Barbara Walters Price

PRACTICE ALERT: IRS Issues interim guidelines on "qualified appraisal/appraiser" - IRS Notice 2006-96

If you value businesses, take heed.  Last week, the IRS issued Notice 2006-96 (reprinted below) which provides guidance on the "qualified appraisal/appraiser" provisions of the Pension Protection Act of 2006.

Per the latest issue of the BVWire (Issue #49-4) [complimentary subscription available from BVResources and if you appraise businesses, you should definitely subscribe]:

"... a surprise:  The interim guidelines specifically refer to USPAP (Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice) to define 'qualified appraisal' and related terms.  In the past, 'the IRS has avoided blessing any particular association or standard,' said Brenda Woolbert, CPA, CVA, an IRS Engineering supervisor, but 'clearly, USPAP will set the benchmarks going forward.'"

For your reading pleasure, IRS Notice 2006-96 is reprinted here in its entirety:

You know you're a mom to little kids when ...

You know you're first and foremost a mom to little kids when you reach into your purse for your lipstick and all you find is a pacifier and crayons.

Join the Conversation

Two powerful examples in one day on the importance of joining the conversation. 

• An e-mail from Suzanne Lowe of Expertise Marketing and the excellent Expertise Marketplace Blog asking me if she could reprint  in her next e-newsletter part of a comment I  made recently to one of her blog posts.  The quote came from the third and fourth paragraphs.  The answer was, yes, of course (even though I had to do a bit of editing to the run-on sentence that originally appeared in the blog post).

Do you make it a habit to comment on blog posts of interest?  You should. 

• A link from Google Alerts that my friend Eva Lang had been quoted in the Real Time column of the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).  I found this via the web.  I don't know if it appeared in print.  Eva is one of the most respected people in the business valuation profession and an enthusiastic traveler; hence her quote (scroll down a bit to see it).  She makes it a point to take the time to e-mail the author of any interesting article she reads. 

As an aside, do you utilize Googe Alerts?  If not, you should.  I track the internet comings and goings of friends, competitors, and most importantly, of our firm, Mercer Capital.  I want to know who's saying what about us.  If you have a different or more efficient tool, let me know.

Deveoping the Execution Mindset by Eric Gagnon

Eric Gagnon graciously sent me a complimentary copy of his book, The Marketing Manager's Handbook, recently.  While it is geared toward product-oriented businesses rather than professional service firms, I plan to read it. 

In skimming it, I found eight steps important steps that he stated lead to better marketing and marketing execution which will improve sales in almost any situation.  Several of them rang true to me.  I list them here with a few thoughts from the perspective of a professional services firm marketer.

DEVELOPING THE EXECUTION MINDSET

If you can't sell your best prospect over the phone, you don't have a business. Eric says to forget branding, focus groups, and fancy logos, and instead call your 10 best prospects and if you cannot convince them to buy your company's product, something is wrong.  In  PSFs, we don't typically call our best prospects and convince them to buy an audit, business valuation, or legal service (or whatever the service provided).  Usually, when the prospect needs us, they contact us.  The key is to be top of mind with either them or their advisors (our referral sources) when they need our services and we do that in several different ways (relationships, website, newsletters, blogs, advertising, articles, speeches, etc.).  Maybe the question for a PSF is when you contact your 10 best prospects and/or referral sources, are you still at the top of their list.

Do you suffer from "brochure paralysis"? Eric states that if you can't get a brochure produced in two weeks, you've got a problem.  I agree with him here.  See my prior posts on "Your Happy Line" and "Print on Demand."

Where's your phone number?  According to Eric, you should tack your company's brochure to a wall and walk 10 feet away.  If you can't read the phone number from that distance, your prospects can't see it at arms' length.  This brings up a pet peeve of mine which is making it hard for people to contact you.  In all our materials, we strive to make it easy for people to find a phone number or e-mail address or some other way of contacting one of our professionals.  See Burnett + Company's website.  Notice the phone number right at the top.  I like that.

If you can't send your brochure out the same day, you'll never fill the order.  Sales information must be sent out in response to an inquiry the same day.  Eric also suggests sending a PDF sales sheet within two hours of the call.  I heartily agree.  Again, see my prior post on "Print on Demand" as well as an older one talking about the power of PDFs.

Your best market may not be the one you're in now.  Eric claims that marketers must test to determine if there are better markets.  This is true for PSFs.  We must constantly be searching for the next market not only to increase our sales and our reach, but to also immunize us, if you will, against market downturns.  See Suzanne Lowe's post on playing defense as well as the comments.

