The other day a colleague was asking me to share with him what my secret is to keeping clients for such a long time.  He got me thinking.  I have had my accounting firm for 10 years and over 80% of our clients have been with us since year 2.  So I guess he is right.   I do know a few tricks on how to keep clients happy!

1. Longevity Mindset - it has always been my mindset to create long-term working relationships with my clients.  This mindset is reflected in how I speak to a potential client and in all of our marketing messages about our services.

   During my initial meeting with a prospective client and after understanding where their pain is and deciding whether or not we would make a good fit.  I then explain to them the value that we bring to the table and very directly tell them we are looking for a long-term working relationship with our clients.  Doing this puts all of the playing cards out on the table and from there everyone is able to make an informed decision.

2. Comprehensive Client Intake Process - whenever we begin working with a new client, we take a lot of upfront time getting to know the client, their business and identifying all of the key ingredients we need to make our client relationship work.

   This makes the client feel cared for and that we are really interested in the success of their business.  Everyone likes to feel as though someone is on their side.

3. Tell Them the Truth Not What They Want to Hear - this secret is very important.  Your client has hired you for you experience and expertise.  They did not hire you to be their “Yes-man” or “Yes-woman”.

   Being an accounting professional, you have the inside track on what is working in your client’s business and what is not.  Sometimes that will be news that your client wants to hear and sometimes it will not.  The thing you need to remember is that it is your job to shine the light clearly so that your client can make an informed decision.

   I like to use an example of a lighthouse.  A lighthouse’s job is to stand on the shore and shine it’s light out into the harbor.  Boats use the lighthouse as a steady beacon to guide themselves to shore.  It is their one truth.  You are your client’s one truth.

4. Consistent Client Communication - in this age of technology it is so easy to forget the human aspect in light of trying to get things done quickly and efficiently (aka email).  One of the most important things we did in my firm was to create a communication policy that has us touching our clients on several different levels at various frequencies.  This is a win/win for both the client and us.  For the client, because they feel cared for and regard us as a valued resource.  We become their go to person for advice and resources.  For us, because we are in the loop of major new developments occurring in our client’s business and are able to anticipate their needs.
5. Say What You Do - Do What You Say - you could be the winner of the Miss Congeniality award and if you are not providing quality, consistent services to your client, the bottom line is they are not going to stay with you over the long term.

   It is important to say what you do and do what you say each and every time.  Clients like consistency in their accounting professionals.  Not complacency - consistency.  This evokes a sense of trust and well-being.

This is the time of year that people are often starting to plan and make changes to their bookkeeping businesses. Very often, Linda and I get asked a lot of questions from our members and other freelance bookkeepers about how to go about presenting their services to prospective clients.  Most of us are accountants by trade, not sales people.  But when we are trying to sell our services and get our prospective clients to buy from us, we have to think like salespeople.  Listening to these prospective clients and really hearing what it is that they need is the key step to bringing in new clients.

Step 1:  You need to prepare for your meeting:

1. 1. In the initial phone call start building rapport and building value by listening to what they need.
   2. Think about the questions you will be initially asking that pertain to their particular business.
   3. Make sure you will be meeting with the key decision makers.

Step 2:  Meeting the prospect:

1. 1. Develop a trust between you and the prospect. It will set the stage for getting the right answers to your questions.
   2. Get the conversation going by smiling and being friendly.
   3. Always remember that a prospect cannot evaluate your skill set – they can only evaluate you as a person.  Act accordingly.

Step 3:  What is your Company Story:

1. 1. Explain who you are and what it is you do to build creditability.
   2. Explain what your objectives are with the potential client.
   3. Talk about how you are different from other firms and why they should go with your firm instead of the alternatives.

Step 4:  Ask the tough questions:

1. 1. Find out what they know, what they don’t know and how they are doing things.  Find out what they need.  Be the detective.
   2. Remember – There is a reason they made the appointment with you.  If they didn’t need some kind of help, you wouldn’t be there.
   3. Do not focus on the sale but listen for the areas of pain in the business.
   4. Never assume anything.

