Roz Marketing - July/August 2022

Roz Marketing - July/August 2022

Why Aren’t You Giving Your Clients Hope?

The Roz Report

JUL/AUG 2022

888.670.0303 WWW.ROZSTRATEGIES.COM

AUTHORIZED MEMBER 2022

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Get More 5-Star Tax Resolution Reviews

With These Tips From My Dry Cleaner

Believe it or not, I’ve been going to the same dry cleaner every week for the last 10 years. They have me and my habits down to a T. I come in at the same time — around 8 a.m. on Saturday mornings — to drop off my shirts, etc. and pick up fresh ones. The gal behind the counter always has my order ready up front ready for me. All I need to do is sign for it! Well, a few weeks ago, I was a little bit behind schedule. I walked through the door at the dry cleaner at 8:30 a.m. The woman behind the counter gave me a big smile. “I can’t believe you’re late!” she said. I quickly noticed that even though I was, she’d kept my order at the counter for me. As we were finishing our transaction, she said, “Oh, would you be able to write a Yelp review for me?”

I said, “Absolutely! Send me a link and I’ll do it right now.”

I wrote my review right then and there. On my way out the door, I realized she’d made a very smart move: She’d asked for a review of the dry cleaner at a moment when I was obviously happy with their service. This is something every tax professional can learn from! You don’t have to wait until a client’s case is settled to ask for a review on Yelp or Google or a testimonial to share on your website. In fact, you shouldn’t! You should ask for that review You don’t have to wait until a client’s case is settled to ask for a review on Yelp or Google or a testimonial to share on your website. In fact, you shouldn’t!

when your client feels really good about something you’ve done for them.

For example, maybe they had four years of unfiled tax returns when they first called you. Now, you’ve completed them all and reduced the amount they owed significantly. Your client is happy as heck right now. How do you think they would respond if you asked for a review at that moment? They’d probably say the same thing I did at the dry cleaner: “Absolutely! Send me a link and I’ll do it right now.”You can get the same result by asking for a review when you release a garnishment on a client’s paycheck or a levy on their bank account. This strategy will help you gather five-star reviews more often and more quickly. It’s also great insurance if the client’s case doesn’t go as well as you hope.

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Make That Change, But Have a Plan B FOOD FOR THOUGHT

What do you think is one of the biggest impetuses for change is? You might think it’s desire, but actually, it’s not. Pain is a bigger motivator — and then there are the times we’re forced into it. I’ve seen the later of those two happen more times than not. Let’s face it: Most change is hard, uncomfortable, and a lot of work. It might be easier to put up with the unpleasant situation you’re in because you know what to expect. You know what you’re dealing with. To leave your current circumstances is to take a risk. There’s also the fear of making a change and that the new situation will turn out to be worse than the one you’re already in. How bad does something have to be for you to make a change? In Alcoholics Anonymous, they call it “hitting your bottom.” Everyone has a different “bottom.” I personally have a low emotional pain tolerance, so I’ve made some big changes in my life a little quicker than most would. For me, it’s easier to let go of a job I don’t like, end a friendship that isn’t real, or leave a program that’s no longer working for me than be miserable. I have a friend who, several years ago, had a business that was barely paying the bills, and she just kept at it until she was faced with going bankrupt. She was forced to completely re-think how to run her business differently, or she had to get a j-o-b, and guess what? She didn’t want to go and work for someone, and when it came to shutting it all down, she figured out another way to make it work, and today she’s successful and happy. When Michael left his practice and started Roz Strategies over eight years ago, it was a thought in his mind for a couple of years while he was still at his resolution firm. And you know why he finally made the decision to leave and follow his new dream? It wasn’t because he prepared for two years. It’s because it finally got bad enough for him to let go of what was not working for him. And without going into all the details, he didn’t like having 125 employees, and he and his business partner were no longer aligned with how to run the company. To start our company, Roz Strategies, we had to start from scratch, and we had to learn a brand-new business model. For me, it was exhilarating. For Michael, he was a little shell-shocked. Michael and I have shared the story of starting our business many times. Here’s the part you might not know, and the secret to how I always think when I make a change, and that is I always have a Plan B in place in my head. I was excited to learn something

