the 4 core steps to take.
by rob nixon
most accountants have a workflow system of sorts. you get the information in, you check the information, you manipulate the information, you query it, and you then bind it up and lodge or file it.
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it’s a process (simplified, i know) that is like a manufacturing line. the raw materials come in and after a series of steps and people touching the item, a finished product is created and shipped to the customer.
a sale to a prospect/client in an accounting firm is exactly like a manufacturing line as well. it’s just like workflow management.
first of all
- branding occurs,
- then lead generation,
- then contact management,
- data collection,
- a series of meetings, a followup process and finally after a sale is made,
- delivery of the sold service.
or to simplify that there are four core steps:
- lead generation
- lead management
- selling
- delivery
they happen in that order and there are many strategies, methods and techniques that you could implement to improve each one. the diagram below highlights many of those strategies:
just like you have different people in workflow scenarios “touching” the project, you also have different people in a sales process. your marketing coordinator has different skills from your sales coordinator and your client relationship manager (typically partners or seniors) needs to allocate time to sales, otherwise it just won’t happen. you need to look at this diagram and see where you can improve. if you have a sales machine in action then you should be receiving new leads every day to whom you can sell.
just like you keep an eye on various indicators like utilization productivity, turnaround time and realization/write-offs for workflow management, you also measure different key performance indicators (kpis) in your sales process. some sales kpis to monitor:
- database size
- open rate and clickthrough rate on campaigns
- leads per week/month
- followup time (hours) from lead created to first contact
- number of sales meetings per month per partner
- number of open opportunities per partner
- probability and value of sale
- close dates of sale
- days to close a sale – from lead to resolution
- conversion rate of meetings to sale
- average hourly rate on the new sale
- number of followup meetings needed per sale
- total selling time per sale
your objective is to monitor the right numbers, make alterations to your methods and ultimately optimize your sales process. all of this can be monitored and measured through cloud-based customer relationship management (crm) systems. your new crm system (send me an email and i’ll send you some links to good ones that other accountants are using for as little as $25 per month per person) can track your entire pipeline, all of the probability and all of the sales stages.
it’s called pipeline management or opportunity management. with accurate stages and probability, you should be able to forecast your upcoming sales quite accurately.
sales do not happen sitting behind a computer screen all day.
you need to get out from behind the desk and meet some people. it’s like a wheelbarrow. unless you push it, it won’t move.
many accountants are employing marketing companies and internal people to generate leads. they’re making noise in the marketplace. without sales followup it’s just noise and a complete waste of time.