Selling yourself to land the account.You received the referral and you called the potential client to set up an interview.
Now how do you land the account? 1 can only guide you in steps to take, mistakes to
avoid, and conversations, but you are the one who will complete the circle. I can tell
you that appearance is very important in selling your services! "Clean and
professional' will guarantee you a foot in the door. Not everyone can go out and dress
to the nines with designer suits, but clean, groomed and neat are acceptable
descriptions when you are meeting with people. 1 have found over the years that with
some clients 1 can wear shorts or jeans to their office because they are blue-collar
workers. This, mind you. comes after the initial consultation. No need to wear nylons
to an office where there is heavy equipment and machinery all over the office and
shop. But if you have a client who is a lawyer. CPA or in a professional field where
attire is important, you need to dress the part. Now. just a little personal advice from
a third party that is not intentionally trying to hurt anyone's feelings. Before you go to
any meeting with a network or referral client, brush your teeth! I know it sounds a bit
presumptuous, but if you ever had a nice C-arne Asada burrito for lunch with lots of Salsa Frcsca loaded with onions, your breath might need some help. First
impressions are everything, and if something like that is the first thing a potential
client remembers about you. then it could be a bad memory.
Cell phones arc incredibly rude! Leave it in your car! If your phone rings during a
meeting with someone and you answer it. you are telling the person you are with that
their meeting with you has taken second place behind the person on the phone. If you
did that at my meeting. I would never call you back. Proper phone etiquette also
means no talking on a cell phone so everyone else can hear your conversation.
Talking on cell phones in lines at grocery stores, banks, at a restaurant, or anyplace
where you are the center of a large group of people is rude. Most cell phone plans
have voice mail. If yours docs not. invest the extra $10 per month to have voice mail
attached to your cell phone so if the phone call is important, they can leave a message.
You can also turn your ringer off and have the phone vibrate if you have missed a call.
If you are concerned with missing a phone call that might be an emergency with your
children, then nonchalantly look at the phone (after it vibrates because you turned the
ringer off), see what number was missed on the Caller ID. and if it is a call from your
babysitter or the school, excuse yourself to the restroom and return the call.
Do not be late to meetings! It looks very bad. If your appointment is at 10:00 a.m.
and you don't know how to get there, leave early enough in case you get lost. It's
always best to be early rather than being late. You can always wait in your car in the
parking lot. jot down notes and to-do"s. return a few phone calls, but don't be late.
Once you've won their trust to sell your services, your next step is Confidence! Like
1 said before, you are in a completely different ball game. You are no longer an
Employee, but a Business Owner. You don't have to respond to anyone above you! It
is completely different selling your sen-ices compared to trying to find a job. If you
know what you're doing and give valuable comparison information along with how
they should be running their bookkeeping to reach a more profitable business, they
will listen. The first few consultations to prospective clients are filled with nerves. It's
really no different than having the solo song in the school play. You get butterflies, maybe even a little stage fright, but wait, you already spoke to them on the phone, so
that ice is broken. You know who they are and what they are looking for. That will
give you a few days to prepare for the meeting, depending on when you make the
appointment. When you prepare for your meetings, go through your notes on what
they need. I have enclosed a Quote Sheet form for potential clients. This is a key form
to go by to see what type of business they are. what their accounting activity is. and it
will give you a basis to go by on what fees to charge. When you are doing the first
initial phone consultation with the company, go down through each number and ask
the questions to the client. When you are finished at the meeting, tell them how you
can help their company become more profitable by showing them where they are
spending too much money, or why their receivables look bad and how their records
should look. Nine out of ten times, with your professional appearance, confidence,
and profitable recommendations, you will land the account!
Do your homework! Study what you need to know from my forms and this book
regarding questions to ask. and documentation you need to begin creating their
books! If you're not sure about a question they ask. always find out where you can go
to get that correct information! Let your client know that you will call them back as
soon as possible with the answer! Never leave them hanging.
