Thread: need ideas from a business owner

I am in the process of starting my own accounting business. And I do not have much of an advertising budget, so I will be going business to business to try and get clients. I also know if I go in to see a business owner I only have a few seconds to give him a reason to listen to me. what would they would want to hear to give them a reason to keep listening. I hope this makes sense.

Thank you
John

John[/QUOTE]

Originally Posted by jsfletcher

I am in the process of starting my own accounting business. And I do not have much of an advertising budget, so I will be going business to business to try and get clients. I also know if I go in to see a business owner I only have a few seconds to give him a reason to listen to me. what would they would want to hear to give them a reason to keep listening. I hope this makes sense.

Thank you
John

I am sure everyone has their ideas that work for them but what works for me depends on the size of the client. If i know that a client will bring good profits then i would invite them to lunch, my treat. Not to many business prospects will turn that down. While at lunch, try and spark a conversation and gain rapor with your potential client. Talk about the family, vacations they may have taken, ask questions until you hit a nerve about something they are willing to say more then one or 2 words about and work that conversation. Remember to listen more then talk. Do not even bring up your presentation. Get to know them on a personal level. Remember to be polite not only to your potential client but also to everyone around you. Including the waitress. Try to continue building the rapor until the meal arrives. During dinner it is never polite to over endulge in conversation so keep conversation to a minimum.

After the meal and before the check, it is time to introduce your proposal. By this time they should feel comfortable with you and things should go well. Do not pay the check until he hears your presentation in full and also understands it. When you are done then ask him/her questions. Open their mind in the case of doubt and address the doubt. When you feel you are done then it is time to pay the bill and the business lunch ends.

If you cannot afford lunch then perhaps tea or coffee at starbuck or somehwhere would be more your speed.

If you are given only a few minutes to talk with someone then it is not even worth trying. Just Introduce yourself and what you do then hand them a business card and politetly be on your way.

A small budget...try getting business cards made out and hand them out not only to certain people but to everyone. You never know where these business cards will wind up.

You have to make sure this business card is catchy and easy for people to remember.

Everytime you shake a hand.....hand them a calling card. You going to a party and you mingle with people who want to know what you do for a living? A perfect time to hand them an business card. Even though people may appear not to be a good business prospect, you never know who they know. Treat those business cards like american express...never leave home without them.

Make sure you attend events and seminars that would prove beneficial to you and mingle.

I hope this helps you out.

Mabe You should come to Norway and start your accounting business here hehe... We need more accountants at the moment...

I think You should give your possible future clients good reasons to choose you, wich means how can they save money by choosing your company? What is the advantage by choosing you?

That is the important factor :)

If Texas_Tea invited me to lunch, I would be polite and go to that lunch, but if he dont have good advantages and good prices, then he is waisting his time I would say.

Thank you both very much. Do either of you have any thoughts on cold calling to set appointments? And BTW anonymus accounting principals are fairly standard around the globe, and with fax and email capabilities if you know anyone....lol seriously though thank you both

double post

Originally Posted by jsfletcher

Thank you both very much. Do either of you have any thoughts on cold calling to set appointments? And BTW anonymus accounting principals are fairly standard around the globe, and with fax and email capabilities if you know anyone....lol seriously though thank you both

This is coming from someone without any experience at cold calling but for what it is worth....I just Googled the phrase "cold calling tips" and this is exactly what I got...
"Results 1 - 10 of about 1,700,000 for cold calling tips. (0.15 seconds)".

An almost overwhelming repository of ideas. Again, for what its worth and I realize that you may have already tried Google. Have a great day and enjoy those 70 degree temps this week in Denver.

ND

Originally Posted by jsfletcher

Thank you both very much. Do either of you have any thoughts on cold calling to set appointments? And BTW anonymus accounting principals are fairly standard around the globe, and with fax and email capabilities if you know anyone....lol seriously though thank you both

I forgot to say You cannot have Norwegian clients without beeing approved by the Norwegian government upfront. This is due to legal and ethical mathers. I am studying accounting myself, part time.. been looking into this :)

Cold calling b2b would not be a big problem I guess, at least not in my area. But You should have good arguments and patience :)

Good luck mate!

Originally Posted by jsfletcher

I am in the process of starting my own accounting business. And I do not have much of an advertising budget, so I will be going business to business to try and get clients. I also know if I go in to see a business owner I only have a few seconds to give him a reason to listen to me. what would they would want to hear to give them a reason to keep listening. I hope this makes sense.

Thank you
John

Interesting,

Having been in both traditional and online business for years, I have tried it all when it comes to advertising strategies. What I would suggest you do first is join the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary International and any other busines networking organizations in your town. Cultivating referrals is the least costly means of building a client base. Offer a 100% refund if not happy promotion to get people to think and hopefully act. This is not rocket science, but these are the least costly means of advertising, referrals and networking.

The next strategy is to associate with other professionals, such as insurance, real estate brokers, lawyers, etc. Offer a reciprocal referral arrangement where you will refer your clients if they do the same, another strategy I used to double my client base over the years. As far as traditional advertising, get in the Yellow Pages as quickly as possible so you don't miss the break point for next years book. This should keep you busy intitally, so get to work and good luck with your new business.

Good luck and health to all, Mike