{"id":21534,"date":"2020-10-22T08:00:15","date_gmt":"2020-10-22T13:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/?p=21534"},"modified":"2022-08-17T08:36:12","modified_gmt":"2022-08-17T13:36:12","slug":"get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Get more clients by mastering your sales qualification process"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>To grow your tax and accounting firm, you need new clients. This is an ongoing challenge for even the most successful firms.<\/p>\n<p>Many firms struggle with this because they approach it simply by trying to sign as many new clients as possible. Not much more thought than that is put into it &#8211; but it\u2019s not that straightforward.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s about attracting and identifying the right clients, providing a world-class experience from the very first interaction, and doing it efficiently. To achieve this, you must spend time perfecting your <a href=\"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/steps-to-streamline-your-sales-and-onboarding-workflows\/\"title=\"\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"false noopener noreferrer\">sales<\/a> qualification process.<\/p>\n<p>In this article, you\u2019ll learn how to achieve this. You\u2019ll discover how you can generate new leads, qualify them to determine which ones are worth spending time on, and how you can automate this process.<\/p>\n<p><b>Know and communicate to your ideal clients<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Think about your existing clients. They\u2019re not all created equal. It\u2019s likely that some are much more profitable, while others consume staff time and are painful to deal with. It\u2019s probably obvious which ones you want more of.<\/p>\n<p>You might also target a <a href=\"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/tax-firm-niches-you-may-have-overlooked\"title=\"\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"false noopener noreferrer\">niche<\/a>. If your marketing speaks to <a href=\"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/how-has-covid-19-affected-the-restaurant-and-hospitality-industry\/\"title=\"\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"false noopener noreferrer\">restaurant<\/a> owners, but your services are designed for\u00a0retail businesses, there is a misalignment between your marketing messaging and your delivery of service.<\/p>\n<p>To get a better understanding of who your best clients, are and how you can speak to them more directly, consider the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Identify who your current and best clients are.<\/li>\n<li>Determine what attributes they have in common. For example, are they all in the same industry?\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/karbonhq.com\/resources\/finding-a-niche-to-grow-your-accounting-practicewhy-and-how\/\"title=\"\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"false noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Is the industry niche<\/a>?<\/li>\n<li>Think about other professional information: how big the companies are, what points of contact you work best with, and other details.<\/li>\n<li>Learn what pain points your firm solves for your clients<\/li>\n<li>Collect information from your sales team. What are clients saying about your service?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Write all of this information down in a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/xtensio.com\/how-to-create-a-persona\/\"title=\"\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"false noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">persona doc<\/a>\u00a0so that you can create a semi-fictional representation of who your prospects are.<\/p>\n<p>This exercise makes it easier to create all marketing communication, including website narratives, blogs, and emails, with a particular persona in mind. Then, you\u2019ll have a better idea of what messaging you can create that will have a positive impact on them.<\/p>\n<p>And, just as importantly, you can make it clear who your services are\u00a0<i>not\u00a0<\/i>appropriate for, reducing the likelihood of wasting time in the long run.<\/p>\n<p><b>Know what you want a lead to do, and make it easy for them<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Once you have convinced a potential client that you are the best firm to solve their specific challenges, you have one objective for the first interaction they have with your accounting firm:\u00a0Convince them to take the appropriate next step.<\/p>\n<p>The vast majority of the time, this first interaction will be your firm\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/5-ways-to-optimize-content-on-your-website\/\"title=\"\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"false noopener noreferrer\">website<\/a>. If a great potential client visits your website today, how easy do you make this step for them?<\/p>\n<p>Think about what you want to happen here. It might be a form completion, a phone call, or something else.<\/p>\n<p>What is easiest for your firm to handle today? What will enable you to scale in the future? What will enable you to provide the best experience? And, what will allow you to quickly qualify the prospect to ensure you are a good fit for one another?<\/p>\n<p><b>Know what information to collect to qualify a prospect<\/b><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s important early in the process to collect the information needed to determine how likely a lead will turn into a customer, but don\u2019t go overboard; the more information you require, the more time you are requiring from your prospect. Make it easy for them.<\/p>\n<p>The advantage of using a form on your website is that you can ask qualifying questions early on &#8211; and keep it all automated.<\/p>\n<p>For example, you can also ask them qualifying questions such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Job title<\/li>\n<li>Company budget<\/li>\n<li>When they need the service<\/li>\n<li>Location<\/li>\n<li>Number of employees<\/li>\n<li>Annual revenue<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>By asking these questions, you can start to see which leads match your ideal candidate, and filter out clients who may not be the best fit for your firm.<\/p>\n<p><b>Score your leads to qualify them<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Once you know what the right candidate looks like and started collecting data from your incoming leads, you can better understand which ones look like a good fit and are worth the time to pursue.<\/p>\n<p>Lead scoring is the process of assigning values (usually numbers) to each lead you generate for the business. The values are based on the attributes you collected in the list above. You can also add extra points to those who have engaged with your brand a number of times.<\/p>\n<p>So, if you\u2019re targeting companies with more than 50 employees, leads that come in with less than 50 employees will be ranked lower than those having 50 or more employees.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, if an entry-level sales rep enters their information, they aren\u2019t as likely to be a key decision maker as a chief marketing officer. In this case, the CMO\u2019s lead would earn a higher score than the sales rep.