new and to follow Michael’s dream, but I didn’t know if we’d be successful. You can never know the outcome of what you pursue. There are percentages of why something is in your favor for a great outcome, but until you start implementing, you’re not going to know the results. Here’s the other part: If something is on your mind to pursue, it’s most likely you really want to do it. We usually don’t think of pursuing things we don’t want. We’re focused on what we’d like to have in our lives. And sometimes, not knowing if it’s going to work is much better than knowing everything there is to know about something. For me, at the end of my life, I don’t want to look back and say, “Gee, I wish I would have done x, y or z.” So, when I make that pivot, I also have a Plan B in my mind if things don’t turn out as planned. I don’t want to go with Plan B, but for me, it takes the pressure off Plan A. For Michael, Plan B isn’t an option, so he works harder and does whatever it takes to make Plan A happen.

What about you? What’s on your mind that you would like to change but are afraid of pursuing? What’s the worst that can happen, or better yet, what is your Plan B if Plan A doesn’t work out? Whatever it takes for you to follow that dream, it’s worth your time to figure it out, and it’s something to think about. –Roslyn Rozbruch

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PRACTICE CORNER FROM THE

HOW TO RESPOND TO ‘YOU’RE JUST TOO EXPENSIVE’

When it comes to closing the sale, you’ll encounter many types of objections. One of the most common is “You’re too expensive.”This is a completely different objection than “I don’t have the money.” When a prospect raises the objection that you’re too expensive, they don’t want to be taken advantage of. This is an objection where a person doesn’t want to pay over what they think they should pay. They just want to feel that you’re going to be taking care of them by providing the value (relief) they are paying for. So, how do you answer this objection? Well, you first agree and affirm: “Yes, this is a substantial investment of money to resolve your matter.”You also state that their case is going to take 6–10 months or even much longer to resolve. Now, usually, people who bring this objection up have received lowball quotes from some of your competitors. Let’s say you come up with a fee appropriate for their situation, around $7,500 to permanently resolve their IRS case. They may have gotten a lowball quote from someone else for $2,500. And you know it’s going to take 6–10 months or longer to resolve their matter. What I would say to the prospect is “Do you honestly think they are going to put a CPA, an enrolled agent, or an attorney on your case for $250 a month to resolve your problem? They can’t, and they won’t.”

Never drop your price. Never discount your fee. Instead, build value. You build value by saying, “Hey, this is going to take a long time. We’re going to put a professional licensed CPA, enrolled agent, or attorney on your matter until we reach a resolution.” You tell them you’re going to implement a customized plan of resolution to settle their case for the lowest amount allowed by law in the most expeditious fashion possible. You never guarantee a certain dollar amount you’re going to settle the case for. You never guarantee a certain monthly payment amount you’re going to settle the case for. You can quote ranges, but only promise or guarantee things that are in your direct control. The stakes are high for your prospect. The are high because if they don’t resolve the problem, it’s only going to get worse. They’re never going to have a bank account or real property in their name if they don’t get this resolved. Additionally, IRS problems have a habit of ruining all aspects of your prospect’s life, including relationships with their spouse and kids. Your job is to put them at ease. Your job is to build value. Your job is to paint a picture of what life is going to be like with the IRS problem resolved. You are the “bridge” they need to cross to achieve resolution. That’s how you answer the objection of “You’re too expensive.”

–Michael Rozbruch

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Amit Chandel, CPA Founder’s Member Spotlight

Listening to Amit Chandel, owner of Focus CPA Group in Brea, California, talk about why he enjoys tax resolution, you might begin to wonder if you are speaking with a tax attorney, a family counselor, a librarian, or even a doctor. He’ll quickly let you know that he is, indeed, a CPA but one who wears many hats. “Being a CPA was a necessity for me to get into this market, but my role is being an advocate for my clients,” Amit says. “I like the legal aspect of it rather than being a number cruncher. If I was not a CPA, I would have been an attorney.” Amit started doing tax resolution at the same time Michael “Roz” Rozbruch did back in the ‘90s but has only been doing IRS representation full time for the last four years. Amit faced two major obstacles when it came to focusing on tax resolution, one internal and one external. “It was the fear factor of getting it going, plus I had a partner who was not keen on resolution,” Amit explains. And like so many other practitioners in this industry, marketing was his biggest fear as he wondered, “How do I do it? What do I do? How do I bring clients in?” When Amit became a Roz Strategies member, he experienced his own resolution — the resolution of his fears. “Roz with his program has made it so easy!” Amit exclaims. “Roz has taken the fear factor out. I know what to do now. I follow what he says, and clients come in; I’m seeing it. Why re-create the wheel?” Using a variety of marketing strategies, Amit has found success using Facebook Ads, Google Ads, mailers, and lien lists. And after a recent consultation with Roz, he has begun sending out referral letters to other CPAs, enrolled agents, and bookkeepers. This has led to cases where

