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Why Aren’t You Giving Your Clients Hope?
The Roz Report
NOV/DEC 2022
888.670.0303 WWW.ROZSTRATEGIES.COM
AUTHORIZED MEMBER 2022
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Don’t Make This Business Mistake!
A Lesson From Our Hawaiian Vacation
Every year after our Tax Resolution Success Summit, Roslyn and I take a vacation. It’s our way of unwinding after the hard work of planning and running the event — and if you ask me, the best place on earth to do that is Maui, Hawaii. My idea of a vacation is parking myself in a cabana between the pool and the ocean and only moving enough to go from the pool, to the cabana, to the ocean, then back to the cabana. I pretty much stay put for four days straight and bask in the sweet Hawaiian air. It’s my happy place! So, as you can imagine, a great cabana is pretty important to me. Since 2003, I’ve been convinced that the Grand Wailea has the best cabanas on Maui. They’re always the same: Next time you need to make a decision that will affect your customers, choose a path that’s based on reality, not what you imagine is best in your mind.
asked the hotel staff if we could bring over an extra armchair from one of the unused cabanas. They said, “Nope, that is against our policy.”That didn’t make sense to me, especially since it was after Labor Day and most of the cabanas were empty, so I asked to speak to the person who was in charge. The Cabana Manager told me that the higher-ups at Hilton had decided in the boardroom that the chair couldn’t be moved from cabana to cabana. The best they could do to accommodate us was provide a folding chair.
Michael and Roslyn Vacationing in Maui
I couldn’t believe it.
“Have you ever actually stayed in your hotel and used these new cabanas?” I asked the manager.
nice beige structures with four lounge chairs, a fridge, a fan, and a TV. I knew exactly what I was getting into when I booked two rooms and a cabana for myself, Roslyn, our daughter Erica, her husband Ramsey, and our 6-month-old granddaughter Emma this summer. Or at least I thought I did. When we got to Maui, we discovered the resort had taken away all of the old cabanas and replaced them with new ones! Instead of four lounge chairs, each cabana had one armchair and a big day bed that supposedly fit four people … except that it definitely didn’t.
He gave me exactly the answer I expected: “Of course not!”
Here’s what gets me upset about this whole situation. The decision about whether or not we could move a chair from one cabana to another was made at the corporate level by people who had never stayed at the Grand Wailea. They had no idea how one daybed was uncomfortable and unable to accommodate four people like it was supposed to do. They had no clue that the change from four lounge chairs to one daybed and a chair could lose
I wasn’t too excited to squeeze onto the daybed with the whole family, so I
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Give Yourself Permission
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
With the new year approaching, instead of thinking about what your New Year’s resolutions are going to be, because let’s face it, how often does that work out? For most of us, by February, the list of changes we were going to make, like working out every day, losing weight, etc., has fallen by the wayside or been postponed until next year’s list. Instead of making a list of resolutions, make a pivot to give yourself permission to pursue one thing you’ve wanted to do for yourself but feel guilty about. You might be wondering what I mean by that. Why would you feel guilty about doing something good for yourself? I’ve noticed that there are certain things we feel guilty about for different reasons. For example, I have a good friend named Debi who said she liked to eat fresh fruit — she and her husband are empty nesters — but she didn’t want to buy an entire watermelon or a basket of strawberries and blueberries because if they couldn’t eat it all and it would spoil. I told her to buy the small, individual packages of cut-up fruit. She shared that she felt a little guilty spending the extra money on it. I told her, “Big picture, you’ll eat what you buy, it won’t spoil, and you won’t waste money. How often do we think it’s okay to spend money on other things we eat? Fruit is good for you, you can afford it, and I give you permission to buy it in the smaller size package.” She told me that hearing me say that made her feel better about doing something she wanted to do but felt she shouldn’t. That is just one example, and it isn’t even a big pivot, but in a way, it is, because
what could be better for yourself than eating healthy? And if you spend a little extra to eat the healthy foods you desire, there’s a better chance of it becoming a habit that’s good for you.
