Push through the lull and kickstart your pipeline

On the other hand, after April 15, the firm’s needs for marketing support generally decreases, and marketing professionals can turn this lull into an opportunity to focus on strategy and long-term marketing goals. If you have major projects in process like a re-branding of the firm, website development, or proposal development, it’s likely that these projects have hit a bottleneck that you’ll need to fight through, now that April 15 is behind us.

1. Break the bottleneck
   If your major initiatives have stalled during tax season due to needing partner feedback, these bottlenecks need to be cleared out as soon as possible. Regardless of who’s responsible, these projects ultimately fall on the marketing team. Many partners take vacations in May and June, so gaining their attention before they “check out” is critical. If you report directly to the managing partner, don’t be afraid to get their help to push these things along. Clearing up your bottlenecks will help you complete these projects, get them off your plate, and allow you to focus on growth.
2. Increase communications
   While CPAs think of May as the calm after the storm, in many cases, a storm may still be brewing with clients. It’s impossible to get through tax season without a few clients feeling some stress or uncertainty with the process. Increasing communication, both at a corporate and individual level, can help you identify potential problems and take corrective action. Remember, statistics show that a portion of your prospects or warm leads may be looking for an alternative to their current firm. Keeping your firm top-of-mind by delivering value-added information will position your frm to capitalize on opportunities to add new clients.
3. Push the pipeline
   Depending on your role within the firm, May and June are great time to “kickstart the pipeline.” Encourage the partners in your firm to review their prospects as soon as possible after April 15, whether formally in group meetings or informally on their own. Reach out to warm leads shortly after tax season.
4. Harvest your knowledge
   While for many firms, extensions cause tax season to drag through the summer, highly profitable firms will spend the summer focusing on high-value consulting services. Knowing which services will bring value requires specific knowledge of both the service and each client’s situation. Encourage staff to discuss potential opportunities with your partners. Also, consider scheduling internal training where your partners indicate a client need that could not be addressed.
5. Think consulting
   With the firm’s management likely thinking about consulting projects over the summer, it’s important that the marketing team adapts to provide proper support. Go around to your partner group to review their consulting goals. Discuss how you can assist them in their business development efforts, whether it’s by providing materials, whitepapers, success stories, event promotion, public relations, or in creating valuable thought leadership pieces. Educate your clients about opportunities to establish their team as uniquely qualified in a particular service.

These five steps can be taken throughout the year, but they’re especially useful to remember during the lull after April 15.