How To Get Tax Planning Leads And Clients As An Accountant

Do you provide tax planning services but need more good quality tax planning leads and clients?

If so, you’re in the right place.

In this article, I’ll show you the top tax planning lead generation strategies (that work).

Interested in working with us? Here are the next steps:

Step 1: Watch our free Masterclass training (that explains how our strategy works)

Step 2: Click here to schedule a call with us (if you want us to do it all for you)

Quick Summary

Short on time? Here are the top ways to generate tax planning leads and clients in your accounting firm:

• The Sales Accelerator program (best option if you want to hire an expert to help you)
• Blogging & YouTube SEO (best free option)
• LinkedIn prospecting (best low-cost option)
• Paid Advertising (best way to buy tax planning leads)

If you want to learn how to implement these strategies correctly, I recommend watching this free masterclass training I’ve recorded. 

Best Tax Planning Lead Generation Strategies for Accountants

Here are the tested and proven lead generation strategies you can use as an accountant looking for more tax planning leads:

1. The Sales Accelerator

Best option if you want to hire an expert to help you

The Sales Accelerator is a training program (with a done-for-you option) that helps businesses, including many accounting firms that offer tax planning services, generate a consistent flow of high-quality sales appointments and leads each month. 

When it comes to lead generation, the program is all about quality over quantity. In my opinion, it’s much better to get 10 great quality leads than 100 bad quality leads.

Here’s how the Sales Accelerator can help you:

• Generate leads automatically each month
• Scale up your lead generation campaign
• Get pre-qualified appointments booked on your calendar
• Target business owners that generate $250K, $500K, $1M or more in revenue each year
• Get leads for free using organic strategies
• Buy leads through paid advertising platforms (like Facebook & TikTok ads)
• Use AI and automation to save time.
• Ongoing 1-to1 private support to ensure you get results as fast as possible

You can see how it all works in this video.

And if you think you will be too busy to set it up yourself, you can opt for the done-for-you option.

2. Blogging (SEO)

Best free strategy

SEO can be a reliable source of free tax planning leads and clients for you as an accountant. The main advantages of SEO are that:

• You can get leads and acquire clients for free
• Leads convert much quicker into clients because they’re actively searching for your services
• It’s evergreen (you get leads for months & even years into the future)

I have used this strategy for various clients in the accounting & finance business, and here’s how it works:

• Optimize Your Website For Relevant Keywords: Research keywords related to “tax planning” plus the geographic area` that potential clients are searching for.  For example, “tax planning services Philadelphia,” “CPA tax advisor Miami,” etc. Tools like Google Keyword Planner can help to identify high-volume, relevant keywords.
• Create Search-optimized Content: Create blog posts, service pages, and other content on your website targeting those keywords. Long-tail keywords work better here because they are more specific and detailed, with less competition. For example, someone searching for “best tax planning for tech startups” is likely in need of your services. 
• Build Backlinks: To boost your search rankings, you can work with reputable websites to link your guest posts to your website. Building high-quality backlinks through tactics like guest posting and social media also improves search visibility. 
• Mobile Optimization: Ensure your website is mobile-friendly. A significant portion of searches occur on mobile devices, and you don’t want to miss out on this traffic with a website with a poor mobile user interface. 
• Track Results: SEO requires consistent effort over months. So, monitor the performance and adjust strategies based on what works to improve results over time. 

According to Ahrefs, 68% of online experiences start with a search engine, and 63.41% of all US web traffic referrals come from Google. 

So, the effectiveness of this strategy in getting you tax planning leads is clear.  

Need help with optimizing your website for Google SEO? I offered some practical tips in this video.  

3. YouTube SEO

Another great free lead generation strategy

Speaking of search engine optimization, YouTube is another search engine an accountant or CPA can use to find good tax planning leads and clients. 

According to Semrush, YouTube videos now appear on search engine results pages (SERPs) for over 791.3 million search queries in the United States alone as of February 2024. 

And, yes, you can use this extensive visibility of YouTube videos to generate new leads. Here is how:

• Create High-Quality Content: It all starts with creating great videos. Your videos should be informative, engaging and provide value to your target audience. I recommend making something about tax tips, financial planning advice, and explanations of complex tax laws.
• Optimize Video Titles and Descriptions: Do not just post videos–optimize them. Use relevant tax planning and accounting keywords in your video titles and descriptions. This improves searchability. 
• Use Tags and Thumbnails Properly: Tags help YouTube understand the content and context of your videos. Add both specific and broad tags to your videos. But ensure they are relevant and related to accounting, tax planning, and financial advice.
• Custom Thumbnails: Create eye-catching thumbnails that stand out and encourage clicks. Thumbnails should indicate the content of your video. 
• Analyze Your Performance: Use YouTube Analytics to track the performance of your videos. To understand what works best, see metrics like watch time, click-through rate, and subscriber growth.

Here’s a great example of a YouTube video by ClearValue Tax that talks about how to save money on taxes:

This YouTube video has over 449,000 views, which shows that there’s a lot of potential for videos on saving money in taxes.

Best of all, the video doesn’t have fancy video editing or a high-end background. It’s just an accountant sharing his expertise in front of a camera.

