Who's Really the BOSS?

There may be errors in spelling, grammar, and accuracy in this machine-generated transcript.

Rachel Dillon: This is who's really the boss? A podcast for accounting firm leaders who want to grow with intention and lead with purpose. I'm Rachael Dolan, and along with my husband, Marcus Dolan, we share real stories from our accounting firm, practical firm, growth strategies, and the tools you need to lead your clients, your team, and your life well.

Rachel Dillon: Welcome back to another episode [00:00:30] of Who's Really the Boss podcast.

Marcus Dillon: Hey, thanks for having me back.

Rachel Dillon: We are recording here at the beginning of February, which means that we survived January and 1099. Year end financials and the beginning of tax season and tax preparation.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. Uh, survival was the name of the game in January, and the team did great. Uh, had some ice storms and winter weather and sicknesses and everything. And kids being sick, [00:01:00] uh, throughout the team. So had a lot of, uh, hurdles and challenges, but they did it with grace and care. Uh, clients were well served, 99 were filed. Just everybody to 99 season just stinks. Nobody values that.

Rachel Dillon: So yeah. Well, I got to experience a very busy January once upon a time, a long time ago. Uh, back before 2020. Back before probably 2018. [00:01:30] Um, I January was a busy month for me because we sent out engagement letters and organizers on paper, and we would start printing those and mailing those out. I think as soon as we came back from Christmas, I think at some point in there, we started moving it up maybe to December and trying to get them either at least packaged. Um, but a lot of times I think we were doing all of that the first week or two of January. [00:02:00] And then obviously that process changed a little bit. Things went from paper mailing out to digital. Um, our tax administrator, Deidre, took over those responsibilities. Um, so I was removed completely from that process. And so I will say for a few years, my January was quite calm, probably compared to a lot of our team members, but this year was a little bit different. Um, this year, I would say my [00:02:30] calendar from as soon as we came back from the holidays all the way almost through the last day of the month of January was booked pretty solid with meetings with prospective clients. And so that's not something that's always the case. And so really wanted to share a little bit about what that meant for our firm, um, what that looked like, where those leads were coming from. And just hoping that that just the conversation might be helpful for others [00:03:00] to hear. Um, about what it looks like to hit the ground running from a sales and marketing standpoint in January.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah, no, I think it's a really good and timely topic. Uh, I feel like we had some good momentum going into Q1 from Q4. Then obviously, uh, took some time away from the office, so to speak, to celebrate Christmas and New Year's and all that fun stuff. So, uh, what's the [00:03:30] what's the saying? I'll circle back, um, after the holidays. And then everybody circled back after the holidays, and then there was some new leads and everything like that. New prospects reaching out as well. But, um, do you want to give a little bit of a background about, um, you know, probably just the last, what, 3 or 4 years and disappointment on our website and traffic and Disconnect from domains and how we've struggled through [00:04:00] even rebuilding that. Um, you want to give a little bit of that background, because at one time we thought our website was broken and all the leads. So we've done a lot of hard work to lead up to where we are in January and getting those leads and those phone calls.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah, absolutely. Um, remind me of the year that we changed the name of the business from Dillon CPAs to Dillon Business Advisors.

