Better engagement with prospective clients

This week I aim to practice what I preach. The focus of today's article is how you can better engage with prospective clients. I need to do that too ;-)

Maybe you have been thinking about getting in touch for a while. That's what plenty of accountants say when we speak.

They quickly relax when they realise I'm genuinely supportive and helpful. There's only upside, benefits and good ideas.

Try it and you'll find that I do not attempt any form of clever sales technique to persuade you to engage me as a mentor or coach.

And I leave it to you if you want to come to the next meeting of the (online) Sole Practice Club with other sole practitioners like you.

Yes, you CAN join the Club without speaking with me but most people prefer to check me out first. That's fine.

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This week's practical business development tips

Inspired by conversations with my mentoring clients who wanted advice on how to better engage with prospective clients:

1. First things first: Ask your clients why they chose you. Listen for any clues that they wanted more than recurring compliance services. Keep a note of such reasons so you can quickly recall and reference these when talking to prospective clients who may feel the same way.
2. Don't confuse being proactive and reactive: Regularly posting content online is good but it tempts you to be reactive. This is the 'post and pray' approach to blogging, Linkedin and social media. It encourages a reactive attitude. You sit and wait for someone to get in touch before you react. You could get better results by being genuinely proactive as regards prospective clients.
3. Focus on outcomes: People never buy your services as such. What they really buy is outcomes and how these will make them feel. When you are talking with prospective clients ensure you are focused on them, their business, their problems, their challenges, their goals and their results. Done effectively you will stand out positively from the competition. And, as a result, prospects will be less concerned about your fees than you are!

What's the first thing you need to find out from a prospective new client?

When you are approached by a prospective new client it is tempting to simply give them what they say they want. Very often this will be a fee quote for the work required to help them with their annual compliance obligations.

As this area of work becomes more commoditised so you need to distinguish yourself from other accountants. One way to do this is to ask better questions of each prospect. One key area for questions is around what the client really wants.

This is best explained by reference to an apocryphal story about Black & Decker in the days when they only sold one basic product. A group of newly recruited executives were asked what it was that their customers wanted from them.

The standard answer was 'drills'.

"No" they were told. "Our customers want HOLES."

How do you feel about this concept and the idea of focusing on the equivalent of a hole in the wall that your prospective clients want?

Over the years it has become very clear to me how few accountants......

Continue reading >>>>

Tough questions

When you are engaged with a prospective client do they recognise your genuine desire to serve and advise them or do they sense a degree of desperation that undermines your credibility, self-worth and self confidence?

I'm here to help and support you with my caring and pragmatic approach - debunking the hype and resolving misconceptions. Just pick one of the links below...

Regards

Mark Lee FCA

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🤓 I'm Mark Lee - supportive pragmatic mentor for accountants

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PS: When you're ready, here are some ways we can work together:

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