Investing in Yourself
One habit that many successful individuals have in common is that they invest in themselves. Investing in yourself is one of the best things you can do for your professional AND personal growth. By improving your skills, knowledge, and expertise, you position yourself for success so that you can…
When to Hire and When to Fire
This month, I want to talk to you about two critical processes in a tax resolution (or any) business: hiring and firing. The success of a company is highly dependent on the quality of its employees. It’s essential to have a hiring and firing process that is efficient and effective. I see many…
3 Biggest Tips for Converting Prospects into Resolution Clients
When it comes to selling your services, it’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to close a sale as quickly as possible and thinking that high-pressure tactics will make the prospect want to “buy” from you. But this high-pressure approach can often backfire because it puts the prospect in a…
How to Respond to Sales Objections
Most tax resolution specialists hate sales objections. They get nervous, freeze up, and feel like they’re going to lose the sale. I’m here to say that running into an objection from a prospect you’re trying to close is not a bad thing at all! Prospects must justify the buying decision to themselves…
How much should I spend on marketing to attract a new tax resolution client
A question I get asked all the time is, “Mike, how much should I spend on marketing to attract a new tax resolution client?” The rule of thumb is that if you are doing paid marketing, such as direct mail, Google ads, or radio, 15%–20% of gross sales should be earmarked for your marketing budget.…
Sale Objections are a Good Thing!
Over the years, I have coached practitioners who excel in the technical work of tax resolution but face challenges when it comes to selling their services to prospects. They are afraid of running into an objection(s). They have a negative view of objections, but objections are not inherently bad.…
Is Tax Resolution Still Profitable?
One of the most frequent questions I get asked is, “Michael, is tax resolution profitable?” Let me answer that by telling you what's not profitable. What is not profitable is doing cheap tax returns and catering to the 1040 crowd or doing monthly accounting or payroll work – that's not profitable.…
The 80 Billion Dollar 2022 Inflation Reduction Act Fact vs. Fiction
As you probably know by now, Congress has authorized $80 billion for the IRS as part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. $45.6 billion of the $80 billion is earmarked strictly for enforcement. The IRS is using most of this money to hire 87,000 new personnel, and to modernize their 1960’s era…
How To Figure Out Your Marketing Spend to Attract Tax Resolution Clients
A question I get asked all the time is, “Mike, how much should I spend on marketing to attract a new tax resolution client?” The rule of thumb is, if you are doing paid marketing such as direct mail Google ads or radio, 15% - 20% of gross sales should be earmarked for your marketing budget. For…
Lessons from a Million Dollar Racehorse!
If you own your own business today a lot of people depend on you. Your family, your team members, your clients, your vendors, etc. You must view yourself as the million-dollar racehorse. Think about it, if you owned a racehorse that every time he ran, he’d win a million-dollar purse, wouldn’t you…
Can You Believe What the IRS Commissioner Said?
The IRS released their 2022 list of the “Dirty Dozen” a few weeks ago, and there’s one thing that IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig said that upset me. He said, “No one can get a better deal for taxpayers than they can usually get for themselves by working directly with the IRS to resolve their tax…
Recession? What Recession?
In the tax resolution world bad is good and good is bad. What I mean by that is, the worse off your client’s financial situation is, the better deal they’ll get with the IRS. If he/she has a lot of money left over at the end of the month, and/or significant equity in assets, the worse deal they’ll…
How to Successfully Negotiate with the IRS
If you want to be successful in the tax resolution business, you need to be a successful negotiator. I personally represented 2,000 individuals and small businesses spanning a 16-year period and I was a vigorous advocate for my clients. What skills does a successful negotiator need? This is common…
What Prospects Want from You Before They Say “Yes”
There are two kinds of sales, transactional and relational. A transactional sale means you HAVE TO make the sale. You’re needy and desperate for the sale. In a relational sale people want to be understood before they do business with you. There is a misconception that if you can just make your…
Ten Magic Words
When I started in the tax resolution business and had my initial consultations with clients, I’d have meaningful conversations but no signed engagement letter and no deposit check. I soon realized I was leaving something very important out of my conversations during my “close”. I learned there are…