Step 5:  Qualify the Client:

1. 1. Determine whether or not they can afford your services.
   2. Confirm that they really need your help.
   3. Decide if this is a client you even want to have.

Step 6:  Closing the sale:

1. 1. Re-iterate your discoveries.  You have found the areas that are important to the prospect.  You have explained how your services can help service their needs and you have differentiated your services from the competition.
   2. Ask them if they have any questions?
   3. Price the package or service you are offering.
   4. Have you asked 3 times if they have any questions?
   5. Answer their objections.

With these six steps you are on your way to becoming a pro at sales.  Just be sure to practice, practice, practice.  As long as you stick to these guidelines and put in the time fine tuning your personal sales technique, you should have no problems closing sales and growing your business to where you want it to be.

When I started my freelance accounting practice ten years ago working virtually was not as widely accepted as it is today.  At that time my client base was split evenly down the middle – 50% onsite and 50% offsite.  Over the years I was able to migrate my onsite clients into becoming virtual clients by showing them how working remotely was really no different than working onsite and eliminating their fears.

Usually a client will object to your working remotely because they do not understand or have confidence in how the process will work.  Their fears take over and believe me they can imagine all kinds of problems that will keep you working onsite at their location!

Remember, most people do not like change.  So the first step to successfully working remotely with your clients involves you answering these four very important questions:

• How will your client(s) get their accounting information to you?
• How will you return original documents to your client?
• Where will the accounting file (data) reside?
• How will the accounting file be protected?

It is up to you to define the structure of how you and your company will work remotely with clients.  Here are some things for you to think about as you answer those questions from above and define your remote working structure.

1. Structure, Structure, Structure – whether you work remotely or at the client location, creating a consistent structure of when and how work is to be completed are essential.  For example:
   1. You work on the client account the same day of the week, every week
   2. You provide your client with a list of information that is needed on a regular basis and also a list of items that are missing.
   3. You take the responsibility to follow up on those missing items.

   The less your client has to think about and the more consistency you can provide to them, the more likely your client will be to cooperate.

2. Having the Right Tools – if you want to work remotely then you need to use the tools that will make working remotely easy.  This includes using a remote hosting service that allows you and your client access to their accounting file from wherever they are.  Remote hosting services also offer a daily offsite back-up of all data files.  This feature becomes a benefit to your client whose current back-up routine may not be as good as it should be.Another tool you will want to consider is a scanner.  As I moved to being a 100% virtual office, I incorporated the cost of a scanner into my client’s set-up fee.  This way my client can easily scan their documents and email or fax them to my office without incurring the cost of a delivery service.

   Next year we are also looking at incorporating the program Sourcelink.  Sourcelink is a QuickBooks add-on program that associates documentation to a specific transaction.   The benefit here is if you need to look something up, it is right at your fingertips.

3. Keeping the Lines of Communication Open – when you work remotely it is very important to be in contact with your clients on a regular basis.  The worst thing you could do is disappear into your remote office and forget about the personal aspect of your client relationship.In my office, we have created a process that is followed to ensure that we speak with our clients at least once a week.  Our communication process also includes the scheduling of several face-to-face meetings throughout the year.

   Another tool you may want to consider is GotVmail. In my office, we use this service because it provides my company with one phone number for the client to call.  They simply enter the extension of the person they are trying to reach and they are then forwarded directly to their cell phone.  If the staff person cannot answer, GotVmail takes a message and emails it to you.

It does take a little trial and error to work out all of the kinks and once your clients have begun to work remotely with you, they will begin to wonder who else they can work with remotely!

In the past couple of weeks, I have talked to several of you who have been in a little distress because you needed to put together a presentation for a BNI meeting.  I do not know about you, but when it comes to public speaking – my anxiety level goes through the roof and it is enough to put me into a tail spin.

At first you are in a panic because you realize that you need to speak in front of a group of 15 or more people.  Then you become horrified because you realize exactly what it entails, that you’ll need to stand in front of these people and talk for at least 15 minutes.  Your last thought is, what am I going to talk about for 15 whole minutes?

