build your community reputation

don’t make these 2 mistakes. plus: leveraging pro bono work.

by sandi leyva

networking is an extremely popular way to get accounting clients. you can network informally, such as with your hairdresser or dentist or at church.

more small firm growth strategies: track your online reputation | the a-b-c’s of getting started with advisory services | 3 more kinds of referrals | turn to the abcs for client feedback | use client ‘touch plans’ to stay in touch | build your revenue plan in reverse | four tools for a millionaire mindset | best practices for growth: network, specialize, share | reconnect with your why
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or you can network more formally in a leads group that you pay to join. members of leads groups attend meetings and are able to announce their services and share leads with each other.

some of the more popular places to network include:

1. country clubs and sports clubs such as golf, tennis and sailing
2. chambers of commerce
3. professional associations
4. business networking international (bni), a leads group
5. rotary clubs
6. service clubs such as lions, elks lodges, ambucs, knights of columbus, masons and the like
7. women’s groups such as nawbo and ewomen
8. university alumnae clubs and fraternity and sorority alumnae clubs
9. church
10. your fitness club
11. anywhere you make friends, you can network

in addition to formal networking groups, you might want to consider getting to know key players in your community, such as:

• bankers
• attorneys
• accountants who do not compete directly with you
• insurance agents
• real estate agents/developers/builders
• recruiters
• accounting software vendors
• it consultants

all of these individuals have a chance to provide large numbers of referrals to you.

tip: choose the group that contains members who are the best match for your ideal client.

successful networking is all about building long-term relationships. there’s nothing fast about this marketing method. it’s not about how many business cards you can hand out or collect. it’s about building trust, delivering value and staying visible.

i see networkers making the same two mistakes all the time:

• overselling – as they are describing their services, they go on and on and on. the pros shut up, find out your needs and then listen intently.
• expecting overnight success – because only 3 percent of sales are made upon first contact, it’s critical that you have a followup system in place with your networking efforts. otherwise, you leave 97 percent of the revenue on the table.

get to know the people and be yourself during the meeting. when a fellow member has a question in your field, let them know you’re an expert in that area and offer some free value. if appropriate, give fellow members something free: a tip, a white paper, a no-risk offer or a free initial phone consult. after a few months, you’ll start to see some business. after a few years, you’ll own the place.

here are a few more tips on maximizing your networking relationships:

• take detailed notes as everyone introduces themselves. you can begin to build files on the people you perceive as most promising, so that you can remember to ask them about the event they mentioned or the sale they had. think about what value you can add for each person.
• look for something you can give to an accounting prospect that will have more value than a business card. perhaps it’s a bookmark with 10 tips for reducing your taxes or looking for hidden profits in your business or saving money. people are less likely to throw away information that is useful, such as a list of tips, than they are a business card.
• deliver your elevator speech confidently and clearly. here’s a formula you can follow that will improve your elevator speech 300 percent over everyone else’s:

i help (or work with) [ideal client] to gain [benefits] through my [services].

please view this youtube video on how to create a great elevator speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbqs3pqyp1y

• if you write a newsletter, encourage your prospects to join your list. that is the easiest way to stay in touch.
• plan to send qualified prospects at least six followup emails. qualified means they really need your service; they aren’t just being chummy at the networking meeting. these can be standardized for all prospects, with just a little bit of customization. here are a few ideas:

message #1

subject: brightening up the rotary meeting

hi ___,

it was really fun to sit next to you yesterday in the rotary meeting. i loved hearing about your company and how passionate you are about what you do. (pay a compliment or mention something you liked about the conversation.)

i encourage you to sign up for my free newsletter on how to get more clients. you can do that here: http://accountantsaccelerator.com (encourage them to enter your pipeline, whatever that means to you. it could be your facebook fan page, a free teleseminar or a newsletter signup.)

please let me know if we can help in any way.

regards,

sandi

message #2

subject: rotary meeting

hi ___,

just wanted to check and see if you decided to join the rotary group. i know you were visiting as a guest the day we met.