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re\u00a0only just setting up a sales qualification process for the first time, you don\u2019t need to be as sophisticated as assigning a numerical score to every attribute. It could be as simple as identifying one or two critical attributes, such as industry and revenue, and using that to grade inbound prospects as A, B, or C.<\/p>\n<p><b>Automate your sales qualification process<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Your inbound sales process is easy to automate, right from the initial website inquiry.<\/p>\n<p>The chart below identifies a simple automation flow where you can:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Collect website inquiries using\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.typeform.com\/\"title=\"\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"false noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Typeform<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Send an automatic email to your prospect from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mailchimp.com\/\"title=\"\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"false noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Mailchimp<\/a>\u00a0that includes a link to book a Discovery Call.\u00a0Use <a href=\"https:\/\/calendly.com\/\"title=\"\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"false noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Calendly<\/a>\u00a0to automatically create a calendar invite on your calendar, or the appropriate sales teammate.<\/li>\n<li>Connect with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/zoom.us\/\"title=\"\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"false noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Zoom<\/a>\u00a0to automatically create a meeting link and add to your Calendly invite<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>From there, your new lead\u2019s information and\u00a0meeting details will be automatically imported into Intuit Practice Management, so you know the background of your client before hopping on the welcome call.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21567\" src=\"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Automating-Sales-Process-e1602162112893.png\" alt=\"Automating Sales Process\" width=\"640\" height=\"446\" srcset=\"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Automating-Sales-Process-e1602162112893.png 665w, https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Automating-Sales-Process-e1602162112893.png?resize=150,104 150w, https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Automating-Sales-Process-e1602162112893.png?resize=300,209 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><b>The perfect sales discovery meeting<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Before forming the exact process, design what an ideal sales discovery meeting should look like.\u00a0This requires you to have a plan for specific questions, in which you\u2019ll document the answers.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll likely want to know things such as the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How many bank and credit card accounts they have.<\/li>\n<li>Software tools they will need to connect with their accounting.<\/li>\n<li>Future goals.<\/li>\n<li>Details about their historical data.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Your firm should create a template for each sales discovery meeting, so you can have a repeatable process and always collect the necessary information. Then, you\u2019ll need to document everything so that you don\u2019t have to ask the same things twice and ensure a smooth handover to service delivery.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Editor&#8217;s note:<\/strong> This article was originally published by <a href=\"https:\/\/karbonhq.com\/resources\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\/\"title=\"\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"false noopener noreferrer\" data-wa-link=\"body_karbonhq-NewClientOnboarding\" target=\"_blank\">Karbon<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Growing a practice takes time, but also requires a sales qualification process. Get more details on setting up your sales program from Ian Vacin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":144648978,"featured_media":9597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rkv_browse_by_id":0,"rkv_cta_id":0,"rkv_optimize_for_pagespeed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"useModifiedDate":false,"customPublishDate":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[507998780,116807],"tags":[605132289],"intuit_collection":[],"intuit_series":[],"coauthors":[646041776],"class_list":["post-21534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grow-your-practice","category-practice-management","tag-marketing"],"header_image":"","yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Get more clients by mastering your sales qualification process - Tax Pro Center | Intuit<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Get more clients by mastering your sales qualification process - Tax Pro Center | Intuit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Growing a practice takes time, but also requires a sales qualification process. Get more details on setting up your sales program from Ian Vacin.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tax Pro Center | Intuit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IntuitAccountants\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-10-22T13:00:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-08-17T13:36:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/old-way-new-way_small-e1535552970577.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"655\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"437\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ian Vacin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@IntuitAccts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@IntuitAccts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ian Vacin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ian Vacin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7a24665157a4d6d97ab1dcaa5d22dd9a\"},\"headline\":\"Get more clients by mastering your sales qualification process\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-22T13:00:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-17T13:36:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1168,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/old-way-new-way_small-e1535552970577.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"marketing\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Grow your practice\",\"Practice Management\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\\\/\",\"name\":\"Get more clients by mastering your sales qualification process - Tax Pro Center | Intuit\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/old-way-new-way_small-e1535552970577.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-22T13:00:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-17T13:36:12+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/old-way-new-way_small-e1535552970577.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/old-way-new-way_small-e1535552970577.jpg\",\"width\":655,\"height\":437,\"caption\":\"Hand drawing Old Way or New Way concept with white chalk on blackboard.