By Linda A. Hunt

Last night I was talking to a friend who commented that I had become quite a marketer. I really don’t think of myself as a marketing person, just someone who knows a lot about finance/accounting and a little bit about marketing. Today I thought it would be fun to share with you my history as it relates to marketing. Read on for a good laugh!

Phase I – Minimal Effort
When I first started my business, I was naïve enough to think I did not have to do any marketing or what I refer to as my minimal marketing phase. I made a few contacts, had a few clients and thought I was golden. When I found myself sitting around twiddling my thumbs, I then entered the stop/start phase.

Phase II – Start Again/Stop Again
This is when I would start marketing doing a variety of activities, get new business, stop marketing because I was busy, wait for the “busyness” to slow down and then start the cycle all over again. After I had repeated this a couple of times, I entered the “let’s run around like a chicken without a head” phase.

Phase III – Running Around Like a Chicken without a Head
In this phase, you probably met me because I attended every possible networking event that existed – no kidding! I was exhausted from all of this running around and completely discouraged because I was seeing very little return for all of my marketing efforts. Let’s not forget to mention all of the money I spent attending these events.

Phase IV – Peace and Consistency
Somehow sanity returned and I entered the peace and consistency phase! Ok, a mentor of mine sat me down and said “What are you doing? Take a look at what has worked in the past, what you like and don’t like about it and come up with a new plan.” That is exactly what I did.

When you are the owner of a small business, marketing is the lifeblood of your business. Without it, there are no clients - without clients there is no cash – without cash there is no business. Here are a few tips that helped me regain my marketing sanity, are effective and helped me to even out the flow of new business my company receives each year.

• Target Your Marketing Efforts – you cannot be everything to everyone, when you try, your marketing message is confusing and not effective. Take the time to truly define who you are targeting. The more you can niche your business the clearer your marketing message is. Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean that you won’t work with anyone outside of your niche. The clearer your marketing message, the more prospective clients are attracted to you.

• Focus on Benefits, Not Features – your prospective clients aren’t interested if your services utilize the latest technology. They want to know the benefits – what will solve their problems – this is what will make them take action. Always highlight how your services will save them time and money.

• Tell Your Prospective Clients What Action To Take and How – To you it may seem obvious, but it’s not always to a prospective client. Walk them through all of the actions they must take to accomplish what you want them to – call you and hire you for your services!

• Track and Measure Your Marketing Results – you must track and measure your marketing results so you can repeat what works and stop doing what doesn’t.

• Market Consistently – you can’t market one month, then wait three months and market again. Your marketing efforts need to be consistent over time.

• One Thing At A Time – implement one new marketing strategy at a time. Make a plan for that strategy, assign a time frame and then breathe. By focusing your efforts on just one new strategy at a time, your attention is focused and you will be able to tell sooner rather than later if this is something that is working for you.

I would love to hear from you and find out about your experience with marketing! If they are anything like mine, we’ll have a lot to talk about. Email me at info@bkpr-network.com.
 

Hi – it’s Laurie this week. I am just returning from the beach in Rhode Island. If there is anything you will learn about me is I work hard and I play hard. I love the beach and enjoy riding through the country with my Harley. In the past week I have been able to connect with a lot of you. I have enjoyed learning about your practices and finding out more about you. As always, Linda and I love hearing from you so don’t be shy, drop us a line.

In this week’s article, Linda brings up a good question: What Marketing Phase are you in? This brings back so many memories for me. I was the chicken. What are you?

Last night we held the second part of How to Price and Package Your Services. What a fabulous call. It was great speaking with so many of you with and being able to answer your questions live!

Wishing you financial serenity,

Linda & Laurie

By Laurie L. O’Neil

In my second year of business, I was contemplating hiring an employee or hiring a subcontractor. I decided on the subcontractor. I had my first heartening experience as a business owner. I had a client that had a high volume of work that needed to be done quickly and a lot of back work. I needed someone to help get everything up to date, so I hired a subcontractor. Being of a naïve nature, I did not have any agreements with her. Well you guessed it; she cut me right out of the middle and took over the account. This was the beginning of compiling contracts for employees and contractors.