Amit can stand out as an expert among his CPA colleagues, taking on cases they don’t want to handle. Wearing his favorite“hat”as an advocate for his clients, Amit recently settled two very large income tax cases, one where the client owed over $3 million, and reducing both cases to zero owed. And in another case, he helped out a couple that had gone through two different CPAs while trying to resolve an IRS audit. They were so stressed that they were unable to communicate with each other. Amit put on his “counselor” hat and suggested they go on vacation to settle their nerves first, then he could resolve their case. Amit says, “I always tell people everybody should do the first year of law school and also take a psychology class.”

In 1990, he sat for the CPA exam and, in 1993, opened his own practice, the one with a partner who wasn’t interested in tax resolution. When that partnership dissolved, Amit started over with a new focus. “We have a niche practice. My focus is on resolution and tax planning,”Amit says. “I do not take clients off the street to do a tax return. I do not believe in having 3,000 clients like most professionals in my field do. I work with a smaller number so I can cater to my clients.” When he’s not working with clients, Amit enjoys relaxing with a good book or a movie. He also likes to travel. But for better or worse, he truly enjoys what he does for a living, leading to his third “hat” as librarian. Amit likes to read a lot about taxes and case law. He likes to help other CPAs and says, “I post a lot on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. I’ve created a Dropbox with my own library. Why not disseminate it to my colleagues and friends and use it for people?” As for that fourth “hat”? “The bottom line is to help people mitigate taxes through planning and resolving their problems when they’re in trouble with the IRS,” Amit says. “I tell them, ‘I’m your financial doctor, and you need to let me treat you.’”

Being a CPA was a necessity for me to get into this market, but my role is being an advocate for my clients.

As a matter of fact, Amit completed not just one, but two years of law school. “With two years of law school, I can think on my toes,”he says. “It takes the fear factor out of dealing with the IRS.” Before his two years of law school, Amit completed his bachelor’s degree in India. He immigrated to the United States in 1979 and joined the corporate world, rising to the rank of controller of an aerospace company.

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3 Days of Learning at THE 7TH ANNUAL VIRTUAL TAX RESOLUTION SUCCESS SUMMIT Thursday, Aug. 25 Friday, Aug. 26 Saturday, Aug. 27 Don’t get left behind — this event only takes place once a year! New speakers and new strategies that can take your practice to the next level or jump-start a practice you’ve dreamed about! As always, members receive special pricing. For more information, go to

RozStrategies.com/summit contact our Concierge Ruthie at [email protected], or call our offices at 888-670-0303.

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SHOUT

... continued from Cover

The woman at the dry cleaner made a second smart move when she asked for my review, too. Did you catch it? She asked me if I’d leave a review for her , not for the company. That capitalized on the good relationship she’d built with me by having my clothes ready up front week after week. It also inspired me to mention her name in the review — which I did! If you have staff at your tax company, they can use this tactic with the clients they help. It will make them feel good and make you look good, too, by showing you have a staff on hand. I’m guessing the gal at the dry cleaner asked me for a review because she (or her boss) knew I was a longtime customer with a high lifetime value (LTV). I decided to do the math myself. My average bill at the cleaner is $50 a week. Multiply that by 52 weeks in a year, and I spend about $2,400 with them annually. Over the last 10 years, I’ve become a $24,000 client! The dry cleaner has probably been making decisions about my service based on that number for years — which is the beauty of knowing your client’s LTV. If you don’t already run these numbers for your own business, I’d definitely recommend it. Each of your tax resolution clients is worth more than their case value. An individual tax resolution case might make you $5,000, but if that client becomes a tax preparation client as well, their LTV goes up. That also increases if you cross-sell additional services to them like insurance and other advisory-type products. You should treat every single one of your clients like royalty, just like I said in last month’s newsletter. But calculating their lifetime value will help you identify the big fish you absolutely need to keep pampered and happy. Treat them right and plan carefully, and you’ll end up with as many five-star reviews as my dry cleaner!