You need to stop, take a deep breath and take five steps back.  Remember, presentations and 60 second promos about your business are the best way to educate people on what it is you do.  Keep this in mind.  By doing this you are building relationships with the people that you meet and promoting your business.

Whenever I do a presentation for the BNI network, here is my approach:

1. We, as bookkeepers/consultants, should focus on the value of our service, not the price. Ie.  Our clients love us because we take the worry away from them and allow them to focus on their business.  They have comfort knowing that their bills are being paid on time and the work is accurate.
2. Define what makes you different from your competitor or companies in your area.
3. I define who is a good contact for you to meet with.  For example, I am looking to connect with Lawyers, landscapers or non-profit organizations.
4. Some presentation topics that relate to my business that I have talked about are
   1. Updates on what’s new with QuickBooks or Peachtree – Talk about the latest versions of software you work with and what changes they have made within the programs that could benefit different businesses.
   2. How to streamline your Clients Book- I have done a PowerPoint presentation before that showed areas that most people do not use QuickBooks and how to use them in order to implement better bookkeeping procedures.  Find an area most people are weak in and show them a way to improve.
   3. I have educated the members in my group on what the difference between a bookkeeper, a full charge bookkeeper and a controller is and discussed the different roles and expectations associated with each.  By discussing the different aspects of bookkeeping, you have the opportunity to educate others on what it is you offer.  Most people are pretty uneducated in this area, many business owners’ don’t realize there is a difference in these services.

Don’t let the fear of public speaking keep you from sharing what you love best about what you do and who you are.   As much as public speaking takes me out of my comfort zone, I do find that it ends up being worth the tiny discomfort that I have to endure.  I have gotten a ton of referral business from it, so it pays to put yourself out there.

A couple of months ago, before the economy became the subject on everyone’s lips a client of mine was going through some major downsizing.  Over the coming months they would be laying off more than half of their employees and their statement to us was “Since our payroll will be half the original number, we expect your fee to be cut in half to correlate.”  Inwardly, I have finally learned to chuckle at remarks like that, take a breath and pause before responding because fees have nothing to do with supply and demand and everything to do with value!

The service my firm provides to this client is payroll.  We process their payroll through a third party and then prepare a laundry list of compliance reports needed by their industry and corporate headquarters.

My first response was to express understanding.  To let them know that I understood that these times were difficult and that we would be happy to explore all avenues to determine what fee adjustments, if any could be made.

Here is how I approached it jointly with my client.  My objective was to include the client in the process to:

1. Demonstrate a collaborative spirit that is an important part of how my firm services our clients, and;
2. Re-educate them on the results that were being provided.

Here are the steps that I followed with my client and you can follow too when a situation like this comes up:

1. Express understanding of their situation. Let your client know that you understand and are willing to explore all avenues to determine if a fee adjustment can be made.  At this point you are committing to exploring the possibility nothing more.
2. Determine what their true objective is. Initially, it may appear as though they are only looking to save money however having further discussion around this topic may reveal some other important, valuable information that you may need.
3. Review the results you provide. Go over the results of the tasks that you are performing for the client one by one.  At this point do not make any determinations as to who is going to be doing what.  This step is to simply refresh your client on the end results that are currently being provided.  You are providing them with a comprehensive picture.
4. Determine the “new” end result requirements. This is an important step because it will help you determine where you can possibly save them money.  As you go through each item, be sure to determine whether or not the result/task is still needed.  Then determine who will have the responsibility of performing the task.  If the client decides this is something that you will no longer be doing make sure to obtain a clear commitment from them as to who in their office will be responsible for completing.Remember you client may be focusing on trying to get your fee lower.  It is your responsibility to remain calm and not let their emotions drive you through this discussion. For example, if your client decides a compliance report is no longer needed to be prepared by you, it is up to you to specifically demonstrate the implications of the time needed to prepare the report, ensure accuracy and file in ample time.  Give your client all of the information that they will need to make a proper decision.
5. Confirm your new understanding. Once you have had this conversation with your client, it is important to document your new relationship especially if some of the responsibilities have shifted back to your client.  It is important to do this even if there is no change in the fee or results being provided.If it looks as though there will be a fee adjustment, at the end of the meeting let your client know that you have the information that you need and you will be back in touch with them in a few days.  Do not commit to a verbal dollar amount at this point.
6. Check back in with your client. If the end result of your conversation with your client resulted in a lower fee and responsibilities shifting back to them, you will want to make sure and follow up with them to ensure all is going well.  They may have gotten themselves into a situation where they truly did not understand the full implications of what needed to be completed and you may find yourself re-assuming those responsibilities.