Another way you can use YouTube to your advantage in finding quality leads is through YouTube Ads. These ads can target potential clients based on their interests and search behavior. 

You may also collaborate with influencers in the finance niche to reach a broader audience and gain credibility. 

Watch this free masterclass for insights into using YouTube SEO to find more tax planning leads. 

4. LinkedIn  

Best prospecting strategy

LinkedIn is a powerful platform for growing leads and revenue. Hubspot suggests that audiences exposed to brand messages on LinkedIn are six times more likely to convert. 

As an accountant, LinkedIn prospecting can be an excellent low-cost way for you to generate quality tax planning leads.

But how do you go about it? Here are some tips:

• Optimize Your Profile: Ensure your LinkedIn profile is complete. Use a professional photo, include a detailed work experience, and include a profile summary showing your expertise in your tax planning.
• Publish Quality Content: Share articles, insights, and tips related to tax planning. This positions you as a thought leader and authority in your field, attracting potential clients.
• Build and Engage with Your Network: You cannot do it alone. So, engage with your connections regularly. Comment on their posts and share relevant content. Also, join relevant groups where you can find your target audience. These increase your visibility and the likelihood of referrals.
• Use LinkedIn’s Advanced Search: LinkedIn’s advanced search feature can help you find and connect with potential leads. It’s a direct method for finding people who may benefit from your tax planning services.

If you have the budget, you can use LinkedIn Ads to reach the right people on the platform. LinkedIn’s advertising platform lets people target users based on specific criteria. These include job title, industry, and others. 

If you run ads, use LinkedIn Analytics to track the performance of your posts and ads. This data will help you improve your strategy over time.

I have successfully used LinkedIn to generate leads for my clients in the accounting niche. This video explains how it worked. 

5. Paid Advertising

I’ve left the best for the last…

The best way for accountants to get more tax planning leads, appointments, and clients is through paid advertising. In my experience, paid advertising platforms like Facebook, Instagram and (believe it or not) even TikTok can work well in targeting other business owners to get tax planning leads.

Yes, buying tax planning leads through paid advertising platforms requires a monetary investment. But with the right strategy, it works, and it can be a very automated and systematic way to get tax planning leads or even accounting leads on autopilot.

With paid ads, you can reach a wider audience and scale up your results much quicker than with the other tax planning lead generation strategies on this list.

Once you set up your ads correctly, it usually takes only a few days for you to start generating leads. In fact, in many cases, you can even get leads the same day you turn the ads on.

So, how does it work? Here are the steps involved: 

• Create Your Lead Generation Funnel: It starts with building an appointment funnel. Consider the funnel the pathway that transforms these strangers into potential appointments and clients.  
• Targeting the Right Audience: These platforms’ precision targeting & advanced algorithm allows you to speak directly to those who need your expertise the most. For instance, you can target business owners on Facebook ads who make a certain amount of yearly revenue.
• Create Engaging Ads: Design visually appealing ads that clearly show the benefits of your tax planning services. Use clear calls-to-action (CTAs) to encourage potential clients to learn more or get in touch. Ensure they’re optimized for mobile. 
• Test Different Ad Formats: Feel free to experiment with various ad formats, including image and video ads to see which resonate best with your audience.
• Track and Measure Results: Use the analytics tools provided by the platforms to track the performance of your ads and make data-driven decisions.

Understand The Costs

Cost is a key aspect of running paid ads for tax planning services. From my experience, other accounting firms pay about $20 for a lead and $200 for a qualified appointment booked with a business owner interested in tax planning services. 

However, the costs may vary depending on the size of the business. For example, if you want to target companies with higher yearly revenue (say $1 Million or more), you’ll likely need to pay more for that kind of lead.

Another important factor to consider is the messaging. The better your messaging resonates with your target audience, the lower your cost per lead and cost per appointment will be. That’s why knowing what to say in your ads and follow-up emails to get the most conversions is important. 

We have split-tested many tax planning ads for our clients, so we know what works and what doesn’t. This saves you time and money because you don’t have to start from scratch and try to guess what will likely work.

For more info on our services, watch our free masterclass training. 

Getting High-Quality Tax Planning Clients Is Possible

As we have shown in this article, accountants have multiple strategies at their disposal to get tax planning leads and clients. 

You can optimize your content for search engines like Google and YouTube. Creating targeted content optimized around relevant keywords can increase your firm’s online visibility and generate consistent, warm leads.

LinkedIn also provides an excellent, low-cost way to target your ideal tax planning clients. If you are a bigger firm with huge advertising budgets, paid ads on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok are ideal. 

These platforms offer excellent audience targeting capabilities. You can develop ad creatives and offers to quickly get your ads in front of tax planning prospects. 

No matter which strategy you prioritize, you should ensure it matches your firm’s strengths and resources. That’s the only way to fill your sales funnel with high-value leads and clients.

In a niche like accounting, relationships and trust are important. You need a constant source of new prospective client leads to grow and stay profitable. 

That is exactly what we do at Skyline Social.

We can provide you with done-for-you or consulting tax planning lead generation services. Schedule a free call today to discuss how we can help. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Finally, here are a few common questions accountants have asked about tax planning lead generation strategies: