Tax Planning Growth Engine & Closer Training Program
A Revenue Blueprint to $500K/Month + Ryan's Path to Elite Closer
April 2026Confidential — Internal Use OnlyPrepared by Dana Cornell
01
Tax Planning Revenue Engine
A data-driven business plan to generate $500,000 in gross revenue per month through a disciplined appointment-setting and closing system, powered by warm leads and Lacee's calendar.
Executive Summary
Tax planning is Cornell Capital Holdings' highest-velocity revenue channel. At $15,000 per engagement with an 83% gross margin, it requires no ongoing delivery infrastructure beyond a competent closer and a full calendar. With Lacee setting warm appointments and Dana (or Ryan) closing, the path to $500,000 per month is a math problem — not a hope.
This plan outlines the unit economics, 90-day ramp, appointment-setting system, closing framework, and scaling path to get there. The inputs are conservative. The model works even at a 40% close rate. With warm leads, expect 50–65%.
Target Monthly Gross
$500K
$6M annualized
Closes Needed / Month
34
At $15,000 per sale
Net After CAC
$415K
83% gross margin
Unit Economics Dashboard
The model below shows required appointments at three close-rate scenarios. With warm leads, 50–65% is realistic. CAC is fixed at $2,500/close regardless of close rate — it's the lead cost, not the call count.
Close Rate
Closes/Month
Appts Needed
Appts/Day (22 days)
CAC Budget
Gross Revenue
Net After CAC
40%
34
85
3.9 / day
$85,000
$510,000
$425,000
50% ★ Target
34
68
3.1 / day
$85,000
$510,000
$425,000
60%
34
57
2.6 / day
$85,000
$510,000
$425,000
Annualized Net Revenue (after CAC)
$4,980,000
Warm Lead Advantage
Because leads are warm (referral, existing relationships, WAN advisor introductions), effective CAC may run $1,500–$2,000 vs. the $2,500 baseline — improving net margin to 87–90%. Every point of close rate improvement above 50% is pure leverage with no additional spend.
90-Day Ramp Plan
Month 1 — Build the Machine
10 Closes$150,000 gross
Define ICP in writing (see below)
Build Lacee's daily workflow & outreach scripts
Set up CRM pipeline stages
Pre-call confirmation sequence live
Pre-frame one-pager or 90-sec video created
Dana closes all calls — track every metric
Validate CAC, show rate, close rate assumptions
Month 2 — Optimize the Funnel
20 Closes$300,000 gross
A/B test 2 outreach message variants
Review show rate — adjust confirmation cadence
Ryan shadows 6+ calls with Dana
Identify top lead sources — double down
Lacee targets 3+ appts/day consistently
Weekly 30-min pipeline review: Dana + Lacee
Ryan begins mock closes (Module 5 begins)
Month 3 — Full Run Rate
34 Closes$510,000 gross
Ryan certified and handling 8–10 closes/month
Dana handling 24–26 closes/month
Lacee filling 3 appts/day across both closers
KPI dashboard live and reviewed weekly
WAN advisors actively feeding tax plan referrals
Scaling conversation begins: add 3rd closer?
Review ticket price — can it move to $18–$20K?
Lead Generation & Appointment Setting System
Ideal Client Profile (ICP)
Lacee should be targeting exclusively. Any lead that doesn't fit should be disqualified before an appointment is set — protecting closer time is the highest-leverage activity in the system.
Business owners with net profit >$200K/year (S-Corp, LLC, C-Corp)
Real estate investors with active rental income or recent acquisitions
Liquidity event candidates — recent or pending business sale, RSU vesting, inheritance
WAN advisor clients — pre-qualified, referred, already trust the ecosystem
Disqualify if: Under $150K income, no business entity, already working with a proactive tax strategist (not just a return preparer), or unwilling to make a decision in the next 90 days.
