Tweet, Be Fearless and Shut Up

By: Donna M. Erbs, Marketing Director

I just returned from an Association for Accounting Marketing conference in Austin.  As always, I am amazed at the hundreds of people who market CPA firms. Marketing professional services is light years away from marketing widgets, so finding other people who do exactly what I do and apply it in firms, both large and small, across the country, is refreshing. It is why this particular conference is so good - all the topics are relevant.

Social Media dominated the conference and while we all wanted to say enough to Facebook, Plaxo, LinkedIn and the other plethora of options, it is not going away - EVER.  I am confident that we will all be “tweeting” soon.  I still can’t fathom anyone wanting to follow me around, but I think Twitter or some similar platform is here to stay.   

This is my fourth conference.  Each year, I come away armed with a “to do” list that could last years.  This year I thought I would share some of the “best of the best” tips of the trade. 

 The first comes from Scott Klososky of SpeakerOffice, Inc.  He says we should all use every social networking tool available to gain business.  When people question the value, he simply uses this analogy.

It is not:            Net Fun

It is not:            Net Visit

It is not:            NetPlay 

It is:                    NetWork

Hard to argue.

Kelly McDonald of McDonald Marketing shared her best tips for marketing:

• 1. Be Relevant
• 2. Be Authentic
• 3. Know thy Target
• 4. Be True to Your Values
• 5.    Be Fearless

 While you may laugh that fearless and accounting firms don’t go together, I believe she is onto something. 

 Russ Molinar of E & Y offered the two most important words in the sales process for CPAs - “Shut Up.”  In other words, LISTEN.  It is an art. 

 Lots of great information; these are just my favorites.