CFO Chronicles: The Secrets Behind Success

Gary's Guide to Building Lasting Client Relationships in Accounting

• James Donovan • Season 1 • Episode 16

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Unlock the secrets to transitioning from a liberal arts background to a thriving accounting career with Gary Massey from Massey and Company CPA. Gary's journey from global accounting firms to launching his own practice is a testament to resilience and authenticity. Learn how stepping out of the corporate world and fostering genuine relationships can propel your client base to new heights. Gary shares invaluable insights on marketing with confidence and leveraging CRM tools to create connections that last. This episode is a treasure trove of practical advice for anyone ready to step out of their comfort zone and embrace the world of networking and business growth.

Discover how accounting firms are transforming their marketing strategies in the digital age. We explore the critical role of SEO, blogging, and social media, and how platforms like YouTube are becoming powerful tools for reaching wider audiences. Learn about enhancing content through Google Business Profiles and the future potential of AI tools in content creation. Elevate your position as the advisor your clients need by strategically growing your influence and staying ahead of industry trends. Don't miss out on future episodes of CFO Chronicles that promise to keep you informed and inspired in the world of finance and marketing.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to CFO Chronicles the secrets behind success the go-to podcast for fractional CFOs and accounting firm owners who want to attract more high-paying clients and increase their revenue. Hosted by James Donovan from Nine Two Media, this podcast dives into marketing strategies specifically designed for lead generation and client acquisition. In each episode, you'll hear from industry leaders sharing their success stories and Thank you to your bottom line.

Speaker 2:

Today we're diving into the world of tax strategy and small business accounting with Gary from Massey and Company CPA. Gary and his team specialize in taking the stress out of taxes, irs negotiations and strategic planning for small businesses. They bring a wealth of experience helping clients navigate complex tax issues, maximize strategies and savings in good standing with the IRS. I'm excited to hear Gary's insight on how small businesses can approach tax planning, reduce their liabilities and make informed financial decisions. Gary, thank you so much for joining us today.

Speaker 3:

You're most welcome. Thank you, James. It's great to be with you today.

Speaker 2:

So, Gary, let's start at the beginning. How did you get in to the world of accounting?

Speaker 3:

Okay, that's a great question. I actually came from a liberal arts background. When I was in college, I was a history major. I didn't know anything about accounting. And then, along in college, I was a history major, I didn't know anything about accounting. And then, along the way, I really fell into it. Somebody suggested that I go to grad school to study accounting, which is the last thing that I ever thought about, but it was a good time in my life for that, and so I went to grad school to study accounting tax accounting in a brand new program, and that's how I did it. That's how I ended up at it.

Speaker 2:

Very interesting and I'm assuming, based off of how long the firm's been around, for it's been a successful career path.

Speaker 3:

Well, it's been great. I actually started my career working for the large global accounting firms, for the famous firms, and I did that for a long time and I also work for some regional firms and I eventually started my own practice about 10 years ago approximately, and it was the best thing that I ever did. And I must tell you that in the very beginning, when I was working for other people in big firms, it was with a bit of pain. You know, being an employee of large accounting firms, there was a lot of pain involved. But when I started my own firm, I just love it. I'm happy to wake up every morning, go to work because this belongs to me and it's very creative and I really never knew that it would be so exciting, but it really is. When it's your firm, it makes a huge difference.

Speaker 2:

What motivates you to go out on your own? Because it can be very daunting to start something on your own. You don't have that security of I mean even just as basic, as I know I'm going to get paid every week if you're working for a larger firm that's been around for a while. So what motivated you from leaving the corporate world to you know what? I'm going to do this on my own. I'm going to bring on my own clients.

Speaker 3:

Sure, I started doing this as a side gig while I was working for other people.

Speaker 3:

I would go to work during the day and I'd come home at night and work on some of my own clients, and that's how I learned the basics of the management of an accounting practice. That's how I really began, and I didn't feel the risk because, as I said, I was working during the day for somebody else. And then, along the way, I had an opportunity to work for another company as something that I really fell into. It was a marketing director position at an evaluation firm, and I just once again fell into it, and what I learned there was really golden. It was really about marketing, the basics of marketing and I developed self-confidence in my ability to sell, and that was incredible. Just to know that I could do that, to come to the realization that I could sell, that I could market and sell and become confident in that. That enabled me to open my own practice. If it hadn't been for that and for those guys who I was working with, I don't think I would be here today.

Speaker 2:

That's cool. I think a lot of people struggle with finding the confidence to sell for their own firm, especially relying on a lot of referrals. Someone else has already kind of pre-sold, pre-sold your services. What would you say to those who are listening who may be in that position where you know it's tough to go and find new clients who they've never heard of you? They're just used to closing referrals yeah, it's not that hard.

