How An Accountant Learned to Market To His Ideal Clients & Boosted His Firm’s Value
Problems:
- Can’t Reach Ideal Clients
- Lacking Team Management
- Doesn’t Feel Like He Can Take Care of Loved Ones
Solutions:
- Attract & Retain Clients Through Marketing
- Implement Standard Processes & Practices
- Increase Accounting Firm’s Value
Goals:
- Learn How To Communicate The Value of Services
- Eliminate Guesswork and Set Up Team for Success
- Feel Comfortable & Flexible With Financials
He started off working with his father, who was a financial advisor, wealth manager, and tax planner. But, he realized that he needed to strike out on his own if he was going to build a financially rewarding career that he loved. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and he didn’t stray far before finding himself a job that he was passionate about. It wasn’t an immediate success, but today he heads an accounting and financial advisory firm worth $400,000. Who is he? He’s Tim McNeely, founder & Dream Firm Leader of Lifestone Companies.
Tim was lucky enough to discover his niche market early on. Thanks to his wife, who owns her own dental practice, Tim had a passion for helping dentists manage the financial aspects of their business. And, luckily he didn’t have a hard time finding new clients. By studying how the wealthy handled their money, he was able to apply similar practices to his client’s businesses and make a name for himself.
But, sometimes that’s not enough. Even though his calendar was pretty full and he had a solid team in place, Tim still felt like his dream firm was just out of reach. And, that’s when he met us…
“I’m absolutely sure that I’ve made a good decision because I’ve got someone who is as invested in my business as I am.”
Putting Up A Good Fight
Having The Skills & The Knowledge, But Lacking The Systems to Execute
There is no denying that Tim McNeely had both the knowledge to ensure that his clients were making smart decisions and the skills to help them. But, he didn’t know exactly how to market those skills effectively in order to secure his dream clients. So even though he wasn’t having a hard time maintaining a client base, they weren’t necessarily the ideal ones for him and his accounting firm.
Tim knew that in addition to standard accounting services, he also wanted to help dental practices make smart investments and well-informed financial decisions. He was there to do much more than just their taxes, but that takes trust. And, an inability to effectively communicate his value and credibility left him constantly searching for a new way to connect with new clients.
“I had a hard time getting messaging out there, establishing myself as a thought leader in the industry, and having a strong social media presence.”
Additionally, Tim also admits that he was prone to leaving his team in the dust. He didn’t have any systems in place so his team didn’t know the best way to support him. In his own words, he was “doing it differently every time.”
Not only did this mean that his team wasn’t functioning to the best of their ability, but it also meant that Tim himself needed to spend more time focusing on minor tasks and standard functions instead of higher-level processes that would allow him to grow his firm. Altogether, these things left Tim feeling as though he was at the edge of a precipice. If he could find and learn the right marketing systems, then he could build a bridge to his dream firm and a financially secure future. But without them, he would be stuck right here.
Dream Firms Growth Tip: Having set systems, that your team can follow, streamlines the onboarding process and frees up your time.
The Strategies Behind the Success
Implementing Systems & Captivating Dream Clients
Tim knew that there was a free world of marketing out there to take advantage of, he just didn’t know quite how to do so. Once upon a time, Tim was wasting money, just trying to get his message out there, but his message didn’t set him apart from his competitors. Then, Dream Firms stepped in and helped him build the groundwork that would have clients coming to his door, instead of vice versa.
In order to really focus his efforts on marketing, Tim first needed to create systems that would allow his team to easily handle both new and existing clients. This meant taking advantage of capable support staff, learning how to delegate, and trusting the process. Tim and his team worked together to establish ways to pre-vet their “dentalpreneurs” and create an onboarding process that allowed them to identify pain points and immediately establish trust. Once the systems were in place, Tim quickly realized what he had been missing out on.
“…By the time they work with us, they’re ready to get started immediately. There’s no selling at this point because that’s already been done. We’ve already established trust with our audience.”
These processes were so effective that Tim found his current clients communicating the same thing to other dental professionals and reaping the benefits. His dream clients were now coming to him, ready to invest in his services and trust his processes.
Implementing these systems also allowed Tim to free up his time. He meets with his lead generation specialist once a week to discuss minor tweaks and to do a quick check-in. But other than that, he is free to use his downtime for other things like building his own Facebook group, specifically for dental professionals, and putting out weekly podcasts where he talks with thought leaders in the dental field. While these things may not seem as effective as a paid ad, they allowed Tim to demonstrate his knowledge and capabilities, and his dream clients loved it. His revenue is up by 22% and he’s free to pursue the causes he cares about. That’s what we at Dream Firms call a win-win.
“Delegation and building systems allowed me to free myself up and focus on my other unique matters.”
Dream Firms Growth Tip: Take advantage of free platforms and untraditional methods, like podcasts and Facebook groups, to connect with your dream clients.
Team Work Makes the Dream Firm Work
In less than a year, Dream Firms has helped Tim McNeely Increase his firm’s value to $400,000, and Tim’s not stopping there.
“I am within 75% of getting there. I attribute it to the work that I’m doing with Dream Firms.”
By focusing on connecting with his ideal clients, learning how to impactfully articulate how he can solve their problems, and implementing brand new systems to help his team & free up his time, Tim has had the pleasure of seeing his accounting firm flourish. And, he feels comfortable with his own financials.
We helped Tim learn how to successfully market his practice and take advantage of the support of his team. Tim uses this knowledge to help dentists take care of the people they love, support the causes they care about, and build a lucrative dental practice that makes them feel as successful as they are. His accounting and financial planning firm is not your everyday firm, and now Tim knows how to communicate that. He’s leading his dream firm, and he’s not done yet.
To quote Tim, “Don’t let perfection be the enemy of getting started,” find out what Dream Firm can do for you today.