Lacee's Daily Workflow
Time Block
Activity
Target Output
8:00 – 9:00 AM
CRM review, follow-up sequences, respond to overnight replies
Pipeline current
9:00 – 11:30 AM
Outbound prospecting — LinkedIn, referral follow-ups, WAN advisor check-ins
Follow-up on no-shows, nurture sequences, new lead research
Pipeline stocked for tomorrow
4:30 – 5:00 PM
EOD report to Dana: appts set, pipeline update, flags
1 daily Slack/text update
CRM Pipeline Stages
Stage 1
Lead
Stage 2
Contacted
Stage 3
Appt Set
Stage 4
Showed
Stage 5
Proposal
Stage 6
Closed ✓
Lacee's Outreach Script (LinkedIn / Text / Email)
Initial Outreach — Message 1
[Name] — quick question. Do you work with a tax strategist, or just a CPA who files your return? There's a big difference, and most business owners at your level are leaving $50K–$150K on the table every year because of it. Dana Cornell at Cornell Capital Holdings has helped over [X] business owners identify and capture that gap. Would it make sense to do a 20-minute diagnostic call to see if there's an opportunity in your situation?
Follow-Up — Message 2 (3 days later if no reply)
[Name] — I know this landed in a busy week. Not trying to be persistent for no reason — just that the clients we work with typically see 3x–10x ROI on their tax plan in Year 1. Wanted to make sure you at least knew the option existed. If there's zero interest, just say the word and I'll stop. Otherwise, I can get you 20 minutes with Dana this week.
Closing Framework — The Diagnostic Close
Every tax plan close follows the same architecture. The goal is never to convince — it's to diagnose, quantify the gap, and prescribe one path. Prospects who are qualified and hear the gap articulated clearly almost always close themselves.
Pre-Call Sequence (Lacee Executes)
Confirmation text 24 hours before: include time, Zoom link, and a one-sentence pre-frame ("Dana will show you exactly how much your current setup is costing you in taxes")
Confirmation text 1 hour before: brief, just the link
Optional: send a 90-second "what to expect on this call" video from Dana
The 5 Diagnostic Questions
#
Question
What You're Mining For
1
"What does your business or personal income look like this year — ballpark?"
Qualify size. Under $150K gross income = likely not the right fit.
2
"How much did you actually pay in taxes last year — federal, state, self-employment combined?"
Establishes the pain number. Most people don't know. The act of calculating it creates discomfort.
3
"What's your current entity structure, and when did your CPA last review it for optimization?"
Identifies structural inefficiency. Most haven't been reviewed in years.
4
"Any real estate, investments, or planned liquidity events in the next 12–24 months?"
Unlocks additional strategy surface area — depreciation, timing, exit planning.
5
"If I showed you a plan that legally saved you $50,000 or more in taxes this year, what would get in the way of moving forward today?"
Pre-handles objections. Gets them to voice blockers before you prescribe.
The Prescription
Transition into the close
"Based on everything you've shared, here's what I'm seeing. You're a [S-Corp / LLC / sole prop] generating [X] in profit, paying roughly [Y] in taxes, and your entity structure hasn't been reviewed in [Z] years. That's a structural problem, not a math problem — and it's fixable. We've seen situations exactly like yours where a proper tax plan captures $60K–$120K annually. The plan costs $15,000. The math is obvious. Here's what we do next..."
Objection Handling
❝ I need to think about it. ❞
Response: "Totally fair — what specifically do you want to think through? Is it the price, the timing, or something about the process?" [Wait for answer.] "Got it. Here's what I've found — most people who say they need to think about it are really asking: 'Is this real, and will it work for me?' So let me be direct: based on your numbers, yes, this is real and it will work. The only question is whether you want to act on it this year or next. What's driving the hesitation?"
❝ I already have a CPA. ❞
Response: "That's great — and your CPA is going to stay exactly where they are. We're not replacing them. We're the tax strategy layer they don't provide. CPAs are trained to file accurately. We're trained to find savings before the return is filed. Most CPAs, frankly, don't have time to do proactive planning — they're overwhelmed with compliance. What we do is what your CPA wishes they had time to do for you."
