Build A Focused Firm with Hector Garcia, CPA

Hector Garcia summarizes the key takeaways from all seven episodes of this series. Discover the most important things accounting firm owners need to know about positioning, the business model, technology, sales process & onboarding, value pricing & offering guarantees, attracting & retaining talent, and innovation.Thank you to our sponsor, Avalara! Avalara’s award-winning tax automation solutions help accounting practitioners of all sizes, from sole proprietors to Top 100 firms. Avalara simplifies sales tax compliance with real-time rates, automated returns filing, registrations, tax research and automated tax solutions for specialized tax areas. We live and breathe tax so you don’t have to. Learn more at Avalara.com/Accountant-----------------(00:00) - Build A Focused Firm Episode 08 (00:05) - Intro and thank you to our sponsor, Avalara (03:43) - Series recap and practice management (04:11) - Positioning (16:55) - Business Model (20:44) - Thank you to our sponsor, Avalara (22:04) - Technology (27:01) - Why aren't more tax softwares cloud based? (29:34) - Sales process and onboarding (32:19) - Value pricing and offering guarantees (37:27) - How do you value price tax returns? (41:25) - How do you scope these types of engagements? (44:21) - Attracting and retaining talent (48:42) - Innovation (52:08) - Practice management "system" and software (58:51) - CRM's and things to consider before deciding (01:06:21) - Designing a workflow (01:11:39) - How to pick your practice management software (01:14:31) - Some questions about employees and their training (01:21:19) - How would you get CAS clients in a practice that mainly does 1040s? (01:29:23) - Wrap up and how to earn free CPE -----------------Thanks for watching or listening to the final episode of this series! For more, visit earmarkcpe.com/focus-----------------Get free CPE for listening to this podcast:https://app.earmarkcpe.com/?course_id=11d08a91-988a-4465-8e0c-e974240b637d-----------------Connect with Hector Garcia, CPA:Website: http://hectorgarcia.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hectormgarciacpa/Connect with Blake Oliver, CPA:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blaketoliverTwitter: https://twitter.com/blaketoliver/-----------------Download the Earmark CPE App:Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app

We ask the question: "What if Disney started a cloud accounting firm?"-----------------Thank you to our sponsor, Avalara! Avalara’s award-winning tax automation solutions help accounting practitioners of all sizes, from sole proprietors to Top 100 firms. Avalara simplifies sales tax compliance with real-time rates, automated returns filing, registrations, tax research and automated tax solutions for specialized tax areas. We live and breathe tax so you don’t have to. Learn more at Avalara.com/Accountants.-----------------(00:00) - FF 7 : Inovation Thought Experiment (00:32) - Introduction and what this episode will cover (01:25) - Thank you to our sponsor, Avalara (04:47) - Lets talk about innovation (06:18) - Inspiration bookshelf (11:28) - Quick recap of what the first 6 episodes of this series covered (12:59) - Peter Drucker quote (15:45) - Thank you to our sponsor, Avalara (17:03) - Value increases or decreases based on where its presented (25:38) - A quote on maintaining the status quo & more (28:37) - How we can innovate? (30:50) - Classic definition of innovation and Hector's definition (33:03) - Blake's issue with innovation in the accounting profession (36:43) - Reframing as a technique (40:22) - Summary of innovation steps (43:08) - Thought experiment: What if Disney started an accounting firm? (48:53) - What would they name their firm? (51:23) - What would they charge? (57:14) - What would they call their employees? (01:00:24) - What would they call their customers? (01:04:27) - How would they deliver information? Diversity? & a few more quesitons (01:10:46) - Final thoughts from Hector -----------------Join the Focused Firm email list to get notified of future streams and CPE courses:https://go.earmarkcpe.com/the-focused-firm-----------------Get free CPE for listening to this podcast:https://app.earmarkcpe.com/?course_id=11d08a91-988a-4465-8e0c-e974240b637d-----------------Connect with Hector Garcia, CPA:Website: http://hectorgarcia.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hectormgarciacpa/Connect with Blake Oliver, CPA:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blaketoliverTwitter: https://twitter.com/blaketoliver/-----------------Download the Earmark CPE App:Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app