our project manager, moved to Texas. Michael and I decided to give it try for her to work remotely and come to Los Angeles when we needed her for product launches and events. I never thought it would work out, but it has. At the beginning of the year, I mentioned to Michael how I wanted to work from home one day a week, and he was fine with it. It’s taken me practically the entire year to give myself permission to do this. And what I’ve discovered on the days I’ve worked from home is that I’m more productive because I’m not in as many meetings and I can focus and accomplish more in a shorter amount of time. When you lean toward giving yourself permission to do something that you want to do that’s good for you, or makes you happy, whether it’s taking time off to go on vacation, working one day from home, or even buying individual packages of fresh fruit, it will become a habit faster and easier than making a list of things you’re supposed to do for yourself that you really don’t want to do and eventually will stop doing. Here’s my question to you: What’s the one thing on your mind that you’ve wanted to do for yourself, but feel, for whatever reason haven’t allowed yourself to do? I’m giving you
Why is it that so many times when it comes to pursuing something we want, we don’t think we deserve it? Is it because what we desire is different than the norm, and we have a hard time doing something differently? Or maybe it’s our upbringing, cultural, or even societal thinking. Whatever it is, I’m sometimes at fault of that thinking too. I’ve been wanting to make a change this year, and I’m pretty sure what I feel guilty about is all in my head. I’ve wanted to work from home on Mondays and haven’t allowed myself to do that. I’m the boss, so there’s no one stopping me, yet the norm, or what used to be the norm, is to go to work Monday through Friday. With the pandemic, more people are working remotely, but in our business, everyone comes to the office. Last January, Ruthie, Instead of making a list of resolutions, make a pivot to give yourself permission to pursue one thing you’ve wanted to do for yourself but feel guilty about.
permission to do it! Go for it! You deserve it, and you’re going to thank yourself later that you did. It’s something to think about.
–Roslyn Rozbruch
2 • www.rozstrategies.com
PRACTICE CORNER FROM THE When Does It Make Sense to Hire a New Employee?
Every business owner struggles with staffing issues, especially these days. The most common struggle is where to look to find the right person for the job. Another challenge is when to hire this person. Surprisingly, the best time to hire somebody is when you can least afford to do so, because if you’re a solopreneur (aka a “one-arm
marketing is the oxygen for your business, especially professional practices.
The other thing business owners ask me is, “Michael,
where do I recruit? How do I find my next new team member?” Now, this is counterintuitive because most people use ZipRecruiter, Indeed, or LinkedIn.
paper hanger”), let’s face it: Everything revolves around you, and you are the bottleneck in your firm. If this is you, what you have is a high-paying job versus a real business. A real business has systems and processes. You need predictable systems, so when you’re not in the office (on vacation, for example), the business still runs and generates revenue without you physically there. In order to accomplish this, you need people to whom you can delegate non- revenue producing activities to free up your time.
Here’s what I recommend in addition to, or in lieu of, using those sites. You have a plethora of email addresses of your clients (past and present) and from referral sources. Use this list as a jumping-off point and send an email with the subject line, “We’re expanding …” and put it in a brief description of the type of person you’re looking for, because I bet you that someone in your database,
someone in your world, someone in your circle of influence — it could be a current client, it could be a referral source — happens to know the perfect candidate that
If you’re a business owner, you should be spending most of your day generating leads and
would be a great fit for you and your business.
talking to qualified prospects and making it rain, not actually working IN your business. You should be working ON your business, and to do that, you need help from team members that you can rely on. So when should you do that? When should you hire that person? The answer is when you can least afford to, meaning now! Because something magical happens when you have to make payroll every Friday or every other Friday. You start figuring things out on how to generate more revenue for your firm. Another interesting phenomenon happens when you have someone on payroll. All of a sudden, marketing becomes a top priority. After all, just like oxygen is essential to life,
As you implement this hiring strategy, you will see your business grow, just like mine did. I started by myself, and within a month, I hired a front office person. I ultimately grew to 135 employees. Of course, you don’t need to hire hundreds of employees to be successful. At Roz Strategies, our company is a lot smaller with seven team members, including Roslyn and me. My point is it’s important to have team members so you can scale your business. So if you’re a solopreneur, take that next step and hire your first employee. It’s scary but worth it!