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/practice-management\\\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Get more clients by mastering your sales qualification process\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tax Pro Center | Intuit\",\"description\":\"Tax Pro Center\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Tax Pro Center | Intuit\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/Tax_Pro_Center_Logo_Final_large.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/Tax_Pro_Center_Logo_Final_large.webp\",\"width\":872,\"height\":160,\"caption\":\"Tax Pro Center | Intuit\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/IntuitAccountants\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/IntuitAccts\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/intuitaccountants\\\/?hl=en\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/intuit-accountants\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7a24665157a4d6d97ab1dcaa5d22dd9a\",\"name\":\"Ian Vacin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0b3c5862c0727ac34cf22278878d674951984ac541407074582446e1234c3159?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0b3c5862c0727ac34cf22278878d674951984ac541407074582446e1234c3159?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0b3c5862c0727ac34cf22278878d674951984ac541407074582446e1234c3159?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ian Vacin\"},\"description\":\"With more than 25 years' experience in technology and 20 years\u2019 leadership experience in the accounting profession at Karbon, Intuit\u00ae, and other companies, Ian is passionate about helping accounting professionals be as successful as possible in order to positively impact the small businesses they serve. In 2016, he was named a \u201cTop 20 under 40\u201d by the CPA Practice Advisor and a \u201cMarketer That Matters\u201d in 2013 by The Wall Street Journal. Ian has a master\u2019s of engineering management degree and a master\u2019s in business administration degree from Northwestern University\u2019s Kellogg School of Management. Find Ian on Twitter @ian_vacin.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/karbonhq.com\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/accountants.intuit.com\\\/taxprocenter\\\/author\\\/ianvacintax\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Get more clients by mastering your sales qualification process - Tax Pro Center | Intuit","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Get more clients by mastering your sales qualification process - Tax Pro Center | Intuit","og_description":"Growing a practice takes time, but also requires a sales qualification process. Get more details on setting up your sales program from Ian Vacin.","og_url":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\/","og_site_name":"Tax Pro Center | Intuit","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IntuitAccountants","article_published_time":"2020-10-22T13:00:15+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-08-17T13:36:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":655,"height":437,"url":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/old-way-new-way_small-e1535552970577.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ian Vacin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@IntuitAccts","twitter_site":"@IntuitAccts","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ian Vacin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\/"},"author":{"name":"Ian Vacin","@id":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/#\/schema\/person\/7a24665157a4d6d97ab1dcaa5d22dd9a"},"headline":"Get more clients by mastering your sales qualification process","datePublished":"2020-10-22T13:00:15+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-17T13:36:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\/"},"wordCount":1168,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/old-way-new-way_small-e1535552970577.jpg","keywords":["marketing"],"articleSection":["Grow your practice","Practice Management"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\/","url":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\/","name":"Get more clients by mastering your sales qualification process - Tax Pro Center | Intuit","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/old-way-new-way_small-e1535552970577.jpg","datePublished":"2020-10-22T13:00:15+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-17T13:36:12+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/old-way-new-way_small-e1535552970577.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/old-way-new-way_small-e1535552970577.jpg","width":655,"height":437,"caption":"Hand drawing Old Way or New Way concept with white chalk on blackboard."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/practice-management\/get-more-clients-by-mastering-your-sales-qualification-process\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Get more clients by mastering your sales qualification process"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/#website","url":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/","name":"Tax Pro Center | Intuit","description":"Tax Pro Center","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/#organization","name":"Tax Pro Center | Intuit","url":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Tax_Pro_Center_Logo_Final_large.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Tax_Pro_Center_Logo_Final_large.webp","width":872,"height":160,"caption":"Tax Pro Center | Intuit"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IntuitAccountants","https:\/\/x.com\/IntuitAccts","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/intuitaccountants\/?hl=en","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/intuit-accountants\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/#\/schema\/person\/7a24665157a4d6d97ab1dcaa5d22dd9a","name":"Ian Vacin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0b3c5862c0727ac34cf22278878d674951984ac541407074582446e1234c3159?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0b3c5862c0727ac34cf22278878d674951984ac541407074582446e1234c3159?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0b3c5862c0727ac34cf22278878d674951984ac541407074582446e1234c3159?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Ian Vacin"},"description":"With more than 25 years' experience in technology and 20 years\u2019 leadership experience in the accounting profession at Karbon, Intuit\u00ae, and other companies, Ian is passionate about helping accounting professionals be as successful as possible in order to positively impact the small businesses they serve. In 2016, he was named a \u201cTop 20 under 40\u201d by the CPA Practice Advisor and a \u201cMarketer That Matters\u201d in 2013 by The Wall Street Journal. Ian has a master\u2019s of engineering management degree and a master\u2019s in business administration degree from Northwestern University\u2019s Kellogg School of Management. Find Ian on Twitter @ian_vacin.","sameAs":["https:\/\/karbonhq.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/author\/ianvacintax\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/old-way-new-way_small-e1535552970577.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pazjGh-5Bk","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":21371,"url":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/ensuring-your-firm-can-handle-growth\/","url_meta":{"origin":21534,"position":0},"title":"Ensuring your firm can handle growth","author":"Ian Vacin","date":"September 24, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Growing a tax firm can be a great thing, but are you prepared to still give each client the attention and service they deserve? Ian Vacin breaks it all down for you with some great tips.