i’m curious as to what marketing techniques are really working for you. would you like to get together for coffee next week? (invite to a face-to-face meeting.)

regards,

sandi

message #3

meet for coffee. get to know one another. during the conversation, ask what you can do to make their life easier.

message #4

depends on whether they entered your pipeline and/or had coffee with you. if they did, ask for a favor. if not, do them a favor.

subject: looking for a referral

hi ___,

my webmaster just quit! i thought of you since you have such a wonderful network. do you know anyone you’d be willing to recommend?

regards,

sandi

message #5

start pitching.

subject: special offer

hi ___,

i wanted to let you know about a special offer we’re having right now on our services. it’s supposed to be for clients only, but i wanted to invite you too.

(describe your offer.)

if this is something you might want to pursue, let me know and we can set up a call.

regards,

sandi

message #6

pick up the phone. they might not have gotten any of your emails.

call them and ask them what their need is related to your service.

tip: plan to deliver value before you get business.

this method requires that you be a bit extroverted! if you want tips, you can actually hire networking coaches to help you develop the skills and learn tips to maximize your return on investment. you can also join toastmasters or go through the dale carnegie courses to develop skills such as remembering names, making a good impression and speaking up.

here is specific advice on networking through your professional association and nonprofits:

affiliation with professional or trade associations

joining a professional association is a great way to develop business relationships that could turn into clients or referrals. i can attribute well over three-quarters of my business in the early 2000s to my work in professional associations over the previous 15 years. however, this method can be much slower than others, so if you need clients fast, you’ll want to look at other choices.

here are some tips i’ve learned along the way to get the most out of professional associations:

• the ideal group to join is one that matches the persona of your ideal client and that you have something in common with yourself. for example, i joined the national speakers association when i was looking for speakers as clients. i had experience speaking, and even though i didn’t speak as often as nsa members did, that was good enough. they didn’t consider me as competition, and they were very interested in my services because i specialized in speakers.

if the industry you serve is nonprofit, consider joining the association of fundraising professionals. if you cater to contractors, consider the association of general contractors. for pilots, try airplane owners and pilots association. there’s a group for every industry, and often more than one to choose from.

this strategy works if you have more than one professional designation. for example, if you are a cpa and a writer, you could join a writers group and market your cpa services there, plus join a cpa group and help them with their writing.

i could have joined my accounting group, but then i would have had a lot more competition. since all of the members were accountants, we were all looking for the same business. your professional association is great to join for camaraderie and professional support, but unless you can find people you do not directly compete with, there are better places for networking.

• if you do join your professional association, be very specific about how your service fits in. if you only do payroll, then you’re not competing against tax accountants. instead, they may refer their clients who need payroll to you. don’t expect referrals from your competition where there’s an overlap, though. they will be too concerned about you taking their entire client list away. the more specific you can be, the less perceived competition you will have, which will increase your referrals.
• stay in the group for years. the longer time you have to build relationships and become known as a community resource, the more clients will come your way.
• attend the events. become a regular. be helpful.
• be visible. watch who is influential, and get yourself on their committee, on the board or otherwise contributing. members can then see how you work. this builds trust, which is a key ingredient to getting hired.
• treat any contribution you make as a professional assignment that you are getting paid for. you will be watched and evaluated based on this.
• consider more than just your local associations. get involved on the state and national levels. the visibility soars, and there are often chances for business deals because who you become connected with is that much more influential.
• use all of your benefits. especially, post a profile, use the database, email the list, join the social networking and take advantage of what you already paid for.
• make it a two-way street. do business with as many people in your group that you can. that way, it doesn’t look like all you do is take business; at least you have some to give too.

for what it’s worth, i’m in a group now where i’ve done business with 10-12 of the vendors, and only one has done business with me – and that was an in-kind trade. my red flag is going up on that group, and i won’t be around much longer if this lopsidedness continues.

the professional association route to building your reputation may not be the cheapest way to get business. in fact, it may be one of the most costly ways to market (as i have found out the hard way). let’s crunch some numbers: assume a $400 annual membership fee plus a $65 monthly meeting fee. let’s say you go to eight meetings a year. the cash-out cost is $920. factoring in your time to attend meetings and follow up with leads at three hours per meeting and assuming your hourly rate is $75, you’re spending $1,800 of your time.

tip: marketing using professional associations is one of the more costly methods. if you want to maximize your marketing payback or your budget is tight, use up all of the less costly marketing avenues before you try this one.

