Finding Clients For Bookkeepers

If you’re having trouble finding bookkeeping clients, ask yourself this: Are you selling the sausage or the sizzle?

In Simon Sinek’s book, “Start With Why” he explains that people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.

Have a look at all those companies that focus on the features of their products or services when all your bookkeeping clients want is to feel good about what you do. They must believe what you believe.

Sell the sizzle not the sausage.

Bookkeepers say they find it hard to find bookkeeping clients for their business – but that’s not stopping us work with a bookkeeper to finding bookkeeping clients in Nairobi, Kenya.

George contacted our website www.StartBookkeeping.Com.Au desperate for help. “There’s no market for bookkeepers,” he tells us. “No one wants to outsource their bookkeeping!”

How does George know there’s no market for bookkeepers?
Because he contacted local businesses and got a negative response.

WRONG!
He is wrong on two counts – the first that there’s no market for bookkeepers. The second thing he’s wrong about is the approach that he’s been taking.

He’s only been on our coaching program for a few days, and already he is seeing results.

Starting with a list of 10 names, he told us: “I’ve contacted 8 already and the response was beyond my expectation. Two of them operate a hardware store and I happen to have clients in construction industry, and I connected them! I’ve suddenly become a resouce to them”

“You have made me feel like a fool – There I was, standing on ground with gold beneath, but I was busy searching on the surface ….

You are so resourcful. I am so happy with your coaching techniques. ”

[Acres of Diamonds, George!]

Could you use an extra +$700pw part time bookkeeping?

This is a rare opportunity for a SKILLED and Experienced bookkeeper who is thinking about starting their own bookkeeping business (more…)

There are some bookkeepers that are struggling with their efforts to find bookkeeping clients because they are looking for the winning lottery ticket

Maybe you’ve been very active in your marketing already, but have been disappointed with the results.

There’s many different factors involved, including the timing, the approach, presentation etc

Or you’re frustrated because you’ve tried everything when really you’re looking for “the winning lottery ticket”

We have over 100 low or zero cost strategies that are tried and tested – and there is no “one size fits all” solution.

Our goal when working with bookkeepers, is to help them increase their income as quickly as possible. We do not work with every bookkeeper, just as we do not work with every bookkeeping client that comes our way.

Some clients are willing to listening, learn, and change some things that they are doing, to improve their situation, and others are not.

It’s like when someone goes along to the gym and wants personal training. The instructor says, “lets do some push-ups” and the client says:”I’ve already tried that, it didn’t work!”

So the instructor says, “lets do some cardio” and the client says:”I’ve already tried that, it didn’t work!”

The thing is that the client may have been using the wrong techniques, or there was other stuff happening in their life and the timing wasn’t right – or maybe there just wasn’t a match between the client and the instructor.

The instructor could do the pushups and the cardio for the client, but how does that help the client?

We’ve come across bookkeepers that have been in the industry for many years, and have gotten by doing what they are doing – some have been willing to learn new things and make some changes to what they’ve been doing, and seen great results – others have continued along in their own way, not willing to change, and wonder why they still get the results they were getting before.

We can only help those that want to help themselves - does that sound like YOU

Who wants to know how to increase your bookkeeping turnover by $30k in the next 90 Days?

Sounds like a big ask. For some bookkeeping businesses, it may well be. But what if you set that goal and only achieved half the results? Would it be worth shooting for?

We can’t guarantee what success you’ll have, but we can certainly do everything possible to help you achieve that target. The rest is up to you.

So many bookkeepers are fighting a constant battle to build up their client base. You get so caught up in working IN your business that there’s little to work ON your business.

Get started HERE

Here’s an email from Kerrie, who’s having trouble finding bookkeeping clients:
Hi Jenny
I enjoy reading your emails. It helps me to keep my nose to the grind stone so to speak.

I am having trouble finding bookkeeping clients. I have a few bookkeeping clients that are regular but not enough to keep going. Some days I think if I got a full time bookkeeping job it would not be so hard. But then the reason I started my bookkeeping business would be invalid.

I have tried the papers, that doesn’t work. The only way I have been able to get bookkeeping clients is word of mouth.

We’ve talked many times previously about throwing money away in newspaper advertising – you could have sent that money our way and had better results.

Just a few questions:
1. What area/suburb are you located?
2. Are you a registered BAS Agent?
3. How muany years FREELANCE / CONTRACT experience do you have as a bookkeeper?
4. How many hours per week do you use MYOB?
5. How many hours per week do you use Quickbooks?
6. Do you have knowledge /experience of payroll and inventory?
7. Are you a professional and skilled bookkeeper?