–Michael Rozbruch
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Ben Butterfield, EA Founder’s Mastermind Member Spotlight:
“Peace of mind. That’s my kind of thing,” says Ben Butterfield, CEO and founding member of BPB Tax Resolutions, LLC, in Omaha, Nebraska. This lifelong Nebraskan, or Cornhusker as
to feel like they’re in the right spot,” he says. Ben sends out a welcome package and a gift or two throughout their time as a client. He says, “We use Roz’s recommendation of contacting clients at least once a month. We cater to giving
he likes to say, speaks with an ease that instills trust and care — a trait that serves him well when working with frightened taxpayers. Ben started his career in the corporate finance world. He graduated from the University of Nebraska in Omaha in just three and a half years. He went on to earn his MBA and became a certified management accountant (CMA). Ben says, “Most of my working life has been in the corporate world. I held various positions in finance and accounting, kind of climbing the ladder, but around 2014, I realized I wanted to be in business for myself.” Ben planned to build his business on tax prep and decided to add EA to his list of credentials and became an Enrolled Agent. He soon realized how many tax prep clients he’d need
clients comfort because they’re all worried, nervous, and upset when they call. My personality is calming, kind of laid-back, so I just talk to them and tell them I understand and can help them.” One of Ben’s favorite client stories is actually one of his smaller cases, but it highlights the reason he enjoys tax resolution so much. “The client owed $12,000. It wasn’t a big deal to the IRS, but this family was dirt poor and couldn’t afford anything. They were scared to death,” Ben recalls. “I was able to find an error the IRS had made, submitted a correction, and had the entire $12,000 removed. When I called to tell the wife, she was nonstop sobbing because she was
to achieve his goals. Then, a few tax resolution cases came his way, and he thought, “Hey, if I get one of these resolution cases, I’ll handle it as it comes. I wasn’t aggressively marketing for it, but I enjoyed working them.” A few years into his practice, Ben also realized how much he enjoyed helping people with tax problems. “That’s when I did some research and found Roz Strategies,” Ben says. “I felt good about having a Roz membership because I knew with any challenge, I could reach out for support.” Sending direct mail to PTIN holders was one of Ben’s first strategies. “That’s what I did in 2019,” he says, “and I gained quite a few referrals. Interestingly, I had a call yesterday, and I got a client from that mailing from three years ago!” Other marketing strategies he uses are Google Ads as well as organic searches to market his business. He says the two seem to work hand-in- hand. He makes YouTube videos and posts them on his website.
so relieved. Something like that makes you realize why you’re doing this. Tax resolution is a very satisfying type of business. You’re really helping people.” Ben and his wife Dawn have three adult children, Alec, Blake, and Hunter. The couple recently became empty nesters when their youngest went off to college. Ben is proud to say Hunter is an official Cornhusker, playing the snare drum in the University of Nebraska’s marching band. This means at least some of the Butterfields’ leisure time will be spent going to home games to watch their son play. Travel is also on the agenda. After managing well with a liver condition for 20 years, Ben suddenly needed a liver transplant. He’s doing well after surgery in early 2022. To help in his recovery, he and Dawn decided to plan a couples’ trip. “Right before the transplant, we were keeping as positive of a mindset as possible. Dawn and I said, ‘Hey, let’s plan the trip right now because we’re going to get through this. I’m going to be fine. And so, in a year, we’re going to Hawaii.’” Ben shared his story in a calm, measured tone. It’s kind of his thing.
Ben positions his business as a boutique service that offers red carpet, white-glove treatment. “I really want the client
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Attendee Shout Out! Superheroes, All of You
A BIG shout out to the over 700 of you who attended our 7th Annual Tax Resolution Virtual Success Summit this past August! This year, we celebrated you, the Tax Resolution Specialist, as superheroes! You are superheroes because you save your clients’ financial lives every day! Besides all registrants receiving the Playbook in
their Event Box, attendees also received superhero swag including T-shirts, mugs, snacks, and much more! Thank you to all who attended! It was an amazing experience, and we’re already planning next year’s Success Summit!
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SHOUT Way to go, Guy Finocchiaro for signing two new clients, one with a $15,000 deposit and $4,000 per month retainer until the case is resolved, and the other with a $25,000 deposit and $8,000 per month until the case is resolved. These two cases alone will earn Guy $300,000 in fees! INCREDIBLE! Thanks for the Shout Out to Michael and other Founder’s Mastermind members who helped you make this happen! Teamwork is dream work! Congratulations to RC Thornton for his record month of closing $75,000 in sales! Now it’s time to hire some help for the office! High-five to Tracie Lowe for saving a client $250,000 in penalties. Wow! Congratulations to Ben Golden for having your company, Golden Tax Relief, receive the Inc. 5000 fastest growing companies honor for 2022 and be ranked 410 on the list out of 5,000 other companies also honored. That’s awesome! Way to go, Sharon Lewis for giving your first live presentation to real estate agents and receiving a prospect immediately following the presentation. High-five to Dionne Cheshier for reducing her client’s IRS tax debt from $17,851.40 to $75. Now, that’s a great negotiation! Congrats to David Rappaport and signing a client for $15,000! Kudos to Melinda Tolbert for being retained for over six figures for a client who owes over a million! That’s what we call Supercharging Your Profits®! High five to Timalyn Bowens for being quoted in The Wall Street Journal in an article about late filing penalties. Be sure to post this, frame it, and use it to show you are the authority on tax resolution and ACE! Nice going, Jesus Abikarram , whose client owed over $11,000 to the IRS, but Jesus helped him receive a refund of $1,100! Congratulations to George Leddicotte for signing two clients in one week; one will be billed a minimum of $26,000, and the other found him from an internet search!