I went through this process with my client and even though the number of employees was reduced by half, the end result was that none of the results we provided changed, leaving our fee the same.  Taking our client through this process not only reaffirmed the value of our services it also strengthened our working relationship.

We got so many great responses to our question “What’s Your Biggest Question on Pricing & Packaging Your Services in a Downturn Economy ” Here’s a breakdown of what you are asking:

Here’s our answer to YOUR biggest question:

How Do I Show My Clients the Value?

Here’s the good news!  In a down turn economy, everyone is checking out their bottom line and guess what? YOU are the expert to help them stay on track and put their attention where it needs to be – on maintaining and growing their business!

Here are a couple of ways in which you can show your client the value you and your services provide.  Be sure and sign up for our FREE teleseminar on Wednesday, October 22nd where we share our proven strategies on how to price and package your services in a downturn economy.  We’ll also be answering your other questions you asked us in our survey.

3 Tips On How to Show Them the Value:

1. Align Your Mindset With Success – first and foremost it is important for YOU to believe that the service you provide is a VITAL, IMPORTANT and contributes to the overall success of the businesses that you work with.You need to believe this and tell your client.  “I am here to make you successful.”  “I am an important component of your success.”
2. Understand the Value that You Provide – next you need to understand the value you are providing to you clients, so you can clarify this to them. (It’s not your clients’ job to know the value, it’s YOUR job to understand and explain it to them.)  Remember your client isn’t purchasing the number of checks you are writing on their behalf. They are purchasing the end result – accurate and complete financial records!Also check out the article, Show Them the Value which can be found on our website www.bkpr-network.com.
3. Find Out Your Clients Challenges – ask your clients what problems they are experiencing.  Find out what the symptoms of those problems are. Then you want to meet them right where they are – this shows them that you understand their pain and frustration and you have a solution to make it go away!

And don’t forget to sign up for our teleclass next Wed where we’ll talk about this in more depth and answer all your other questions. Here’s the link again to sign up: FREE teleseminar on Wednesday, October 22nd

By Laurie L. O’Neil

One of the hardest tasks as an owner of a bookkeeping firm is to find a qualified bookkeeper. You are out marketing like crazy when suddenly you realize you are at capacity. You need to bring on another bookkeeper to handle all the work you’ve brought in. So what do you do? You place an ad for the position and get some great responses. You schedule some interviews; you do all the right things. During the interview you ask all your normal interviewing questions. Afterwards you decide that you liked the candidate and feel like they are qualified for the job so you check out their references. They all check out and you end up hiring them, then what happens? After you hire them you find out they lied. They don’t know QuickBooks at all, even though they answered all your questions correctly. So how do you know what they do not know?

This has taken some time to perfect. At first, the thought of bringing on another staff member would put a knot in my stomach. This was an intricate process with a no win scenario, because no matter who I brought on I would have to groom them into the position. Initially I started asking detailed questions about QuickBooks and bookkeeping but I found that just wasn’t enough. Job candidates can give you all the right answers and still not be qualified enough for the job. I realized that I needed a way to test their skills upfront, something more concrete than just their answers to my questions.

I started investigating different resources to get me out of this dilemma. One of the first resources I found that you should take the time to check out is the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers www.aipb.org. They offer a free comprehensive bookkeeper hiring test for employers that checks their knowledge on the practical applications of accounting. You can find the test right on their homepage. The test is based on the national Certified Bookkeeper Exam. It is twenty questions based on journal entries, depreciation, pre-paid expenses etc.

