ALERT: Your COMPETITORS are using the SAME DIFFERENTIATORS that you are using in your sales process.
Do a Google Search, now, using these words:
cpa AND responsiveness AND professionalism AND quality
You will find that hundreds of thousands of CPA firms are the same as yours!
Imagine how difficult it is for your prospects to decide to buy from you, but not from your competitor.
You can do a more precise search using your city or location to see how many CPAs in your location, neighborhood and across the street are saying the same things that you are saying. In other words, your COMPETITORS are using the SAME DIFFERENTIATORS that you are using in your sales process.
Isn’t it a paradox? How can your differentiators be the same as your competitor’s?
With “standardization” of websites that vendors promise to get “up and running” quickly, the obnoxious side effect is that you and thousands of other CPA firms look and feel the same. Templated websites can reduce your investment (I hope you are not considering your website as a cost) but they also significantly reduce your ability to differentiate yourself in the marketplace.
Are these 3 words on your website?
Professionalism, Responsiveness, Quality
REMOVE them NOW.
Why remove these words?
Which CPA worth the salt will say I am NOT Professional, I am NOT Responsive and I do NOT provide Quality services? Unless a prospect has really, really, terribly suffered non-professional, non-responsive, no-quality-services from a CPA, he/she will not feel anything reading these 3 words. In other words, these words do not “connect” or resonate with your potential clients because they are so commonly overused.
AICPA’s PCPS Firm Issues Survey 2015 identified that “bringing in new clients” is one of the top 5 challenges for accounting firms. A potential client landing on your website and leaving without contacting you is a golden opportunity lost. You want to do all you can to avoid losing potential clients.
What to write instead?
Imagine you are at a networking meeting and someone asks you “What do you do?” or
Imagine that a walk-in prospect asks you this “I am comparing accounting service providers so tell me more about you“.
Would you say “I am a professional, responsive CPA who provides quality services?“.
Most likely not.
So what do you generally say instead? Write that on your website.
Tip 1: Your website needs to say what you say.
But that is just the beginning. There’s more to it.
While it is wonderful to have your prospects visit your website, you have one huge disadvantage.
You are not with that person to clarify doubts or give your elevator pitch. So the person on your website is just reading it and trying to make sense if it fits into his/her current situation.
And therein lies another powerful insight.
Tip 2: The words on your website must speak with the visitor.
Not the text to speechfunda!If you have defined your ideal buyers and what their persona are, you want to include them in your story.
Tip 3: The whole page should be worded in such a way that it includes the story of the visitor.
Here is a very focused post on The 4 Types of Clients of Accounting Firms and How to Attract Them. Also see an awesome resource on how to define your buyer persona.
Tip 4: Use the words “you” and “your” liberally in the “about us” page text of your website.
That will automatically force you to include your prospects’ interests (which should help create a more effective sales copy) and it will all “speak with the prospect”.
The key: “Be You” on your website.
No one else knows you better than you yourself. And hence, write it yourself. Do not leave it to anyone else. If need be, take help from professional copywriters to EDIT the message for you.
Are you a CPA firm owner reading this post? Please share what your website says in it’s “about us” or “who we are” section.
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If you are an accounting or tax firm / professional looking to grow your practice profitably, without working insane hours to do it all yourself, getting in touch with us could be your first step towards the solution that helps you take advantage of our accounting, bookkeeping and tax preparation outsourcing services.