What Would LJ Do?
I have something to tell someone and I'm not sure how to do it.
Scenario: I have 35 more clients than I have appointment spots for. By the end of this tax season I expect to need to cut another 30, maybe 50 off my roster again for next year. About 80 clients need to not be my clients by next tax season. (I have 359 right now, including kiddies. 27 are entities that require bookkeeping support.)
I can muddle through throwing a bunch of people on extension that don't want to be, not firing anyone, then get to the off-season and package up the 80 or so (including some lovely entities) for sale to some other practice.
OR:
I can send out an email right now to maybe a dozen of them saying "hey, so sorry to tell you this now, but it looks like I'm totally full up this tax season, I suggest you find someone else."
Note that I sent them all an email in November saying "we're going to be overfull this year, make sure you make your appointment in January" and I sent them a letter in January saying "while you're holding this piece of paper call for an appointment because we're going to be overfull" and then I've had my staff calling all month to make sure the bigger blocks and the most wanted clients were scheduled up front.
So it feels to me like these 35 people sort of self-selected into being extension clients for me this year. And I muddle through tax season and present some retainer proposals to another dozen people and close half of them and fire 60 clients next November. (My rule of thumb: I lose 10 clients for each retainer client I bring on. End stage goal: 200 tax season clients, 30 retainer clients. Don't try the math, it's not a smooth glide path. It'll just work as a rule of thumb for right now.) Current stage: 355 tax clients, 4 retainer clients.)
But my idea of firing 10 clients for each retainer client is pretty crude. I want to think about WHICH clients those are. Do I fire all the ones that need bookkeeping support (my hope and dream) or do I fire all the many little easy ones that make me need staff covering the door but provided the bulk of my hourly planning engagements? But I'm getting OUT of hourly financial planning! I want to have only retainer clients! I'm just unclear on my strategy, and without knowing the end it's hard for me to begin.
Meanwhile, I have a snotty email from someone saying "I don't value you, drop your price in half and I'll still give you my business." I replied "too many people value me, thanks for giving up your spot to one of them." He replied "oh, no, I'll pay you what you ask, please let me keep my spot, okay?" And I haven't responded. He's a mid-level return: complex wage earner (stock options, solar panels, etc) with wife who gets a 1099 instead of a W-2 because her employer is too incompetent to run a payroll. Neither easy nor hard, bread-and-butter for a CPA but too complex for an entry-level preparer.
What do I tell him?
Scenario: I have 35 more clients than I have appointment spots for. By the end of this tax season I expect to need to cut another 30, maybe 50 off my roster again for next year. About 80 clients need to not be my clients by next tax season. (I have 359 right now, including kiddies. 27 are entities that require bookkeeping support.)
I can muddle through throwing a bunch of people on extension that don't want to be, not firing anyone, then get to the off-season and package up the 80 or so (including some lovely entities) for sale to some other practice.
OR:
I can send out an email right now to maybe a dozen of them saying "hey, so sorry to tell you this now, but it looks like I'm totally full up this tax season, I suggest you find someone else."
Note that I sent them all an email in November saying "we're going to be overfull this year, make sure you make your appointment in January" and I sent them a letter in January saying "while you're holding this piece of paper call for an appointment because we're going to be overfull" and then I've had my staff calling all month to make sure the bigger blocks and the most wanted clients were scheduled up front.
So it feels to me like these 35 people sort of self-selected into being extension clients for me this year. And I muddle through tax season and present some retainer proposals to another dozen people and close half of them and fire 60 clients next November. (My rule of thumb: I lose 10 clients for each retainer client I bring on. End stage goal: 200 tax season clients, 30 retainer clients. Don't try the math, it's not a smooth glide path. It'll just work as a rule of thumb for right now.) Current stage: 355 tax clients, 4 retainer clients.)
But my idea of firing 10 clients for each retainer client is pretty crude. I want to think about WHICH clients those are. Do I fire all the ones that need bookkeeping support (my hope and dream) or do I fire all the many little easy ones that make me need staff covering the door but provided the bulk of my hourly planning engagements? But I'm getting OUT of hourly financial planning! I want to have only retainer clients! I'm just unclear on my strategy, and without knowing the end it's hard for me to begin.
Meanwhile, I have a snotty email from someone saying "I don't value you, drop your price in half and I'll still give you my business." I replied "too many people value me, thanks for giving up your spot to one of them." He replied "oh, no, I'll pay you what you ask, please let me keep my spot, okay?" And I haven't responded. He's a mid-level return: complex wage earner (stock options, solar panels, etc) with wife who gets a 1099 instead of a W-2 because her employer is too incompetent to run a payroll. Neither easy nor hard, bread-and-butter for a CPA but too complex for an entry-level preparer.
What do I tell him?