Marcus Dillon: Uh, I think it was 20, 22. Uh, [00:04:30] August. Uh, August. September of 2022.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. And so at that time, we had a we redesigned obviously our logo because name changed and we redesigned our website as well. So instead of just giving the current website a facelift, we actually, um, set up a new URL and we designed a whole new website. If you have never visited Dylan Advisors. Com you can go check that out now. And [00:05:00] our website is, um, amazing. It's very functional for prospects and clients, but also it just looks really nice as well. And so that was a huge win. Um, and just a huge, I'll say like elevation or value add to our brand, to our business. However, when we change the name and drop CPAs and then also, um, our old [00:05:30] website, our Dylan CPAs website domain was not redirected to the new website. So what happened? We lost all of our authority and all of our history with search engines and, um, really any online credibility of being in business since 2011 when that switch happened and that redirect was not done properly. So that really made us question is our website as good as we think it is? Um, [00:06:00] was it appropriate to change the name and drop CPA out of the name and to focus more on the actual clients that we want by changing to Dillon Business Advisors? Um, and so we had a lot of hesitations there and doubt, uh, did we do the right thing? Is this going to work? Um, so definitely some opportunities there to try [00:06:30] some different things and to definitely invest in the new website and our new messaging to attract the ideal clients that we want to serve. Yeah. So all of that to say, um, I think now this many years later, we don't question if we did the right thing anymore. Dillon Business Advisors does appropriately name who we are and who we serve. Um, but there [00:07:00] was some learning and some sleepless nights in there. In the in-between.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. And, uh, just not knowing what to do, how to fix it. I mean, obviously we employed people to build that website and, um, trusted them to do all the right things, but there was some turnover in that consulting team even during that project. And it just like, those are the things that if you ever go through a brand redesign, launch new website. [00:07:30] Uh, and there's turnover in the team or even just questioning the team, it's always good to have a second opinion. Um, we were we were essentially wiped clean over overnight, uh, when we changed the domain and dropped CPA from the name. And the reason why we wanted drop CPA from the name was two things that we were getting a lot of leads, a lot of phone calls, but they were all tax related. All a lot of annual tax leads were coming in when Dillon CPAs was our forward facing name. And, [00:08:00] uh, we just would filter through those, try to upsell people into Cass services when at all possible. But it was just a lot of no. And then, um, yeah, you know, just changing the domain, uh, all that activity went away. Um, and so just a few things to learn there if you're considering a name change, obviously, uh, going more advisory approached as well. Leaning into that side, uh, made a lot of sense for where we wanted to go, um, 3 or 4 years back. And today [00:08:30] it's fine, but it was a couple of, uh, very unfortunate years, uh, where we lost some traffic and some momentum from the old website.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah, we went from 3 to 4 form fills, especially during that January through April time period. Um, 3 to 4 online form fills about inquiries about services, and probably 4 to 5 or more phone calls per week, with new prospects [00:09:00] reaching out about services to zero, to none, to no phone calls and to no form fills. And so if you're wondering, how did we know it was broken? How did we know there was a problem? That's how we knew there was a problem. We let it ride. Um, I don't know, maybe three months before we started questioning because the team kept saying, you know, this takes a while. It takes a minute for, you know, to attract the right people. And, um, that [00:09:30] wasn't exactly accurate. It shouldn't have dropped off to zero. Maybe decrease, but not drop to zero. So if you're wondering if your website is working and attracting people, if you are getting no phone calls and no online form fills, or if you have a contact us like an email button from your website. If that's not being filled out, it should at least be found by, um, marketing by spam. Yeah, right. Yeah, you should [00:10:00] at least. If not getting leads from ideal prospects, you should at least be getting spam form fills if you're not even getting that. Which in the beginning we were not. That's 100% sure. You know that your website is not working.

Marcus Dillon: So maybe if you, uh, want to stop getting spam, you could do that and you'll be okay. Uh, if you have enough work. But, um, but, yeah, we've learned a lot through that process, obviously enough to share our experience with our friends and our peers. [00:10:30] Uh, about what maybe not to do or what questions would be better to ask, uh, and to stay on top of it versus be more passive. So, um, yeah, I think the other thing to point out is, uh, a lot of services, like you never know who to trust in that, uh, website SEO paid ads domain. And we'll talk a little bit about that here. Um, you can get multiple audits of your business. I think we did that a few different times, maybe with 3 or 4 different vendors. [00:11:00] Uh, the one that helped us rebuild the most in the past year. They provided data about our website that no one else had provided data on, um, prior to them. And so that that was helpful. Um, and just kind of their, uh, education and their knowledge base helped seal the deal to work with them versus somebody else who's just, you know, providing the same old thing. And I'm sure now, like with how far technology [00:11:30] has come and chat and everything like that, I'm sure you could even dial it in even better than what we were a couple years back. So anything else to add during that process before we really get into, you know, how how we saw improvement in just the website alone?

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. Um, doing the website audit is really important. Most companies will do that for free. Um, up front or like included as part of your, like, [00:12:00] kind of roll a price into whatever engagement. So if it costs something, if you end up going with that company, then they would just apply that to whatever you might pay down the road, or they will do it as part of the sales process and not charge you. So that's really helpful to know exactly what they think could be causing a problem or opportunities for improvement. And then also they should be telling you what they plan to do and [00:12:30] a timeline of how long that will take. So not just yeah, we can help improve your website and then you sign up for months for somebody to help you. You probably want to get a little bit more information than that before moving forward.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. No, that's that's really helpful. Um, and we'll share, um, you know, even some of the referrals that are coming in from the website, what the conversion rate on those are versus referrals directly from people we know. So but that's, [00:13:00] that's a good tee up for the conversation. Anything else to add? Um, before we kind of get into the conversations that you're having and where those prospects or those leads are coming from?

