Just wanted to pick your brains (how I hate that expression ). The last time that I did a mailer, I targeted new businesses setting up in my area and out of 1,000 flyers issued, I received one call that did lead to a client.
Sheffield and Chesterfield are the areas that I am trying to target and these areas have been hit badly by the recession and so finding clients is proving to be quite the challenge. My last work enquiry was a newly set up self employed makeup artist. Her books would have taken me about an hour a month and so I offered to charge her £20 a month - just to get another client under my belt, but she wanted to save money and do it herself. This is the kind of client that I am dealing with. I try and get £10 to £12 an hour and they try to knock me down to around £7 an hour. I always tell them that (no disrespect to cleaners because my mum is one) home cleaners charge £8.50 an hour in my local area - they have no qualiifications and haven't studied for years. Their business needs to be in good hands and so they should expect to pay for that.
I have flyers and business cards up wherever I can think of, I am advertising via the IC, Ebay and lots of free websites and am contemplating doing another mailer but instead of targeting all new businesses, I am going to try and focus on specific businesses, choosing a type of business, finding the local ones in my area and targeting them.
What I wanted to ask (I got there in the end ) is have any of you noticed trends in clients who do want their books doing and clients who will do the books themselves? Can anyone advise me the best businesses to try? I am looking ideally for small businesses and the self employed.
My first mailer targeted hairdressers and nail technicians (businesses and mobile) - I sent out 42 and no replies.
I know that it might help me to phone these businesses up afterwards and follow up, but I will be honest with you, I find it too daunting and I am not a confident, selling person. I have to dazzle the client with my bookkeeping and organisation skills instead as I find it hard to sell myself.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated (especially as my husband is holding onto his job by the skin of his teeth due to the shop that he is working for losing money left, right and centre and we have three small children). I'd really like to start earning some money and putting all this studying to good use.
I might add that things must be bad in my area as I have been receiving letters from Accountants asking me to refer on any additional bookkeeping work to them that I don't have the time to do for a commission.
what's happened around me is that lots of people have lost their jobs and with no hope of local employment have started setting up as self employed as a result.
A good many are doomed to failure as there's few local people with the spare readies to buy their products but regardless as to how they do they need representation to HMRC as many don't seem to have much of a clue when it comes to the paperwork that goes along with their businesses and they don't want to pay accountants fee's although sometimes that's more down to what they imagine accountants fee's will be rather thasn reality!
I know that it's depressing when the phone doesn't ring but keep lowering your rates is not the answer. Try to target industrial estates and see if you can get to talk with someone rather than just going for a leaflet drop. New metal fabricators seem to be a good bet at the moment and around by me probably the most likely to be the survivors from the new startups as generally they are either exporting directly or developing products for companies that are exporting and that's where the money is.
If your looking currently at a five mile radius of your home double it to ten miles or even twenty.
Drive around estates in the evening and look for the white vans and pickups with numbers on the side. Take a note of the numbers on the vans and give them a call the next day.
Only after you've called should you drop leaflets at those houses otherwise leaflets just end up going straight from the doorstep to the recycling bin with no pause to realise that someone has spent money having those printed.
Good luck and hope it all works out for you,
kind regards,
Shaun.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
It may be worth trying taxi firms. The drivers are almost all self employed and they all require a self assessment at the end of the year.
I found myself getting a few of these clients so I went to all the taxi firms in my area and they were all happy to put a flyer on the noticeboard. From there, if they are happy, they all seem to recommend you to others.
Also builders and similar tradesmans. If you can target a builder who has subcontractors you may get a good foot in with all the trades.
Do you have specialist knowledge of any particular field. I do believe this can help if you do. I know the motor vehicle industry well so after gaining two garages I was confident enough to casually approach the garage where I took my car for MOT, advising them that I looked after other local garages seemed to give them a great deal of confidence. They then told the smaller garages who came to them for MOT.
I do know what you mean about the marketing. I've sent out loads of mail shots before and had very little uptake. Without follow up I think they are probably pretty worthless.
The clients gained through word of mouth and recommendations just always seem to be the most valuable.
Best of luck
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Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
Re your comment about sending a mailing, the average response is quite low, you need to be sending thousands. If you are not confident about following up with telephone calls, I know someone who I could recommend who is very good (we are not too far from you).
You could try Thomson New Connections, where you get a monthly email of new businesses which have started or relocated to your area. Therefore, you get to them before your competitors.
Presume you are using social media (FaceBook, Twitter), not just to sell but to build relationships, particularly with local businesses. If you have hundreds of friends on FaceBook, have a look at this, might be an approach you could use?
There is a blog on our website about marketing, which may also suggest some other ideas.
Has anyone created a sticker for the car window with website etc? I've got the FSB and sometimes that creates an opening. If I were ever persuaded to have signwriting on the car body, it'd have to be pretty discreet. Tim
I always tell them that (no disrespect to cleaners because my mum is one) home cleaners charge £8.50 an hour in my local area - they have no qualiifications and haven't studied for years.
I got quite a shock when I found out what cleaners were charging in this area. One cleaner that's just started up recently has £11 per hour on her website and £18 per hour at the weekends. I saw her car go by with her business advertised on the door. (I recognised the car as her husband used to drive me and a few others to football matches in it).
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Never buy black socks from a normal shop. They shaft you every time.
). The last time that I did a mailer, I targeted new businesses setting up in my area and out of 1,000 flyers issued, I received one call that did lead to a client.