We’ve helped bookkeepers who struggle to find clients – like Cathy, in February last year, similar position, by the end of April we’d found her enough clients to put her in a position of making $60k p/a part time – more than she was making fulltime for less hours

It’s your call – if you’re like Kerrie, and having trouble finding bookkeeping clients we can help, or you can keep struggling to do it on your own.

I have opened up a business as a sole trader I have the ABN, Registered the business name, set up a website, facebook page, business cards, price list, set up an office and i bought the latest version of MYOB ect.

Megan

———————————-
Of course we can help Megan – That’s what we do. The first step would be to read this article

Our coaching and mentoring program is designed to help bookkeepers source regular clients and give you the confidence to find your own clients.

What do you think about a letter box drop to find bookkeeping clients?

Peter writes:
“I am looking to start-up a small bookkeeping business, with the objective of occupying me for say 3 days pw. My reason in writing to you is to obtain your opinion as to whether you think I am on the right track with regard to
my marketing strategy (just developed). I want to avoid any unnecessary wheel spinning.

My intention is to develop a one page letter, which I will use as a letter box drop in the local area. I have already approached the Accountants in my area and received some polite and positive comments, but I am not holding my breath! I believe a direct approach to end-users is more likely to be productive, rather than going through a third party. “

If you’ve read our book *Secrets to Finding Bookkeeping Clients* you’ll realise that we don’t really promote “cold calling”.

Have you thought about who your target market is? When I go down to the local hardware store to buy a drill, it’s not because I want to buy a drill – It’s because I need to hang a picture up on the wall, and need to put a hook in the wall, and need a drill to make the hole!

Business owners don’t want to pay for a bookkeeper – they just want their paperwork sorted out!

We’ve worked with accountants that have a tendancy to get caught up in the use of “jargin” when their clients are only interested in knowing if they’ve got enough cash left at the end of the week to buy a carton of coldies!!

You’re surrounded by potential clients – and end of financial year is a good time to source those clients – finding them is really quite simple with the right strategies

If you’d like some help then take advantage of our one-on-one coaching sessions

” You are a gem to all whom wish to start their Bookkeeping business.

“Can you help me? Thanks, Steph.”

Steph, thanks for your kind comments – we love to get feedback from bookkeepers.

To help people like Steph, we need to know whether you’ve had any training in using MYOb / Quickbooks software, and if you have any bookkeeping experience / qualifications.

Depending on your level of skills you may find that you can gain more experience by working for some local bookkeepers

All VERY GOOD bookkeepers in your area always have MORE work that they can handle – you’ll find that they have a number of off-site clients and there’ll be some basic data entry that needs doing – in many cases they’d be more than happy to pay a “junior bookkeeper” a low hourly rate to get the data entry done

Contact them by telephone to arrange a time to go around and see them, tell them you’ve got an idea you want to run by them. Then when you eyeball them ask if you can help them with their data entry.

We helped Steph with some other questions she had about getting her bookkeeping business started, as we’ve developed a program to coach and and guide you through the minefield of building your bookkeeping business.

We offer one-on-one consultations for bookkeepers who are struggling to solve problems, or overcome challenges in sourcing bookkeeping clients

You can learn more about the program by following this link http://www.bookkeepingteam.net.au/

Should you offer a free consultation to find bookkeeping clients?

Some people say “YES” – and we say “No”

Mark emailed us to say : ” I disagree in some respects to your comments regarding a ‘free consultation’. If I’m prepared to offer only the initial hour of my time free of charge to secure a long term client, I consider that this is cheap advertising? The prospective client has nothing to lose and I get my ‘foot in the door’ to sell myself and my services. People only need a plumber once every 10 years. They need a bookkeeper every 3 months (or less). There’s a huge difference.”

Of course the client has nothing to lose and everything to gain – and if it takes you an hour to get yor foot in the door, you’re probably doing something wrong – it takes us just five minutes (or less) on the phone

In our experience, giving a free consultation has not helped grow our business – there’s always people out there that want something for nothing – so it’s upto you how much / what you cover in that hour

We speak to new clients every day on the phone, converting around 80% of them, without offering our services for free – the remaining 20% just want the cheapest – or worse still find family/friend to “help them with their books”

The beauty about running your own bookkeeping business is just that – it’s your own bookkeeping business, so you call the shots !!!