Fear of the front of the room

I know many people have a fear of speaking. Yes, it is a real thing. I used to be that way myself. I remember the first time I did a presentation in front of a professional group.

The CPA firm I was working for in Orlando was putting on their own CPE event for mostly clients. They asked me to do a tax presentation. I did not think much of it as I prepared the presentation. But the day of the event i was scared, well, crapless. I was so nervous. I had huge knots and butterflies and any other cliche about that in my stomach.

That was the year that the TV game show with John McEnroe came out called “The Chair“. The contestant sat in this big chair and they were supposed to answer some rapid fire trivia questions. If they did not answer in a set amount of time, something bad would happen and they would lose.

I told the audience before I started that I felt like that with a funny twist and they laughed. That broke the ice for me and helped me feel more comfortable and I made it through the presentation. Afterwards, many of them were very complimentary to me and told me that I did a great job.

I have since grown to enjoy being in front of the room. In fact, if I could do it every day, that would be my new dream job.

My suggestion to you if you have a fear of speaking, start with webinars (where you can hide behind the computer screen) or do live seminars in front of your clients (a more friendly atmosphere). But the best way to get yourself out there is to get in front of people and speak. You never know who might be in your audience sometimes and it could lead to great things.

The next big speaking gig, that great client you looking for or that high paying job that will help you live more comfortably. If you are looking for some support, feel free to reach out to me.

Getting them to raise their hands

When you go to speak to a group of individuals, usually there is a reason you are speaking to that particular group.

Sometimes it is just for exposure. Sometimes it is just the ability to speak in front of a group to hone your speaking skills. But more often than not, people speak in front of a group to get business from it.

When you get in front of the group, you need to make a compelling case for them to listen. Start by telling stories. Sometimes you tell them the woe is me story or about a client you had that you helped. In my case, I would talk about a strategy that saved my client a lot of money or how I got them out of trouble with the IRS.

But once you get them listening, let them know what you have to offer. That you have limited appointments and you cannot work with everyone (which is true). Give them a set of facts or criteria that “if this is you”, then you are the perfect person to work with me.

One way to get them to raise their hands is by offering some lead magnet. A special report, book or ebook, or even a cheat sheet or checklist. Have them fill out a paper “order” form or have them go to a landing page to put in their information. BTW, having them do it online will save the administrative time of having them write it down and someone inputting it into the CRM later.

Or even better, have them drop a business card in a basket, bowl or dish to win some kind of freebie (gift card, gadget, free consultation, etc.). Who doesn’t want a freebie.

Do the things to get them to raise their hands and make them your next client. Next time we will discuss what “Follow-up” means.

Speaking to acquire clients

As a tax professional, if you are looking to acquire clients in a quicker fashion, you really need to go out and speak to groups. I am not talking about getting in front of 1,000 people to start (but if you are up to it, go for it). I am talking about getting in front of groups of 10-50 people.

So what groups do you speak to…Get in front of the people you like to have as clients. If you like doctors, then get in front of groups of them. If you like, auto mechanics, find out where they meet and speak to them.

If you like real estate, get out and talk to the local real estate brokerage offices or talk to local real estate investor groups.

By speaking to groups, you are doing what is called One-to-Many selling. This allows you to sell to a bigger group of people at one time. Next time I will tell you the various techniques you can use to get these people to raise their hand and buy from you.

Real Estate Tax Pro

Welcome to the Real Estate Tax Pro!

This site is dedicated to the Tax Professional and their efforts to market to the Real Estate industry.

My name is Dan Henn and I am a CPA in Florida that caters to the Real Estate industry. I look for quality clients who appreciate my advice (and listen to it), value my time, and believes they get value from my fee schedule.

If you are a tax professional that caters to this niche group, then this is the place for you.

Here we can teach you the various technical aspects of the Real Estate industry as well as marketing techniques to acquire high paying quality clients who will value you and your time and gladly pay you for it.

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