Rachel Dillon: No, we can just jump right in. So January, like I mentioned, my calendar started off booked from just as soon as it was available again after the holidays. And so what we use digital calendars. You can get to that from our website. If you fill out [00:13:30] a form, um, then you're automatically whoever fills out the form is automatically sent an email with my calendar link to book. If no one books, then I will, um, follow up with them. So if I don't receive an A calendar invite within 24 hours, then I will manually follow up and see why they didn't book. After filling that out. But. So I blocked my calendar obviously for the end of the year for holidays. But then once it was free, people started booking. [00:14:00] What that meant was these leads, prospects, they were started and nurtured prior to January. So it really was coming off of all of the work that we had done, probably all of 2025. But Q3 and Q4 of 2025, really picking up the momentum to get those leads on the calendar for January.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. [00:14:30] Um, you know, taking a couple of things out of, uh, your comments there. So first, uh, the calendar link with automation. So our website is built on HubSpot, which is a very powerful engine. Probably too powerful for most, for it would be too powerful for us if we only had a CPA firm. Um, but we chose to use it across both businesses. And, um, Hubspot's a very, you know, big, uh, undertaking. [00:15:00] That's what they built our website on. So there's a lot of automation, a lot of things built in the links to your calendar. So your outlook calendar is matched up with HubSpot to pull that link and then, uh, the buyer journey, so to speak. If they fill out a form on our website, it tracks their data. In HubSpot, we're able to see what all web pages that prospect visited, how long they stayed on that web page, what they clicked. So we're going into those conversations a much [00:15:30] more informed, um, much more informed prospect call versus going in blind because we've got that data. And having your calendar link is very helpful for not only you and your calendar, but also for me and other team members that that should not be having that first point of contact conversation with a referral or with a lead. Um, so we share your calendar and it gives people immediate options. Most [00:16:00] of the time they find options. If none of those options work or your calendar is too blocked, then we follow up appropriately. But most people adapt and pick a time that works for them. The other thing that I want to point out in what you just said is it's not like we were immediately available to these prospects.

Marcus Dillon: So there are no emergencies typically in accounting or tax, uh, sometimes in tax, depending on the situation, sometimes in payroll depending on the [00:16:30] situation. But we didn't want to start a relationship with anybody where it's, um, it's it's very out of the gates fast. Not during the last two weeks of the year. With holiday season, you don't want to be giving tax advice on the fly. And so that's part of why you protect me, why you protect other team members who are more technical than even me. Uh, from giving advice to referrals where we don't know the whole situation. And these people they've booked, but they've also [00:17:00] waited appropriately for their time to talk to DBA. And the other thing that that leads to is they're not going to work directly with you or with me for that matter, after really the prospect on board and then sales phase, they are assigned a team of three who serves them from that point on. And we would hate to just start the relationship off wrong. And that's just part [00:17:30] of it. So it's a it sounds like a very slow process in the way that you and I are sharing it right now, but maybe that was just a slower process during the last two weeks of the of the year, and that was intentional because we didn't want to overcommit or even, um, bring team members into a situation where it didn't make sense.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. I think, um, a little bit of that process helps people who are just calling around and price shopping for a single item, like a tax return or a [00:18:00] payroll or something like that, because it does kind of slow them down. And so if it's something where they're just looking for like a compliance or a transactional relationship, they're not they're probably not going to get me as fast as they want. And we'll move on, like to the next and just potentially go with the first person who answers, um, the conversations that we have are a little bit bigger because of the nature of how we provide services. And so a lot of times a prospect is calling [00:18:30] for one service, maybe just a tax return or just a bookkeeping, and then we need to educate them on the value of having all of their accounting and tax services in one place, with a team of three supporting who not only talk to each other, but also talk to their related services like attorneys and financial advisors. So, um, we definitely want to make sure they have the time set aside, uh, distraction [00:19:00] free. So with using my calendar, they're able to pick a time that works for them. So it's not even so much about me. I have my calendar set for times that I want to do outside meetings, and also they cannot book on my calendar with. It has to be more than 24 hours. So that way nothing surprise pops up. And you know, if I'm off for the afternoon and then something pops up or out, you know, for lunch and don't get back or whatever, that's not going to happen [00:19:30] because it's at, I know, at least 24 hours in advance before somebody's going to be waiting for me on a video call.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. So they've booked, Uh, they booked that time. Let's say it's a week out from today. You mentioned that you also, uh, or DBA nurtured those relationships ahead of that call. So I know there's automation built into HubSpot just with your calendar link alone, but what is nurturing that prospect look like before you even get to that first phone call?

