Start a Bookkeeping Business

The art of getting new business is no mystery, in fact it’s so simple we miss the forest for the trees. Here are 6 tips to remind you how to build a bigger bookkeeping client base.

1. Get New Business From Old. Ask existing bookkeeping clients for more business before you try warming up a cold lead. Ask your happy clients for referrals to people they know that you don’t – and be sure to keep track of who referred whom.

2. Give It To Me Straight. No one has time for the “warm-up”. Prepare well honed phrases and practice them in front of a mirror. People like it when you can get to the point rapidly and intelligently. If it’s by email, make sure they don’t have to scroll down to read it all.

3. Offer a “Loss-Leader”. People are less and less apt to buy impulsively from a person if they don’t have a good feeling about them. Offering a loss-leader (such as a discount on bookkeeping services) allows the relationship to mature over time. This is very important in business to business clients.

3. Get Sold Yourself. Pick the most successful bookkeeping competitors in your area and let them sell you. Play client and be aware of how you feel during each step, and see why their approach works so well. Auto-makers buy each others cars and break them down to nuts and bolts. You can do the same thing in your bookkeeping business.

4. Start an E-mail Newsletter. Give them useful information week in and week out, or month in and month out. Make them happy to see your name in the “from” field. If they only hear from you when you want something, they’ll turn you off when they hear from you.

5. Offer Testimonials. Satisfied clients can say things about you that you can never believably say about yourself. Use the person’s full name if possible when doing this. “KM from Buffalo” isn’t nearly as strong as “Kenneth Moore from XYZ & Associates, Buffalo”.

6. Ask Questions. I can’t emphasize enough how important and how underused this tip is in business. Simply allowing people to verbalize their needs makes them happy and tells them you listen. It also allows you to hone in on the points to make when it’s your turn to talk.

It’s strange, but we become so busy doing business that we have a tendency to overlook what’s in front of our noses. Most of the tips listed, would come about if we ever had the time to visit with our clients while doing business.

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