This is a difficult topic because not all states will uphold Employment and Non-Compete Agreements. Connecticut is a state that will and they can be enforced. Also you will need a good attorney to review these documents.

Here are some things that should be covered in Non-Competes and Employment Agreements:

When it comes to a Non-Compete agreement be sure you cover: 

1. Geographical area – within reason
2. Timeline of non-compete needs to be reasonable
3. Terms of employees/contractors soliciting your clients.

When it comes to an Employment Agreement or Contractor Agreement:

1. At-will employment for employees
2. Termination clause for both employees and contractors
3. Discussion of general duties and expectation
4. A clause to not solicit employment from clients
5. Breach and liquid damages
6. In case of any issues, what state will enforce the breach

The important part of business growth is protecting the time and money you have invested into the building of your company. Employment/Subcontractor Non-Compete Agreements protect that investment. You do not want to be in the job of being a recruiter for your clients nor do you want to continually find clients for your employees to take away.

Hi – this week it’s me Linda. I am writing to at 30,000 feet somewhere over the middle of the United States. I took a couple days to meet up with some friends, relax and have a good time! I am sorry to say that I do not have any pictures to share with you – I really have to get myself a digital camera!

Before I left for vacation, I had a conversation with one of my subcontractors who had made a request that was not only very strange, it was also in direct violation of their subcontractor agreement with my company. All I had to do was to remind them of the agreement they signed and the situation was resolved. It’s a good thing I have well written agreements with both my clients, employees and subcontractors. All of my agreements contain language that protects me and my firm.

In order to grow our firms we have to leverage ourselves, which means hiring employees and/or subcontractors. When you are ready to take this step, make sure that you are protecting the business and reputation you have already built up. In this week’s article, Laurie talks about some hard earned lessons she learned about working with employees and subcontractors.

Wishing you financial serenity,

Linda & Laurie

By Linda A Hunt

A couple of months ago, I referred a prospective client who was not right for my firm to another bookkeeper who I thought would be a better fit. I sent him an email and then I followed up with a phone call so that I could give him all of the details that I had learned in my initial conversation with the prospective client. I had not referred anyone to this bookkeeper before. I found it interesting that I was doing most of the follow-up to give him business and this of course, got me thinking – is following up a lost art?

Since I had told the prospective client that I would pass their name along, I set up a reminder in my calendar to follow up with both the prospective client and the bookkeeper in a few weeks time. When I did I ended up having a lovely conversation with the prospective client from whom I learned that they were working with my referral and very pleased with the outcome. When I called the bookkeeper, who I referred the business to – no response!

This is not the first time I experienced this and I am sure it will not be the last. Life, these days, seems to move at the speed of light and we have tons of technology to help us keep up that speed. To me, technology represents a double-edged sword. While on one side it can make our lives simpler by automating time-consuming tasks, it also keeps us running at a pace where we forget to slow down to be people and connect as people.

Following up takes discipline. Sending a handwritten note is the most powerful and least expensive way to deepen a relationship. A handwritten note denotes a relationship and leaves a lasting impact.

Over 80% of my business comes to me through referral. I have spent a great deal of time forming relationships with my colleagues and have to do very little other types of marketing. The day I receive a referral, I send out a handwritten thank you. I don’t wait until or if it turns into business. I believe that my referral rate is so high for two reasons:

1) All it takes to receive another referral is a simple acknowledgement to the source of the referral to keep them coming, and:
2) I ask them to keep referring to me.

It’s that simple. Remember to incorporate personal touches in all of your networking and you will set yourself apart from the pack and watch the referrals start to roll in. Following up is one of the easiest ways to distinguish yourself from others. Don’t under estimate the power of tangible appreciation.