Why didn't the mailing go out?  Delays kill marketing execution per Eric and he's right.  This not only applies to direct mail but to all other forms on marketing tactics.  My problem is that I often allow too many things to happen at the same time which is our current situation.  We have a self-published book and a website redesign due by the end of the year and it's the middle of October!  Yikes!

Too many eyes can kill your company. Eric advises you not to run marketing copy and ideas past 27 different people.  He claims there are only three people that should review copy - you, your sales manager, and your best current customer.  For a PSF, that translates into you, the partner in charge of that area, and your best current customer in that area.

"Creative" people will hose you every time.  Eric says to beware the high-dollar consultant who claims to have the magic answers.  I agree with him to a point.  We don't often use consultants, yet when we do, they add value.  You have to communicate clearly with them your expectations and make certain that they can meet those expectations.  There is nothing wrong with creative people.  We have several here.  But remember: if it doesn't sell, it's not creative.

List excerpted from Eric Gagnon's The Marketing Manager's Handbook (Internet Media, 2003), p. 7.

 

Status of book project

I've been out of town for several days and in my absence not much has been accomplished on the buy-sell agreement book.  Ugh.  However, there is a new wrinkle ... on-demand publishing which was suggested by our CEO and the author of the book. 

We're checking out this option because of the flexibility it provides.  By using on-demand printing, we can change the cover and co-brand the book with, say, industry associations who want to offer it to their members.  If law firms want to send the book to their clients, one of their attorneys can write a forward and we can produce a number sufficient for them.  You get the picture. 

I'll keep you posted as to the pros and cons of on-demand printing vs. traditional printing.  Should be interesting.

Do you have a "Happy Line"?

A very smart friend of mind, Debra Helwig of IGAF Worldwide, commented on a recent post entitled "Getting It Done."  Her comment was so good that I have to share it with you:

A very smart boss of mine once introduced me to a concept he called "the happy line." According to him, if a project was over 85% perfect, and contained no embarrassing errors, it was much better to LET IT GO and move on to the next thing than get bogged down in minutiae. HE WAS RIGHT. His constant question - "Is it over the happy line?" really changed my approach to projects, and I got a lot more good work done in a much more timely way. Good luck at finding your "happy line," Barbara!

Another very smart friend of mine, Eva Lang of the Financial Consulting Group, sent this e-mail after we discussed Debra's comment:

"If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done." - Eccl. 11:4 (NLT)  

I think this may be the Biblical version of the Happy Line.

I loved Debra's comment and Eva's e-mail and have used the Happy Line concept!  Do you have a Happy Line?  You should.

Ever noticed that none of the seven dwarfs have mustaches?

Did you ever notice that none of Snow White's seven dwarfs have mustaches?  Just beards - save Dopey.  I have an almost 4 year old daughter who LOVES Disney's princesses so we spend a lot of time with them via movies, coloring books, toys, you-name-it.

What does any of this have to do with marketing?  Everything.  Disney is the master at repackaging and repurposing.  The first introduction I had to the repackaged princesses was a video of love songs sung by these maidens who were awaiting true love.  As an independent 21st century working woman, "Some Day My Prince Will Come" doesn't thrill me but I'm in awe of how Disney took their existing and back catalog and have launched a whole new line that appeals to kids today.  And, as pointed out by my daughter's devotion, they've done the same thing with Mickey Mouse.  Check out the new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Disney.

So, what can you repackage and repurpose?  Articles into podcasts?  Speeches into articles?  Dust off an older service line and see if you can pair it with another to give it life?  There are numerous things you can do.  And, if you're a marketing director, your partners will think you a genius to suggest possibilities. 

That's all for today.  "Hi ho, hi ho, it's home from work I go ...."  {okay, I know you're whistling now}

So men are smarter, eh? Not this one ...

According to a news bit out today, men are supposedly the smarter sex, by 5 points.  Hmmm.  This guy was apparently not part of the study.

At the Wimbledon Magistrates' Court in England in July, Andrew Curzon was charged with wrongfully attempting to cash a neighbor's pension-adjustment check, in the equivalent of about $220,000. The explanation by Curzon (who is a law student) is that he has "dyspraxia," which renders him unable "to engage in logical thinking." [Boston Herald-The Times (London), 8-17-06] (from News of the Weird)

Blogging the Journey to Self Publishing Book #5

The manuscript is just about ready.  We're 99% there.  It's gone through numerous rounds of internal review and editing.  We have four folks reviewing the book.  Our CEO, Chris Mercer, is the author.  We have one chapter to finish. 

We're so close now that I am comfortable with now taking money for the book rather than just a "reservation."  And, I believe that with a little luck and a LOT of push, we can have the finished product by year end.