Learn how to transform your firm into the place accounting and bookkeeping professionals want to join.-----------------Thank you to our sponsor, Avalara! Avalara’s award-winning tax automation solutions help accounting practitioners of all sizes, from sole proprietors to Top 100 firms. Avalara simplifies sales tax compliance with real-time rates, automated returns filing, registrations, tax research and automated tax solutions for specialized tax areas. We live and breathe tax so you don’t have to. Learn more at Avalara.com/Accountants.-----------------(00:00) - Introduction and thank you to our sponsor, Avalara (01:55) - Attracting and retaining talent (03:47) - Separation rates (retention) (09:58) - Cost of replacement and why employees quit (17:48) - Thank you to our sponsor, Avalara (19:05) - Attracting talent (21:09) - The Golden Rule of hiring (25:38) - How do you get a lot of candidates to choose from? (32:13) - The importance of your BRAND (34:16) - Positioning statement (36:57) - The role of technology in attracting talent (42:08) - Culture and brand (45:42) - Hiring for talent and hard and soft skills (49:05) - Context and habits (52:58) - How to filter candidates (59:57) - Compensation (01:08:59) - Annual performance evalutations vs AAR (01:12:28) - What about salary increases? (01:14:23) - Wrap up and how to earn FREE CPE and where to find our next stream -----------------Join the Focused Firm email list to get notified of future streams and CPE courses:https://go.earmarkcpe.com/the-focused-firm-----------------Get free CPE for listening to this podcast:https://app.earmarkcpe.com/?course_id=11d08a91-988a-4465-8e0c-e974240b637d-----------------Connect with Hector Garcia, CPA:Website: http://hectorgarcia.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hectormgarciacpa/Connect with Blake Oliver, CPA:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blaketoliverTwitter: https://twitter.com/blaketoliver/-----------------Download the Earmark CPE App:Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app

Align the customer’s desired results with the firm’s interest to maximize profits.-----------------Thank you to our sponsor, Avalara! Avalara’s award-winning tax automation solutions help accounting practitioners of all sizes, from sole proprietors to Top 100 firms. Avalara simplifies sales tax compliance with real-time rates, automated returns filing, registrations, tax research and automated tax solutions for specialized tax areas. We live and breathe tax so you don’t have to. Learn more at Avalara.com/Accountants.-----------------(00:00) - Building a Focused Firm Ep 05 (00:35) - Welcome to Part 05: Value Pricing & Offering Guarantees (06:40) - Where is the value? (08:14) - Compliance Value (08:47) - Economic Value (11:00) - Accounting Professionals vs. Number of Potential Clients (15:17) - What does price and value mean to an accounting firm? (15:59) - The rule of 3 (21:25) - Does any of this matter to your customers? (25:27) - How does Spiritual Value translate to your clients? (27:21) - What does this concept of spirtual value mean in context of pricing our services? (30:43) - Types of Value Pricing (34:38) - The problem with hourly rates? (38:13) - Answering the time/rate questions (51:28) - Types of Pricing Models (not based on time) (57:24) - Task-based and Output-based pricing (59:14) - Productized Service (01:00:52) - Access-based or Subscription Model (01:01:26) - Value-based Pricing (01:04:36) - Value Conversation Tips (01:07:28) - Mahan Khalsa 5 Golden Questions (01:10:55) - The 12 Ts for Option Building (01:14:18) - Service Delivery Options (01:16:48) - Option Building Results Options (01:18:14) - How to present your value options? (01:26:59) - Presenting your best option first (01:27:47) - Golden Rules for options (01:29:12) - Big guarantees, should set apart the top option (01:32:03) - Creative Guarantees -----------------Join the Focused Firm email list to get notified of future streams and CPE courses:https://go.earmarkcpe.com/the-focused-firm-----------------Get free CPE for listening to this podcast:https://app.earmarkcpe.com/?course_id=11d08a91-988a-4465-8e0c-e974240b637d-----------------Connect with Hector Garcia, CPA:Website: http://hectorgarcia.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hectormgarciacpa/Connect with Blake Oliver, CPA:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blaketoliverTwitter: https://twitter.com/blaketoliver/-----------------Download the Earmark CPE App:Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app