Rachel Dillon: Yeah, a lot of times [00:20:00] what this is manual and changing to automated hopefully here in 2026. But if there's more than a week in between when someone schedules with me, I get email notifications when they schedule with me. Um, I get email notifications when they fill out a form or visit a page. So I have lots of opportunities. I'm not just researching my calendar, I'm not spending a lot of time doing that. But if they schedule far in advance, I'll go ahead and draft [00:20:30] an email and schedule to send that sometime in between when they've booked and when we're actually going to meet that since then. Back to or to one of our pages. It could be to a blog article that's on our website. It could be to our pricing page. Um, sometimes that's strategic. If I look at and see maybe the revenue of their business or the nature of what they're asking, if they're asking for payroll only, I want them to see those plans and that pricing [00:21:00] ahead of our conversation. Maybe they cancel, um, because they don't want all of that or that pricing doesn't align with what they think. That's okay. That just means we haven't wasted anyone's time. So to us, that's not a problem. Um, that gives an opportunity. A lot of times I will, uh, include the link for the team of three. So they see just how services are going to be provided and get an idea of the level of service and [00:21:30] the communication, um, and responsiveness that our team is going to provide.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. No, that's that's really good. So shifting gears and talking about everybody wants more qualified leads. Everybody wants their funnel full of ice. Obviously in what you just outlined like our funnel isn't full of our ice. You have people that come in only wanting one service. They don't want full service, everything like that. Um, but the leads in [00:22:00] general, where are those coming from? We've already talked about the website, so that would obviously be a source, but what other places do you see them coming from? Whenever you see those form fills, whenever you see those calendar calendars being booked, or when you actually talk to those prospects for the first time.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. So many of our prospective clients are coming from referrals from current clients, um, who are finding a lot of value in our services or just love their team. So [00:22:30] either either way, that's usually why our clients are staying our clients. Um, and then also referral sources. And when I say referral sources, these are all kinds of referral sources, meaning friends in our neighborhood, neighbors in our neighborhood, people that we go to church with, um, mastermind group, business, networking groups, that type of thing from um, financial advisors, attorneys, [00:23:00] bankers that we just work with because we're serving other clients and we have other mutual clients. So, um, even some real estate professionals and businesses, um, practice transition advisors, that type of thing based on our ideal clients. So a lot of related professionals to doctors, dentists and vets, which is who we mostly market to. Um, and then it's really a lot of personal network [00:23:30] connections just based on who they know us to be and who they have seen. Um, most likely through social media platforms and things like that that we say we are and who we serve.

Marcus Dillon: So yeah. And, and I think the key word there is trust, right. Like we've built trust in some other way versus just talking about accounting and tax services. Whether that trust is individual. They know us um, or just they've seen us, heard us consume some type of content [00:24:00] or been introduced to us some other way. There is that, that trust, um, that that's developed. Um, and that's, I think for people listening to this that are in the middle of tax season and their funnel isn't full with their ICP, they are in the middle of a time of year when they're serving probably a lot of their non-ideal clients, um, and just wanting better for their, their team themselves, their firm, everything. Um, what would you say, uh, [00:24:30] beginning now during this time of year that you could start doing. Um, and it doesn't have to be big, but something you could start doing now before even tax season ends, to set yourself up for better conversations in the future.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah, I would say I don't know if I'm going to answer your question directly, but I'll answer hopefully something similar to what you're asking. But I would say in the middle of tax season when you're the busiest, probably the lowest [00:25:00] hanging fruit for starting to fill your funnel or starting to get referral sources. Thinking about you and your team is definitely as tax returns are being sent out and people are sending back their appreciation. So a lot of times people will send back and say, thank you, your team did such a great job, or they'll call out people specifically. You know, Deidra has been so much help, or Aaron has been so much help and so [00:25:30] valuable for us is asking them to one leave an online review. So like a Google review. Um, or two just asking, can I use this as a testimonial? And so for the website or for social media, or even if you just have email list out, you can just share that out with whoever you might have an email list for. Um, but asking for that testimonial because you could use that testimonial with just their picture and their [00:26:00] name, their name, and their last initial. Um, it goes a lot further than just an anonymous testimonial. So if you ask if you can use that, um, that will probably serve you better. But that's a fairly easy way. It's just a reply. You can save that reply somewhere and just copy and paste it in or um, set a shortcut or something to be able to have that ready to go when someone offers that. And that's also something that the team could do as well [00:26:30] to help so that as those are coming in, they can say, thank you so much for your kind words. Do you mind filling out a Google review or are would you allow us to use this as a testimonial, like on our website and social media?