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them customers — because they never bothered to find out. Don’t make that mistake in your tax resolution business. Next time you need to make a decision that will affect your clients, choose a path that’s based on reality, not what you imagine is best in your mind. Make a point to experience the change yourself to judge whether it really is better. Literally take off your shoes, step into the shoes of your client, and go through the process. If you don’t, you’ll be making a huge mistake. For example, imagine you want to swap your phone on-hold music for a recording explaining all of the benefits of your service. That’s what we did at our company, and I think it’s a great way to improve the caller experience, pre-sell them, and educate them before you, or anyone at your firm gets on the phone. But you shouldn’t take my word for it. Instead, call your company yourself, have someone put you on hold, and listen to your current on-hold music or message. Then, listen to a recording explaining all the benefits the client will receive by working with you. Which one do you think is better? Which one would your clients really prefer? You should never implement a change in your business just because it looks good on paper or because you learned about it at a conference or it’s what everybody else is doing. You should ultimately only make changes when they benefit your clients. Whether you run a hotel or a tax resolution company, the happier your clients are, the better your bottom line will be. Now, I need to write a letter to the Grand Wailea so they can fix this problem before my visit next year.
–Michael Rozbruch
6 • www.rozstrategies.com
OUTS ! Kudos to Victoria Blasiak for using Michael’s system of overcoming objections and closing a $13,000 client. And good for Victoria for mailing out her newsletters for the last three months and receiving $12,500 in tax resolution fees so far! Keep mailing them out! High-five to Alan Barber and John Adair for mailing out lien letters, getting clients, and being retained! Way to go Michele Newman for using Michael’s one-close strategy to close a $5,000 client. High-five to Christopher Chapman for being retained by their first resolution clients. Way to go, Paula Kingsbury for acquiring a number of clients recently by following Michael’s marketing strategies. Kudos to Elizabeth Holladay and Franklyn Bratini for mailing out your referral letters. Do you have a story or picture to share with us about something you’ve implemented, a client you’ve helped with a tax problem, or anything else you’d like to share? If you do, email it to Info@RozStrategies.com, and we will give a Shout Out to you!
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11271 Ventura Blvd. #612 Studio City, CA 91604 Inside This Issue pg 1 ∙
Avoid This Common Business Mistake
Give Yourself Permission
pg 2 ∙
When Does It Make Sense to Hire a New Employee?
pg 3 ∙
Founder’s Mastermind Member Spotlight
pg 4 ∙
Thanks to All Who Attended!
pg 5 ∙
Shout Outs!
pg 6 ∙
Charlie Sheen’s Big IRS Win
pg 8 ∙
IRS Terror Tale of the Month A Round of Applause for Charlie Sheen’s Tax Team!
For once, our Terror Tale isn’t a story about the IRS crushing a celebrity under its heel — it’s an underdog tale of a star fighting back! This summer, actor Charlie Sheen announced that he’d beaten the IRS at its own game. The agency grudgingly agreed to reduce his back tax debt from $7 million to $3.3 million. How did the “Two and a Half Men” star do it? Well, he had an excellent tax resolution team behind him. According to Forbes, the ordeal started when the IRS went after Sheen for back taxes from the years 2015, 2017, and 2018. Sheen’s debt totaled roughly $7 million, and he quickly entered negotiations with the IRS to reduce it. The actor offered first $1.24 million, then
$3.1 million as an offer in compromise. But the IRS turned him down both times — the second time after he sent in a $626,000 down payment. From there, things only got rockier. Sheen’s case bounced from IRS office to IRS office, and the agency refused his proposal of an installment agreement. Ultimately, the case ended up in tax court, where Sheen and his team won the eye-popping reduction to $3.3 million offer in compromise. There’s only one downside to Sheen’s win: He signed an income collateral agreement. That means if he lands an Oscar-worthy acting role with a multimillion-dollar payout in the near future, the IRS “has a right to revisit the
WINNING
compromise and get some of that uptick in income,” according to Forbes. Overall, though, Sheen’s case is a fantastic example of tax resolution work done right.
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