How to evaluate
and choose a prospecting system to obtain a continuous flow of
potential clients for your Accounting firm?
 WHY is it seemingly
impossible to find new potential clients constantly and inexpensively
for an Accounting firm?
Is it really
impossible - or are there some hidden factors that render
your best prospecting efforts ineffective without your knowledge?
Right you are
- there ARE certain heretofore unknown factors that your prospecting
system has to have if you want to get results at a rate that
makes it meaningful to HAVE a prospecting system in the first
place!
For if a prospecting
system doesn't bring results, it isn't going to be used for any
substantial length of time. Why use it if it doesn't produce
anything, right? But if you DON'T do any prospecting - how will
you get new potential clients?
Quite a paradox
- and the way out of it is to ensure that the prospecting system
you choose WILL have those secret factors and thus, produce results
with relative comfort and profitable price.
In this article,
we've documented the seven factors that regulate the results
of an Accounting firm prospecting system.
These factors
are of senior importance - more important than other factors
- and it's well worth your time to check that any prospecting
system you choose HAS these points included.
These points
are also what traditional marketing of Accounting services almost
always leaves out.
Each point
is explained briefly on this page and has a link to another page
where you get the full-length article on that specific subject.
Each of those linked pages returns back to this page.
I truly recommend
that you read each of these articles to have full information
on how to evaluate prospecting systems for your Accounting firm.
Your choice
will have a huge impact on your firm's future. That change can
be visible (as in case of lots of new clients) or invisible (as
if your greatest expenditure becomes the new clients you could
have had but didn't).
All right.
Next are the seven factors that comprise a successful prospecting
system for an Accounting firm - on that is comfortable to use,
inexpensive to maintain, profitable to run, and tremendously
effective if compared to anything that the traditional marketing
systems have to offer!
1. Correct approach to your target audience
to maximize
the results
of the prospecting activity
It is of utmost
importance to approach your target audience in a correct way.
Unknown to
most Accounting Professionals, the traditional marketing technology
contains a "trap mechanism" that, if you don't notice
it, will ensure that you lose your chances of getting
potential clients right during the first few SECONDS of your
approach.
And this without
even knowing what it is that you do to immediately cut your chances
more than 80 percent!
Obviously,
if you lose 80 percent of your chances within seconds, prospecting
becomes exactly the uphill battle as we know it to be!
The secret
is in the WAY you approach your target audience. Done the traditional
way, it will immediately put off most recipients. And there's
absolutely no reason why this has to happen...
CLICK
HERE to read this full-length article to get the data on how
you can evaluate a prospecting & marketing system and establish
whether its approach will bring YOU success!
2. A planned and tested
route from
contact to sign-on you can follow with certainty of results
When choosing
a prospecting system, be sure to check it TAKES you somewhere.
Does it give
you precise steps to take those potential clients through to
a successful ending?
Is there a
well-planned ROUTE that ensures prospecting is going to produce
potential clients - and these are going to end up as new sign-ons
with an acceptable success ratio?
This is a vital
part of the whole system. It is extremely important that you
have a planned-out system of steps and actions which to take
the prospects through so that you get RESULTS.
More often
than not, prospecting is seen as an activity with no particular
interface to anything.
You get potential
clients - and then figure out what to do with each... usually
going at it ad lib.
But to be successful,
you need to have a very carefully planned route to take them
on. This route needs to be planned "backwards" so that
your first contact to business owners and the prospecting approach
works for what you have planned out for them after the initial
contact.
In other words,
you figure out what you want to sell to them and how - and then
work your way backwards to beginning of the chain. What do they
need to know before they can buy?
How do I get
them interested in our services? What would give me an opportunity
to even EXPLAIN what we have to offer... which basically takes
you to the phase of prospecting.
Potential clients
are just a POTENTIAL. All too often, that's ALL they are - unless
you have a planned and tested route to take them on. Once that
exists, you will get LOTS of results.
CLICK
HERE to read the full-length article to evaluate whether or not
a prospecting & marketing system has a sufficiently planned
route to actually get results!
3. Correct estimation
of effort in what needs to be achieved and effected to really
GET RESULTS
It takes an extensive, all-covering
system to get new clients profitably and with prediction.
With the heavy system that
we know as the traditional marketing strategy, such an comprehensive
and far-reaching system would cost several hundred thousand pounds.
Obviously, it would be outside
the financial possibilities of most Accounting firms.
For that reason, traditional
marketing has developed into a system of offering small bits
and pieces as quick fixes and miracle cures to marketing.
These are relatively inexpensive
- but by the same token, totally insufficient in scope to handle
the actual problem.
Do you really think it is
a SMALL problem to get new clients profitably whenever you want?
Right - of course it isn't.
It isn't a small problem and
it won't be solved by some nifty little trick or idea. It is
quite SOLVABLE - but only if you correctly estimate what needs
to be done to get constant results.
