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Balancing the Future Ep. 29 - From Brand to ROI: A Guide to Modern CPA Marketing with Eric Elmore
237 Plays4 days ago
Marketing executive Eric Elmore distills decades of experience into actionable guidance for CPA firms of any size. Drawing parallels between political campaigns and professional services, he shows how to craft a distinct brand persona, deploy laser-focused digital tactics, and harness CRM data to prove ROI. Elmore tackles common CPA roadblocks—seasonal crunches, reluctance to self-promote—and offers low-cost wins like thought-leadership blogs and local board service. His mantra—“be kind, give first, and track everything”—illustrates how consistent, metrics-driven storytelling can turn prospects into loyal advocates.
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Transcript
Introduction of Eric Elmore
00:00:09
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of Balancing the Future. My name is Chris Mitchell, and I'm here today with Eric Elmore, and he's a marketing executive. And he's the first marketing executive I think I've talked with on Balancing Future. So great welcome.
00:00:24
Speaker
um My pleasure.
Eric's Background and Transition to Marketing
00:00:26
Speaker
I always start out by sharing something on the individual. But what I've learned is that I often don't get it right. OK, so please elaborate on your background, your career and the highlights and things that ah that are of interest to you.
00:00:41
Speaker
So I'll turn it over you to yeah help the audience get get to know you better. So yeah, first, thanks for having me. I'm really, really excited about this. This is great. um You know, i grew up in the New York area.
00:00:55
Speaker
ah wanting to be a governor. That's what I wanted to do. All right. So I had a career track all planned and everything for that. Graduated with a degree in political science and history.
00:01:07
Speaker
ah And then ah i did a little bit and in in politics and found that it was a little, I was a little disillusioned. I didn't really like it as much as I thought I would.
00:01:18
Speaker
ah So I got involved with campaigns, political campaigns. And very quickly realized that running a political campaign is running a marketing operation it really is uh you're building the brand of someone you're making sure that the right channels have all their information on it as much as you can uh you're you're creating a character for a person and you're making sure that it is it's it's it's very well received by the public uh
00:01:51
Speaker
The price point is the vote, right? That's what you're trying to get is the vote as opposed to someone signing on the dotted line and buying. and So I then parlayed that into a marketing career.
Corporate Experience and Strategic Marketing Emphasis
00:02:03
Speaker
And I started out um you know in the New York area as well and ah worked my way up to working for a firm, Ernst & Young, which I'm sure everyone is aware of.
00:02:14
Speaker
I did that in New York for a couple of years. And that was on the consulting side, though not on the accounting side. and And then I moved into a firm in the Philadelphia area. So I packed up the family. We moved down to Philadelphia area and ah worked for a tax firm there for a few years and built a brand there that was one of the most well-respected brands before it was purchased by a larger firm.
00:02:41
Speaker
And at that point, I had been a member of my state CPA society for a while. I'm not a CPA, but I've been in marketing my whole career. um And I just moved over to the to the state society side now and working on marketing and business development there.
00:02:58
Speaker
So that's pretty much the journey. You know, when I think about marketing and I try to understand, you know, how important it is as relates to the business. And often we think, well, business just happens.
00:03:10
Speaker
It doesn't. You have to be present in the market the right way. What does it mean to you when I say marketing and business and kind of what a priority is or the priority should be as it relates to marketing? What do what do you think?
00:03:22
Speaker
So working with CPAs. who are undoubtedly some of the smartest people I've ever met in my life. You can be as smart as you can be.
00:03:35
Speaker
You can know your topics really well. You can really deliver the best service there is. But if nobody knows that, then you're not going to grow.
00:03:48
Speaker
So you've got to take everything that you stand for wrap it up at a nice bow called brand, and then you've got to get on your megaphone and you've got to start telling the world about that brand.
00:04:02
Speaker
And if you can get others to tell the world about your brand as well, along that journey, you're going to even be more successful. ah So what it means to me is making sure you've got people who understand the importance of getting their story told out in the marketplace and understanding that that is one of the key factors that's going to attract and drive people inbound to you.