Marcus Dillon: Yeah, two things that I think we've done in the past that help with those efforts are go grab your Google review page, where it's like a direct link to that and create a save signature right in your email is probably where [00:27:00] you're going to be responding to that and make it really clean, make it really short, make the ask there and, uh, direct them to the exact place where it's the pop up that happens, the stars, the comments, and they're done. Uh, versus if you're just saying, well, you go out to Google, will you find us, will you then click on the review button and leave it? It's just it's a lot more hurdle. So that's the first thing that I would say I think we've done pretty well. Um, the second thing is, as far as the team [00:27:30] is concerned, we have the winning channel within our team's, um, program. That's, you know, where we communicate as a as a DBA team. And anytime anybody gets shouted out, whether it's a Google review or direct, you know, client communication about Deidra did such a great job. And as always, you know, from year to year been such a solid support system. We share that, you know, we share it within the team so that that that person can feel the love. You know, they may never go out to Google for DBA and [00:28:00] search and look at those names. So they immediately see it, we'll tag them in it. And then that plants the seed with the rest of the team like, oh, if you know, everybody likes to get, you know, recognized for the most part. So if if they get recognized individually, then maybe they either forward that on to us to say, hey, look at look at the nice comments that Doctor Smith has left, uh, through email. And then we can follow up directly and thank them and ask them for a more formal review. Or if the if the the team member feels comfortable [00:28:30] enough to ask for that which they may or may not, um, then they can follow that same thing that we just did where we've got a safe signature.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. The other thing I would say during tax season is having a place to write down client wins. And this doesn't have to necessarily be taxes. Um, but just where we are, uh, at the beginning of this year is thinking about the wins for the clients. So the value that the team has brought to the client. [00:29:00] So whether that's a tax savings amount, a refund amount, um, helping them save if they've chosen to refinance or raise prices, something where you have data to write down and to use in a case study of some sort as proof of what is the return on investment for going with your firm for accounting services versus going with someone else who may not do advisory [00:29:30] based services, or who may be like the low cost leader of the area, and just provide like a quick and dirty tax return. So that's also helpful because those we forget those so quickly and so easily, especially with the volume of work that's going in and out. So having a place to document a few of those, even putting a goal around, we're looking for eight, um, we'll call them stories or case studies. We're looking for [00:30:00] eight examples of where we saved a client money, helped a client earn money, find money, save time, whatever it might be that you're able to say, hey, if you work with our firm, here's what we can do for you. So I think that that's also super helpful. It's nothing out directly to a client or a referral source. It's literally just documenting it somewhere so that the team can assess it later and then find a place where [00:30:30] it can be shared with the public.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. No. Um, that's that's really good and helpful. So we've talked about prospects leads and then they end up, you know, in your you're the one leading that meeting. Um, you know, you're, you've been involved with the business for going on 13 years and, um, obviously longer than that unofficially. Uh, but, you know, in your role in taking those calls, it's been, uh, more than a decade now. And so I think the other [00:31:00] the other tips that I've seen, you know, you employ and I do from time to time is you want to talk about the results like you just shared the case studies and then secondary talk about your services, like how you get to those results. If you're if you're leading with your services, like we we do CAS, which no one knows what that means. If we do advisory, no one knows what that means. Um, a client doesn't. And, But if they know what a tax return does because everybody needs one or payroll because they've got employees that need [00:31:30] to pay them. Um, but if you lead with services, um, we just haven't. We we've tried that over the years. We haven't seen as much success with our ideal client. We'll get clients leading with services, but it's not the clients who value the advisory, um, piece that we like to bring to every relationship. So anything else to add there? Just because, you know, as, as you have highlighted, you know, even the case studies or the stories that you want to share, you do talk about [00:32:00] services and and plans and prices and things like that. Maybe as part of like the initial pre-call to weed people out, as you've mentioned. But what is those what are those phone calls that you're actually having with people that are about 30 minutes in length? What do those look like? Is there an agenda? What are you talking about?