When choosing a prospecting
system, make sure it isn't a "quick fix" that only
SOUNDS workable and LOOKS clever. Remember, it has to work on
your TARGET GROUP, get THEM interested in your services instead
of SELLING ITSELF TO YOU.
Don't be fooled into confusing
those two things - how impressive YOU find the system... and
how inviting it is in the eyes of your TARGET AUDIENCE. These
factors are not mutually exclusive - a good system can do BOTH
- but make sure that it has ENOUGH of what it takes to get you
a constant flow of potential clients profitably!
CLICK
HERE to read this eye-opening full-length article on how to evaluate
whether or not a prospecting & marketing system can GET results!
4. A systematised,
phased-out system with TOOLS that can be used within days without specific
training.
If the use
of your prospecting system requires a high skill-level, a long
training period and innate sales abilities, it is going to take
a long time to get it started.
It will be
expensive to start and run. And it will be utterly dependent
on the one-in-a-thousand person that is so very gifted.
If you're training
an airline pilot, it cannot be avoided.
But if you're
searching for a prospecting system, pick one that AVOIDS such
requirements and prerequisites to get it started.
Pick something
that will be easy to use and can be started within hours practically
without any cost of training.
Contrary to
common thinking, you don't have to become a salesman to get new
Accounting clients.
This point,
although fourth on this list, is the number one for me personally.
I NEVER take on a person for marketing without first creating
and testing a set of easy-to-use tools for him or her.
It is
just so much easier and faster to get the person producing!
I don't need
to find one of those rare people that has the ability & experience
to sell effectively - and that alone saves me lots of money and
time. A good set of prospecting tools allows just about anyone
to get results within hours!
Thus, you won't
ever be totally dependent on one person for results as almost
anyone can replace him or her within a day or two.
Additionally,
since the tools lay out directly what the person is to say, I
directly control the way my company is being presented to its
target audience.
To have tools
is cheaper, faster, more effective, much more profitable... and
it is a key factor in evaluating the future success of any prospecting
system for your Accounting firm.
CLICK
HERE to read the full-length article on what kind of tools will
help you to achieve results in prospecting and why it is so vitally
important to have the correct kind of tools!
5. Creating
& maintaining a constant
marketing outflow and sales activity - the practical implementation and maintenance
of the activity
The only value
any prospecting system has is in the results it produces.
For any results
to emerge, the system needs to be STARTED and KEPT UP. It has
to be USED to produce anything.
Of course,
that is no groundbreaking revelation as such.
And yet it
is this aspect that we most commonly forget to evaluate when
choosing a prospecting system.
When evaluating
systems for prospecting, you should ask questions like these:
How well
does this system actually lend itself for establishing a functional
prospecting activity?
Is it
merely interesting information - or does it also give the exact
steps, instructions, tools and systems to actually START getting
those potential clients?
Is it
sold as a starter that requires me to purchase a lot more services
just to get it started - or does it contain all that is needed
to start prospecting and keep it going successfully?
Does
it have means to uphold and maintain the system, does it give
me a free reign to use it for however long - or will I be dependent
on the purveyors of the system for support, licensing payments,
add-ons and other such additional costs?
If you're buying
an actual SERVICE that specifically obtains a specified number
of potential clients of specific qualifications, you won't have
to worry about any of these things. You pay for each prospect
and if you don't get them, you don't pay. (Or so it should be,
anyhow!)
Clearly, it
is much more expensive to buy the service than to get the blueprint
to finding potential clients on your own.
But then, you're
purchasing information, not the doing of the task. In purchasing
INFORMATION - as is the case with courses, seminars, manuals,
etc. - you're not paying for RESULTS but for ACCESS to the information.
Obviously,
that information doesn't perform the task of prospecting for
you. But it SHOULD give you the means and tools to do it.
But that's
where the tricky part is. Much of the information industry concentrates
on giving you INTERESTING INFORMATION - and there's a significant
deficiency on clear step-by-step, ready-to-use tools and methods
to actually START the activity and keep it going.
See - most
of the information industry products for Accounting Professionals
concentrate on MOTIVATING you to start marketing... to give you
NEW REALIZATIONS about your true potentials... but then give
little or nothing in way of practical application - the "What
to Do" of it.
It is up to
you to evaluate whether or not the prospecting system will open
a way to start the activity itself - for only then you will get
results. Luckily, there are a few telltale signs that will give
indication to the degree of applicability of the system.
CLICK
HERE read the full-length article on how to check that your prospecting
system will open a way to actually get the prospecting activity
established in your firm successfully!
6. Monitoring
results and correcting
& improving
functions
If you don't have any way of
monitoring the results of your prospecting system, you won't
really know when something goes wrong. Also, you won't know
when someone has done extremely well - so you won't find cause
of something that would greatly enhance your success.
Mistakes are easiest to fix
when they're fresh and small. The longer it takes to find something's
amiss, the more daunting the task of fixing it will be - and
the more time, money, energy, wit, and whatnot it will take to
correct it.
