How CSI Accounting Grew Revenue Nearly 2.5x by Educating Buyers Before the First Sales Call

CSI Accounting’s Endless Customers Journey

CSI Accounting & Payroll provides accounting, payroll, and tax services for small businesses and their owners across the country. CEO Brian Paulson joined the firm straight out of college 30 years ago, bought it about five years later, and has grown it to 35 employees and two locations.

For years, CSI relied on a single salesperson, sometimes with a part-time telemarketer, to chase new business. The firm had used HubSpot since 2015 and worked with an outside agency to write articles, but the results never matched the promises.

As Brian put it:

“We weren’t seeing the results that the other company had promised us.”

When COVID hit in 2020, Brian worried the business might shrink. Instead of pulling back, he decided to invest. He read They Ask, You Answer, now known as the Endless Customers System™, in 2021 and began working with IMPACT at the start of 2022.

All in from the start

Brian made a clear commitment to his team about how they would approach the work.

He explained:

“We are going to follow every thing that IMPACT tells us to do. We’re going to do it because if it doesn’t work, we don’t want it to be because we didn’t do something they said to do.”

That meant a significant upfront investment, putting new people on payroll before the added revenue came in. But Brian has always believed in betting on his own business.

How they implemented

With coaching, training, and website support from IMPACT, CSI Accounting:

• Built a five-person in-house team of two salespeople, a content writer, a videographer, and a HubSpot website specialist, with IMPACT helping with recruiting and training.

• Launched a new HubSpot website built by IMPACT, and learned how to actually use the full platform.

• Published articles and videos on its website and YouTube, rewriting or removing older agency-written content.

• Got transparent about pricing, so buyers can see what CSI costs before they ever talk to sales.

• Adopted assignment selling, asking prospects to read and watch specific content before their first meeting.

• Got clear about fit, openly turning away prospects who aren’t a match and helping them find the right firm instead.

• Invested in sales training through IMPACT’s Chris Duprey.

Results

Brian described a business that now grows very differently than it did in 2020:

• Revenue: excluding a 2023 acquisition, revenue is 2 to 2.5 times what it was in 2021.

• Inbound demand: instead of chasing leads through cold calls and networking, most new clients now come from people who find CSI online or on YouTube.

• A stable team: all five members of the sales and marketing team have been with CSI for at least three years, with no turnover.

• Better-fit prospects: buyers arrive already understanding CSI’s services, pricing, and who it’s built for.

• Reviews from non-customers: CSI’s salespeople earn Google reviews from people they turned away, because they were honest about fit and pointed them somewhere better.

Brian described the shift:

“They can see that we’re not the cheapest, but they like what they see. They like the transparency.”

Why coaching mattered

Brian knows how to train an accountant. He doesn’t know how to train a videographer, a content writer, or a website specialist, and he didn’t want to try.

He was direct about the value of IMPACT’s training:

“I couldn’t have trained the people that I have.”

Coaching has also helped CSI stay on track. After attending Endless Customers events, the team has realized it drifted, like writing about tax credits instead of the questions buyers actually ask. To reset, CSI brought all 35 employees together for an Alignment Day with IMPACT.

What’s next

CSI Accounting plans to keep its momentum going:

• Continuing to grow through its in-house sales and marketing team

• Replacing the natural attrition that comes with a larger client base

• Staying aligned on the content buyers actually need

• Remaining open to acquisitions without chasing them

Brian’s advice for other business owners:

“Don’t hesitate to invest in your own business.”

Want results like this in your business?

If your sales team is still chasing every lead, CSI Accounting’s story shows what can happen when you answer buyers’ questions upfront, get honest about fit, and invest in a team that can do the work.

Curious where your business stands today? Take the free Instant Diagnostic to see how buyers and AI see you, or schedule time to talk with our team about what the Endless Customers Coaching Program could look like for you.