Accountants train long and hard in order to go into their chosen field of expertise, yet not much emphasis is put on the marketing aspect of the business. Senior partners are often tasked with the job of attracting new clients in an effort to continue to grow the firm, but few have ever had any serious training in marketing.
Face to face meetings with potential clients will usually result in a sale simply because that client is there for a reason that your accountancy firm can help with. In general, accountants say that it is not very difficult to convert a prospective customer into a client once they are in their offices, but it is the art of getting potential customers into the offices that is the real skill.
Why face to face sales work so well
An accountant can turn a prospect into a client by working out a few basics, and then everything seems to fall into place as a result. This is simply done by finding out what problems the client have, and confirming that they do in fact have a problem that needs solving, and then offering a solution to them in the form of a service.
Once a solution is put in front of the client, it can then be easy to persuade them that your solution is the right one for them to go with, and that you can provide this service better than your competitor down the road.
As an accountant, you are an expert in your field, and you can comfortably convey this to your client, and selling your service can be a very comfortable and natural process. This does of course depend on the personality of your client, as well as the accountant selling the package.
To the outside world, your accountancy firm has to convey the same confidence, experience and expertise that a face-to-face client will experience once inside their offices. This is where your marketing materials and methods come in to play.
Your marketing has to reflect your company image and general feeling throughout your brand, website, business cards and brochures, right down to your customer testimonials and case studies used both online and in print.
Why marketing is different to sales
Marketing your firm to the outside world requires a very different skill set to the sales techniques you use with your face-to-face clients. It is like casting a net as wide as possible to capture potential clients, and encourage them to book a face-to-face meeting with you. The sales side is almost a walk in the park compared to actually persuading people to enter your offices in the first place.
It is not sales that accountants need help with – they are already experts at the soft-selling side of providing services to clients in need of help. Where accountancy firms really need help is with their marketing.
Employing a marketing manager to specifically handle that side of things is not always possible for many accountancy firms, but finding an experienced marketing company to help you with all aspects of your marketing and branding could be a perfect solution.
This is where we can help! Creative harmony will help you to perfect your marketing efforts to get those potential new clients over your threshold. Call us on 0203 773 9137 or email info@creativeharmony.co.ukContact us today for an informal, no obligation, chat to see how we can help you