Of course, positive trends
follow the same rule of thumb.
A positive trend found immediately
allows you to strengthen it, make use of it, emphasize it and
get MORE positive results every week or month.
SOME monitoring is essential. How you monitor it is your choice
- but the system you invest in should at least give TIPS about
this... and preferably a system for monitoring the function.
Of course, it is useless to
monitor the phase-by-phase results of your prospecting &
marketing function unless you have a way of handling the problems
you find.
Having to invent each cure
for each problem is simply reinventing the wheel. If the prospecting
system is something that actually works, if it has really been
used by someone, then there should be experience on what CAN
go wrong... and how it was corrected successfully.
You wouldn't buy a new car
without a manual, service guarantee and availability of service
knowhow to fix any faults that may appear once you've paid for
the car.
Similarly, you should ensure
the prospecting system you choose has a troubleshooting element
included - and some reasonably priced support & advisory
service to debug your activity if need be.
These have to be part and parcel
of the package. Otherwise, use of the system may well come to
an end with the first problem you encounter.
Anyone who tells you there
won't be ANY problems in establishing a prospecting & marketing
activity - with all their different parts and tools - is daydreaming.
Of course there'll be SOME problems with such a worthwhile goal
as this.
After all, you're attempting
to become fully independent and able to obtain new clients whenever
you want. The rewards and positive consequences of such control
are nothing short of miraculous!
As an Accounting Professional,
this type of monitoring and analysing is right up your alley
- but again, there's a danger of assuming the purveyors of the
system have a similar aptitude.
If the system doesn't have
monitoring features, if it includes no troubleshooting and support,
then the chances are it hasn't really been USED at all by
its creators. Logically, that would explain the lack of these
vital elements of monitoring & correction.
There are a few things you
can watch out for to achieve relatively high certainty
either way...
CLICK
HERE to read the full-length article on this vital element of
evaluating prospecting systems for your Accounting firm.
7. A marketing
system that puts YOU in control, giving you total independence
Many marketing experts are
more expert in marketing their own product than marketing YOUR
services. It's a cold fact of life as you will find out in this
article.
Thus, the fact that they market
THEIR service so brilliantly does not constitute proof of their
system being equally resplendent in obtaining clients for your
Accounting firm.
Make sure that the system you
choose aims at giving you the freedom to obtain more clients
without further obligations - and avoid those systems that ask
for more money and commitment at every turn just to get what
you expected to receive in the beginning.
Some systems offer total freedom
to get new clients without any further obligations.
And some systems are more intended
to entrap you, the client, than empowering your firm with full
freedom to independently obtain new clients.
Luckily, there are some telltale
signs that will give you an idea which one you're dealing with...
CLICK
HERE to read the full-length article on how to tell the leaches
apart from those that genuinely intend to help you in your success.
The vital necessity
of evaluating
for yourself what
works for you
On this page with all its articles,
we've tried to give you the seven major key points that should
be evaluated in the prospecting & marketing system that you
choose.
Comparing the various offers
available to practising Accounting Professionals, one is faced
with a daunting task of trying to make sense from all the different
approaches.
Every programme claims to be
the best, to yield most results and to have the best cost-efficiency.
Obviously, everyone cannot be the best.
The traditional marketing strategy
relies heavily upon the statements of authorities and experts.
But these statements cannot in any way adjudicate whether or
not the system fits your individual needs and wishes or the nature
of your practice.
Price - whether high or low
- is no trustworthy indicator of suitability or ensuing results.
References cannot tell you whether YOU will get results with
the system. Wide recognition isn't necessarily what system that
give you a competitive edge would have.
Ultimately, you can only trust
your own evaluation of the available marketing systems. Don't
take anyone's claims for face value. I'm not saying people would
be dishonest - I'm sure they genuinely believe that their system
is the best.
But it is you who foots the
bill and lives with the consequences, be they good or bad. So
take the time to evaluate the various systems to ensure you'll
get the kind of results you expected.
The fact that a salesman is
dead certain doesn't mean that he is right - or that the system
WOULD serve you. Most likely, the salesman hasn't personally
used the system he so enthusiastically endorses.
Think for yourself, evaluate
what's there based on what YOU need and want.
There's no other way. You can
only dig into the systems with some kind of standards to evaluate
it with.
The seven points on this page
are not the only factors that one could use in such estimation
- but I venture to say they're among the most important.
These are the vital points
in the marketing system within Modern Accountancy Marketing &
Sales Course.
CLICK
HERE to read more about this unique hands-on marketing system
for Accounting firms!
Best wishes
Harry Kafka
HDK
Consultants Ltd
32 Manning Close
Richmond Square
East Grinstead
West Sussex RH19 2DR
United Kingdom
Tel. (01342) 328 116
CONTACT
FORM
E-mail: info@accountancymarketing.co.uk |