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Grow your practice&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Grow your practice","link":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/category\/practice-management\/grow-your-practice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Success","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/herosept-e1508456735405.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/herosept-e1508456735405.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/herosept-e1508456735405.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/herosept-e1508456735405.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":22869,"url":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/ways-to-create-proposals-that-sell\/","url_meta":{"origin":21534,"position":1},"title":"7 ways to create proposals that sell","author":"Josh Lance, CPA, CGMA","date":"May 24, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Learn how to perfect your proposals with these best practices from Josh Lance, CPA, CGMA.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Practice Management&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Practice Management","link":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/category\/practice-management\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Proposals","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Proposals.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Proposals.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Proposals.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Proposals.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":76499,"url":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/grow-your-practice\/differences-between-a-lead-and-a-prospect\/","url_meta":{"origin":21534,"position":2},"title":"Differences between a lead and a prospect","author":"Christopher J. Picciurro, CPA\/PFS, MBA, ARA","date":"February 18, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Every client relationship starts with a lead, but not every lead becomes a prospect, and not every prospect becomes a client. Find out how to ensure a solid sales pipeline of prospects to fuel your practice.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Grow your practice&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Grow your practice","link":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/category\/practice-management\/grow-your-practice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Differences between a lead and a prospect","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Differences-between-a-lead-and-a-prospect-copy.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Differences-between-a-lead-and-a-prospect-copy.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Differences-between-a-lead-and-a-prospect-copy.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Differences-between-a-lead-and-a-prospect-copy.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":62500,"url":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/scaling-your-firm-by-strategically-offboarding-clients\/","url_meta":{"origin":21534,"position":3},"title":"Scaling your firm by strategically offboarding clients","author":"Langley Barth","date":"August 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Onboarding clients is a regular process for tax firms, but what about \u201coffboarding\u201d a client? Find out how to do that in this article full of tips and guidance.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Grow your practice&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Grow your practice","link":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/category\/practice-management\/grow-your-practice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Scaling your firm by strategically offboarding clients","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Scaling-your-firm-by-strategically-offboarding-clients-copy.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Scaling-your-firm-by-strategically-offboarding-clients-copy.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Scaling-your-firm-by-strategically-offboarding-clients-copy.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Scaling-your-firm-by-strategically-offboarding-clients-copy.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":22554,"url":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/why-you-need-accounting-practice-management-software\/","url_meta":{"origin":21534,"position":4},"title":"Why you need accounting practice management software","author":"Ian Vacin","date":"March 24, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Discover the advantages of solid practice management software for your tax and accounting firm .","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Practice Management&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Practice Management","link":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/category\/practice-management\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Intuit Practice Management","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Practice-Management-Software.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Practice-Management-Software.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Practice-Management-Software.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Practice-Management-Software.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13797,"url":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/top-5-things-you-need-to-know-to-grow-your-practice\/","url_meta":{"origin":21534,"position":5},"title":"The top 5 things you need to know to grow your practice","author":"Josh Lance, CPA, CGMA","date":"October 24, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Growing your practice isn't easy. Josh Lance, CPA, CGMA, declares five things you must know to grow your tax and accounting practice.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Advisory Services&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Advisory Services","link":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/category\/advisory-services\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"tax and accounting clients","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/F39325721_WithClients04-e1548174101651.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/F39325721_WithClients04-e1548174101651.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/F39325721_WithClients04-e1548174101651.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/144648978"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21534"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26435,"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21534\/revisions\/26435"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21534"},{"taxonomy":"intuit_collection","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/intuit_collection?post=21534"},{"taxonomy":"intuit_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/intuit_series?post=21534"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=21534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}