Rachel Dillon: I think that there's most likely a loose agenda. I am the absolute worst at documenting everything. Um, and I, I [00:32:30] get to keep being the worst because I'm the only one. Um, but also, I think forever. I don't want to be the only one having these conversations. So we may need to document just a little bit more. But the phone calls, once we have a lead scheduled on my calendar, those phone calls always start with why are we talking today? Um, I typically already know because of all of the things that we've done ahead of time. I know how they [00:33:00] found us. I can see if they came from Google, or if they came from ChatGPT, or if they came from an email introduction. Right. Like I was on that email, I see who referred them over. Um, our form, I believe, asks maybe how they found us. Um, but that's definitely want to know that first if I don't already know it, but usually I do. And then the first question is why are we talking basically what is your what's the biggest pain point? What do you need from us right now? [00:33:30] Why are you calling? And then the follow up to their answer is not necessarily giving free tax advice, because I'm not a CPA or an accountant.

Rachel Dillon: Um, but really helping to either give ideas of how that problem could get solved or how we directly will solve that problem. So not necessarily giving them the answers, but immediately addressing, yes, [00:34:00] we can help them with that. Or no, we can't because they don't care about any of the rest of the things I'm about to say until they know, can you help me with this? Or do I need to look somewhere else? So that's how that conversation, you know, might start in any kind of way. But that's the main question that we want answered first is to have them tell me what exactly it is that they need. And then me tell them, yes, we can help you. And here's a little bit about how. Or no, we [00:34:30] can't help you, but this firm could help you. Or you need to look into this type of service, or you need to contact the attorney before you contact us. So those are types of things. The beginning of that call.

Marcus Dillon: Now that's really that's really good. Um, I think you use the case studies or the client examples to reiterate, you know, if we can help them. Um, so you've kind of qualified them again if, if we are a good fit, um, just to make sure that, hey, this is what we do, and then [00:35:00] ultimately, this is how we do it at the end, and this is what it costs. So yeah. No, that's all really, really helpful stuff. What would you say the, the biggest, um, population of these referrals or these leads coming in, where are those coming from? And, you know, just some background even on those like where are they coming from and which ones are more likely to actually engage us after the fact, after you've talked to them?

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. Um. A [00:35:30] lot of our, a lot of our referrals in our referral partners are people that we know. So it has been maybe years of relationships with people or maybe their brand new relationships with people. But most likely to sign and quickest to sign are people who are coming from others who directly know us. So either a client who has worked with us for a long time, [00:36:00] a team member who works with us and knows this person and has referred them in, or a referral source, which again, that referral source likely is a financial advisor, a banker, an attorney who says, oh, you need that, call them. I work with them on other mutual clients, and they usually have a relationship with the referral, which just builds the trust with us, even though it's going to be our first time meeting.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. [00:36:30] And part of that is, um, I think we're in the business of capacity. We've said that time and time again, um, if you have excess capacity or you're building capacity because you just you've hired people, you've you're looking to grow, uh, you're, you've exited some clients that are not ideal. I've always seen it best to share that with our friends in the market and just say, hey, I've got additional capacity for one more [00:37:00] CFO client, you know, or I'm trying to build the roster of clients for this team member that you may have met. So I think having those conversations with people, whether it's through email or or just one on one over the phone or at lunch or coffee, that's always been very helpful because then they have a connection like they more than likely want to help you and they have a reason because you're trying to fill some capacity. So I think that's another thing that I've seen, um, even in the [00:37:30] past few weeks, as I've really tried to start 20, 26, uh, being intentional with those referral partners and reaching out and meeting new people. Uh, that's kind of where hopefully that will lead to a continued pipeline, uh, of really good people that we can serve and even refer to other people, uh, if we aren't a fit. So the conversations that I'm also having right now are re-explaining what DBA is, because maybe I [00:38:00] haven't seen this person in a while, or they're curious how things are going or what my role is on the team.

Marcus Dillon: And I, you know, you kind of tell the story and you tell the ideal story or I do like this is exactly what we do. This is who we work with. And then that way they remember that. But once you see the light bulb go off in someone's mind, um, about that, you are perfect and they can think of somebody in their life that you need to meet. Then you've really, you know, then [00:38:30] you've achieved what you were going to look for if it was additional referrals or leads. Um, so I always I always love to get that during, uh, coffee or lunch or whatever if I'm in person with somebody and if they, if they don't bring that up during our time, I'll just I'll end, you know, our time together or when we're closing up and just. Hey, is there anybody that you think I should meet? Um, we're just in the business of meeting great people [00:39:00] and serving others and leading people better off than we found them. And that can be other referral partners. It can be clients. So is there anybody that you think, um, I should meet? And that's been really helpful over the last probably month and a half, two months as we continue to build our base and our pipeline, and it's already led to good conversations that have led to engagements with you.

