New Client - The Book-keepers Forum (UK)

kjmcculloch83 · Expert

New Client

Don Tax · Expert

I liked the idea and had not seen it done before. Like anything else, it can be reviewed further down the line.
Well played.
Tim

ADAS · Guru

Glad it's worked for you Kris. Just to echo what Don said, I also thought it was a great idea.

ICBUK · Guru

Well done Kris, thinking outside the box!

May it be the first of many!

BobHarper · Guru

@Kris - sorry Kris, I disagree.

By not engaging the person in a discussion about them/their business, building a relationship/trust and exploring the value you have probably left money on the table and missed opportunities.

kjmcculloch83 · Expert

I get RSS feeds to my blackberry, which shows the text of replies, but not who replied, and strangely I read the last post and knew instantly, bob, that you were the author, I don't know why.

I see what you are saying bob, but that's just not my model. I could set out to milk as much as I could from every client, but it's not my style. I try to offer a fair service for a fair price. Sometimes other things will come up at the meeting not covered by the online quote and I'll quote separately for them, but other than that I stick by the price quoted, which is guaranteed not to increase for a minimum of 18 months.

Kris

BobHarper · Guru

@Kris - I'll take that as a complement.

By the way, I am not suggesting not being fair, completely the opposite.

Keep in mind that the only way you will get a higher price/profit is by offering more value. And, not searching for this value in the engagement could leave the client (and you) worse off. It could be that various areas of the business could be improved with your input - things like pricing, recharging expenses, project management and credit control and just a few examples.

kjmcculloch83 · Expert

Sorry Bob, it was not intended as an insult, just that I can sometimes work out when it's shauns posts, but that's been it until today.

Some of these services I would offer, but not necessarily from the outset. Often clients don't really know what they need, and its difficult to work out from a 30 minute meeting. These would be services offered as I become more familiar with their setup. Just because clients can accept a quote online doesn't mean I don't go though an initial meeting to properly assess their needs.

Kris

BobHarper · Guru

@Kris - no offence taken.

Why would you not offer some services from the outset?

kjmcculloch83 · Expert

A lot is to do with physical constraints, I made a decision that I didn't really want the quote for to stretch to more than a single page. This is something I may revisit later as I am looking at implementing a drag and drop interface.

The other reason is that a lot of the time the client isnt sure exactly what they need. A lot you can extract from them, but sometimes I find it's only through working with them that you get a chance to see what they are doing, and if there are any other services that could help them.

How do you and crunchers assess a clients needs, and do you look to upsell a lot?

Kris

BobHarper · Guru

Kris - we have developed a process to help the client assess their needs WITH us.

We look at add value and to widen the scope of the engagement where the client feels there is value.

Molacuk · Member

Did you make the instant quote system for your self or was it created for you, and how did you set out the pricing?

kjmcculloch83 · Expert

It was something I created myself. I have pottered with web development for a few years now, and in particular PHP.

The script itself is not hugely complicated it takes the inputs from the form and assigns a monetary value to each. It then calculates the total value and apportions it depending on the frequency chosen. The user will then be presented with this value and their details added to a database. The user can then accept the quote by clicking a button, if this happens I receive an email. If they don't about 24-48 hours later they will receive an email reminding them of the quote and some information about the service and giving them the chance to accept again.

A recent addition is that the script will send another email 7 days later with similar, but more in depth information and giving them another chance to either signup, or receive our newsletter on a monthly basis.

The pricing is something I developed early on when I decided that fixed price was the way to go. I am looking to slightly change the way the script works in that I want to take into account other information while keeping it simple for the user.

Hope this helps,

Kris

Molacuk · Member

Fair enough so its still a very simple system as you just set monetary values to the different inputs, I didn't want to try it to see how it works further as that would just be annoying for you having my inquiry with no sale so glad you explained the rest of it to me.

Spamkebab · Expert

I must admit that i have been tempted to have a play with your instaquote myself Kris. Like Molacuk i think your explanation is much better than receiving a load of false prospective clients though. Cracking idea! no doubt we'll see you on Dragons Den yet.

kjmcculloch83 · Expert

And share my ideas with that lot, you must be joking.

Kris

Dangermouse · Veteran Member

As a potential client, I won't go with people who want to meet up first before giving me a price. Happy to re-negotiate later, but I want to know where I stand. The person could be charging hundreds or thousands, I have no idea what is in my budget ballpark without a price up front and I don't want to spend lots of time meeting people to find out within minutes they are not in my price range.

On another note, since the people I hire tend to live nowhere near me, it's impractical (my accountant lives at the other end of the country for example).

Just my view. It's differing business models. The main thing is having a model and a strategy.