By Scott Cytron
Bottled water … designer coffee … Smartphones. All great ideas most of us wish we had thought of instead of someone else – and now, along comes Irene Bushnell of Anderson Zurmuelen & Co., P.C., and Kevin Cumley of Forepoint LLC, with another great idea: the QuickBooks Conference Kit, a turnkey solution for practitioners, ProAdvisors and Intuit Solution Providers to provide QuickBooks training and education to clients and prospects.
Scott Cytron: What do you two do for your “day jobs?”
Irene Bushnell: I am a shareholder with Anderson Zurmuehlen in Helena, Mont., and spend the majority of my time working with clients as a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor. AZ is a full-service accounting and business consulting firm offering audit and accounting, tax, litigation support, human resources, and technology consulting services to business and individual clients.
Kevin Cumley: Forepoint has offices in Helena, Mont.; Seattle and Vancouver in Washington State; Madison, Wisc.; and Honolulu, Hawaii. I am in the Helena office, where, as president, I provide strategic direction for all of our services. These include needs assessment, selection, installation, training and ongoing support of business software applications. We resell, and consult on, Sage Accpac, Sage CRM, Deltek, Intuit and AscentisHR.
SC: You sort of glossed over the fact that both of you are in Helena. Is that how you got together to create the QuickBooks Conference Kit?
IB: Our firms work together when needed on consultations and installations, but Kevin and I have known each other for quite some time, with mutual respect and admiration on both sides. We’re both in Helena because it’s a great place to live!
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Kevin Cumley
Irene Bushnell |
SC: Tell me why you created the QuickBooks Conference Kit.
KC: In today’s economy, survival is based on providing in-demand, focused services to clients to retain them for the long term and enable them to provide prospect referrals. Firms who are complacent – satisfied to offer the status quo or even basic services without building out their offerings for increased potential – will not last. However, for every “we’ve always done it this way” firm, there are five more ready to gobble up the first firm’s clients. Finding ways to outlast the competition and stand apart from other firms is hugely important.
IB: One of the ways to stand apart is to offer up yourself as an expert in various areas, such as QuickBooks, to help clients get more out of their software and run their businesses more efficiently. However, apart from random phone calls and in-person visits, most providers don’t know how to offer their own brand of additional education and don’t want to take the time to develop materials on their own. The QuickBooks Conference Kit does that for them.
SC: Sounds like a “Conference-in-a-Box?”
IB: It’s much more than that, but think about the “package” itself. In a soft survey we conducted, we know firms and providers want solutions that are often tied up with a pretty ribbon – something they can unwrap and begin using right away. Software vendors, including Intuit, have done this for years by providing plug-and-play solutions to end users that are easy to install and simple to learn.
Now think about the thousands of CPA firms, Intuit Solution Providers and QuickBooks ProAdvisors who want to build their practices by providing value-added advice on something like QuickBooks. You’re back to square one with the dilemma of how to increase your own billings through consulting, without hours and hours of educational program development.
SC: How does the Kit work?
KC: The Kit provides proven, high-quality materials, including planning checklists, marketing templates and advice, complete session content with PowerPoints and speaker notes, event materials and forms, and a comprehensive user guide. It has three options that build on each other. Level 1 includes materials and content to produce a one- or two-day conference, while Level 2 includes extra coaching help and conference planning. With Level 3, we send experienced presenters to deliver keynote and other conference sessions.
IB: Even at both ends of the cost spectrum -- $2,500 to $7,500 depending on the Level and a one versus a two-day conference – the staff time involved in creating these materials from scratch would be enormous and much costlier than the Kit’s fees. With the Kit, all firms need to do is book a venue, market the program through collateral materials we provide, and then conduct the conference, which we also assist with depending on the Level. In addition, the firm or provider has access to the materials for a full year. This is great for new clients or current clients who need retaining.
SC: What’s been the response so far?
IB: Very positive. The response from conference attendees has been incredible. Evaluations and conversations with attendees clearly tell us that the content and the experience delivers exceptional value, with information they can take back and begin using right away.
KC: We also have great support from Intuit because the Kit extends the Intuit brand. We are working with Intuit on cross-promotions and marketing opportunities.