Speaker 3:

Uh, what you have to do is you have to go out into the world. First of all, you have to leave the desk. You have to go out into the world and just talk with people. So in the very beginning, I used to go to a lot of networking events and I had a good time doing that. There's always some food to eat and opportunities to meet new people and I would go and I would just talk and I would get to know people. I would be myself, I would always be myself, never pretending to be something else, and I would just get to know people and I would.

Speaker 3:

Those days we had business cards and I would develop a Rolodex of business cards and I would get to know people and I would make acquaintances or maybe friendships with them. And that's how I got out in front of my desk and I started going to various regular networking events, like BNI, you know, which were regular, and I got out there, I started going to lunch with people, going out for coffee with people, and I learned different techniques.

Speaker 3:

One of the first things that I learned when techniques One of the first things that I learned when I was working for this evaluation firm is about a CRM, which is a software to keep track of marketing, and it's something that I never knew about before.

Speaker 3:

So I learned about a CRM and how to put it together and how to do follow-ups. That's one of the most important things that I learned is that in your CRM, you have to record who you met, where you met them, what their contact information is their email and their telephone number and then you schedule follow-ups with them. And wow, I never knew about that, but that's what you do. You have a follow-up. So you've spoken with somebody and then maybe, whether it's two weeks or six weeks or whatever it is, you have a follow-up. Or maybe you send an email and you don't hear from them, or you make a phone call and you don't hear from them. So in a certain amount of time, follow up and you just keep doing it over and over and over again and eventually you'll be talking with people and you'll tell them about yourself and you'll be yourself and they'll be happy to get to know you.

Speaker 3:

And one of the great things about accounting, tax and accounting is that everybody needs it, so it's not such a hard sell. It's not like you're selling insurance, which is much harder to sell. Everybody needs this. But once you can learn the tools like I said, CRM, and get a business card and be self-confident, you can really do it.

Speaker 2:

That's awesome. I think it gets over complicated too much and, at the core, all you're doing is just have more conversations with people who fit the bill to buy the things that you offer, find people who have a need and you have the solution and just have as many of those conversations as you can on a daily basis. That is, at its core, what it comes down to.

Speaker 3:

That's right. There are a couple other challenges which you need to deal with along the way. One of the first challenges is you have to know what you're selling, to identify what it is, what the service is, what the product is. And then, even harder, is to know what you're going to charge Pricing. Pricing is very, very challenging and at the very beginning, people usually start low, which is fine because you're developing confidence and whatever price you pick, you have to be able to say it with confidence. This is what I deserve, because everybody charges pick. You have to be able to say it with confidence.

Speaker 2:

This is what I deserve. Everybody charges.

Speaker 3:

You don't go to the store and buy a loaf of bread without paying for it. Everybody has to pay for what they buy, so you have to be confident about that. But along the way you develop that confidence to talk about price and you set a price and then you stick with it and you know there are some people who will say it's too expensive, whatever it is, and there are other people who are going to pay you and that's good. And you just start doing that and start collecting and over time you can increase prices and adjust prices to a more appropriate level, little by little, and after a while you'd be surprised it really works.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, all of a sudden, you have a while. You'd be surprised it really works. Yeah, all of a sudden, you have a business and there's a handful of people paying month after month, and it's a machine that's running. Now, something I always think about with pricing when speaking to our clients and telling them you can always increase your price, your price and if you're getting a lot of people saying yes to what your price is, probably a sign that you want to have a really good offer or two. Your price is too low. If everybody's saying yes all the time, it's probably time to increase that price and add get paid for what you're worth, which is what you're saying. So, yeah, that's great insight. What is your marketing strategy look like today? From 10 years ago when you got started, I can only imagine it's changed a lot with how far social media and in the online presence of businesses come.

Speaker 3:

Yes, that's absolutely true. So when I started my own business social media, was not so advanced and as I said before I did a lot of networking events.

Speaker 3:

I would go out all the time. I tried to go out like almost every day to different kinds of events. So today it's not like that. I don't go out so much. Maybe I should, but I don't go out so much to the social events, to networking. I do a lot of online marketing and what I find to be the most, and it is really, really critical. And after you do it and you've learned it, you would be surprised after a while the phone starts to ring. People find you online, which is what search engine optimization is about. People finding you online and they call you or they send you an email and all of a sudden starts to take off, and that is my recommendation.

Speaker 2:

That's cool, and it doesn't happen overnight like you said it is kind of no it doesn't? It's that graph that it's just flat, flat, flat, and then all of a sudden it goes up by like 90 degrees. It's that overnight success that everyone thinks people achieve but they don't see. You know the three years of what you were doing to optimize so that your website was going to show up.

Speaker 3:

That's right, and you know, speaking with other other business people is very advantageous. You can learn from other people. I, for one, am happy to talk with anybody who wants to chat, Any accountant. Anybody who wants to talk with me, I'm happy to do it. There is plenty of business for everybody. There are no secrets that I'm going to hide from anybody. I'm an open book and I'm happy to share.

Speaker 3:

There's business for everybody, but SEO the search engine optimization is what I have found to be the most effective, much more than going to networking events, that's how I started, but now it's the SEO, and SEO involves, for example, blogging. I have a blog and I put stuff out there and eventually the blog gets found. You have to learn certain skills, but if I can do it, anybody can do it.

Speaker 2:

That's cool. What else are you focused on under SEO, because that is a big umbrella acronym for what falls under search engine optimization. You mentioned you're doing some blogs on your website. What falls under search engine optimization? You mentioned you're doing some blogs on your website. Are there any other areas online that you're planting these seeds to help your SEO presence?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, well, so when we publish a blog, we also repost it on social media, so that would be Facebook, linkedin. I think we put it on maybe Instagram and Twitter, some other places I don't see a lot of benefit from that. But why not? It's easy to do, it's free, I think, and why not? Maybe it'll work.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, One spot we started also to do. That's right.

Speaker 3:

What we started to do recently is a little bit more YouTube. Okay, so that remains to be seen. I've recently put out a bunch of YouTube videos. You folks can look at them. Maybe they're good or not, I don't know. It's a whole different skill set doing videos, but that's something new that we're going to give a try.

Speaker 2:

Well, it all starts. It starts zero to one. Right, you can't just get to that 10,000 subscriber on YouTube without making that first video. That's probably not going to be that great, but over time and practice they can learn feedback, and I'm sure your first blog wasn't as solid as maybe some of your most recent blogs have been, but you took the step to get it started and now you have the momentum. That's probably true.

Speaker 3:

One thing that I have learned on the subject of SEO and getting better is that when you write a blog or any kind of what they call content, you write a piece of content. You can always improve it. You can make it better, you can add, you can make it longer, you can put pictures in, you can make it a better piece of content and then publish it again. So that's a skill, that's a certain thing which I learned along the way. You can always do that.

Speaker 3:

I don't know about videos, I'm not sure I can do that in a video, but certainly when it comes to written content you can make it better.

Speaker 2:

Of course. Now, gary, in the world of AI, which is so rapidly taking over so many, so many areas of business, excuse me, are you sitting back and are you writing out the blog start to finish? Or or is there some AI assistance or some AI tools you're using in your business right now?

Speaker 3:

I'm not quite there yet, but that's something that we have to learn. That's obviously new, and it's a skill that needs to be learned too, so that'll just supposedly it'll make it easier, but that remains to be seen.

Speaker 2:

Okay, cool One thing you mentioned you're posting on a couple of different social media platforms. One spot I would add in for you that would make a pretty big impact is posting your articles you're writing on your Google business profile, so another good spot where you're if you're not already doing that publishing them there as well. You might not necessarily get a lot of people reading them, but the bigger benefit is all of your keywords for your SEO, which is the main objective of your blog post. So if you're not already doing it, I'd highly recommend just putting one on there.

Speaker 3:

Great idea. One area that we have not done is what do they call it? Google ads, paid advertising? I have never done it. I know some people do. I'm very curious to hear how it works, but I have not done that myself.

Speaker 2:

We can have a conversation after this recording if you want to hear a little bit about it, because there's a lot of cool stuff to do with Google local service ads to help get your phone ringing. So, yeah, we can certainly chat about that. Tell me a little bit about you know, 10 years, 10 years of entrepreneurship. What stands out to you as maybe one of those, like critical moments of this is where things really took a turn for the better. But if I like, was there any moment that happened that you can look back on? That is a defining moment in your entrepreneurship journey.

Speaker 3:

Well, the adoption of certain technologies. I think that, as we got better with CRM, that made a big difference. And then, along the way, we adopted a platform called it's a workflow platform. We use a tool called Monday.

Speaker 2:

Yep.

Speaker 3:

And Monday is a workflow platform. There are others, there are other competitors and I'm sure that most are very good, but having a workflow tool helped a lot. So that made a big difference along the way once we did that. And then the other thing I would add is along the way, when you start to bring in people to help you, that's a very big deal At the very beginning. Somewhere along the way I was able to bring in somebody to do admin support. That was a big deal for me, because then I was paying somebody else and I was responsible for them, for that person's livelihood. I had to make sure that I was making enough money to pay for it, but at the same time it enabled me to grow significantly, significantly. So I think that was a.

Speaker 2:

That was a big deal for me that's really cool where the firm is at today. Is it what you imagined it would be 10 years ago when you got started?

Speaker 3:

I think I had no idea what I was getting involved in, but it's much better than I ever anticipated. It's a great lifestyle, as you're bringing people to help you, and it just starts to grow exponentially. I'm really amazed by what a good thing it is.

