Marcus Evans Summits Blog

We closed a client we had been cold calling for seven years

Written by Stavros Karelidis | Aug 26, 2026, 7:52:55 AM

 

“We recently closed a client we had been cold calling for seven years without any luck. It happened thanks to the Marcus Evans introduction. Every Summit we have attended has led to new business” said Chris Streit, Chief Commercial Officer, Tax Advisors Group, a service provider at Marcus Evans Tax Officers Summit.

What new business opportunities has the Summit brought to your organization?

We have taken part in several Summits over more than ten years, and we consistently get results. I have personally attended three Tax Officers Summits, which led to five new clients. They are big brand names that are good companies to partner with. They bring credibility to our firm, as well as at least USD 1 million annually, which helps us grow. The Summits my colleagues attended before me were also successful, with over ten new clients from seven Summits. Many of them continue to be our clients.

Did you know those five companies already?

I knew a few of them. There are many companies that are very large, but you don’t realize they exist because they license their products to big brand names. There are many companies like this that are very difficult for us to find on our own, but they’re still great targets for us.

If you had approached them directly, would they be investing in your services?

If we had them on the phone and they were willing to talk to us, we might have closed them, but that is the difficult part. The part that Marcus Evans is critical for. The Summit brings us people who are willing to listen. We don’t have to cold call them. They are already there, willing to listen to us. Having a captive audience is a big value. One of the companies we closed recently was a company we had been cold calling for seven years, and never managed to get through. They had never even heard our name! But the moment we got to meet them face-to-face, we knew we would close them. Marcus Evans gives us that opportunity in a very consolidated time period.

In this industry, is it very difficult to access decision-makers you have not previously met?

It is very difficult to get people on the phone. Sometimes tax isn’t their top priority, they think everything is going well, but they might be overpaying without realizing. First you need to find the right person, then find their information and try to get hold of them. They probably receive 1000 emails a day! Then once you get hold of them, you have to convince them that they have a problem they don’t know about.

How would you compare the Summit with other BD activities you engage in?

It is easier. The 30-minute, one-on-one meetings have been scheduled before we go. The delegates expect to meet us. We don’t have to fight for those meetings. Prospects have been pre-screened and qualified by Marcus Evans. There are no other industry events like this where you have qualified opportunities to pursue. At tax related conferences, you have to screen people’s qualifications before every meeting, and at the industry related events, you need to do further exploration and mapping to get to the right person. Marcus Evans does all of that fun work for you.

Find out more about the upcoming Tax Officers Summit.