❝ $15,000 is a lot of money. ❞
Response: "It is — and let me put it in context. You told me you paid [X] in taxes last year. If we find $60,000 in savings — which is conservative based on your profile — you've made 4x your investment in year one. Every year after that, those strategies compound. The question isn't whether $15,000 is a lot. The question is whether you want to keep overpaying by $60,000 a year. That's the actual cost of not doing this."
Scaling Beyond $500K/Month
Configuration
Closers
Closes/Closer/Month
Total Closes
Gross Revenue
Net After CAC
Phase 1 — Dana only
1
34
34
$510,000
$425,000
Phase 2 — Dana + Ryan
2
17 each
34
$510,000
$425,000
Phase 3 — Dana + Ryan + 1
3
22–23 each
68
$1,020,000
$850,000
Phase 4 — Higher ticket ($20K)
2
17 each
34
$680,000
$595,000
Path to $1M/Month
Two routes: (1) Add a third trained closer and scale appointments proportionally, or (2) Increase ticket price to $18–$20K as brand authority and case study volume grows. Both are viable by Month 6. The WAN network is a natural feeder for both — advisor-referred prospects arrive pre-sold on the value of proactive planning.
Weekly KPI Scorecard
Review every Monday morning. 15 minutes. Dana + Lacee + Ryan. These seven numbers tell you everything about the health of the machine.
Appointments Set
Target: 17/week
Lacee's primary output metric
Show Rate
Target: ≥ 75%
Below 70% = fix confirmation sequence
Close Rate
Target: ≥ 50%
On qualified shows. Track by closer.
Closes This Week
Target: 8–9/week
Pacing to 34/month
Revenue This Week
Target: $120K+
$15K × 8 closes minimum
Pipeline Value
Target: 3× monthly goal
$1.5M+ in active pipeline at all times
CAC (rolling 4-week)
Target: ≤ $2,500
Watch for lead quality drift
WAN Referrals Received
Track weekly
Leading indicator of future pipeline
02
Ryan's Tax Planning Closer Training Program
A 4-week intensive to move Ryan from investment advisor to certified tax plan closer. Built around one core shift: from presenting options to prescribing one path with conviction.
Ryan is already trusted, credible, and knowledgeable. Those are the hard things to teach. What this program builds is the closing architecture on top of what he already has — the diagnostic discipline, the one-path prescription, the ability to hold the frame when a prospect pushes back. By Week 4, Ryan should be closing at ≥40% on qualified appointments and generating $255,000+/month independently.
The Core Shift
Advisors present. Closers prescribe. An advisor says "here are three options." A closer says "here's exactly what we're doing." Ryan already knows the product cold. This program teaches him to stop explaining and start diagnosing — and to close with the same certainty a good doctor has when they write a prescription.
1
Mindset — From Advisor to Closer
Week 1 · Est. 4–6 hours
Core Concepts
The Advisor Trap: Giving options feels helpful but transfers authority to the prospect. When you say "you could do A, B, or C," you've made yourself a menu, not a doctor. The prospect goes home to "think about it" because you gave them work to do.
The One Path Principle: Prescribe one path, one price, one outcome. "Here's what we're going to do" is more persuasive than "here are your options" every time. Certainty sells.
The $15K Psychology: For a business owner making $500K/year, $15,000 is 3% of gross income. It's not a big decision financially — it's an emotional one. They're buying confidence that the plan will work and that you know what you're doing. Conviction closes this gap faster than any feature.
The Cost of Inaction Frame: The prospect isn't deciding whether to spend $15K. They're deciding whether to keep overpaying $50–$150K in taxes annually. Frame it that way every time.
Week 1 Assignment
Listen to 3 of Dana's recorded closes. Write down: (1) What Dana never explains, (2) when Dana names the price, (3) the exact words Dana uses to transition from diagnosis to prescription.
