The tax preparation business is famous for its no-holds-barred busy season, but every enterprise needs year-round revenue and a diverse clientele to thrive.
You can make the other eight months of the year productive and fruitful by attracting and servicing tax-resolution clients. In this challenging economy, millions of Americans are falling behind on their tax payments or prioritizing more pressing matters over filing their tax returns.
Are you there to support them when they need you? Knowing how to get tax-resolution clients puts you on their radar. Follow these tips to get more tax-resolution clients, and watch your business grow.
7 tips for finding more tax resolution clients
Americans owed more than $120 billion in back taxes, penalties and interest in 2022, according to the IRS. They forgot, claimed deductions or credits they don’t qualify for or failed to file their tax returns. They didn’t pay their estimates, or perhaps employers withheld too little from their paychecks.
No matter the cause, capable and experienced tax resolution expert are their lifelines. The market for tax-resolutions services has grown dramatically as the pool of Americans in trouble with the IRS has overflowed. Consider this an underserved market where opportunity beckons for a new line of business and the satisfaction of helping people put an end to their tax troubles.
When you add tax resolution services to your firm, build your business book with these tips to get more tax resolution clients.
Decide on your ideal tax resolution client
Learning how to get tax resolution clients starts with knowing your ideal client. Decide on a target prospect and what that person needs and wants. Consider income, occupations, hobbies, marital status and age. Are they business owners or sole proprietors? If so, what sectors are they in? Are they individual taxpayers? Are they retirees or still in the workforce?
From there, you can determine where they congregate, in person and online. Consider the materials they read, the social media accounts they follow, and how they get their entertainment and news. When you know your ideal client, you know where to find them.
Get free access to a lead list
People facing IRS action may have other financial woes. For instance, they could be falling behind on their property taxes, putting them and their contact information on a publicly available list of county tax liens. Use the information to send direct mail, emails or phone calls. Present yourself and your business as a trustworthy, experienced and competent ally to those who need to resolve their issues with the IRS.
Build your network for referrals
Chances are your professional network includes service professionals whose clients could be facing tax trouble. Tell real estate agents, financial advisers and bankers about your services because they are familiar with their clients’ financial affairs and have an incentive to help them succeed. Offering referrals to a trusted tax resolution specialist is a value-added service their clients appreciate.
Public speaking also puts you in front of potential clients. People have lots of questions about taxes, making you a popular presenter for neighborhood senior centers, community forums and civic association meetings. Be more informative than promotional, sharing tips on filing taxes and letting audiences know there are pathways to resolving tax challenges.
Don’t forget existing clients
If your clients who come to you for essential tax services get an IRS notice, don’t assume they will call you first. Let them know that you are prepared to help if any tax problems arise. In fact, as your clients’ trusted tax adviser, you can ask if they have issues with the IRS. A professional and forthright conversation can help clients find peace of mind by learning to put this worry behind them.
Follow up with inquiries
In marketing, once and done doesn’t do the trick. Even people who don’t need your services now could find that letter from the IRS in the mailbox. At that moment, you must be top of mind.
Create a simple spreadsheet to track your contacts and conversations. Then, check in from time to time. Phone calls and emails are highly effective, but you can also find creative ways to stay in touch. Reach your contact list through a newsletter with tax tips and a seasonal recipe. Send birthday cards and congratulations on milestones such as a child’s graduation. Direct mail fliers offer a cost-effective way to put your face and contact info in front of people who will be glad they know you when they need your services.
Develop an online presence
Every business needs an online presence, but are you fully leveraging yours? Potential tax resolution clients who are overwhelmed and underinformed need to know exactly how you can help and why you can be trusted. To reassure them, populate your social media with:
- Informative content. Don’t just post your credentials. Demonstrate what they mean to clients and how they position you as a problem solver. Create content through blogs and web pages that present solutions to typical tax dilemmas and answers to common questions.
- Broadcast your content. Offer to help local television, radio stations and news publications by filling airtime and news holes with tax-help segments. When you’re in the public eye, potential clients see you as a recognizable and trusted presence.
- Get found. Fill your social media with SEO-friendly terms such as “tax resolution expert in [CITY].”
- Get local. Those ideal clients you created are on Facebook and findable by age, gender, income and interests. Hyperlocal Facebook ads put you and your message in front of them.
Create a sales funnel
So, you’re networking, marketing and getting your name out there. You’re becoming known as the town’s go-to tax resolution person. Did you forget something? If you don’t have a system for collecting contact information and staying in touch, your efforts are hollow. After all, people who look you up might want to hire you right now, or they might need more assurances before they trust you with an issue as sensitive and consequential as taxes.
You need a response method for either scenario — capture the hot prospect or build rapport with the future client. A system for keeping in contact with the client through every phase of the process assures that you usher new clients to the final phase of securing your services.
Conclusion
Securing tax resolution clients comes down to building trust. If you follow these tips to get more tax resolution clients, you will adopt a systematic approach to targeting likely audiences and raising awareness of your valuable services.
Tax preparers who know the latest news and trends in taxation, including tax resolution pathways, make themselves indispensable to clients. Surgent Income Tax School’s content-rich CPE courses are filled with timely updates. Plus, a great companion piece to all that knowledge is Surgent’s comprehensive guidebook on how to start and grow your own tax business. As you expand your services to include tax resolution, Surgent’s expert guidance takes you through the steps to make your business a thriving, year-round enterprise and trusted community institution.