Smaller or starting
Accounting firms: How to increase your viability over the make-or-break
point?
 For a smaller Accounting
firm or a sole practitioner just starting his/her own practice,
choice of marketing systems and methods is perhaps even more
important than to a well-established firm.
Due to (as
yet) low income, your resources are very limited and you simply
cannot AFFORD to invest into a marketing system that then doesn't
have what it takes to bring new clients.
You have only
a few clients and, while you get a few more every year, it seems
to be impossible to SPEED UP that increase, try as you might.
Yet, speed
it up you must, for else it can take years to reach a level of
income that can sustain your firm comfortably.
It's a bit
of a paradox:
You can't afford
to market your services... but you can't really afford NOT to,
either.
So, let's look
at how to BALANCE the marketing & expansion strategy for
a smaller Accounting firm so it meets both the low-cost / low-risk
and the results-producing criteria we set for it.
Point 1: Invest in an applicable,
proven system — buy knowledge, not a service
Steer clear
of marketing SERVICES as those are always very costly due to
the time and expertise required of the person performing the
task. Never use an ad agency to create your marketing approaches
for they're not MARKETING experts but masters of visual design.
You're forced
to choose and, given the choice, choose RESULTS in form of new
clients over mere visual splendour. Invest your money into something
that CAN PRODUCE DIRECT RESULTS.
Buy knowledge.
Buy experience in form of knowledge. The best way to ensure that
you GET that is to evaluate the offered solutions from this viewpoint:
Has it been
USED by other practitioners successfully?
If yes, then
it will have TOOLS to offer. With "tools" I mean ready-to-use
direct mailing letters, interviews, forms... things you can start
USING NOW with little or no learning.
This is a vital
point. Most marketing systems are not based on researched
wishes of the target audience but, rather, on what practitioners
HOPE TO ACHIEVE.
These are two
very different things as you can see. If you want to impress
your target audience (as opposed to impressing yourself) then
you must go for a system based on what business owners want...
and that's not always the most inviting message FOR YOU, see?
Most systems
have never been tested and piloted for an adequate period
of time with an adequate number of practices so as to get all
the bugs out and ensure they really WORK.
Remember that
you're probably a novice in terms of marketing and can therefore
be easily impressed by big names and great presentations.
Don't look
at WHO offers the system so much as WHAT IT CONTAINS. If the
system has ready-to-use tools, it can be used. If it doesn't,
then YOU will have to start creating those tools... and that's
not what you want to be doing.
You want something
that'll give you a way to GET RESULTS DIRECTLY, not an intellectual
challenge requiring you to create half of the system, see?
Point 2: In terms of Accounting
services, does it offer the CLIENT something he is NOT GETTING
PRESENTLY?
You're going
to have to tempt businesses to leave their current Accounting
firm and sign onto your services instead.
That's the
task and it's not something to be taken lightly. It's also the
starting point of a competitive practice... something most
of your colleagues ignore completely and, consequently, have
no way of speeding up the flow of new clients.
By survey,
business owners are reluctant to CHANGE Accountants because they
expect it to mean a lot of extra work (and, possibly, expense),
embarrassment (for terminating the contract with the current
Accountant) while they don't see the BENEFIT achieved by exchanging
their present Accounting service to what they see as "exactly
identical one" of another service provider.
If you're simply
"a more friendly and polite Accountant," you're not
really providing a sufficiently pressing reason
for business owners to go into the trouble of changing Accountants.
The only meaninful
and sufficiently abundant source of new clients is "clients
of other Accounting firms." By necessity, MOST of your future
new clients will HAVE to be "slightly used" —
old clients of another colleague — as startups are too few
and the fees you get from these too small to keep your practice
viable.
Thus, we come
to the decisive point of client-acquisition:
If you offer
the SAME service as everyone else, how is that going to give
these business owners a sufficiently pressing REASON to change
Accountants?
In fact, it's
likely that you won't get them to even CONSIDER changing Accountants
by offering (what they perceive as) "exactly the same service
they're already receiving."
