Client Acquisition and Advanced Processing – Perfect Together

Steve Sykes, CPA

Success Story: Steve Sykes, CPA in Portland Oregon

Steve Sykes is the only CPA you’ll find working in his $688,000 practice and that’s just the way he likes it.  Steve has been an NCI client for quite a while, going back over ten years.  He attributes all of that growth to the combination of NCI’s Plan 2 Client Acquisition Program in conjunction with Duane Gravley’s Advanced Processing Seminar.  I recently interviewed Steve about his experiences with NCI.  We also talked about the importance of implementing what is learned at these seminars and following the methods very closely.  As he said, “The first firm I was with when I got out of college, I remember seeing you guys, your ad and that’s when it was called [Clients Unlimited] and I bought your tapes.  But I could never convince the partners to do anything.  Then later on, when I finally got around to starting my firm…I called you up.  I met this other guy at our continuing education seminar and we went in together… We got back from the seminar in Atlantic City [the seminar used to be held in AC, it’s now mainly in Philadelphia] and he bailed out almost immediately, because he had a big eight background and he thought this was beneath him.  So he bailed out and I just kept doing it.”

When Steve started to really grow his practice using our Plan II client acquisition program, he quickly realized he needed processing help for all the clients he was bringing in.  That’s when he attended Duane Gravley’s new (at that time) processing seminar.  I asked Steve if he had any apprehensions before attending this training.  He responded with this.  “No I didn’t have any reservations at all because the other part of your program worked so wonderfully.”  I then asked him what he gained from attending the processing seminar.  “A smoother practice, a way smoother practice, things started moving ahead very, very quickly after that.  The checklist that Duane has, the hiring methods, the compensation methods, everything, it was just excellent.  I went to it twice, and I sent two of my people to it.  I sent my sales guy and one of my bookkeepers and I’ve been to it twice.”  Four times!  If that isn’t a positive endorsement I don’t know what is!  Steve had this to say about Duane Gravley.  “Duane Gravley is just a very precise, concise, knowledgeable speaker.  He’s very focused, there’s not a wasted minute in his seminar as far as I’m concerned.  From the morning to the evening you’re just learning so much, excellent speaker.”

We also got to talk about Steve’s experience with the plan 2 Client Acquisition Plan.  Here he explains his biggest concern before undertaking that program.  “My biggest concern was what was going to be my payback period (he laughs.)  It wasn’t as long as I thought.  We started in May and by November I had ceased to put anymore money into it…That was my only concern, is there going to be a payback on this investment?   And there was, and continues to be.”  I also inquired as to how Steve’s quality of life has changed since he undertook this marketing program.  “Well, I’ve gone to Europe three times, just got back.  I take a month of every year.  I [have] two commercial buildings, three rental houses; I’m funding my retirement plan.  It works really well.”  And finally I asked him to sum up his feelings on NCI and our products.  “Just a very solid company, they deliver what they say.  [They’ve] been around a long time so you can trust them…If you do what they say and you hang in there and weather the failures that are going to happen with any start up business, it works.