Where are the best resources for learning account management?

So my first question is, "What the heck is that?!" Like you're a purple-and-yellow zebra-striped three-foot tall jungle bird. I have no idea what that is, that certification. And your target market won't, not right off the bat, either. They aren't looking for a "Strategic Intervention Coach". They aren't searching for that term. No one cares about your certification until AFTER they've realized the problem they're in...and are looking for a way out. Find out what they *are* searching for. Get in front of them that way. Your certification is valuable, but only after you've found someone who's in the terrible situation that you know you can help them out of. Write a Kindle book (or several) addressing the most common symptom(s) of situations that indicate a serious problem you are capable of fixing. Make Youtube videos about the same subject(s). Drive viewers to a signup form or your book(s). Buy clicks on search terms your target market is already using to find help from. Send them to your solutions. Talk about the symptoms of their problem first: don't jump into "I'm a Robbins-Madanes-Certified coach." They don't care yet. Do that second, not first. Referrals. Here's where I'd put 70%+ of my sales & marketing effort. What people refer those who are in the problematic situations you fix to someone like you? I'd imagine it's hard enough doing what you do. Why add the problems of prospecting and qualifying to that? Have people who understand what you can do send you already-qualified prospects. People ready to buy. Don't forget...you still have to SELL. If you'd like to go through some details on these items, and look at a few more possibilities, let's talk.

You need to make referrals a condition of doing business with you and do it upfront. Also, automate the referral ask. More details on "how to" below. To do this: During your first interactions with a client (NOT after you have delivered or closed the sale, that's a rookie mistake), you can tell them.... "Listen, it's our job to treat you guys so well that you'll not only come back to us over and over again when you need help...it's our job to treat you so well that you'll feel comfortable with us enough to send your friends and colleagues our way when they need our help. Does that make sense?" When they say "Yes" (and they won't say no) you say, "OK great, the way we do that is through referrals. So once you're happy and successful with us, we'll occasionally ask you for a referral. So, you get great work from a team you know and trust and you also get to connect people in your network to a service that you know works well so you look like a rockstar to your network.I want to make sure we can agree to that upfront? This is how we do business here and it holds us accountable to you and makes sure we deliver the absolute best product/service you've ever seen. So once you're happy will you send us referrals?" Once they agree, you now have permission, and a verbal contract that they will send you referrals. Now, treat them like gold with this mentality that you not only want to give them a great finished product, but you want them to refer you. That should drive the work. Once you've delivered...ask for the referral. Don't make the rookie mistake and just say one-time "hey do you know anyone that you could refer us to?" That will rarely work. Instead, ask "Hey, do you remember when we started this project and we both agreed that if we delivered and made you both happy and successful that you would refer us to people in your network?" Pause, shut up and listen, and let them say "yes". Ask them first "So are you happy with what we've delivered?" Pause, shut up and listen, and let them say "yes". If they hesitate at all, they aren't happy and won't refer. Don't hold back and dive-in deep here. Say "I sensed a little hesitation. What's up? What are we missing? I want to help." Figure out what's wrong, fix it, then ask them if they are happy. Then say, "well I've been looking at your connections on LinkedIN and I noticed you are connected to (enter 2 names and company names here). Can youintroduce us so we could have a conversation and get to know them?" The above means you have to do the research. You have to do the work. But the work upfront is much easier than dealing with a cold prospect. Most salespoeple/organizations just don't respect referrals enough to make them a priority. It's their loss and your gain if you follow this simple process. It's work. Just do the work and you might also find you get to know people and enjoy it. These are your customers. Treat them like people. Take care of them and they'll take care of you. Once you make the ask, continue to mine referral leads and ask once a month. Follow-up until they answer. Follow-up until they tell you to stop. Phone is best but email works too. Use it as an opportunity to maintain and develop the relationship. Truly care about your clients and they will never tell you to stop following up. It will be like talking to an old friend and often this process leads to more sales from your past clients as you stay top of mind. Want to automate this process... FULL DISCLOSURE FIRST: I co-founded www.referralriver.com If you want to automate the referral ask, try ReferralRiver. It's free and uses artificial intelligence to automatically research who is in your client's network and make the referral ask at the right time every month. It reduces your work significantly while you just Cc'ed on an email from your existing customers to new referral leads. It's freaking magical. There are other services out there as well like LeadDyno (more of an affiliate program). You should try it all but the truth is that you have to make the agreement upfront and you have to get serious about making referrals a priority. Book a call with me if you want to ask me any questions. Happy to help.