Reversely,
if you DO offer something that THEY see as positively unique...
and if that special basic service is what 85% of business owners
most want from their Accountant (but aren't receiving it and
think it's not even available anywhere)... then you can see how
you WILL provide an ample reason to consider changing Accountants
and, eventually, implement the change.
Such a basic
service exists and it is the pivotal point of the whole system
within Modern Accountancy Marketing & Sales Course.
We call it
Monthly Financial Consulting Service. You can, of course,
rename it at will — only don't change its contents for it
is based exactly on what we've researched and tested to be what
business owners WANT (but aren't getting) from their Accountant...
and it has proven to be a great success.
This service
is very simple to deliver and yet it will impress your (current
and future) clients unlike anything you (or they) have ever seen.
Now, we've
researched this service and the tools to market, present, sell
and deliver it for the past few years. The system was tested
and piloted for three years with more than 50 practices until
it was functional and produced the expected results in the hands
of every Accounting professional.
The other unique
thing about this course is that the TOOLS within it are in a
ready-to-use format. Sales letters, interviews, presentations...
all ready for use, including instructions on how to use them
and even troubleshooting tools giving you the combined experiences
of years of use by your colleagues.
Thus, the remarkable
about it is that you don't have to go deep into the THEORY of
marketing.
You can just
start using the tools.
The course
IS extensive — it'll give you all the tools you'll ever
need, no matter how much your firm expands — but you certainly
don't have to use every system. Parts 1-6 deal with obtaining
NEW clients from the biggest target audience you have... all
those businesses in your area currently serviced by other Accountants.
But it ALL
hinges on having the special basic service which "replaces"
monthly accounts. (It really includes compliance services but
that's not what you'll SELL to new clients, see?)
And you need
to have the detailed APPROACH for finding prospects for this
service and presenting it to potential new clients.
With Monthly
Financial Consulting Service and its tested marketing approach,
you will soon be able to control expansion. In other words, you
can get new clients when you want.
But if you
insist on offering the SAME service than what the business owner
is already receiving from his CURRENT Accountant, then you're
left with no way to tempt him to change... or even CONSIDER changing
Accountants.
Can you see
how he would have NO meaningful incentive for changing?
Trust me.
— You NEED to give a VERY COMPELLING
REASON for anyone to even start CONSIDERING a change of Accountants.
By survey we
know that business owners are extremely reluctant to change
Accountants. The logic of this makes sense if you look at
it from their viewpoint.
For the first,
most business owners know little or nothing about Accounting
services. Thus, they lack the ability to EVALUATE or COMPARE
the services of two firms. Consequently, they have no way of
determining whether or not the NEW service is any better than
the one they're already using.
For all they
know it could be WORSE, see?
Secondly, business
owners fear that there will be additional costs when changing
Accountants. Not only that but the losing Accountant may well
make the transition difficult, time-consuming and very expensive.
Thirdly, business
owners are embarrassed to terminate their existing contract.
After all, they've grown to know the Accountant over the years
and now he is more like a friend.
So, what have
you to offer to the business owner to make it worth his while
to face all these obstacles?
Well, if it's
a splendid, new service which gives the business owner significantly
MORE than what he is currently receiving... you're in with
a good chance.
But if it's
just the same service he already gets from his Accountant...
You get the
idea.
Thus we see
that if you hope to tempt clients away from their current services,
the importance of having a high-interest basic service with client-perceived
pulling power cannot be overstated.
And that's
exactly the idea with Monthly Financial Consulting Service. It
is a basic Accounting service created to meet the researched
needs and wishes of business owners. This special service is
an integral part of Modern Accountancy Marketing & Sales
Course.
Tested and
piloted in dozens of practices and with hundreds of clients,
Monthly Financial Consulting Service has proven to be a service
with superior pulling power.
Point 3: Start with a system
that can grow with you
Another basic
mistake that most small firms make concerns foresight. Trying
to get by without spending ANY money OR in an attempt to skimp
costs, they choose a partial system based mainly on its low cost.