My favorite resource is McWilliam and Associates, Inc. www.4luvofbiz.com. I give this test to all new hires. It is 78 questions of all aspects of practical QuickBooks usage. It tests on General QuickBooks Knowledge, Payroll, Inventory, Banking, Accounts Receivable etc. The average grade is about a 50 because it tests on everything. They also have some other cool tools for other purposes as well. One that I like and have gotten a lot of use out of, is their Knowledge Base Subscription. It is an online troubleshooting guide for QuickBooks. They also have a great Diagnostic tool for when you are doing clean up work, which allows you to put a report together to give to your client on the work that needs to be completed.

So now that you have some trusty resources to help you out next time you find yourself involved in the hiring process, don’t cringe at the thought of bringing on another staff member. Just do your homework and you will know what they do not know upfront. Test their actual bookkeeping knowledge, don’t just take them at their word. It’ll save you a lot of frustration later on, not to mention a whole lot of your time.

The fees you charge have NOTHING to do with supply and demand,
and
EVERYTHING to do with VALUE.

That’s right - the fees that you charge directly correlate to the value you provide to your clients. The key is to show them and keep showing them that value. This keeps current clients happy and makes the buying decision for new clients that much easier.

Clients focus on value, we focus on price. Clients want a price they can justify and it is our job (besides providing the bookkeeping services) to EDUCATE them on the VALUE of the results your service delivers.

In order to educate your clients on that value, you must first understand what that value is and then, how it is perceived by your client. There are a couple of ways to do this but let’s start with pretending you are a customer who is buying a service. What are the questions you ask as you evaluate whether or not you are going to purchase the service? What answers are you looking for? What problems are you looking for this service to solve for you? How will you know they are meeting your expectations? 

It is essential for you to understand the value you provide first, so that you can then help your client to understand it. Remember, your client isn’t purchasing the number of checks that you write on their behalf. They are purchasing the end result - accurate and complete financial records! Of course, this is not the only result that you provide to clients.

Now let’s turn around those questions that we would ask when we are purchasing a service and ask them of ourselves as they apply to your service.

• What problems do I and my company help my clients solve?
• What am I an expert at helping people accomplish?
• What am I an expert at helping people achieve? What is the end result?
• What am I an expert at helping people feel?

You will want to write down as many answers that come to mind as possible. If you find yourself getting stuck, just pretend you are a customer looking to hire you. Looking at it from a different prospective will help you to think and ask different questions.

The next step is to quantify and qualify those answers by asking your clients what matters most to them. Asking your client will either give you confirmation of what you believe is the value you provide and/or you uncover something that is important to your clients that you had not thought of.

The important thing is to not accept vague, fluffy answers to these questions. Your objective is to find out how using your service will make a difference in their business. The answers give you the information you need to meet and exceed your clients’ expectations every time and the confidence in the services you provide.

I’ll never forget when I first started my bookkeeping practice back in 2001 and I first started working in QuickBooks. I had never even looked at it, let alone touched, QuickBooks in my life before. I had always worked in high end software like Mas 90, Platinum and SBT. I think I even learned Peachtree in college – the DOS version of course – nothing in comparison to QuickBooks.

I have been certified as a QuickBooks Pro Advisor since 2002. Currently I am the top Advanced Certified Advisor in Hartford, Connecticut. So many people have asked me, is this a real benefit? The answer is, of course it is. Many business owners have now switched over to QuickBooks from their old software systems. It has become one of the most popular accounting softwares for small businesses. Becoming a QuickBooks Advisor was one of the first things I did once I figured out where I wanted to go with my business. As it turned out, it was the best choice I could have possibly made. It has been one of the best referral sources for new business.

Some of the benefits are:

You get unlimited tech support.

You always have the latest and the greatest software, so when you take on a new client that has the latest software release you will already have it since you get it before it comes out in the market.

You get a listing on the Pro Advisor website. This list now also opens when you look up questions for help in QuickBooks 2008 so potential clients know how to find you.

You get product discounts.

Some things you may want to consider are:

You will need to put aside some time to take the certification exam and pass it. If you get advance certified it could take up to four days to pass the exam. Currently I am certified in QuickBooks, Enterprise, and POS and I am current on all certifications. You can imagine how much time that took.