I've thought about blogging about the process but so far it's been, write, review, revise, write, review, revise ....  Makes for pretty boring stuff.  The interesting stuff is each individual reviewers take on what is important and what is not.   Taken as a whole, we're going to have a terrific finished product.

Here are the specs:

• Title:  Buy-Sell Agreements: Ticking Time Bomb or Reasonable Resolution? (sub-title apt to change)
• Author:  Z. Christopher Mercer
• Format:  Soft cover 7x10
• Length:  Approximately 300 pages
• Print run:  Minimum 2,000  -  Maximum 3,000
• Publisher:  Peabody Publishing LP (i.e., self publishing)

Since it's my job to bring this book to market by the end of the year, here is my to-do list (in no order).  Lest you think we don't know what we're doing as you read this list, know that numerous things are already underway or almost done but until they are checked off, they stay on the list.

• Finish Buy-Sell Audit chapter
• Check math in all the formulas/tables
• Check spelling in all imported objects/tables/charts
• Add "Acknowledgments"
• Push the fellow who is graciously providing to Forward to provide it sooner rather than later
• Download Dan Poynter's latest info so I can begin to get the printer RFPs together
• Add appendices
• Finalize permission from Appraisal Foundation for reprint of USPAP for appendix
• Assign an ISBN number
• Index the book (yes, I do that myself)
• Put the book into the Word format created by the very talented Matt Washburn
• Finalize and check all footnotes
• Prepare and send RFPs to printers
• Decide upon cover design and layout
• Choose the Printer
• Put the book in PDF and send the to printer
• Post on Amazon.com
• Create page on website accepting payment now that we have a better idea of when the book will be published
• Create and send invoices to all who have reserved their copy
• Choose a chapter as a free give-away on the web if you sign up for newsletter
• Create blog posting strategy on Chris Mercer's blog, Mercer on Value
• Determine costs for shipping
• Determine if we need boxes for shipping made or if we can buy pre-made
• Find fulfillment house
• Create fliers for e-mail newsletter and CEO blog that will go with all books shipped
• Identify magazines/journals that should review the book
• Get galleys out to reviewers
• Identify influencers in key target audiences
• Get book to those influencers
• Create list of people who will receive a complimentary book

What else?  I know there is more but this gives you an idea.  Much to do!  I'll keep you posted.

Speaking Tip: A resource you must have

I first posted on this about a year ago but thought I would re-post it because so many people still don't know about the wireless RemotePoint Presenter.  One of our professionals used it at a conference a few weeks ago and the other speakers were so enamored with it that he left it for them to use.  So, if you are not familiar with it, read on ...

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Originally posted 9/25/05:  If you give speeches or intend to give speeches, here is a resource you must have - a wireless RemotePoint Presenter from Interlink Electronics.  We use one here at Mercer Capital and wonder how we ever got along without it! (I'm telling you about this particular device because we love it.  There are other wireless devices out there but I know this one works!  We don't receive any kickbacks or consideration from the manufacturer or resellers.)

You save your presentation on a USB device that comes with the RemotePoint Presenter so you don't have to lug your laptop.  Just plug in the USB and you're ready to go.  It's wireless so you can control your presentation without being tied to a laptop.  It allows you to forward through your slides as well as go backwards.  It's got a neat "hide" button that blackens the screen.  And it also has a laser pointer.  It's all-in-one and very impressive to your audience. 

Here is the official marketing language on the RemotePointer Presenter:

Interlink VP4300 Remote Point Presenter
RemotePoint Presenter takes the sleek ergonomics of the RemotePoint Navigator to the next level. In addition to its polished metal, icon-studded control keys for Slide Forward, Slide Back and Slide Hide and Laser Pointer functions, Presenter offers 360-degree cursor control, a patented ClickTrigger primary click button, a user-assignable "hot key" with a toolkit of software presentation effects, and 32 megabytes of onboard storage to take presentation on the road.

Presenter's 100 RF wireless range means that no matter where you’re facing in the room, your slides will advance on cue—every time. Installation? Just plug in the USB receiver and go! 

RemotePoint Presenter has received Laptop Magazine's Ultimate Choice and Presentations  Magazine's Standing Ovation awards, 2004.

You can buy it directly from Interlink Electronics ($199), or from Amazon ($127), or from TigerDirect ($129).  I'm sure there are other resellers.  Might be a good idea to do a little research.

For more info as to how is works, see the User's Guide (in a .pdf file).

And, here's a more detailed picture (click on it to enlarge):

If you want to take your presentations up a notch, invest in this product or one like it.  You won't be disappointed.