Evolution of Marketing in the Digital Age
00:04:32
Speaker
ah We were talking off camera earlier about, you know, the handshake and the lunch and the golf meetings and, and those are all great. It's all part of the package.
00:04:43
Speaker
But today, it's just changed so much. um Online retargeting advertising, ah you know geofencing advertising, social media has stepped up dramatically.
00:04:57
Speaker
ah People have channels where they actually almost build little novellas and stories about their business. um And you've got to really understand that that's all part of the process of brand building.
00:05:12
Speaker
And if you're not involved in that, your competitors are going to have an edge on you that you're just not going to understand and be able to recover from. You know, um I've launched the business and my first step was to figure the marketing out.
00:05:27
Speaker
okay Because I understand the value. We have a lot of entrepreneurs that come on the show and they share about their strategy, you know, and they often don't talk about marketing. Right.
00:05:38
Speaker
Help these entrepreneurs understand, you know, a simple step by step. that they can take our strategy in order just to get things launched, to have that initial success, to be recognized the right way on platforms, help educate the audience on what that might look like. Sure. I mean, I, I've been part of strategy sessions myself where marketing is just not discussed at all.
00:06:00
Speaker
And I've got to raise my hand and go, when are we going to talk about this really important component, uh, of, of, of a business of strategy? um
00:06:10
Speaker
Business owners tend to include in the strategy the piece of the business that they know best and center everything around that. Outside of that, it's very difficult for them to understand why things that they aren't really in tune with should be part of their strategy.
00:06:31
Speaker
Mm-hmm. So you've got to first make sure you have a leadership that values the marketing piece, um among other pieces of the strategy.
Building a Brand and Effective Communication
00:06:44
Speaker
But for this conversation's sake, we're talking about marketing. They've got to value it.
00:06:49
Speaker
And then you've got to begin by doing your analysis on the market, right? You're a CPA. Okay, we think that that's a pretty easy thing to understand what you're doing and what you have to offer to the market.
00:07:03
Speaker
but there's niches out there within the CPA world. Are you gonna do it all? Are you gonna focus on just a few niches? Are you gonna be tax forward? Are you gonna be audit forward? gonna bookkeeping off forward? Are you gonna be cash forward?
00:07:17
Speaker
What are you going to do? What do you wanna be known as? What's the road? What's the roadmap look like to building a brand that is going to make people understand that this is what I do.
00:07:28
Speaker
i do it better than anyone else or uniquely. I do it. ah And you ought to come and talk to me about the way that I do it so that it can help your company grow.
00:07:41
Speaker
That's all putting together a persona of your firm. So you have to create this persona of who you are, who you cater to, and why you do it better than others.
00:07:52
Speaker
Then you've got to figure out how you're going to tell that story. Part of that is using some of the tools out there, social media, online advertising, ah podcasts, if you will, but there's so many different ways to do it now.
00:08:06
Speaker
And it's ever evolving. But then the partners and the owners have to be involved too. They've got to put a face to this character that you're putting out there into the market. So that's where some of the old school stuff of pressing the flesh, shaking hands, getting the leather out there on the streets, going to the golf outings and and taking folks out to dinner, that layered on top of the information that you're already putting out there in the market creates this echo chamber that people really feel comfortable
00:08:39
Speaker
hearing they're They're going to feel much more comfortable coming to you when they've heard from their colleagues. They've heard from ads they've seen online. They've seen social media posts that kind of highlight what you do and talk about it at a very high level.
00:08:55
Speaker
And then when they get to know you, hopefully your reputation precedes you. And it's not a truly cold call. They will have heard about you and understand a little bit about you.
00:09:07
Speaker
And then you review all of that that you've done and you do it again. so i call it plan, do, review. You plan your strategy, your marketing strategy.
00:09:19
Speaker
You do it and then you review what you've done and see where you can make your tweaks. And then you do it again. But it's got to be constant and consistent as well.
