make it easy for prospects to reach you.
by jody grunden
building the virtual cfo firm in the cloud
with our 401(k) audit service, the bulk of our clients find us online and come to us through our website. we also get referrals from investment advisors and third-party administrators.
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no matter how a prospect finds us, there are three ways that they typically reach out to us:
- quote form: they fill out the quote form that’s available on our website. we make this readily available for any prospect so they can quickly get a good idea of their potential price with zero pressure. again, it comes down to transparency. to get a formal quote, basic information about the requestor is needed, but they can figure out a close estimate in price without completing a formal quote request. this works great for people who are still researching 401(k) audit companies and their respective price models. when they submit the form, we know they are a little closer to making a decision, and we can then follow up with them to see if they’d like a free 30-minute consultation.
- schedule a consultation: whether or not a potential client has submitted the quote form, they can schedule a consultation with us at any time. our consultations are free and just 30 minutes long. we know people are busy and 401(k) audits are often the last thing they want to deal with, so we make our consultations as painless as possible. we discuss the company’s audit requirements, pricing options and our process, keeping it short and sweet so the prospect can get back to work and make a decision when they’re ready.
- contact us via the website: we make our contact information available everywhere on the website. people like to communicate differently. some like to do the research on their own (hence the quote form option above), some like to have a meeting on their calendar, and some want to send an email with their questions or call and talk to a live person (gasp!). we make it easy for people to email or call us directly from the website, and we make it a priority to respond in a timely manner to all emails and phone calls (double gasp!).
when we get the opportunity to talk with a prospect, if they’ve never had an audit before, we talk with them about the audit process and what to expect because it will all be new to them. if they’ve had an audit before, we talk with them specifically about what to expect from our company, because we will be performing the audit remotely.
we spend time answering any questions the potential client may have. we want them to walk away with the assurance that we will be able to complete their audit on time. we talk a lot about our staff, all of whom are very experienced with 401(k) audits. we also talk about our credentials and the number of audits we perform, which is currently close to 200 a year.
prospects will sometimes request references, and typically they want to follow up with the names privately to get candid feedback about us and our services. in these circumstances, we’ll reach out to current clients and connect the two entities.
once a prospect decides they want us to complete their audit, we get the ball rolling by sending them the engagement letter and the questionnaires along with the governance planning memo that we’re required to give them.
our sales and conversion process is simple. we make it easy for prospects to get the information they need through our website, consultation or direct conversations via email or phone. we’re transparent with our pricing, helpful in answering their questions and responsive at all times. these little things go a long way in gaining a prospective client’s trust, and it doesn’t stop there. we continue to be transparent, helpful and responsive throughout our entire engagement with the client, which leads to solid client relationships and an excellent retention rate.