Hi – it’s Laurie this week. I am just returning from sunny hot Florida from visiting my mom. What a great relaxing trip. We saw the new Indiana Jones movie and I burnt my toes lying out in the sun. Coming back however, I think I blinked my eyes and the week was over. Meanwhile, Frank my son has returned home from college. It has really been great having him home. He has been spoiling me by cooking dinner. Yes, I taught him well.

Sometimes in business we receive referrals from some of the most unexpected resources. In this week’s article, Linda shares the importance of following-up with people who give you referrals.

Also save the date, Tuesday June 24th. When we will be holding the second part of How to Price and Package Your Services. This is a call you won’t want to miss!

Wishing you financial serenity,

Linda & Laurie

In my prior life, I was a controller of a recruiting company. so I have some insight in this area. Asking the right type of questions and finding the right candidate can be challenging. Often we get our personal feelings involved in the hiring process. You like the person but the person may not necessarily have the right skill set for the job. Often we may compromise what we are searching for in a candidate in exchange for an easy fit.

Here are some things that you want to think about before you hire an employee:

1.  Put together a job posting that will capture the interest of a potential employee, flexible hours, benefits, the job requirements.

2.  When recruiting for an employee, have a job description put together. This will have a job summary, duties and responsibilities, complexity of work, experience, skills, and education. This will keep you focused on who you are looking for.

3.  When interviewing have some behavioral type of interview questions. For example: Tell me about a time when your workload was heavy. How did you complete all your work? Remaining calm under extreme pressure is a difficult skill for many people. Tell me about a situation when you were able to do this. These types of questions give you some good insight on how someone could react with your clients. Sometimes people do not know how to answer these questions.

4.  Look for someone who has consistent job experience, spent 4 or more years in one position at some point in their career.

5.  Be sure to check references!!!!

Be firm on what you are searching for in a candidate. Be clear about what you stand for and what your values are in your company. You are searching for someone who shares similar values. Finding good employees will not come easy nor should it. In my last job posting, I phone screened all the resumes and only interviewed who I thought was a perfect fit for the job. This may be time consuming but it will cost you in the long run if you do not take the time.

Copyright © 2008 Linda Hunt and Laurie O’Neil, The Bookkeeper’s Referral Network, Inc.

Hi – this week it’s me Linda.  Last week I had my first coaching call with my new coach and I am so excited to be working with her!  We have entered into a year long private one-on-one coaching program designed specifically around my needs.  She is an extremely talented business woman and I know that what I learn working with her I will be able to take my businesses to new heights and also share with all of you what I learn along the way.

It is really important that we nurture ourselves and seek out and find the resources we need that will help us achieve success – whether that be coaching, self study courses or hiring employees.   We cannot do it all by ourselves nor should we!  In this week’s article, Laurie talks about how to find good employees.

Wishing you financial serenity,

Linda & Laurie

We got so many great responses to our question “What is Your Biggest Question About Making Money as a Bookkeeper?”  Below is a breakdown of the most frequently asked questions.

• How Do I Price and Package My Services - 63%

• How to Collect a Retainer - 13%

• How to Pay Your Staff Including Benefits - 12%

• How to Increase Your Customer Base – 12%

Here’s our answer to YOUR biggest question:  How do I price and package my services?

Setting fees is probably one of the toughest areas.  Many of us struggle trying to determine whether or not it is better to charge an hourly rate or a flat fee.   We then struggle with knowing whether or not we are pricing ourselves to high or too low.  Here are our general thoughts on setting fees:

  • Fees are to be based on value, not the task.

  • Never use only time as the basis for your value.

  • Don’t stop with what the client wants.  Find out what the client needs.

  • Provide at least 3 options every time:  the choice of “yeses”

  • Ensure your client is aware of your full range of services.

  • Fees have nothing to do with supply and demand, only value.