CRM Systems and Tracking Business Opportunities
00:09:30
Speaker
You know, when I think about ROI and if you're working with firms, the partners want to know where's the ah ROI? i'm like How do you explain it to them? How do you help them see the ROI in that equation?
00:09:41
Speaker
Fortunately, Chris, there's systems that can allow you to really track them well. So one of the first things I would say is if you don't already have it, if you're a firm, get yourself a CRM system.
00:09:55
Speaker
Get a CRM system that can not just manage all of the pieces of who these targeted audiences are, but make sure you are tracking every opportunity that comes through the door.
00:10:09
Speaker
From how they found out about you to what their interest is in varied level of service and products that you offer. um who else in the firm is involved in that, and make sure everybody in the firm who's involved in the business development process can see across all of those things.
00:10:30
Speaker
So you don't have any issues with someone going in to speak to a prospect that may not be theirs or or may already have something on the docket that's working.
00:10:41
Speaker
So I would say first and foremost, get yourself a CRM system. Use it. Make sure... in the crime is that so many people get one and then don't use it correctly uh and then blame it on the system uh and it's not i mean every there are varying levels of crm systems but to for the most part they all work really well if you're the engine behind it making it work Get a system, get everybody on board with using it, and make sure you are tracking from the very beginning where your business is coming from.
00:11:16
Speaker
So when it does sell, you now can quantify that ROI. You can put things in there like how much you've spent to get this business. So now you can know what your cost to acquire is.
00:11:29
Speaker
Now you'll start to see patterns costs to acquire. That kind of a business should be X. So now you can plan a little better for how you actually move forward with trying to acquire a business or a client that's in that specific area.
00:11:43
Speaker
CRM systems are amazing. And I, you know, i can't talk enough about them, um but you definitely have to use them. So when I think about um the CRM system and I think about just being able to embrace marketing the right way, also know their challenges.
Challenges and Strategies for CPAs in Marketing
00:12:01
Speaker
And they're just sometimes folks that are hesitant. What are some of those challenges? What are those roadblocks? What do they look like that you've encountered that inhibit their ability to truly, you know, socialize their brand the right way?
00:12:13
Speaker
So with CPAs, CPAs, our industry, our profession has a a reputation of not being the most people forward ah people, if you will.
00:12:31
Speaker
The reputation and the mindset is that a CPA is in a corner with a computer. They're knee deep in Excel and and and that's what they want to do. They want to deliver um the product and service that their firm offers to the client with as very little contact with the client as they possibly can.
00:12:51
Speaker
that's That's the bad rap. That's not the case that I see today. If it has been in the past, maybe, but it certainly isn't today. I think more and more of them understand that the biggest challenge is getting out from behind that desk being an active part of the business development process in the firm.
00:13:15
Speaker
Whether that's going out face to face and meeting people, whether that's having lunches, playing golf, whether that's engaging the marketing and PR departments or teams on your in your firm and saying, hey, how can I get a little bit more exposure for um my tax team or for my audit team? How can I get more information out about that?
00:13:36
Speaker
Can I write some blogs for us? can i Can I give my expert opinion about what's going on, what that bill looks like that's in Congress right now? Give my expert opinion on it and how I think it's going to impact some of our clients because I really do believe it is.
00:13:51
Speaker
This is a really good way to get your CPAs and your partners involved because it does not ask them to go out and press the flesh, but they still get their expertise known.
00:14:06
Speaker
I have a saying that one of my old bosses used to tell me all the time, and that is, you can't be a thought leader if you're not telling people what you think. So you've got to make sure you're out there and and telling people what you think.
00:14:20
Speaker
So that first challenge is making sure you are engaging your partners in your firm. Mm-hmm. in the business development process. And that is a challenge.
00:14:34
Speaker
CPA world has seasons that just come and when they come on tax season, audit season, you know end of year planning, they come on really strong and CPAs are very focused when they're doing that.
