It was an interesting discovery and actually took me a few years to understand the barriers that exist for Tax Partners in acquiring new clients. The Partners in public accounting and law firms are actually “on their own” without any substantial individual marketing support in their firms. TaxConnections believes Partners need increased support in their marketing efforts to drive new business.  We will share secrets we have learned over many years that few Partners discuss openly in regards to client acquisition in top legal and accounting firms today.

How do the Tax Partners who bring in business of 4M to 10M annually do this with the majority of Partners bringing in 1M-3M? Why do firms continually tell Partners that their marketing budgets have been reached for the year, even in the first quarter? How can firms have only one or a few people marketing for all the Partners in the firm? What are Partners doing today to compete for new clients?

These are the questions I will answer in this article after speaking to hundreds of Tax Partners privately about marketing their tax expertise. This article reveals secrets Partners do not speak openly of when marketing, while less experienced Partners are unaware this is even happening around them. Fortunately, we have learned these secrets from the Partners themselves.

Why do firms continually tell Partners that their marketing budgets have been reached for the year, even in the first quarter?

It was all an enigma to me for several years until I started asking questions to understand what was happening inside firms regarding new client acquisition. For those of you who were practicing in the late 1990s, you experienced the Big Six become the Big Five in July 1998 when Price Waterhouse merged with Coopers & Lybrand to form PriceWaterhouse Coopers. The Big Five became Ernst & Young, Deloitte Touche, Arthur Andersen, KPMG and Pricewaterhouse Coopers. The Enron scandal in 2001 resulted in the collapse of Arthur Andersen which created the emergence of the Big Four.

What also happened during this time is the increase in Partners leaving these big firms to go out on their own. The firms had to come up with a strategy for keeping these Partners and the business relationships in-house. Their mission was to have the Partners who were technically trained to do the work (and could walk out with the business) a further distance from the client. According to the Partners who educated me on the topic, this is when the firms decided it was best “for the firms” if the Partners did not have such a close connection to these key decision-makers. This created the emergence of the business development professionals who emerged on the scene. In this way, all new business came in through the Business Development teams which created a relationship layer between the client on the individual Partners doing the work. Today, everything is funneled up through Business Development teams for this very reason. Note that the Business Development professionals often have no tax technical knowledge for a reason.

Marketing budgets are now centered around the firm branding and the Business Development teams, and not any individual Partner these days. With turnover rates at the Big Firms at 25% to 30% annually, it is all about marketing spend on the firm brand. The firms factor in the high turnover rate, so why should they spend marketing dollars on Partners who may leave. The firms marketing dollars are spent to benefit the firm brand…period! This is the truth of it all!

How do the Tax Partners who bring in business of 4M to 10M annually do this with the majority of Partners bringing in 1M-3M?

A little known secret is that the Partners billing the most in revenue annually are most likely paying for marketing their individual expertise “on their own.”  Surprisingly, few people are even aware  this is occurring while the other Partners are scratching their heads trying to figure out how these premium producers generate this much annual revenue.

Let me give you an example of a Partner we know in New York billing 7- 10M annually. He is blowing the doors off for revenue projections this year and is using his own money to do it. He has no patience for waiting to get his waiver from management to make his marketing moves to increase client acquisition. In fact, his attitude now is “I do not need the firm to help me as it takes me too much time to beg them for a waiver to pay for something.” Now I pay for the marketing costs myself and I spend it the way I like.”

A few weeks ago a Tax Partner called me totally frustrated because the firm would not allow him to write an article to be posted without their review of it. This Partner is a leading expert on his topic and the firm holds him back on articles about his knowledge unless it goes through a technical review in Washington National which is an added cost. Therefore it does not happen as the firm will not allow cost of technical review unless it comes out of his budget. He and many other Partners are often blocked by the protocol in their own organizations. It is a slow and painful marketing process for many.

How can firms have only one or few people marketing for all the Partners in the firm?

Recently, I asked this question of several Partners and they all gave me the same response. For the most part, the Marketing Managers are unable to market for the Partners individually. They market the firm’s name brand. If you ask the Marketing Managers about providing extra attention to the tax team, they all basically say the same phrase “We have no more marketing budget left this year.” I have personally called firms in January and February to help gain support for Partners and they say the same. There is no budget.

What are Partners doing today to compete for new clients?

There are a few firms out there who will give their Partners a marketing allowance for the year to use anyway they like. They can take a trip to Europe to meet a client or they can spend it on a conference or any way they like. Once they reach their budget they are out of luck from there on. The firms are really smart though because at the end of the day the marketing budget they provide really comes out of their own salaries at years end. Informed Partners have realized the best way to increase client acquisition is to pay for marketing services themselves. The result for them is no more waiting, no more waivers, no more begging, no more time wasted, and they have complete control over what marketing initiatives they use to  increase client acquisition.

Partners driving many millions in annual revenue are stepping out of the the mindset of wishful thinking and paying for marketing services on their own. For those of you who are already a Partner or building to be a Partner, you should know how the big revenue producers are actually doing business. They are paying for marketing services on their own and this is a big secret few talk about these days. Our goal at TaxConnections is to help Partners with extraordinary knowledge and technical skills break through firm barriers that often stand between them and a steady stream of new clients.

You can be part of the group of smart operating Partners generating extraordinary annual revenue. TaxConnections was built to promote and connect you with new clients. We serve as your public relations team placing the spotlight on you as an individual. You need a public relations platform to increase your visibility and to grow your business. When you are paying for dedicated marketing services, you will get marketing services dedicated to you!

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