In itself,
price isn't a clear indicator of quality. Many of my clients
have wasted tens of thousands in well-advertised systems that
never brought a single client. It's quite a blow to pay £15,000
to 25,000 and then not get any tangible results in return.
And I've seen
systems costing very little... and giving even less in terms
of something functional to build on.
Go for quality,
proven functionality and choose the system that covers your future
expansion too, not just today's needs.
Mind you, that's
not the same thing as "asking colleagues." To get anything
with teeth, you cannot go with what everyone knows and accepts.
To gain a competitive edge, you must think for yourself and NOT
go with what other firms do.
You want to
get the advantage and create a positively different image, don't
you? So don't go with that which most firms consider "accepted
and widely acknowledged"... for that's also yestedays news
— lame and ineffective.
Confirm that
the system has a proven set of ready to use tools, troubleshooting
and more advanced systems based on the SAME basic marketing you're
going to start with.
In other words,
even if a referral programme or going after bigger outsourcing
clients is, at this time, something you cannot think with, make
sure that your system INCLUDES those for whatever its cost...
for that will make it much easier for you later on.
This is also
the principle of Modern Accountancy Marketing & Sales Course.
It will be the last marketing course you'll ever need.
Point 4: Ensure that you get
the best usage out of your enthusiasm
Starting a
practice and for a good while during the first years, you're
bestowed with a naturally-occurring enthusiasm and high spirit
of entrepreneurship. This enthusiasm is really one of your most
useful resources IF you make use of it.
That's why
it is so important to get a marketing system that allows you
to DO things — effectively start actions whose direct
goal is to obtain new clients — instead of having to go
to seminars or get into theory. Theory is needed too but the
emphasis should be in practical application — in DOING
THE THINGS THAT BRING RESULTS.
Given that
you SUCCEED in getting new clients with your system, your enthusiasm
will grow and expand on part with your income.
Reversely,
if you take on a theoretical system which doesn't emphasize the
importance of practical action and results, your enthusiasm is
at risk.
And enthusiasm
is a frail thing that needs to be nurtured. It's much easier
to MAINTAIN it than re-vitalise it after a long series of disappointments.
The one thing
that keeps enthusiasm alive is success.
Reversely,
the one thing that will kill it is failure.
Essentially,
Modern Accountancy Marketing & Sales Course gives you the
road map to marketing and sales of Accounting services, one you
can follow by using the tools and DOING the practical things
that bring new clients (at about 22% higher profit, too).
The benefit
for a small or starting firm is that you don't have to find things
out through trial and error... which will save untold amounts
of time and money while also increasing your income all the while
you're at it.
With these
proven methods and practical ready-to-use tools, you can make
the most out of the high enthusiasm and motivation you currently
possess for expanding your new firm successfully.
The sooner
you achieve results, the better off you'll be for the future.
In the final
analysis, you're faced with a make-or-break point while your
practice is below or too near the level of viability needed to
ensure its survival and continuance. It's nothing to be alarmed
about — everyone has to go through it — but, by the
same token, the sooner you get over it, the better.
You can go
about it two ways.
l The traditional way... is to get new clients
by the rate they come naturally as new companies are founded
and when established companies occasionally change Accountants.
It's going to be slow going and you'll remain below (your
set limit) of viability the longest possible time.
For this, you
don't need any marketing tools. Just follow the example and advice
of your colleagues on the various forums of Accountancy.
l The MODERN way... is to ensure
you can affect the outcome, have a unique basic service
to offer and effective tools to tempt businesses to find out
more about it... and proven presentation systems to bring closure
to negotiations.
For this, you
need to think for yourself and get a highly competitive basic
service and marketing system.
If this alternative
is more to your liking, I think you'll see why your Modern
Accountancy Marketing & Sales Course could be the best-producing
investment you'll ever make for your Accounting firm — apart
from your own expertise and power, of course!
Click here
to read about Monthly Financial Consulting Service to learn why
it practically sells itself...
Click here
to read more about ready-to-use tools and why some practitioners
RAVE about the results...
Click here to
read about Modern Accountancy Marketing & Sales Course and
how you can try it at the price of a lunch...
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 |