00:14:50
Speaker
It's very hard to get them to understand that I need you to work hard in the marketing peace and the business development piece during those seasons.
00:15:02
Speaker
Very hard for them to understand. They think marketing is done at a certain time a year. And then during those busy seasons, you reap the benefits of it. But you need to be out there marketing while you're actually in the throes of those busy seasons.
00:15:20
Speaker
That's a challenge to get CPAs understand. Another thing to get CPAs to understand is a challenge is the different types of platforms for marketing out there.
00:15:33
Speaker
A lot don't understand how online marketing works, how digital marketing works, how inbound marketing works, and how it is almost catered perfectly for CPA firms.
00:15:47
Speaker
Really, it is. um And then understanding how you know they can actually help their process by engaging some AI tools, right? Some some generative AI tools can help them really ah produce some marketing products, not products, I'm sorry, produce some marketing content that may take them a very long time to think of just on them on their own.
00:16:15
Speaker
You know, get a little help from ai out there. ah don't Don't be afraid of it. Lean into it. Get a little help from it. I'd ask that you review what you come up with from there to make sure that it's it's all correct.
00:16:28
Speaker
But man, that can really get you started and save you hours of time in getting information out there. You know, when I think about the size of firms that are out there, and I'm talking about the big four, and you go all the way down to the two or three person firm.
00:16:44
Speaker
um What are the big boys getting right when it comes to marketing? I see their stuff looks really good. But how can the two to three person firm you know, gain and understanding how marketing can help them be as successful.
00:17:00
Speaker
You don't need to be on every other commercial or whatever, but you need exposure. So what are the big boys doing right that we can do as a smaller firm and going out and making sure that we're we're sharing our story the right way?
00:17:12
Speaker
Well, part of it, Chris, is what you just said. there Though people think they are, they're not everywhere. They're being very particular about where they are exposed and where they are, ah where they're putting their brand out there too.
00:17:28
Speaker
There was a time when you know you could sit on a Sunday afternoon and you could see a Deloitte commercial and an E&Y commercial and an an Anderson commercial, dating myself there. But there was a time you can just sit through and watch and see about three or four of those commercials.
00:17:42
Speaker
You just don't see them anymore. They've shifted the way that they're doing marketing. They're getting in front of the people that they want to get in front of. ah in a much more targeted way, extreme targeted marketing online, ah retargeting marketing that makes sure that if you're coming to their website and you' you're you're clicking on help with tax, they're going to chase you around the internet for a couple of for a couple of weeks with an ad that is very specific to what you just clicked on.
00:18:14
Speaker
And that's something a small firm can do. It's not a lot of money. As you scale it up, it it can be very costly. But if you're a small firm that's in a ah smaller region or even just a ah metro area, boy, you can really target that area really well for pennies on the dollar.
00:18:36
Speaker
So that's one thing that the larger firms are getting right. The other thing they're getting right is, again, they're they're not flying everywhere across the country and and trying to be at every single show that has something that they're that that that may be of interest.
00:18:51
Speaker
They are methodically choosing where they want to be. And that may be focused on recruiting. It may be focused on ah much longer.
00:19:03
Speaker
Events that have fewer people, but they're the right people. so the The larger firms, the big four, are certainly not interested in talking to ah organizations that are of a certain dollar value or a certain um ah ah revenue number.
00:19:25
Speaker
They want to be where... chairman of the boards are. They want to be where CFOs are of the Fortune 500, Fortune 1000, certainly where public companies are.
00:19:37
Speaker
theyre They're very specific about where they want to be. They carve that out and they don't deviate from it. They commit to it for years wow to make sure that brand is built.
00:19:53
Speaker
And then the last thing that they do well, that I think they put They're rainmakers where the decision makers are.
00:20:05
Speaker
What I've seen as genius is as partners roll off of their but roll off of partnerships and retire, they go on the boards. That is correct. Yeah.
