Accounting & Tax Advisory is a boutique accounting and tax advisory firm headquartered in Toronto, serving tech startups and SMBs. The client's target personas are CFOs, Finance VPs, and Controllers in companies across Canada and the US who need specialized tax planning and outsourced accounting.
Challenges
Crowded, low-trust market: Finance leaders are inundated with pitches from accounting firms. As a smaller firm, the client struggled to establish credibility via cold outreach in a field dominated by referrals and big-name firms.
Timing and relevance: Many prospects already had providers or were mid-fiscal year, so outreach often reached them when they weren’t looking to switch providers.
Complex services: the client has deep expertise in R&D tax credits and cross-border compliance, but that nuance got lost in generic pitch emails; prospects didn’t quickly grasp these benefits.
Limited sales capacity: The partners juggled all sales. Prospecting was inconsistent and often paused during the busy season, leading to lost opportunities.
"Our line of work relies so much on trust and we were not sure cold outreach could ever work PrompX proved it can by educating and engaging prospects first"
- Managing Partner, Accounting and Tax Advisory
Our Approach
1. Trust-building messaging
PrompX revamped outreach content to lead with educational value and credibility markers. Initial emails included a quick tax savings tip or industry stat (e.g. “75% of eligible tech firms overpay taxes”) before introducing the client, providing immediate value. We also highlighted the firm’s CPA credentials and a client success snippet up front to build trust.
2. Event-based triggers
We monitored triggers like fiscal year-ends, funding announcements, and new tax regulations. Outreach was timed to moments when prospects re-evaluate finances (e.g. right after a funding round or in Q4 for year-end planning), increasing receptiveness.
3. Personalized follow-ups
Each prospect received a tailored sequence. If a CFO clicked an email about R&D credits, the next email focused on an R&D credit success story. Using CRM tracking, we dynamically adjusted messaging based on each prospect’s interests.
4. Multi-channel cadence
Beyond email, PrompX leveraged LinkedIn to join groups and engage with prospects’ posts, subtly boosting the client’s visibility. We also followed up email opens with a gentle call invitation (“Saw you liked our tax tip, happy to share more if you have 15 minutes”), which boosted meeting rates.
5. Outsourced SDR support
A dedicated PrompX SDR took on day-to-day prospecting and meeting scheduling, closely aligned with the client’s partners. This ensured no lead fell through the cracks even during busy periods, effectively giving the firm consistent outbound coverage.
Key Metrics
→ 45 sales meetings set with CFOs, VPs of Finance, and Controllers over 4 months, far more new prospect conversations than the firm had ever seen in a similar timeframe.
→ Within one quarter, 20% of those meetings converted into paying clients (9 new clients), directly adding substantial recurring revenue.
→ The campaign generated roughly $600K in qualified proposals, a significant portion of which closed (the remainder stayed in the pipeline for future quarters).
→ Email engagement rates reached 30% (opens or replies), thanks to the value-first approach, substantially higher than the 10% the firm saw previously. Prospects often replied referencing the helpful tips we shared.
→ The client's partners noted a smoother sales process: by the time they spoke with prospects, the groundwork was laid. Prospects referenced our outreach content and calls jumped straight to needs and solutions, shortening the sales cycle by 25%.
Key Takeaways
1. Leading with free expertise (tips, insights) helped a smaller firm gain trust and stand out in a crowded, skeptical market.
2. Timing outreach around financial milestones or pain points (like year-end or new funding) dramatically improved relevance and open rates.
3. Aligning an SDR with firm leadership ensured no leads fell through the cracks during busy periods, turning an ad-hoc sales effort into a consistent pipeline machine.
Ready to Get Started?
Need to grow your client base in a trust-driven field? PrompX’s approach combines education, timing, and personal touch to earn you meetings and clients you thought were out of reach.
PrompX Team
Accounting & Tax Services Success Story