Hello. The headline was to get attention.... I'm not really trying to PIMP my tax customers literally....... but i am interested in generating more income from my existing client base. I've heard it referred to as "picking the low hanging fruit" or "digging for diamonds in my own back yard."
Don't let my language disturb you. Anytime I offer my clients anything but tax services, i make sure to have them sign a 7216 Consent to Use of Tax Return Info and a 7216 Consent to Disclosure of Tax Return info to make sure i have their written consent to offer additional services, like Health Insurance.
I am a tax preparer in Shreveport and have been filing taxes for 24 years and like it or not, Obama care has created the biggest opportunity for the tax industry since they started efiling in 1989. During the "tax event," the actual sit-down where individuals meet with their preparer and have their returns prepared, we are asking taxpayers, "Do you have health insurance?" And so far about 70% of our customers do not. And many have pretty much tuned out of the discussion 1) because they've never had health insurance or haven't in a really long time and 2) all the negative publicity really took its toll on the uninsured because most have yet to even start the process.
But as a tax preparer I'm in an incredibly influential position, because as a feature of my software, i'm able to calculate the projected Premium Tax Credit, projected annual Penalty for Noncompliance, and print out information that may be required to apply for insurance, and then direct them to a licensed agent that can help them.
So in an effort to take advantage of the opportunity we've partnered with a local agent that is certified as an Enroller to process the leads. And since he can not solicit the leads in anyway, we are using our relationships established over years of providing trusted tax preparation, to setup appointments for our customers to talk to someone that can assist them in applying for coverage, to help them avoid paying a penalty on next year's tax return.
WE have the demographic and income information to target our customers that would benefit from this FREE counseling and are generating a fair amount of appointments and the response has been mostly positive. The negative side has been the length of time it takes to actually process an individual application through a combination of the website and support hotlines. Obviously this process is the limiting factor and without any improvement in the signup process, i feel like we're not going to be able to help as many of our customers avoid the tax penalty next year.
I think the answer is probably partnering with more agents that can could share the load right now such a limited window of opportunity before the open enrollment closes March 31st. And so that brings me to the point of my introductory narrative here:
With our ability to provide agents with pre-sold, targeted-leads-ready-to-buy, along with the demographic information required to complete the applications and setup the appointments for them, how much would an agent be willing to pay for such qualified leads, especially if the closing percentage of applicants proves to be high because of the subsidies?
Right now we have negotiated for $60 for any applicants that result in a sale. The only alternative we have to that is our software provider has provided us with a tracking link that we would direct our customers too in the hopes that they would successfully complete an application. WE expect the actual conversion rate using the tracking link to be very low.
We believe it will take hand-to-hand referrals to covert leads into sales. And for lack of any tact, I'm hoping this forum can help me figure out how to monetize my involvement and I will in turn offer any detail or insight I can for those agents interested in approaching tax preparers in your towns.
Thank your for the opportunity to share in your discussions and I look forward to hearing what the board has to say.
Don't let my language disturb you. Anytime I offer my clients anything but tax services, i make sure to have them sign a 7216 Consent to Use of Tax Return Info and a 7216 Consent to Disclosure of Tax Return info to make sure i have their written consent to offer additional services, like Health Insurance.
I am a tax preparer in Shreveport and have been filing taxes for 24 years and like it or not, Obama care has created the biggest opportunity for the tax industry since they started efiling in 1989. During the "tax event," the actual sit-down where individuals meet with their preparer and have their returns prepared, we are asking taxpayers, "Do you have health insurance?" And so far about 70% of our customers do not. And many have pretty much tuned out of the discussion 1) because they've never had health insurance or haven't in a really long time and 2) all the negative publicity really took its toll on the uninsured because most have yet to even start the process.
But as a tax preparer I'm in an incredibly influential position, because as a feature of my software, i'm able to calculate the projected Premium Tax Credit, projected annual Penalty for Noncompliance, and print out information that may be required to apply for insurance, and then direct them to a licensed agent that can help them.
So in an effort to take advantage of the opportunity we've partnered with a local agent that is certified as an Enroller to process the leads. And since he can not solicit the leads in anyway, we are using our relationships established over years of providing trusted tax preparation, to setup appointments for our customers to talk to someone that can assist them in applying for coverage, to help them avoid paying a penalty on next year's tax return.
WE have the demographic and income information to target our customers that would benefit from this FREE counseling and are generating a fair amount of appointments and the response has been mostly positive. The negative side has been the length of time it takes to actually process an individual application through a combination of the website and support hotlines. Obviously this process is the limiting factor and without any improvement in the signup process, i feel like we're not going to be able to help as many of our customers avoid the tax penalty next year.
I think the answer is probably partnering with more agents that can could share the load right now such a limited window of opportunity before the open enrollment closes March 31st. And so that brings me to the point of my introductory narrative here:
With our ability to provide agents with pre-sold, targeted-leads-ready-to-buy, along with the demographic information required to complete the applications and setup the appointments for them, how much would an agent be willing to pay for such qualified leads, especially if the closing percentage of applicants proves to be high because of the subsidies?
Right now we have negotiated for $60 for any applicants that result in a sale. The only alternative we have to that is our software provider has provided us with a tracking link that we would direct our customers too in the hopes that they would successfully complete an application. WE expect the actual conversion rate using the tracking link to be very low.
We believe it will take hand-to-hand referrals to covert leads into sales. And for lack of any tact, I'm hoping this forum can help me figure out how to monetize my involvement and I will in turn offer any detail or insight I can for those agents interested in approaching tax preparers in your towns.
Thank your for the opportunity to share in your discussions and I look forward to hearing what the board has to say.