00:20:18
Speaker
They go on the boards, ah they serve as you know audit chairs on boards, and and they have a tremendous amount of respect from their fellow board members because they've spent X amount of years as a partner at a Deloitte or at a KPMG.
00:20:33
Speaker
So they have a lot of respect from their board members, and their board members listen to them. um And it's just a really great way to kind of have the business come back into the firm.
00:20:45
Speaker
Absolutely. it's just And by the way, that's something smaller businesses can do too. Your partners, your managing partners can serve on local boards that have to make these kinds of decisions around ah who's going to do our audit, who's going to you know do our tax returns.
00:21:09
Speaker
And I'm not just talking about nonprofits. i mean, you can you can do that in many different ways, but those are ways that the larger firms are doing it right. And to a certain degree, smaller firms can actually mimic that and have similar success.
00:21:25
Speaker
you know Given the economic times, and you know where I'm going with this, because I think marketing has to look different now.
Marketing Strategies in Economic Uncertainty
00:21:32
Speaker
Does it look different during times like this? I'm not saying this is the worst of times, but it is different.
00:21:38
Speaker
And things are rapidly changing. And ah you know all of the noise out there as relates to tariffs and all these other things that are coming in the slowdown in the economy. yeah Is there a different strategy for a time like today? Yeah.
00:21:52
Speaker
I kind of see it a little differently. is There's one thing I learned working at at accounting firms, and that is when things like the possibility of tariffs come up, when the possibility of a new tax bill comes up.
00:22:08
Speaker
um We used to jokingly call that the CPA Full Employment Act, right? it's that's Whenever there's any kind of uncertainty there, because of the reputation that CPAs have built with their clients, where clients completely trust them,
00:22:26
Speaker
they're among the first people that a client's going to come to and say, how is this going to impact me? What can I do to avoid what people are saying out there about how this is going excuse me going to negatively impact me?
00:22:39
Speaker
um and And CPAs are you know really adept at looking across the entire business to see how that can impact them. So yes, these kinds of Policies may have an adverse impact on some businesses, but I think the relationship that they have developed with their CPAs is actually going to get stronger because of it.
00:23:09
Speaker
I don't think people will kind of go you know, i don't I don't need to spend as much with Chris this year as I i have in the past. I think if they're smart, they'll double down and say, i really do need to work with the team that understands the numbers of my business and understands tax law and understands all these kind of things that can help me kind of navigate this better and come out even better.
00:23:36
Speaker
ah From an accounting firm standpoint, I think you know they need to think more about being out there as ah in terms of marketing than ever before.
00:23:52
Speaker
ah To pitch yourself as that trusted advisor who really does know and understand the impacts of these things that are going to be coming down the pipe. And I think that the more that they do that,
00:24:04
Speaker
the more brand ah the more brand ah you know knowledge that gets out there, they will absolutely see that more businesses will come to them to help them out.
00:24:17
Speaker
When I think about a marketing resource and I know that your services aren't cheap. OK, it's hard to have a resource on board that can just be designated for marketing.
00:24:30
Speaker
Yeah. So if I'm a one or three or five person shop, where do I go? Where do I find a resource? How can I get access yeah to someone who has that skill set and that talent? What would that look like within within a smaller firm?
00:24:43
Speaker
Well, I mean, a really small firm, if you're talking like 10 people or less, um it may not make sense to have somebody on board. i think the first thing you need to think about is, what's my immediate long-term growth plan here at this firm?
00:25:01
Speaker
If I'm looking to kind of you know double my size, double my revenue in the next you know two to four years, I'm going to have to aggressively do some kind of marketing.
00:25:12
Speaker
Whether that's bringing somebody on board, which may not be the answer at that point, but certainly look at a third party and getting a contracted marketing organization to help you with understanding who you are learning who you are, and then getting out there and helping you.
00:25:29
Speaker
um There's also, you know, there's that earned marketing and and and earned media yeah that you can get out there um with ah with with public relations that really doesn't cost you anything. um But, you you know, you've got, you know, you write blogs on your website.