Getting more clients on Clarity.fm, or any consulting platform, involves a combination of optimizing your profile, showcasing your expertise, and actively marketing your services. Here are some strategies to help you attract more clients on Clarity.fm: Optimize Your Profile: Complete your profile with a professional photo, a clear and compelling headline, and a detailed bio that highlights your expertise. Clearly define the topics you can advise on and specify your experience and qualifications. Include any relevant certifications or achievements that demonstrate your expertise. Set an Attractive Rate: Price your services competitively, considering your experience, expertise, and the market demand for your skills. Request Reviews and Testimonials: Encourage clients to leave reviews and testimonials after your consultations. Positive reviews can build trust and credibility with potential clients. Promote Your Profile: Share your Clarity.fm profile on your social media channels, LinkedIn, and other professional networks. Include a link to your Clarity.fm profile in your email signature and on your personal or business website. Specialize in Niche Topics: Consider specializing in a specific niche or industry. This can make you more attractive to clients seeking expertise in a particular area. Be Responsive and Professional: Respond promptly to inquiries and messages. A quick and professional response can make a positive impression on potential clients. Offer Free Content: Share your knowledge and expertise through blog posts, articles, or videos related to your consulting services. This can help showcase your expertise and attract clients. Use Keywords Effectively: Optimize your profile with relevant keywords that potential clients might use when searching for experts in your field. Participate in the Community: Engage with the Clarity.fm community by participating in discussions, answering questions, and providing valuable insights. This can increase your visibility within the platform. Advertise: Consider using advertising options to increase your visibility on the platform. Remember that building a reputation and attracting clients takes time. Consistently delivering high-quality consultations and actively promoting your profile will contribute to your success on Clarity.fm.

From the IRS point of view sub companies without an FEIN are the same as the mother company. Just add their names and profit and loss on your taxes. Sub companies with a FEIN but not incorporated are the same as the mother company, nothing extra to do here either. Sub companies with a Fein and Incorporated as a LLC is just multiple companies, just add them to your taxes the same you would if you worked at 2 jobs. Sub companies with a FEIN and incorporated as a Corporation is no longer a child and must do its own taxes separately. There's nothing to "Structure" really because IRS don't care where your money is coming from, as long as you report that it is coming from somewhere so it can be taxed and tracked. I'm not an accountant just a fellow business owner, and i've been successfully doing my own taxes now for over 20 years.

This is a great question. The world of accounting/bookkeeping can be a confusing array of options for non accountants. Let's address the software question first. Let me start by saying that my firm is relatively agnostic to software, we work with dozens. I'm familiar with Xero and my firm has worked with it, and if someone comes to us already on it, we stay with it. It's a solid piece of software, certainly works. And it's a very fashionable choice right now due to inroads their marketing has made with the startup community. The big dog in the market is QuickBooks On-Line (QBO), and when I say big dog, various version of QuickBooks have easily 10x the number of current customers that Xero has. Why does this matter? The usability of the software from a user experience is about the same, but Xero is still trying to play catch up to QuickBooks On-Line in terms of features. For instance, they have payroll rolled out for "a few states and are adding more each month". Anything innovative that Xero comes out with QuickBooks is going to quickly copy and add to their product, because they are huge and have the resources to quickly adapt. This is not a situation of the iPhone putting Blackberry out of business, QuickBooks isn't going anywhere. Likely end game is that at some point QuickBooks acquires Xero and moves everyone over to QBO. Lastly, every bookkeeper knows QuickBooks, some know Xero, and there are hundreds of developers developing software that integrates with QuickBooks. So, while Xero is a perfectly adequate piece of software, we’re talking the platform for your accounting, go with QuickBooks On-line. The subject of a bookkeeper is tricker. Do you go with a person or a process solution? Full disclosure here, my firm does outsourced bookkeeping for a living, so you have to take that into account when viewing my answer. I haven’t worked with Bench.co, but it looks very intriguing, and pricing is quite aggressive. They also look very easy to engage with. The down side is that is appears to be a person based solution. You get assigned a bookkeeper, and then good luck. The skill of individual bookkeepers varies widely from damn good to truly awful. They often hook up with several services like this, so their loyalties are divided. Additionally, they are often working with up to a dozen clients, and what typically happens is one of their clients starts growing quickly. All other clients get pushed aside while they focus on their largest client because they can’t afford to lose them. A couple of other disadvantages are that, because they are on their own, you are limited to just their skill set, they have no one else to check with in sticky situations, and when they go on vacation, your accounting goes on vacation, too. These are all things that may be fine for you if you’ve got a relatively small business that doesn’t need daily attention to its accounting. The other alternative is a firm that specialized in outsourced accounting. There are several firms out there, you can find them (and us of course) with a simple search of the internet. The advantage to the better firms in this space is that they typically will assign you a team of bookkeepers/accountants so that you have backup in case one member of the team is on vacation or leaves to take a full time job somewhere. These solutions also will typically come wrapped with software they would suggest for your business. Finally, you aren’t limited to knowledge base of the one person working on your account. You have a team, and really the knowledge base of the entire firm at your fingertips. Of course you pay a little more for this, but the hourly rates are often not that much more than individual bookkeepers. And in the long run you may end up spending a lot less by not having to come behind a bookkeeper that maybe wasn’t so good and clean up the mess. So if you plan on scaling your business beyond a few $200k a year, it may be best to start out with a firm based solution rather than an individual solution. Side note on Bench.co: I can’t tell what software platform they are on. If they are using a proprietary platform, you will find it very hard to move your accounting to another solution if you’re not satisfied with their solution. Something to ask if you go with them. So, I think that about covers it. I’ve probably told you way more than you wanted to know, but I’m always available to schedule a call if you want to dive in a little deeper. Just let me know.