Finding Clients For Bookkeepers

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

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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

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 !!!

When starting a bookkeeping business there’s often going to be self doubt, and it can be a challenge to “talk up” your skills and level of service.

Some people are very good at that, and can then go and deliver. Others can talk the talk, but fail to deliver.

Al writes:
“Thanks for your input here.
Since reading your report I have been out “talking me up” and i am finding some work heading my way.
Not only does it spread the word that i have time available for new clients, it also makes me feel more confident about what it is we are offering.

Thanks again,
Alastair”

We love getting feedback, and hearing your success stories. Send us your feedback and we’ll give you 30 minutes FREE coaching

All you want is bookkeeping clients, so the first thing that many bookkeepers do is to print up some business cards, put an advert in the local paper and sit back waiting for the phone to ring.

How easy is that!

Then they wonder why the phone is running red hot with clients chasing them with bookkeeping work.

“I’ll put an advert in yellow pages!”, they exclaim.

Here’s an interesting thing about advertising. Companies like Yellow Pages and local newspapers make their money BEFORE you get any response to your advertisement. So they do not really care whether or not you have any success.

When it comes to renew, they tell you that there was nothing wrong with advertising, it’s just that you didn’t word it correctly, or you should pay for a bigger, fancier advertisement.

We’ve never advertised in the local paper or in Yellow Pages, and our business has always flourished.

Then there’s the fliers:
What do you do with junk mail that arrives in your letterbox? Maybe flick through it and then chuck it in the recycling bin

So why is it that anyone else is going to do anything different with your fliers?

What response do you want from your fliers?
Bookkeepers speak to us and can’t understand why their fliers have got no response. Maybe they expect people to treasure their fliers, get them mounted and framed and hung on the wall as a feature of the lounge room

Sorry, it just won’t happen. Show me your flier and chances are I’ll tell you that you’ve been 100% succesful in getting people to do exactly what you’ve asked them to do on your flier – nothing!

On Day Two, Kirsty is working on her mission statement or “elevator speech”. What sets Kirsty above all the other bookkeepers in her area? How can she make her advertising work for her? We discuss that more in our Bookkeepers Marketing Program