Competitive Problems

In my early days in the profession, if a prospective client was referred to me I knew that they hadn't spoken with any of my competitors, nor were they going to.

No matter if the referral came from a client or a Bank Manager, the result would always be the same... they would come into my office, spend about 45 minutes with me, and sign up as a new client before they left.

Today it's different. Very different.

In around 1985, in the UK, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales started to allow Accounting firms to promote themselves in very restricted and conservative ways. But it was a start.

Since then, the Accounting profession world-wide has come on in leaps and bounds in the use of marketing techniques. Paradoxically, this has worked against some firms, as prospective clients are now much more "savvy" about what a good accountant should be offering them, and what they might expect to pay for these services.

The problem, of course, is that they have absolutely no way of determining the technical competencies of the Accountant they are sitting in front of. Technical competency is an assumed item. It is your ticket to get into the game.

The point? Don't try to sell yourself to your prospects on technical competencies and how you are always updating your skills. They have no way of verifying this, and, frankly, they dont give a damn.

It's all about trust and rapport. Or let me put it another way. It's about empathy.

Developing a relationship with a client or prospective client to the point where they have absolute trust in you or your firm (preferably both) is the starting point.

From there we need to become 'deep specialists' in their company, the busines and their industry to start to make a real difference.

When Is A Referral Not A Referral?

A referral these days, especially one from a Banker, is not half as "hot" as it used to be. In fact it's hardly a referral at all. The reason being, that in days gone by, when a Banker would give you a referral that was the ONLY referral he or she made for that customer.

Today, Bankers are now saying to their customer: "I know SEVERAL good CAs in this area, here's the number of three. Give them each a call and see which one you like best."

Then the Banker is calling you to mention he has just referred you a new client (but he/she forgets to tell you that they also mentioned 2 of your competitors). They then, in turn, call the other two Accountants as well, in the hope that you, or one of your competitors might have a referral for him or her in return.

Pricewaterhouse Coopers are advertising on television (Remember:Join us, together we can change the world?). While this may not be aimed at the same client as you, the message reaches both markets. This gives the prospect something by which to judge you.

Don't dissappoint them.

Even if you are a sole practitioner, you can still portray the professionalism and range of services of a larger firm.

You are expected to have a great looking brochure, an interesting web site, tax publications and other helpful "souvineers" for clients to take away from your initial meeting before they decide on who to use.

While having these will not directly win you a single new client, not having them can sometimes eliminate you from a prospect's shortlist.

We have to be very astute today when promoting ourselves, we have to differentiate our firm from the rest, we have to offer client-centred benefits that are easily understood.

Fortunately, our Manual expalins in detail how to go about this, successfully, and without spending a fortune in the process.

This information, and more, is included in our 19 Chapter, 182 page eBook, "Low Cost High Impact Ways To Win New Clients" available from this site at just $49.95.

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