Identify what the clients problems are and show how you can solve them.
The client i signed up tonight was charged £1500 for their first years accounts on a turnover of £27k. Excessive but when you see their records they list everything on excel but is a mixture of items through business bank account, paypal, amazon account and items received and paid personally. With a bit of education explained that they need to sort out their records and basically analyse so ties in with 3rd party documentation eg bank statements.
They spend something like 10-15 hours per month typing everything up in excel. When I explained they could use something like the nonVAT cashbook from xero which automatically would feed all their bank statements, paypal statement and amazon statements directly into the accounts package and could then use cash coding to quickly allocate it said that they would probably save themselves 10 hours or more per month. They were amazed that such stuff existed which their current accountant never told them about.
On leaving the meeting the guy said that already feels like we have a good relationship and is a lot more personal that the relationship he has with his current accountant (which is basically what I try to acheive with all clients).
Mark
PS also try to get them to sign up at the meeting and sign the standing order. If you give them time to consider it then you are just giving them the option to say no. But dont do a hard sell. If they want to think it over then say that isnt a problem and then follow it up in say a week's time.
-- Edited by MarkS on Tuesday 15th of October 2013 11:36:51 PM
BE nice and be willing to hold their hand especially if they are crap at paperwork!!!! Most of them are which is why they called you in the first place. Its all about service with a smile. Then when you get home you can say to yourself that one is a plonker!
Find out what do they want, sometimes their perception is totally different to the real world so you need to break it to them gently.
Always turn up on time, never be late for the first appointment.
-- Edited by Amanda on Tuesday 15th of October 2013 11:38:36 PM
I have your family, they're quite safe. All that you need to do is sign this engagement letter and there doesn't have to be a problem here.
lol.
find commonality, smile occassionally, sarcasm *but never at the expense of the client), act professionally, avoid any hint of advocacy, try to ensure from the get go that its a teacher/pupil relationship which you as the teacher.
Did I mention act professionally.
Sound professional, state facts, make sure that they realise that you can do something for their business to improve their economy, efficiency and or effectiveness of their operations.
All the above considered though don't oversell yourself, don't seem too eager, ensure that it comes accross that this is your job and you know what you are talking about.
Dress for the role. Personally I always wear a suit when meeting clients.
Don't turn up at a client site in a clapped out Metro but similarly don't turn up in a Lotus.
Be prepared to give the client your pen (make sure that it has your company name on it and its not too cheap looking).
Try to drop into conversation that you have worked with other companies in the potential clients field.
Everyone will have different approaches most of which are ingrained and you don't even consciously realise that you are employing them.
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.
Going to disagree with Shaun on one thing. My friends, family and clients would be amazed if I was ever anything other than sarcastic and rude to them. However, because they all know this they don't take it too seriously. It has actually become a selling point!. Obviously I'm on my best behaviour for the first meeting.
Although I shocked my staff when a client told me that he'd changed his name by deed poll and showed me the legal documents. Apparently saying, "Seriously! You changed your name from that to THAT!" was a little too much!
Be interested in the client and see things from their view. It's very easy to commoditise yourself so you must avoid this, you need to differentiate yourself from other bookkeepers, find out your clients pain so you can cure it. People don't like to be sold to, so be a stealth salesperson, sneak under the radar, even say something like 'well I'm no salesman' during the conversation or if you are one of a few bookkeepers they seeing, thank them with a smile at the end of the meeting and say how nice it had been to meet them but 'you will go with the last bookkeeper you see, everyone does', it's amazing how many people will want to prove you wrong and come back to you!
Add this kind of thing to Shaun's suggestions and you should convert plenty.
You can get more customers, or get more customers to spend more. As new clients can be difficult and costly to find selling to existing clients its worth looking at. Encouraging existing customers to purchase additional or complimentary products.
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I dress in a way that reflects how the client dresses. So for a builder it might be jeans, for a professional it would be smart. I've had several clients say they like the fact that we aren't formal as it means they feel comfortable being themselves with us.
I think it's important to be yourself, to show your personality. People buy from people and all that. So show a genuine interest in what they do, ask questions about them, make any helpful suggestions you can and the chances are that within 20 minutes it will be taken for tested that they will be using your services.
Having worked in sales both for British and American companies, the concept that Americans like to be sold something ("convince me I should buy your product/service) and the Brits like to buy something (I think that would be useful to my business) has more than a grain of truth so don't oversell yourself, but try to get into the mindset of your potential client, Empathise, suggest, listen (you have two ears and one mouth- - use them in that ratio) but be ready to jump in at the critical points with the key points you can offer to help them. I would always tend to go dressed in a suit and tie to create the impression of your professionalism. It's always easier to move towards casual after the initial meetings than move towards formal.
-- Edited by Roy Haines on Monday 22nd of September 2014 08:15:00 AM