Drill: Practice the "stop explaining" redirect. Every time you feel the urge to explain how a tax strategy works, replace it with "here's what that means for your number."
2
Know the Product Cold
Weeks 1–2 · Est. 6–8 hours
What the Client Actually Gets
A tax plan is not a tax return. It's a proactive, forward-looking strategy document that identifies legal tax reduction opportunities before the money is earned or before the return is filed. The deliverable is a written plan with specific recommendations, savings estimates, and implementation steps — coordinated with the client's existing CPA.
The 4 Core Strategy Buckets
Strategy
Best For
Typical Savings Range
Entity Structure Optimization
Sole props, single-member LLCs paying SE tax
$10,000–$30,000/year
Retirement Plan Structures
Business owners with profit >$200K
$25,000–$100,000/year in deferred taxes
Cost Segregation / Depreciation
Real estate owners, recent property acquisitions
$30,000–$200,000 in accelerated deductions
Income Shifting / Family Employment
Business owners with family members involved
$10,000–$40,000/year
The ROI Math (Memorize This)
Fee: $15,000 | Minimum savings target: $45,000 (3× ROI) — this is the floor, not the ceiling
Average case: $60,000–$120,000 in savings = 4×–8× ROI
Strong case (RE investor + business): $150,000–$200,000+ in savings = 10×–13× ROI
Drill: On-the-Spot Savings Estimate
Given any prospect's income, entity, and situation — be able to give a rough savings range in under 60 seconds. Practice this with Dana until it's automatic. Example: "You're an S-Corp at $400K profit, no retirement plan, paying full SE tax on distributions — I'd estimate $40,000–$70,000 in savings before we even look at your real estate."
3
The Diagnostic Call Framework
Week 2 · Est. 5–6 hours
Opening the Call (First 90 Seconds)
Call Opening Script
"[Name], thanks for carving out the time. Here's how I want to use the next 20 minutes: I'm going to ask you a few questions about your income, your structure, and your tax situation. Based on what I hear, I'll tell you honestly whether there's an opportunity worth pursuing. If there is, I'll tell you exactly what it looks like and what it takes to capture it. If there isn't, I'll tell you that too and we'll both have our time back. Sound good?"
The 5 Diagnostic Questions
"What does your business or personal income look like this year — ballpark?" Listen for: total income, business vs. W-2 split, any unusual income events this year.
"How much did you pay in taxes last year — federal, state, self-employment combined?" Listen for: the number AND the reaction. Discomfort is a buying signal. Many can't answer — that's also a signal.
"What's your entity structure, and when did your CPA last review it specifically for tax optimization?" Listen for: sole prop, LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp. "Never reviewed" or "just files my return" = major opportunity flag.
"Do you have any real estate, significant investments, or planned liquidity events in the next 12–24 months?" Listen for: rental properties, 1031 opportunities, RSUs, business sale plans — each is a specific strategy trigger.
"If I showed you a plan that legally saved you $50,000 or more this year — what would get in the way of moving forward today?" This question is the most important on the list. It pre-handles objections and tells you exactly what you'll face in the close. Listen carefully. Don't interrupt.
The Transition
Moving from Diagnosis to Prescription
"Based on everything you've shared, here's what I'm seeing. [Summarize their situation in 2 sentences.] That's a structural issue, not a math issue — and it's fixable. Here's exactly what a plan looks like for your situation and what it would mean for your number this year..."
4
The Prescription & Close
Weeks 2–3 · Est. 6–8 hours
Presenting the Gap
The Gap Frame
"Here's where you are: paying [X] in taxes on [Y] in income. Here's where you should be with a properly structured plan: paying [X minus Z]. That gap — [Z dollars] — is real, it's legal, and it's available to you right now. You're leaving it on the table every year you don't act on it. The plan to close that gap costs $15,000. That's a [ROI multiple]× return in year one alone."