Rachel Dillon: Yeah. I'll say, um, just while we're talking on referral partners and helping them to understand what we do, doing [00:39:30] webinars. Um, this might not be a thing for everyone to want to provide those webinars, but doing webinars for your current clients and then inviting referral partners or inviting social media again, email list, something like that to a webinar. That's also helpful because it gives your referral partner something to share with the person they're referring to, get to know you, or to see you a little bit ahead [00:40:00] of that first call. So that's also helpful. I'll tell you the number one thing that I think, I don't know that anyone's told me this specifically, um, but just that I've seen improve over the years When the referral partners know exactly what's going to happen when they refer the person to your firm, the referral partner wants to know who are they going to talk to? What is the timeline that I should expect? Like, are you going [00:40:30] to reach out to them today? Are you going to reach out to them within two days? What is the process look like? So we've had meetings with referral partners who have specifically asked this and then shared kind of in mass.

Rachel Dillon: Um, we actually have videos on our website about what if you fill out this form, what will happen, what onboarding looks like. So there's a few videos on the website as well that tell, um, people who don't know us other than online what happens, but they really want to know what's going [00:41:00] to happen when I refer someone who's going to contact them back. And then what does that process look like? So you schedule, you know, I introduce them and then who who contacts them back. And then for us, that's me. And then we go directly into booking a meeting. From that booked meeting, we're going to request access to their QuickBooks online file. We're going to request prior year tax returns. And then we're going to get them pricing and recommendations [00:41:30] back within five business days of receiving that information. So for a referral source, that's very helpful for them to know that their client, their friend, whoever they're referring, is going to have a good deal of information within, let's say, 1 to 2 weeks.

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. No, that's that's sharing the the playbook. And I'll go back to, um, how you can be become a trusted partner with that referral [00:42:00] source. You mentioned webinars and educational opportunities. We I just had lunch with somebody yesterday and he asked, hey, how can we work together? How can I get in front of your clients? And I said, uh, the best way that we've seen that in the way that we can add value to our clients and our team is through education. So if you're willing to do a joint webinar, uh, and, you know, speak on exactly what you do or how our client could be better informed as they get, uh, along the road and [00:42:30] need somebody like you. Uh, I think that's always the best way. Um, but as you mentioned, not everybody has the setup to do webinars or feels comfortable about it. The way that we've achieved similar results in the past is, uh, two things. If it's just, hey, that referral source, that banker, they've got promotional rates, promotional, um, things that are going on in their world that could apply to your client base. Uh, and you can bring [00:43:00] those to your client as a value add. We did that all the time. Uh, rates are a little bit different now, so no one's looking for a refi under the current market or anything.

Marcus Dillon: Um, maybe that'll come back soon, but anytime a promotional offers like that would come out and we knew a client, uh, was was at a higher rate, we would always get those in from our banker referral partners or different programs. So that's the first one. The second one is some of your referral partners do events all the time, [00:43:30] even without you. Like they don't need you to present with them. They are skilled at presenting or they've got a team presenting, but they would love for you to come, and they would love for you even more to bring your client with you. And so I have gone to dental coaching seminars, I've gone to equipment seminars, I've gone to different things and taken a client who I want to hang out with for an hour and eat a meal with, and it's obviously covered by the presentation. That client likely gets [00:44:00] CPE or CE, depending on what their, um, their profession is, but it's just a way to continue to add value. And so those are two things that that we've done in the past. One super low hanging fruit doesn't require much time on your part. The other one does require time and relationship and builds a stronger bond.

Marcus Dillon: But you're you're also you're at that event with your ideal client, most likely. And that room is full of other ideal clients for you. So you're on [00:44:30] the shoulder, you're kind of welcomed into the country club, so to speak, with your ISPs all around you and getting eyes on it. And then they say, hey, my business advisor, my CPA, he didn't come to this with me. So it makes you even look a little bit better. And, you know, the flip side of that is if you say, I don't have time for that, who has time for that? It's like, okay, do you even have time for the new client? Uh, that would be my response is, do you have the capacity to serve new clients well? And if you [00:45:00] don't, that's another conversation for another day. Like, let's go to your client list. Let's free up some capacity, uh, whether with your existing team, just by releasing clients in aren't ideal. Or if you're looking to grow, and then you delegate responsibilities and then you do have time to do this. Um, to accept new clients eventually. So those are those are a couple other things that we've done. Anything else, uh, come up in your mind? Just low hanging fruit that others could do.

