Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/511071
May 2015 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 23 Evidence of what dedicated marketing and planning can do "Atorneys are a very hard group to market to. It's difcult to get their atention and get in front of them. I k n e w w e n e e d e d h e l p t o r e a c h them," said Meilinger. One vendor that helped the frm get noticed was Build Your Firm, Inc. "They developed our website a nd helped us w it h SEO [Sea rch Engine Optimization]—two things I didn't know a lot about. With the help of Build Your Firm, our site has real ly moved up in search engine rankings," Meilinger stated. "I also took marketing and management workshops, which helped me beter manage my frm by assigning every client a manager and marketing our services much more efectively." T he f i r m's website ha s ser ved them well—developed as the pri- mar y marketing tool. "Recently, I had one new cl ient wa l k i n for a consultation with a $5,000 retainer check writen. He was already sold on our services by just reviewing our website," said Meilinger. According to Meilinger, another core element of success is persis- tence. "You have to be vigilant about communicating with atorneys. You also have to give away a lot of free information. I knew that the more I educated atorneys, the more likely they would be to contact my frm." A nd h i s p e r s i s t e nc e pa id of f . Today, Mike Meilinger has a strong refer ra l prog ra m i n place. "Once you've successfully completed a case for an atorney, [he/she] w ill con- tinue to refer work to you and refer you to other atorneys." Equally important to the frm's s uc c e s s w a s prop e r pl a n n i n g— which included building the right team and adopting the right tech- nology. On the litigation side, Mei- linger Consulting takes advantage of M ic rosof t Word a nd E xcel to maintain volumes of forensic docu- mentation. On the tax side, the frm uses CCH tax planning sofware and Quick Books. Additionally, the frm uses Chrometa to track their time and Asana for project management for both litigation and tax. Asana in particular has transformed the way Meil- inger's team communicates and works together. Chro- meta, accord ing to Mei l- inger, "Is a multi-tasker's dream because it tracks a multitude of projects and t a sk s t hat my tec h tea m and I touch on any given day." He added, " We a re h a p p y w i t h t h e b r o a d technolog y system we've d e v e l o p e d . I t h e l p s t o s t r e a m l i n e w o r k a n d maintain organized fles." I n t e r m s o f s t a f f i n g , Mike Meilinger is the frst t o s a y t h a t t h e r i g h t employees make the frm. "People a re t he most i mpor t a nt a s s e t . I f I d i d n't h a v e m y t e a m beh i nd me, I wou ld n't be as suc- cessf ul. You have to make time in your planning eforts to identif y and hire the right people." Closing Arguments Building a frm within a new vertical market isn't easy; it takes focus and dedication. It also takes passion for what you do, and Mike Meilinger stands out as a zealous professional who tr uly believes in his work . "I look forward to working with clients and helping t hem to understand, setle, or litigate their cases. I'm very passionate about prov iding these services to my clients." Over the past few years, Meilinger and his staf have labored greatly to build the boutique frm. Dedicating time to marketing and building a strong referral program, recruiting qualif ied staff, and implementing the right technologies to suppor t work fow—Meilinger Consulting is a forensic force to be reckoned with. With an ever-grow ing client base, it's safe to say that there is no (rea- sonable) doubt t hat Mei l i nger is positioned for ongoing success. Kristy Short, Ed.D, is president of rwc360, LLC ( rwc360.com )—a frm dedicated to providing branding , marketing , and public relations services exclusively to the accounting profession. She is also a professor of English and marketing. Reach her at kristy@rwc360.com . If you'd like us to consider sharing your frm's story of innovation in a future issue, email Kristy Short and let her know.