Persuade or Manipulate

Good Business “Persuades”. Poor Business “Manipulates”.

 

Persuading means there is a “win/win” situation, usually leaving a customer winning as well. Providing good value for money is normally one of these.

 

Manipulating means there is a “win/lose” situation, usually leaving the business winning, but the customer losing. Hacking is normally one of these.

 

Which one fits your business?

 

 

Steve Koenig, SCORE Counselor

Visit us at: www.scoresouthflorida.net

 

 

FREE IRS Publications & Instructions

 

As a business owner and a taxpayer, you have a right to pay the least amount of tax the law requires and not a penny more.

 

To do this, you will need to have a working knowledge of the various tax laws that may impact your business and taxes, and then make well informed decisions that will minimize your tax bill each year.

 

At the IRS website, www.irs.gov you can either download or have mailed to you, for free, various IRS Publications & Instructions that cover a wide range of tax issues simply by calling the IRS at 1-800-829-3676. 

 

You can also order various tax forms such as W-2, W-3, 1099-Miscellaneous Income & 1096, for free and the IRS will mail them to you.

 

The publications and instructions will help you gain some knowledge of the tax rules and how to apply them to various situations.

 

When it comes to taxes, it pays to be informed. And, when it comes to taxes, it is what you don't know that can be very costly in terms of additional taxes, penalties, and interest charges.

 

 

This article was written by Donald M. Scherzi, CPA, CFP, LLC

 

Mike Lupo, SCORE Counselor

 

Visit us at: www.scoresouthflorida.net

 

Suggestions For Sales Prospects

Seek out trade directories, sphere of influence relations, prior customers, new business operations that are prospects for your product/service. Prioritize this list as to who can be closed rather quickly, who is having financial issues, and conversely who is having a great year and would have the funding to support new services or products.


Find the decision maker and send via priority mail a two - three page PowerPoint about you, your company, and your product. Keep it very brief, to the point of trying only to get the appointment. You are not selling for an order in this call. Be sure your product, service etc., is positioned to fill the need you are trying to close/fill. Product positioning is critical to "spinning" the need for your company.

SMILE during the phone call (people sense it) and be sure to point out why you truly believe your product or service is a perfect fit and/or need for them. Follow up, have patience, focus and love what the results of a successful call can be to you.




OWEN KOFF Score Counselor
Visit us at: www.scoresouthflorida.net

 

Tax Scams & How to Protect Yourself

 

Tax scams are becoming both more frequent and more sophisticated. As a taxpayer, it is critical that you are aware of some of these scams and how you can protect yourself.

 

REMEMBER: The IRS doesn't initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text messages, or social media channels to request personal or financial information. In addition, the IRS doesn't threaten taxpayers with lawsuits, imprisonment or other enforcement actions.

 

Common tax scams include the following:

 

1-Fake IRS Impersonation Telephone Scams

 

2-Fake Email

 

3-Phishing

 

4-Malware Schemes

 

5-Fake Text Messages

 

6-Fake Social Media

 

7-Fake Robo-Calls

 

8-Fake Snail Mail

 

How you can protect yourself:

 

1-IMMEDIATELY hang up on anyone calling claiming to be from the IRS.

 

2-NEVER open any emails claiming to be from the IRS or tax related.

 

3-NEVER respond to text messages claiming to be from the IRS or tax related.

 

4-IGNORE social media information if you are contacted regarding your tax information.

 

5-NEVER give out personal or financial information to anyone you do not know and cannot verify.

 

REMEMBER: If in doubt, ALWAYS contact the IRS directly at 800-829-1040. The IRS will only contact you by mail and even then you should call the IRS to verify the notice is legitimate and not a scam.

 

 

This article was written by Donald M. Scherzi, CPA, CFP, LLC

Mike Lupo, SCORE Counselor

Visit us at: www.scoresouthflorida.net