How to Create a Client Avatar for Your Enrolled Agent Firm
- Timalyn S. Bowens
- 5 days ago
- 6 min read
How to Create a Client Avatar for Your Enrolled Agent Firm
I have helped my fellow tax professionals grow their business for almost 6 years now. Since I started my own platform, America's Favorite EA, I began to notice a common theme. This was for both tax professionals and other business owners.
They had trouble making sales or working with their ideal client. The reason for this is that they were unclear about who it was they wanted to help and how they would help them. Fear kept them from taking the time to figure these things out. I hear excuses like, "Well, if I only market to them, I'll box myself in."
Honestly, I feel like I even made that statement myself at one time, but it's an excuse that prevents you from dedicating the time to becoming a subject matter expert. It also isn't true. You'll be known as an expert in one area. Other people will still reach out for help. I currently market to a mindset when I work with taxpayers, not a specific industry or niche. But people who owe all across the board yet reach out for my assistance.
But I wasn't able to discover who I enjoyed working with until I put myself out there and began having conversations. In this article, I'm going to break down 2 questions I asked myself to create my ideal client avatar.
Who Do I Want to Impact in the Business World?
I was one of those super nerdy people who went into college knowing what I wanted to major in and why. I wanted to be an accounting major to help small businesses not go out of business. I had no interest in tax at all until I fell in love during my first internship.
Fast forward 15 years from that internship, and my mission has stayed the same, but the vehicle I drive to get there is different.
I identified my who, business owners, before I even turned 21, but I had to identify my how. That is where research comes in. I'm a grassroots girl; I didn't initially go to Google. I went to the doors and LinkedIn. Google and Chat Daddy are fine, but not without context. It was more efficient for me to get the answer directly from the taxpayer's mouth.
How Can I Impact the Business World?
As I began talking to different business owners, it became clear where they needed my expertise and guidance. Aside from asking about their story, these are the two questions I asked everyone:
What are your goals for your business and family?
What do you think you need an accountant for?
These questions gave me so much data as common misconceptions, mistakes, pain points, and what they needed help with began to pour out. This not only gave me clarity on how to serve them, but it also positioned me as a subject matter expert because I could speak to their fears and concerns.
Wanting to help small business owners avoid going out of business evolved into assisting first-generation business owners with their six-figure tax debt, so they can focus on and grow their businesses.
How? Why?
Because from the information I received, I knew who I was most excited to talk with. I know that these people were going out of business, not due to negligence but because they just didn't know what they didn't know. But it took time for me to get there because I had to put myself out there and talk to people in seminars, webinars, and 1-1. To hone in on your idea person and know them inside and out, I highly recommend you do the same thing.
You have a cheat code that I didn't have that can help you reduce your research time, though. Instead of spending hours looking at notebooks and highlighting common themes and red flags, you can use technology.
This is one of the things that I love Ping Assistant for. It's a notetaker built specifically for accountants. It highlights life events, tax structures, and entities. Things that are important to us as we serve our clients. They call this a client intelligence feature.
But it's not the notetaker that makes it special. When used for prospect and connection calls, it can help you quickly identify what the common pain points and areas of help are. Check out the video below to see Camden, one of Ping's co-founders, demonstrate this.
Now here's the catch...because you're reading my article, if you use my promo code: timalyn-bowens, you'll receive a 10% discount because I'm an OG Pinger and they wanted to show love to my community. But, for your information, I'll also receive a commission from your purchase.
Now It's Your Turn to Create a Client Avatar
It's time for you to take action. If you read this, you likely feel stuck with creating the client avatar for your firm. Answer the questions below in the comments so we can work through them together. If you're a new Enrolled Agent, you passed the exam within the past 3 years, or you started a tax firm within the past 2 you can book a 1-1 Clarity Call with me. We'll work through it together on Zoom. You can book that here: Help Me Build My EA Firm.
Who interests you the most to work with? Take money off the table. If you could work with one type of person and money wasn't a factor, who would that be? Does this align with your purpose and what makes you feel fulfilled?
What will you help this person do or avoid? Remember, I wanted to help small businesses avoid going out of business before I even started my own business. There is something within you that wants to solve a problem for your ideal client? What is that desire that you feel called to do?
Where are these people and what are they looking for? This is where you can use Google or Chat Daddy to get a head start, but it's going to require you to put yourself out there and have real conversations. Create a plan so that you don't feel overwhelmed while you're doing your market research.
You can shoot for 10 people whom you believe are ideal each week. These could be 20 -30-minute calls. Remember, these are networking calls but also intentional research calls. So you want to be in control of the call. Let them know what you're doing and that you'd like to know about why and how they started their business. Then you'll want to make sure you ask about their goals and why they think they need an accountant.
Make a plan to reach out to review your data. It is easy to become overwhelmed when researching, so you'll want to set a time limit for yourself. You'll also want to block this time on your calendar because this is working on your business, not in it. Included in this time block should be time for you to look at common pain points, goals, and issues that your ideal client has. You'll also notice that the people who made you cringe have similarities. Make note of that as well. Ping makes this process of compiling the data into useful information much faster. You can sign up for a demo and free trial at www.pingassistant.com. Let them know I sent you ! If you purchase, don't forget you can receive a 10% discount by using promo code timalyn-bowens.
Timalyn S. Bowens, EA, is America's Favorite EA and Tax Expert who will work hard to find a customized legal solution for you! As an Enrolled Agent licensed through the Internal Revenue Service, Timalyn can fight the IRS for taxpayers in all 50 states. As the host of Tax Relief with Timalyn Bowens and a YouTube content creator, she empowers taxpayers to make educated decisions about their tax situation.
When you are facing questions regarding your personal or business taxes, working with a professional makes all the difference. At Bowens Tax Solutions, we serve our Louisville-area neighbors by providing the tax services and knowledge needed to succeed. We are here to assist you with your tax issues and preventative care. Visit our website at www.bowenstaxsolutions.com for more information.