…….

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In Order To Do It Right

• Avoid the email blast
• Don’t just talk about yourself
• Don’t send the same message to everyone
• Don’t use it to send out your newsletter to non-subscribers
• Don’t use it to announce a new service to non-subscribers

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So What Does It Involve?

It involves sending out customized, personalized, and properly timed emails to a carefully picked list of prospects – emails with custom messages, not a mass email blast. It avoids the “all about me” approach. One example that Ed shared, goes something like this:

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Hi Randy,

I’ve been reading about your company in the Atlanta Business chronicle and the work you’ve done at Emory Hospital. Based on the work I’ve done with ACME Medical, I may be able to help you get “X” accomplished faster and cheaper.

Here’s a short article on how I’ve helped ACME.

Would it make sense for us to chat briefly sometime in the next couple of weeks?

Regards,

John

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Ed’s Warm Email Prospecting Blueprint

• First, figure out what is your ideal client profile: It is important to get the kind of clients that are best-suited to what you want to do in your business – this is a key to success and satisfaction in any business.

• Create a targeted list: Identify the organization, and even specific individuals within it, that you are looking for. Then do your research to find their email addresses.

• Establish a meaningful connection for each prospect: You need a good reason for why the prospect should respond, and you need to introduce this early in the email. Maybe you both have a mutual business contact, or you heard of them via a conference. Or it could be something like a business accomplishment, award or recognition of yours that would be useful for your prospect to know about. Some “connection” with the prospect is always good.

• Make a relevant and quick pitch: This is where it all comes together, but where many make mistakes. Need to keep it short – 120 words or less!

• Prepare for conversation: You’ve done the hard work – now be prepared to field and respond to any emails or calls that you might receive. Have a set of talking points and questions ready in case you get a call. And also some stock email text to use as the basis for a response to anyone who replies looking for more information.

• Do smart follow-up: Success with email prospecting requires a long term commitment, but tends to return a higher success rate than other methods when done correctly. No matter how well you do, however, most prospects will not respond, so you have to be prepared for that – it’s true with any method. Ed recommends sending a 2nd email two weeks later to non-responders – but do this correctly too. Don’t come across as if you’re reprimanding – he suggests re-sending your original email with an additional link, maybe to an article you wrote that they might find useful as an addendum, or with some additional information about your work that they might find useful.

Powerful Email Subject Lines

Ed discusses how getting the subject line right in your email is crucial to it being opened. Firstly, keep it short – he advises less than 50 total characters. And secondly, it’s also important to lead with your connection in the subject line:

Right now I’m listening to some short webinars on Warm Email Prospecting by Ed Gandia of the International Freelancers Academy. I’m a big fan of email as a business communication tool, so I thought I’d share some of his thoughts here – they might appeal to some of you too.

In a world where we’re constantly being told about some new and interesting way to market our business services, Ed discusses how email prospecting, when done right, may be the fastest, easiest, and most cost-effective way to find and land quality clients – and it will enhance your success rate.

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In particular, it by passes the main reasons so many self-employed people hate marketing:

• Fear of rejection
• The unwillingness to sell yourself
• The time-consuming nature of marketing your business by traditional means – never-ending
• The “Tool du Jour” confusion: These days there are so many articles about some latest and greatest new social media tool or must-have plugin etc, that you just can’t keep up!

So Why Does Email Prospecting Work (When Done Right)?

• Less intrusive: Sits there in the inbox until the recipient can get to it, so it’s more convenient. Compare this with a phone call that has to be picked up, maybe disturbing the busy recipient, for your message to be received.

• Prospects are usually more receptive to a strong email message than a cold-call: When done correctly, short email messages get read. When cold-calling, you get 3-5 seconds to make an impression, as opposed to 10-20 seconds in writing.

• Email is a better medium to deliver a relevant and personalized message: It’s easier to digest a marketing message in writing, than by phone call or in person.

• Can use key psychological triggers: They appeal to core human emotions.

• Helps you stay more motivated, energized, and creative: You’ll no longer feel like a pest to potential new clients!

• Inexpensive: No postage required, and you don’t even have to leave the office!

• Quick and immediate: Your message is delivered immediately. It involves some advance research and time to compose a customized message, but it is still less time-consuming than other more traditional methods.

• You get to choose who you go after: You don’t need to simply wait until prospects come to you. It’s important to implement your own proactive marketing strategies, allowing you to control who you target, according to your business needs.

He raised some interesting points, such as the one about how a strong email subject line is more likely to get a positive response than a random cold call. I know I’m much more inclined to use email than a phone call to contact someone who I do not know. And the more marketing webinars that I listen to about how we should all be making 100 cold calls each week, the less likely I am to ever use cold calling!

The next webinar on my list is Ed’s discussion of some pointers on “how to get it right” by email. I’ll keep you tuned!

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