February 2002a- Each month this page will be updated with new tips and ideas and the previous content archived. As time goes by our archives will grow. These will always be accessible, and always without charge. Enjoy.

On With The Action

It seems I hit upon something in last months free tips page, as Fiona and I were fielding calls from - and booking meetings with - a number of Accounting firms who visit these pages, and took my message to heart.

This resulted in two more web sites for us to produce, a project to rewrite another CA firms site (we didn't do the original) and several brochures and newsletters to work on.

All in addition to our ongoing projects and client work. Proof indeed that the economy isn't dead in the water. This means that some of the products I have been working on for this site will inevitably be slightly delayed, but client service has to come first, as I'm sure you'll agree.

So, now it's time for action. Not just for us, but for you too.

The new year has come and gone, February is here, we're well into 2002 and the signs are looking good - corporations are revisiting their spending cuts since September 11th, and starting to make plans for the rest of this year.

That's where you come in.

Remember those prospective clients you were talking with in August last year that haven't made a decision about changing advisers yet? Well now is the time to pursue them. Keep at the forefront of their minds by keeping in touch with them on a regular basis.

It's often the case that, when a prospective client says "no" to you, they're not really saying no - what they really mean is "no, not yet".

Perseverance is the key. Too many give up too soon. If we keep in touch by giving away free, helpful information, when they are ready to look around for an alternate firm, who do you think they're going to call?

It reminds me of the famous quote from H. Ross Perot:

"Most people give up just when they're about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown."

In the above example, a winning touchdown is, of course, a new client.

There are statistics to back this up:

The Rule Of Seven

Research has shown that:

6 months after an inquiry, 51% of inquirers for industrial products were still considering their purchase	New Equipment Digest
6 months after inquiring, 55% had not yet bought, but would do so	USA Inquiry Handling Service
two thirds of all purchases following the average trade show or exhibition, took place between 11 and 24 months after the event	USA Trade Show Bureau

What does this tell us? Most commercial clients take time to make their decision about major purchases. Surely, with the special rapport that an Accountant builds with his or her clients, your services are a major purchase, and will probably take as long to come to a decision over.

The good news is that, in many cases, the prospect has been considering changing accountant for some time before they respond to your mailing, advertisement, a referral from a friend or other device that has led them to be considering your firm as their next Accountants. So you may not have to wait 6 months or more to convert them into clients, especially as they have cyclical patterns in their financial year.

You may find January to March a good time for converting long time "maybes" into fee paying clients as tax season often stimulates inquiries, but you must be prepared to gather a number of "maybes" before one becomes a client.

The key to success is to remain proactive in your pursuit of the prospect's business during the waiting period. On average, it takes seven contacts with a prospect before they make a decision to change.

This will not be seven meetings though! A contact in this context, is receiving a letter from you, an e-mail or a telephone call, a newsletter, or a seminar invite as well as the traditional meeting or a visit to your web site.

Many firms lose half the total possible business they could have won because they give up after 2 or 3 contacts.

Quick Tip
So, here's a quick tip that will help you to raise awareness of other services you offer clients, while they wait on the telephone to be put through to you, or while they wait in reception for a meeting, and it's very inexpensive to do:

Getting Your message across to a captive audience is easy with a recorded message. Producing this type of promotional message raises the awareness of your full range of services with those who already do business with you. Give it a try - it's not expensive to do.

Recorded Messages When someone telephones your office and asks to be put through to you, what do they hear while they are waiting for you to pick up the phone? Ring tones? Silence? A local radio station? Your favourite CD? Why not record a message that promotes your wide range of services during the time they are "a captive audience"? A message that says something like, "Did you know that 67% of people don't have a will? For our clients that's a serious oversight. Don't let the tax man take the lions share of your estate - talk to our Tax team today to discuss how you can pass on your estate - with minimum taxation - to your loved ones after you're gone." Followed by, "Did you know that 83% of all business failures can be put down to bad planning or not planning at all. Our number one priority is to help our clients achieve success. A business plan can be your guide, and it needn't be expensive, talk to your Partner today to arrange a meeting to develop an effective business plan for your company today." A series of messages promoting pension planning, tax planning, shareholder agreements and other services can be looped and played during the time callers are on hold, and also play in reception so that those waiting to meet with you can get more ideas of how you can help them to build a better business. It's not expensive, but so many firms miss this great opportunity.

So, that's all for now, if you need more, sign up for our free e-newsletter, LEDGER, on our newsletter sign-up page, or look at our best-selling manual LOW COST HIGH IMPACT WAYS TO WIN NEW CLIENTS.

Thanks for visiting.
Have a great month.
Until next time.

More free tips to come as we next update our site in March 2002.