Is it producing the high quality referrals you’d like to see come through your door, every day?
If you’re like most accountants, the answer is no. But by following a few simple tips to adjust your approach to marketing for clients and referral sources, you can energize your marketing strategy and produce a steady stream of leads that will help your firm thrive.
Consider this Story
Robert is a accountant at the top of his game. He knows his business like the back of his hand, he’s got great credentials and he’s good at what he does. His marketing program is designed to show clients and referral sources all the benefits he brings to the table. It shows that he’s a very smart accountant, and leaves him in a position to win the business.
The only thing is, it’s not really working.
Does that sound familiar?
The truth is, accountant marketing isn’t successful because it communicates smarts, or credentials, or benefits. But accountant marketing isn’t some hit or miss affair. There’s a clear solution that I’d like to tell you about. Accountant marketing succeeds when it follows three simple tips. These are the same three tips I give my consulting clients, and I’m going to give them to you right now, for free, so you can put them to work immediately.
Ready?
The keys to accountant marketing are to build relationships, to educate your prospects, and to differentiate your firm from all the others.
It’s that simple. Let me dig into each tip so you can put them all to work for you today. We’ll start with building relationships. Building strong relationships is the goal of all accountant marketing. Relationships are the key to acquiring clients and to getting referral sources.
That’s because working with a accountant is a personal decision, and your prospects need to trust you. More than that, they need to like you. The good news is that you get people to like and trust you by being yourself. That means you should use everyday language. Speak naturally. If you blog, write naturally, the same way you speak. Don’t use professional jargon, even to a group of executives. Networking is the same. Make a human connection; talk about life, not accounting.
Do that, and the relationships you develop will pay dividends for years. The second tip is educating your prospects.
The trick is to do it without making prospects feel like they’re being educated. Do this by telling a story. Nobody appreciates a lecture, but everyone loves a good story.
So teach people how you can help them by telling them a story that Illustrates the lesson you want them to learn.
If you do it well, they’ll probably even learn something without even realizing they’ve been taught. The third tip for successful accountant marketing is differentiation. Be careful, here! It’s easy to go down the wrong path on this one. Let me ask you this.
How many times have you seen a accountant claim they have thirty years of practice, or that their firm has a former ATO agent on staff?
If you look around the Internet, you’ll see how common these claims are. That’s not very good differentiation, is it? Don’t make the mistake of trying to differentiate yourself in a way that isn’t different at all. So how do you do it? Well, consider this.
What prospects really want to know is what you can do for them. So let’s talk about two ways to show them what you can do differently. First, differentiate through communication. A lack of clear, reliable communication is the number one reason accountants get fired, and it’s easily avoided. Set up a business process where you communicate with each client, by phone or email, at a regular interval: weekly, biweekly, or monthly. Their choice. Then send your clients regular updates, even if nothing is happening. When you explain this process to future prospects, they’ll understand that you won’t leave them stranded by the phone, hoping something is happening with their case, but never hearing anything. And they’ll love you for it, even though you have nothing to report!
The second way to differentiate yourself is your fee structure.
If your competition charges by the hour, switch to flat fee. If they charge flat fees, find ways to add value, or a longer term relationship, to fees for similar services.
You’re not trying to be the cheapest accountant in town; you’re demonstrating you offer the best value in town. You can even charge more than everyone else, if you create enough value to justify your fee. Those are just two ways to separate your firm from the competition. There are hundreds more. Find them, and use them in your marketing. Don’t make the mistake of marketing your firm like a box of biscuits. Professional marketing is personal. It’s building relationships, and it’s done over the span of years. Do it right, and the relationships you build will keep you in business. It’s worth giving it the time and attention it deserves.
If you’re serious about doing that, I can help. I’ll provide you with a free __________________ so that you can get started turning your accountant marketing strategy around today. All you have to do is pick up the phone. Call me now at 0419 222 344. Or just email me at matthew@orbitstrategies.com.au.
But do it today, so you can start building the business that will keep you prosperous tomorrow. Call now.
mbrannelly February 10th, 2021
Posted In: business
Tags: marketing, strategy