Rachel Dillon: Well, I'll just share. I've had quite a few [00:45:30] conversations, quite a few three conversations with marketing professionals outside of Dylan business Advisors and collected by DBA, so unrelated to us just here in the last couple of weeks, and just picking their brain about things that they see that are working. Also asking, um, just asking a lot of good questions and finding out what other people are doing and what's working for others. And so this was I don't know why I'm surprised by it, but surprised by it a [00:46:00] little bit. Just needed the reminder and confirmation. Right now, in-person events are the best way to get new leads. So even if that's a small event and you're only going to meet, let's say, 20 people or less, you're having more intimate, longer, detailed conversations with those people who then, even if they're [00:46:30] not your ideal client or don't need you at this time, will be more likely to refer you to somebody or think of you when they do need what you're providing. They are ready for a change. And so even though it feels like, wow, I should be doing something online that can cast out to hundreds or thousands of people, that's not giving the return that the in-person events are.

Rachel Dillon: So [00:47:00] study groups, chamber of commerce, hobby events, whatever you enjoy. Um, church groups, Bible studies, all of those areas. You should be talking about your team, how much you love, what you do, how much you love serving clients, those types of things. Um, hopefully that's natural for us. That's natural to talk about because that's how we spend majority of our time and our days. Um, that's what [00:47:30] gives us life. Um, and brings us joy is our team members, our clients, our businesses, those types of things in addition to our hobbies and our kids and all of that. And so just being able to talk through that with, um, yeah, some amount of positivity, uh, and joy, passion that you actually enjoy what you do and you love working and who you love working with. Um, that goes a long way. It doesn't have to be [00:48:00] a specific networking event. Those, um, used to make me cringe. I haven't gone to as many since. We are fully.

Marcus Dillon: Away.

Rachel Dillon: From serving people. Serving people across the country. But even for people serving across the country. It's choosing a couple of places. It could be a big conference. Those are usually a big investment because at a conference, either you have to have something really big [00:48:30] and catchy to draw in, um, attendees, or you need to be speaking on stage so people will come find you after. Um, other than that, sometimes going to these very large conferences is hard if you're small. Um, so potentially local things will give you a better return on your time and money investment.

Marcus Dillon: No, that's really good. Um, I think we've seen that time and time again. And obviously, um, there's [00:49:00] a very blurry line between what we do during the day for business and what we do in life. And, you know, it typically follows us. Um, and most of the people that are listening to this are no different. So I would say, uh, that's been a great option for us. And that's a lot of the, the leads that we get to serve, um, whether it's eventually serving at DBA or serving them by introducing them to somebody else. Um, so this has been really good. Do you have anything, [00:49:30] any challenges, any recommendations for people as we wrap this up?

Rachel Dillon: Oh, man, I think, um, I think right now to start thinking about where your ideal clients hang out and how can you get in those places. And if it's not something, if it's not somewhere that you necessarily want to be, maybe you reconsider your ideal client. Um, because a lot of times, [00:50:00] ideal clients will hold some of the same values, some of the same interests as what you and or your team members have, which makes it easier to integrate life and business and not have things so compartmentalized. So thinking about, um, one where ideal clients are hanging out and then two, is there somewhere, let's say May, June or July where you can get in front of those? So not necessarily [00:50:30] that you have to do it now, but start blocking your calendar or thinking about when are those opportunities after tax season to get face to face with some different people than what you're used to seeing on a daily basis?

Marcus Dillon: Yeah. No, I think that's that's really good. And, um, you know, you can you can start wherever I think starting with just that plan. And then what's that next step is that next step to actually schedule it and make a point to put it on your calendar and then go and invite somebody. Invite somebody to hold you accountable, you [00:51:00] know, like, hey, I'm going to take you to this seminar that's being put on by my friend. And, you know, then it's just like the gym, right? If you go to the gym with somebody, it's more likely that you're going to keep going. So, uh, the same can be said for business development.

Rachel Dillon: Well, we'll have to give an update on our, uh gym since we've moved cities and, uh, started the new year in a new place with a new workout routine. We'll give updates on that on the next episode.

Marcus Dillon: All right. Sounds like a plan. Appreciate you, uh, leading [00:51:30] these conversations and sharing. You know, what you're learning with others.

Rachel Dillon: Thanks and we'll see you on the next.

Rachel Dillon: Thanks for listening to this episode. If you enjoyed the conversation and want to learn more, be sure to visit collective. You can schedule a meeting directly with me, Rachel by clicking on the Contact Us page. Be sure to subscribe, like, and share so you don't miss any future episodes. We look forward to connecting with you soon!