The One-Path Close
Naming the Price — No Options, No Alternatives
"Here's what we do. We build you a comprehensive tax plan — entity review, retirement strategy, income optimization — fully coordinated with your CPA. The fee is $15,000. We collect half to start and half at plan delivery. Most clients see the savings materialize within 90 days of implementation. When do you want to get started — this week or next?"
Objection Responses (Full Scripts)
❝ I need to think about it. ❞
Response: "Totally understand. Help me out — what specifically do you want to think through? Is it the price, whether it will actually work for your situation, or something about the timing?" [Wait.] "Got it. Here's what I've learned: 'think about it' usually means one of two things — either I haven't made the ROI clear enough, or there's a real blocker I haven't addressed. Which is it for you?" [Stay curious, don't push. Let them tell you what to address.]
❝ I already have a CPA. ❞
Response: "Your CPA stays exactly where they are — we work alongside them, not instead of them. Here's the honest truth: CPAs are trained to file accurately and minimize liability exposure. They're not trained to proactively engineer your tax position. That's not a knock on them — it's just a different specialty. What we do is what most CPAs wish they had bandwidth to do for every client but don't. Have you ever had your CPA bring you a proactive tax reduction strategy unprompted?" [They'll say no.] "That's exactly the gap we fill."
❝ That's a lot of money. ❞
Response: "It is $15,000. Let me put that in the context of what you told me. You paid [X] in taxes last year. If we identify $60,000 in savings — which is conservative based on your profile — you've made 4× your investment in year one. If we find $120,000, that's 8×. No investment in your portfolio has that kind of guaranteed return. The real question is: how much does it cost to NOT do this? Because that number is [X] every single year until you change it."
The Assumptive Close
After handling the last objection
"Great — let's get you on the calendar. We'll do a 30-minute kickoff call where I collect your last two returns and we go through your entity structure in detail. That's where we start building the plan. Are mornings or afternoons better for you this week?"
5
Live Practice & Certification
Weeks 3–4 · Ongoing
Certification Path
Shadow 3 live calls with Dana — observe, take notes, score Dana's calls using the scorecard below
Run 3 mock calls — Dana plays a skeptical prospect with different objection profiles. Ryan runs the full framework start to close.
Solo close attempt (supervised) — Ryan runs a live qualified prospect. Dana listens silently and debriefs afterward.
Certification criteria: ≥40% close rate across 10 qualifying appointments. Ryan tracks his own scorecard on every call.
Ongoing Development
Weekly 30-minute debrief with Dana — review one recorded call each week
Score every call using the rubric below, self-submitted within 24 hours
Monthly close rate review — target progression: 40% → 50% → 60%+ over 90 days
Call Scorecard — Self-Evaluation Rubric
Ryan completes this within 24 hours of every call. Target score: 8+/10. Any category scored 0 becomes the focus of the next debrief.
Tax Plan Closer — Call Scorecard (1 point each)
1
Set the agenda at the start of the call — told the prospect exactly how the 20 minutes would go
/ 1 pt
2
Asked all 5 diagnostic questions in sequence — did not skip or merge any
/ 1 pt
3
Quantified the tax savings gap in dollars — gave a specific range, not a vague "a lot"
/ 1 pt
4
Presented one path only — did not offer options or alternatives
/ 1 pt
5
Named the price ($15,000) clearly and without apologizing or softening it
/ 1 pt
6
Handled at least one objection using the framework — did not cave, capitulate, or discount
/ 1 pt
7
Attempted to close — explicitly asked for the business before ending the call
/ 1 pt
8
Stayed in closer mode — did not drift into advisor/explainer mode at any point
/ 1 pt
9
Scheduled a definitive next step before hanging up — call ended with a date/time, not a "I'll follow up"
/ 1 pt
10
Overall energy and conviction — prospect felt certainty, not a pitch
/ 1 pt
★
TOTAL SCORE — Target: 8 or higher. Below 6: mandatory debrief before next solo call.