Congratulations to Peter Marchiano for the release of his new book, “The Tax Resolution Playbook: The Offensive and Defensive Strategies You Need to Win Against the IRS.” Another congrats for having it hit the Amazon. com Best Seller list! Last but not least, thank you for the dedication to the “Roz Man.”

Kudos to Patrick Noone for signing five new clients in one day and seven more in the same week as a result of his radio advertisements! Now, that’s what we call Supercharging Your Profits!® Way to go, Mike Ornelas , for re-purposing a lead magnet, which was used as a Yahoo.com finance article. This is great information for someone who is researching or thinking about hiring you to handle their IRS problem. Kudos to Joaquin Torres for having his client’s civil penalties of over $110,000 for late filing of 1099-S of a title company completely deleted! Way to go, David Tudor , for first saving your client from the train wreck of a case from a previous tax preparer who didn’t know what he was doing and settling your client’s tax court case and saving him $67,296. Congrats to Dawn Plagianes for the success of her first audit and reducing her client’s tax debt from $56,000 to $6,509! Good for you, Beth Gray , for retaining three new clients you received from mailing the referral letter to the PTIN list and for mailing out

–Michael Rozbruch

Platinum Mastermind members working hard and having fun!

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OUTS ! your newsletter every month. And congrats on quitting your job to pursue tax resolution full time. Remember, the money is in the follow-up! Keep mailing out those letters and newsletters!

High-five to Melinda Tolbert who was retained by a law firm to audit 75 client files. They were impressed with Melinda’s marketing and the systems she implemented that are from the Tax Resolution Domination System and Toolkit and from being a Roz Strategies Founder’s member. She even enlarged the Roadmap to Resolution and covered one wall of her office with it. Kudos to Allen McMillan , who is new to the tax resolution business and signed two clients. Congrats to Timalyn

Bowens for starting her own podcast, “Tax Relief With Timalyn Bowens.” High-five to Rick Ferretti and Daniel Cotts for mailing out your referral letters.

Do you have a story or picture to share with us about something you’ve

implemented, a client you’ve helped with a tax problem, or anything else you’d like to share? If you do, email it to [email protected], and we will give a Shout Out to you!

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11271 Ventura Blvd. #612 Studio City, CA 91604 Inside This Issue pg 1 ∙

The Best Time to Ask for Reviews

Make That Change, But Have a Plan B

pg 2 ∙

How to Respond to ‘You’re Just Too Expensive’

pg 3 ∙

Member Spotlight

pg 4 ∙

Success Summit

pg 5 ∙

Shout Outs!

pg 6 ∙

Celebrity Pays $650K Per Month in Back Taxes

pg 8 ∙

IRS Terror Tale of the Month Steve Harvey Lands in an IRS Feud

On “Family Feud,” comedian Steve Harvey mediates two families duking it out for cash and prizes. But in the early 2000s, the unsuspecting host found out he was trapped in a feud of his own — with the IRS. Apparently, Harvey’s accountant at the time was taking checks that were meant for the IRS and pocketing them for himself. The accountant was able to get away with this theft for seven years then, he died! When another accountant in the office took over Harvey’s account, she discovered her celebrity client was a victim of theft from his previous accountant.

— and they did! For the next seven years, the six-time Daytime Emmy Award winner paid the agency $650,000 per month to repay his debt and cover his current taxes. “I just went to work. I took every gig and

When Harvey found out he owed the IRS $20 million in back taxes, he was as dumbfounded as a “Feud” contestant.

every contract, and I worked and worked. I hung in there, and I had a big deal come through in 2012, and I got free. And it’s been okay ever since,” he said. Today, Harvey has a net worth of $200 million. Thanks to hard work and a savvy accountant, the only game show-level drama he sees these days is on“Celebrity Family Feud”and“The Steve Harvey Morning Show.”

“I sat my wife down and she cried, and I held her, and I told her it was going to be alright; I was going to get us out,” he told Deseret News.

Being the good guy that he’s known to be, Harvey and his new accountant were determined to square things up with the IRS

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