Speaker 2:

That's cool. What would be your advice you would give to anyone else who's maybe a couple of years into business and they want to reach that 10-year milestone of being in business, what's super important for them to be keeping in mind or pushing towards, or just be reminded of? Be?

Speaker 3:

reminded of. Well, if you have an accounting firm it's what we've already discussed about selling Don't just sit at home and wait for the phone to ring. There are proactive things that you can do to grow your business. If we're talking with business people generally, what I always tell people is that they have to be organized, they have to keep their books and I mean maybe we're talking to accountants now and it's obvious to them, but I think even for an accounting firm, you have to keep the books, and a lot of us don't like to do that.

Speaker 3:

You know, to reconcile the bank account on a monthly basis. That has to be done. So I speak with business people all the time and I tell them make sure someone is checking the books, make sure that you're being organized, make sure that you're printing financial statements so you know how the business is going, where you can improve, what are your growth areas? For us, for example, we have tax revenue. We have bookkeeping, accounting revenue, we do tax representation, which is when people have tax problems. These are all different revenue sources so we keep detailed records for all of that, so we know what's doing well and what we need to improve on.

Speaker 2:

That's great. That's great. What's next for the firm? You mentioned adopting digital strategies. You hinted a little bit, maybe on AI, but what's the firm working towards as you go into 2025?

Speaker 3:

towards as you go into 2025? Well, good question. So I see from experience that people complain a lot about their accountants all the time. I hear it like every day. Whenever I speak with a new client, they're always complaining about their accountant. So why? What do they complain? They're really complaining usually about two areas. One, that the accountant doesn't return phone calls or return emails, so they're not getting enough attention, or you might call it responsiveness. So that's very important. But beyond that, what I hear a lot of complaints is that their accountant was not proactive about planning.

Speaker 3:

So one of the main to-do items on my list is getting better about planning. I think people really want it and they really appreciate it. It's a difficult service area because it's a bit intangible. You have to figure out how to charge for it and I've heard different stories and different ways people charge for doing tax planning. But whatever you decide is appropriate. I do think that tax planning is very important. That's going to help you to keep your clients happy and they really appreciate that tax planning, because the returns themselves tax returns and financial statements nobody cares about as long as they're not involved in any kind of tax trouble. Nobody wants to be in trouble and they want to pay as little taxes as possible. But if an accounting firm can do some kind of figure out the right recipe for tax planning, I think that is very important for all of us.

Speaker 2:

I agree. I haven't met too many people who've said, oh, I wish I paid more in taxes last year. Being proactive and getting in front of your clients without them having to come to you and saying, hey, this is the plan, this is how we're going to save X amount of money. Here's the roadmap, this is what we're going to do. This is what's required from you. I think that's so important Versus, like you said at the start and a couple of times, kind of sitting back behind the desk hoping business is going to come to you, hoping for these things, but just get out there and be proactive. At the end of the day, you're just another human speaking to another human in exchange for your services, for money. It doesn't need to get complicated, that's right.

Speaker 2:

Gary, thank you so much for coming on. How can people get in touch with you if they want to reach out? It's my total pleasure.

Speaker 3:

I'm happy to speak with anybody who wants to have a chat. You can go to my website, which is wwwmassieandcompanycpacom and the spell dot A-N-D, or they can call the office and the phone number is on the website and I'm sure that you must have show notes which will put the contact information. You're welcome to reach out and I'm happy to chat anytime.

Speaker 2:

Perfect. We'll put the link in there so people can reach out. Hope they do. Gary is awesome speaking with you. Thank you so much for coming on and we'll speak to you soon.

Speaker 2:

Thanks for tuning in to this episode of CFO Chronicles the secrets behind success. I hope you found value in today's conversation. As we wrap up, I'd love for you to do two things. First, make sure to subscribe to this podcast so you don't miss any future episodes. If you enjoyed today's discussion, please rate and review the show. It helps others discover the insights we share here. Second, if you're ready to take your business to the next level and attract the high-end clients you deserve, head over to accountingleadsnowcom or click the link in the show notes to book your strategy. Call. It's time to position yourself as the advisor your clients need. And don't forget you can connect with me on LinkedIn to stay up to date on what's happening in the world of accounting and financial growth. We've got more exciting topics coming up, so stay tuned for the next episode of CFO Chronicles. Until then, keep pushing forward. Your growth is just one strategic move away.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for listening to CFO Chronicles the secrets behind success. We hope today's episode provided valuable strategies to help you attract more high paying clients. Be sure to subscribe, follow and share with fellow professionals. Connect with us on LinkedIn and leave a review or comment to join the conversation. Your feedback helps us bring you the best insights in finance and marketing. Until next time, keep striving for success and unlocking your business's potential.