$400 + ($65 * 8 meetings) = $ 920.00

3 hours * $75 * 8 meetings = $1,800.00

total                                       $2,720.00

 

marketing expenses should pay back 10 times your investment. so if you’re not getting $27,200 in business from your professional association, you should look somewhere else for clients.

tip: your marketing investment should pay back 10 to one.

the real lesson is when you are a member of more than one of these groups and you attend their annual conventions. this was what i did for a few years, which cost me around $20,000 a year. this is often too much for a small business to spend on marketing! of course, you attend the conventions for other reasons, but if you are solely attending for marketing purposes, please consider the cheaper alternatives first.

pro bono work for nonprofits

doing volunteer work has been a great way for me to get started in business or get started offering a new service line.

when you do work for a nonprofit, do for them exactly what you offer as a service. for example, if you install quickbooks company files, then do the same thing for the nonprofit. then, leverage it like crazy:

• learn as much as you can about the nonprofit, and experiment with all aspects of your service to get the most learning curve benefit you can.
• do as high a quality job as you can, as if they’re paying you.
• ask for a testimonial that you can use to share with other clients so they can get an idea of what you’ve done and how you are to work with.
• ask your nonprofit contact if they know of businesses (they will have donor and volunteer connections) that may be able to use your services. after all, you did this for free, so they want to find a way to return your favor.

nonprofits can also be a great source of networking with other business owners, via events, committee work, volunteer work and direct outreach work. any contact you make can become a future source of referrals or a client themselves. you never know. one of the biggest gigs that ever came my way – and which has turned into a six-figure client – was via a fellow committee member when we were both serving a national nonprofit. 

to determine the cost of this marketing method, multiply the hours volunteered by your hourly rate.

summary

through growing your reputation, you are building a following of people who want to stay in touch with you. you can also use newsletters, social media and blogs to keep in touch with your fans on a more regular basis and “warm up” your prospects, building trust. please note, social media and blogs are not good for lead generation, which is where most people go wrong using them.

so as you’re spreading the word about who you are, let your fans know how they can sign up to stay in touch with you on a regular basis, whether it’s a newsletter, your facebook fan page or your blog.

review questions

1. reputation is:

1. a cheap and quick marketing channel
2. the least common way experts get business
3. requires lots of selling
4. building a following of people who want to stay in touch with you

2. essential materials you need to boost your reputation include all the following except:

1. your biography
2. headshot
3. direct mail
4. testimonials

3. to get the most out of professional associations:

1. the ideal group to join is one that matches the persona of your ideal client
2. don’t do business with anyone else in the group until they do business with you
3. all you have to do is attend once a year
4. stick to your local associations only

solutions and suggested responses

1.

1. incorrect. it takes money and time to build your reputation.
2. incorrect. reputation is a very common way that experts get business.
3. incorrect. reputation is a great method for accountants to use because it requires limited selling.
4. correct. reputation is building a following of people who want to stay in touch with you.
   

2.

1. incorrect. a good biography is needed to boost reputation.
2. incorrect. a headshot is an essential material needed to boost reputation.
3. correct. direct mail is not one of the essential materials needed to boost your reputation.
4. incorrect. testimonials are a great way to improve reputation.

3.

1. correct. to get the most out of professional associations the ideal group to join is one that matches the persona of your ideal client.
2. incorrect. in networking, it’s essential to reciprocate, share leads, and provide favors.
3. incorrect. stay in the group for years.
4. incorrect. consider more than just your local associations.

posted on september 22, 2017