In part 4 of our 8-part series, we'll learn how to create a disciplined, consistent process to win and onboard customers.Thank you to our sponsor, Avalara! Avalara’s award-winning tax automation solutions help accounting practitioners of all sizes, from sole proprietors to Top 100 firms. Avalara simplifies sales tax compliance with real-time rates, automated returns filing, registrations, tax research and automated tax solutions for specialized tax areas. We live and breathe tax so you don’t have to. Learn more at Avalara.com/Accountants.-----------------(00:00) - Filtering out bad clients (00:24) - Welcome to Part 4: Sales Process and Onboarding (03:52) - Pre-Sales Strategy (04:31) - Defining a few key concepts (07:06) - Customers perspective (09:23) - Value and guarantees (15:46) - Pre-sales marketing strategy (17:57) - Thank you to our sponsor, Avalara (19:42) - Sales Process Step by Step (23:30) - The 5 filters of client selection (42:09) - Summary of what these "filters" mean (44:03) - Lets apply this theory to a real world example (48:31) - The why conversation (58:11) - Asking key questions about expectations (01:08:41) - Delivering a proposal (01:11:51) - Some viewer comments (01:15:08) - Onboarding (01:26:49) - Thanks for joining, where to watch live and how to earn free CPE (01:27:44) - 3 exercises to do if you enjoyed this lesson -----------------Build a Focused Firm Session #4 Slide Presentationhttps://drive.google.com/file/d/1Dorglzauml2LS52ak88ZsHBykGsflUMv/view?usp=sharing-----------------Join the Focused Firm email list to get notified of future streams and CPE courses:https://go.earmarkcpe.com/the-focused-firm-----------------Get free CPE for listening to this podcast:https://app.earmarkcpe.com/?course_id=11d08a91-988a-4465-8e0c-e974240b637d-----------------Connect with Hector Garcia, CPA:Website: http://hectorgarcia.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hectormgarciacpa/Connect with Blake Oliver, CPA:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blaketoliverTwitter: https://twitter.com/blaketoliver/-----------------Download the Earmark CPE App:Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app

Thank you to our sponsor, Avalara! Avalara’s award-winning tax automation solutions help accounting practitioners of all sizes, from sole proprietors to Top 100 firms. Avalara simplifies sales tax compliance with real-time rates, automated returns filing, registrations, tax research and automated tax solutions for specialized tax areas. We live and breathe tax so you don’t have to. Learn more at Avalara.com/Accountants.-----------------Join the Focused Firm email list to get notified of future streams and CPE courses:https://go.earmarkcpe.com/the-focused-firm-----------------Get free CPE for listening to this podcast:https://app.earmarkcpe.com/?course_id=11d08a91-988a-4465-8e0c-e974240b637d-----------------Connect with Hector Garcia, CPA:Website: http://hectorgarcia.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hectormgarciacpa/Connect with Blake Oliver, CPA:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blaketoliverTwitter: https://twitter.com/blaketoliver/-----------------Download the Earmark CPE App:Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app

Thank you to our sponsor, Avalara! Avalara’s award-winning tax automation solutions help accounting practitioners of all sizes, from sole proprietors to Top 100 firms. Avalara simplifies sales tax compliance with real-time rates, automated returns filing, registrations, tax research and automated tax solutions for specialized tax areas. We live and breathe tax so you don’t have to. Learn more at Avalara.com/Accountants.-----------------Check out Strategyzer's Business Model Canvas here: https://www.strategyzer.com/canvas-----------------Join the Focused Firm email list to get notified of future streams and CPE courses:https://go.earmarkcpe.com/the-focused-firm-----------------Get free CPE for listening to this podcast:https://app.earmarkcpe.com/?course_id=11d08a91-988a-4465-8e0c-e974240b637d-----------------Connect with Hector Garcia, CPA:Website: http://hectorgarcia.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hectormgarciacpa/Connect with Blake Oliver, CPA:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blaketoliverTwitter: https://twitter.com/blaketoliver/-----------------Download the Earmark CPE App:Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app

Thank you to our sponsor, Avalara! Avalara’s award-winning tax automation solutions help accounting practitioners of all sizes, from sole proprietors to Top 100 firms. Avalara simplifies sales tax compliance with real-time rates, automated returns filing, registrations, tax research and automated tax solutions for specialized tax areas. We live and breathe tax so you don’t have to. Learn more at Avalara.com/Accountants.-----------------Join the Focused Firm email list to get notified of future streams and CPE courses: https://go.earmarkcpe.com/the-focused-firm-----------------Get free CPE for listening to this podcast:https://app.earmarkcpe.com/?course_id=11d08a91-988a-4465-8e0c-e974240b637d-----------------Connect with Hector Garcia, CPA:Website: http://hectorgarcia.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hectormgarciacpa/Connect with Blake Oliver, CPA:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blaketoliverTwitter: https://twitter.com/blaketoliver/-----------------Download the Earmark CPE App:Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app