Instead of doing more bookkeeping you could end up becoming more of a consultant which means you will have to learn the new technology.

It also means that your firm will be specialized in one software, so if the market share changes it could effect you.

Whatever you decide, QuickBooks currently has the majority share of the market. The value you pay is well worth the return in my opinion.

To sign up today for the QuickBooks Advisor Program click here.

Financial forecasting reminds me of the weather – you make your forecast at a moment in time based upon the information and assumptions available, you draw a conclusion and state your forecast.  But then, the information changes and it is now raining and you are caught without your umbrella!

Forecasting, unlike the weather, isn’t a science but it is not pure guess work either.  It is:

1. A combination of knowing your business;
2. Understanding your market place;
3. Knowing what you want to accomplish in the future, and;
4. Common Sense.

Every small business will need to make reliable financial projections at one time or another.  This forecasting is critical at many stages of a company’s life span:

1. When looking for financing
2. Gauging the potential profitability of a new product or service
3. Trying to determine the impact of staff expansion or cutback, or;
4. When it needs to assess other important business decisions.

But let’s take it one step at a time – creating an accurate forecast for the remainder of the year.  There are a lot of components to think about when forecasting and it all boils down to the following five steps:

1. Review Actual Year-To-Date Results

The best place to start is to see where you have been.  If you use an accounting program like QuickBooks you can print out a Profit & Loss statement showing year-to-date results.  Make sure that the statement captures all financial transactions that have occurred to the date of the report and reconciles to your bank statements.  If you don’t use an accounting program, then add up your year-to-date cash receipts from customers and total expenditures.  Take the difference and this should equal your profit or loss.

Examine each line item to make sure that it makes sense – is your year-to-date revenue figure where you thought it should be or has it fallen short?  Are expenses higher than they should be for this time of year?  This exercise will really get you thinking about your business!

2. Establish Goals and Incorporate into Your Forecast

Now that you have seen where you have been, what is it you wish to accomplish by the end of the year?  Launch a new product or service, increase revenue on existing products or services, decrease spending, hire a new employee, launch a marketing campaign which will position the company for the beginning of next year?

Whatever your goals are write them out and then decide on the most important three (3) to five (5) goals you wish to accomplish by the end of the year. Determine what steps need to be taken to make those goals become reality, determine which Profit & Loss line item those goals impact and adjust your forecast accordingly.  For example, your goal is to increase revenue by 10% before the end of the year or launch a marketing campaign whose benefits will be felt in the first quarter of 2006.

3. Forecast Variable Costs

Variable costs are those costs that change in step with revenues.  For example, you are selling more widgets therefore your labor costs and materials costs will increase in relation to the revenue increase. 

Using the concept of Forecast = Projections + Predictions, combined with the knowledge that variable costs change in step with revenues, forecast each month’s variable costs.  Forecast each line item separately, looking for opportunities to reduce costs, and being aware of likely future influences on these costs.

Note:  A projection is an extension of the past into the future and predictions reflect your best understanding and your educated guesses about future changes, uncertainties and unpredictable events.

4. Forecast Fixed Expenses

Fixed costs are those costs that recur month to month and tend to relatively stable.  For example, rent, telephone, internet connection, etc.

Using the same concept we used to forecast variable costs, use the Forecast = Projections + Predictions, combined with the knowledge that fixed expenses tend to be relatively stable and do not change in step with revenues, to forecast the month’s fixed expenses.  Again, forecast each line item separately, looking for opportunities to reduce costs, and keeping in mind the likely future influences on these costs.

5. Forecast Net Profit

The final step is to evaluate what your forecast is projecting for a net profit for the month.  Decide if the profit forecast is reasonable and acceptable.  If not re-evaluate the forecast for each line item, including revenues, and make appropriate adjustments.  Also, if possible anticipate non-operating income and expense items, and include them in your forecast.

Your forecast may not be perfect at first, but we didn’t’ learn to walk without falling down.  We may get a few bumps along the way but I can guarantee you that setting your financial projections down on paper and revisiting them frequently keeps them in your consciousness and helps you to achieve them.