If you are prepared for what a client needs and wants, the meeting will be a lot more
comfortable, and your confidence to speak to them will show. After the first few
meetings the butterflies go away, and the confidence outweighs anything else! I guess
in my decade of self-employment I tend to have the perspective that they need me.
which is why they called or were referred. So for me. I am providing a solution for
small business owners. Now that I am mainly focusing on Fraud and Financial
Investigations. 1 am starting over, in a sense. I'm offering a completely different type
of service to a different type of business resource. I am using the same principles
from the first day I went out on my own. which is "How many people do I know, and
what type of networking resource will get me the type of client base I desire?"
Because people know my name and heard I am steering towards a different avenue of accounting. I am getting phone calls for Fraud. Had my resources not been so
valuable. I would be back to square one with a "What do I do?" look on my face.
The subject matter of fees and rates will inevitably come up for discussion either
during your first phone call or the first meeting. Rates are discussed in depth in
Chapter 3: however, you need to know how to handle the bargaining client. If they
tend to steer away because of your rate, stand your ground (politely). Never sell
yourself short. Your services are worth X dollar amount and that is your rate. If you
decide to give a discount rate for the first few months, that is fine, but make your
client aware that your rate will increase to your normal fee! Include that in your
proposal! If you lose an account because your rate is too high, another one will come
that will agree with your fees. You cannot get professional quality service for nothing.
Barter with your potential client by saying that anything less than X dollar amount
will bring them poor sloppy service that they will need to be careful of. You can also
assure them that if they do go that route, it's guaranteed that they will need either you
or another more expensive bookkeeper in a few short months to fix the errors of the
cheaper bookkeeper. I've done it many times! Don't let it affect your drive if you
don't get a client every now and then. Trust me. these people don't know much about
accounting, and they need you. They could either pay a CPA a substantial amount of
money, or pay you a low $25 to $40 per hour to set them on the right track. You
might liave slow spells every now and then, but get your name out there and meet
people: someone will drop your name and you will get referrals!
There are so many different types of clients that you could have. Each one needs a
different service, yet the bottom line is. all of the general accounting services that you
will be providing will be the same. I will give you a few examples of the type of
services each client could require.
Bar - 'Cash Basis* - Cenerallv would require weekly A/P processing, posting
cash receipts and maintaining checking accounts for up-to-date balance activity,
budgeting for A/P processing, posting payroll and double-checking payroll and
payroll tax accuracy. With monthly financial reports, quarterly SBA reports, year-end accounting and tax preparation, this client would most likely be handled at
your office.
Retail Outlets 'Cash Basis' - Generally would require the same maintenance
as a bar. My advice on retail, they are a lot more work than the service industry.
The accounting and record keeping takes quite a bit longer, and the chances of
audits are higher because the amount of cash that goes through the registers. A
lot of accountants and bookkeeping serv ices won't handle these types of clients
just for that reason. It could work in your best interest, or not: 1 choose not to
handle them, just to avoid a headache.
Law Firms — 'Accrual Basis' - This type of client would be an on-site service.
Would require up-to-date Accounts Receivable and collections to make sure their
clients are paying in a timely manner. Would also require Accounts Payable,
filing, payroll posting, reporting, monthly financial reports, quarterly financial
reports, year-end tax preparation and reporting.
Service Industry - (Automotive, construction, manufacturer, etc.) 'Accrual* -
Could possibly be both on-site and off-site depending on services needed. They
might just require monthly bookkeeping services, which would be at your office,
or Accounts Payable and Receivable processing as well as job costing. This type of
client would generally require quarterly bank reports as well as your monthly
financials and year-end financial and tax processing.
Think of each business or industry as having the same fundamentals of accounting
and record keeping, and trying to track their profit margins and assets in the same
manner. They may be entirely different business types, but they all are operating
under the same purpose. They want to see where they're making their money, and
where they are losing their money. It is all really common sense, and before you know
it. everything will click. Your ability to walk into a new client's business and feel
confident in the information and documentation that you can provide them for their
business, no matter what they do. will excel at an all-time high!