00:25:49
Speaker
Send those blogs to the local media. Send those blogs to the people who cover business, taxes, ah that that cover finance. Send those blogs to them on a regular basis.
00:26:03
Speaker
That doesn't cost you anything but a finger pressing down on the send button. And you'll find that over time, they do keep and collect some of those, especially ones that resonate with a story.
00:26:15
Speaker
And they'll come back to you and say, hey, you wrote this blog about two or three months ago on X, and I'm doing a story about that right now. And I'd like your input on it, if you don't mind. That's that free earned marketing, that earned ah public relations um exposure that you can get that doesn't really cost you anything. And you don't really need any a resource in-house to do that.
00:26:37
Speaker
ah So lot of things they can do. First thing I would suggest, think about what your growth strategy is. And if you really want to grow at that kind of aggressive level, and if you do, you definitely need to think about bringing on a marketing resource in-house um or ah contracting with one that is a third party.
00:26:59
Speaker
You know, when I think about your and we're going to back up a little bit or move forward, however you want to look at it. And we're going to talk about your career and the success that you've had.
Career Advice and Starting in Marketing
00:27:07
Speaker
And it's really I think the audience needs to understand advice that you've received to get to where you are today. Yeah.
00:27:15
Speaker
Share the best advice or just advice that you've received that helped you as relates to your career.
00:27:23
Speaker
Yeah, i you know. My former, one of my former bosses who is just a wonderful mentor still to today, um ah CPA, her name is Jane Scaccetti, pretty well known in Philadelphia markets ah for being one of the, I think she was the first tax partner at a large accounting firm in the entire, first female tax partner ah in the entire Philadelphia market.
00:27:54
Speaker
um She's just been wonderful. And one of the things that she has always told me is to be kind. Right? I like that. Be kind.
00:28:05
Speaker
Listen before you respond.
00:28:10
Speaker
And to make sure that you are giving more than you're receiving. Okay. so one of the best ways to kind of ingratiate someone personally with yourself, um especially as a business development person, where when you're knocking on a door, people are automatically thinking the first thing you're looking to do is sell something.
00:28:33
Speaker
ah And she's like, find out what their needs are and give them a couple of freebies. Hook them up with someone that that you think would be advantageous for them to meet.
00:28:46
Speaker
um Link them with you know a service or a person or an organization that's going to help their business grow that doesn't necessarily have a direct impact on you, on our bottom line, on our revenue.
00:29:03
Speaker
Because the path to being a successful business development person is to get folks to know, like, and trust you in that order.
00:29:17
Speaker
um Getting them to know you is is is about sharing who you are, asking them about who they are. Nothing's on the table to be bought or sold at that point. It's just kind of getting to know them.
00:29:31
Speaker
um Over time, the more that they get to know you, you hope that they get to like you. And the more that they like you, they'll certainly begin to trust you and start to ask you questions.
00:29:42
Speaker
What do you think I should be doing in this particular area? So it all started with be kind. In fact, it's kind of one of her personal values is to always start with being kind.
00:29:59
Speaker
And I think that's a really valuable piece of information. I have used that. forever ah since i've known her um and then understanding that it's the the formula is getting folks to know like and trust you you know i think as this um ah this podcast continues to grow and we're talking with folks like you and always ask about the career but i also ask for you to kind of share with the audience Given the path that you've been on for marketing, how can others get into the profession? mean, what does it look like? I mean, I know what it looks like as a CPA, but what does it look like for marketing professional?
00:30:45
Speaker
Boy, there's a lot of there's a lot to unwrap with that question. you know let me No, no, no. Let me try to answer that for you. All fairness. Let me try to answer that for you. um it it Like anything else, it ought to be a passion.
00:30:59
Speaker
It ought to be something that you really feel that you can deliver for someone.
00:31:06
Speaker
And it all starts with selling yourself.
00:31:12
Speaker
You've got be able to prove to folks that you're able to to do this. ah And whether that's through the experience that you have or if you're entry level, you know really selling yourself hard. I'll tell you a very quick story about my transition from political kind of person to to marketing.
00:31:33
Speaker
um I went to a large Fortune 500 company and my resume only had political information on it. a political experience on it, ah running a local campaign, writing content and speeches for a local campaign, um a couple of local campaigns.
00:31:50
Speaker
And the the gentleman who actually turned out over the course of years to be a magnificent mentor of mine, he just said, you know, what am I going to do with this? You're coming in here for a sales and marketing job and, you know, I don't see any experience there.
00:32:05
Speaker
um And I took a gamble and I kind of went all in and said, well, I don't think you're really looking at it hard enough.
00:32:17
Speaker
Because there are tremendous parallels between running a political campaign or being a part of a political campaign and marketing a product or service or selling a product or service.
00:32:30
Speaker
And I went down this list just of of what the parallels were till I got to a point where he goes, You sold me. You're great. I understand it. You're you're great.
00:32:42
Speaker
Never saw it that way. And the way you articulated that was great. And I can absolutely see you articulating our product and service in that same kind of manner.
00:32:53
Speaker
I love it. So that was all about selling me first, um almost in a desperate way. right It felt like i was backed against the wall.
00:33:04
Speaker
um But I had to sell myself and demonstrate that what you're asking me to do, I've really already done it. I haven't done it for dollars. I've done it for votes.
00:33:17
Speaker
you know So, yeah. So I think that – and I had a passion for it. I was passionate when I spoke about it. So I think having that passion, being able to sell yourself while still being yourself, certainly don't try to be someone that you're not.
00:33:36
Speaker
ah Don't try to sell a skill set that you don't have because that will unravel quick. After day one at work, they will find that out pretty quickly. But yeah, I would say that that's the case.
00:33:48
Speaker
um For accountants, One way that they definitely need to think about is they need to think about the marketing and business development piece from day one.
00:34:05
Speaker
Okay. ah From being an intern, from day one, especially if you have a desire to run through the organization to becoming a partner.
00:34:21
Speaker
You don't start selling when you become a partner and you become a partner partly because you've demonstrated absolutely that you can bring business in to the to the organization. So the sooner you start to think about that and balance that with you know the fact that you've you've actually got 10,000 tasks to do around you know ah accounting.
00:34:42
Speaker
The sooner that you can balance that and learn that that's really important and that that is being tracked, if you definitely want to move your way up through an organization and be a partner, that is going to be something you're going to need to do.
00:34:56
Speaker
And then moving that outside of accounting in general.
00:35:02
Speaker
My father used to tell me, If you can link yourself successfully with the revenue engine of the organization that you're in, you will never have a problem at that organization.
00:35:13
Speaker
You have got to make sure that you are linked into the revenue generating engine. You've got to demonstrate that what you're doing is putting dollars into that pipeline.
00:35:24
Speaker
And if you can consistently do that and articulate how you can do that and demonstrate it with documentation, et cetera, ah ROI, demonstrating that ah ROI. If you can consistently do that, you will never have a problem with where you work.
00:35:40
Speaker
You know, Eric, this has been amazing. I've learned a lot. I know that marketing is important. And without marketing, it is extremely difficult to sell anything. And I've been successful as a partner and I know value that marketing brings. So thank you for being a part of this conversation. Yeah, sure. My pleasure.
00:35:58
Speaker
Awesome. been great. I'm going to share a few words with the audience. Marketing ah is extremely important. It is not an afterthought anymore. It is front and center. It is brand.
00:36:09
Speaker
It is who you are. It's what you believe in and it's what the solutions that you offer. So think about that. It is not an easy process. You need to know what you want and where you're going. so On our next conversation, you know, maybe we'll sprinkle a little bit of insight as it relates to marketing. But for now, I'm just excited to be able to share what I know with you so far. So thank you for being a part of this.
00:36:34
Speaker
And I look forward to the next conversation.