Turn Prospective Clients into Current Clients More Quickly
You know the drill. You’ve met someone who is interested in your services, and it’s time to make the follow-up call where you remind them of their interest and attempt to secure their business. This can be a daunting and unpleasant task for many professionals who would rather clients fell more easily into their laps. But, let’s face it-growing your clientele takes time and energy. And in this case, 4 powerful follow-up techniques:
1. Provide a déjà vu moment
You must remind these prospects why they were interested in the first place. This will require you to take notes following your first meeting. Were they most interested in having someone else worry about payroll? Did they like the sound of increasing their profitability by using accounting knowledge more effectively? Or did they need professional help bringing their business back into the black? Whatever the case, you must create a déjà vu moment where the prospect is reminded of what makes your services particularly appealing to their business.
2. Ask open-ended questions
You can’t engage a prospect in conversation by asking ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions. Before picking up the phone write down two to three open-ended questions (asking how, what, when, where, why…) that will help them reflect on their specific accounting needs.
3. Add value
The reason why many follow-up calls don’t work is because they simply remind the client of an initial meeting and ask if the prospect is still interested. In order to enhance your appeal, you should use the follow-up call to increase your value to the prospect. You might consider offering incentives that are catered to their unique needs.
In his ezine article entitled “The #1 Secret to Making More Effective Follow-up Calls, Glenn Fallavollita says that he has found more success in using the “Oh, by the way…” follow-up method than any other. He provides the following script:
“The reason for my call is that I am just following up on the ________ I sent to you a few days ago. Oh by the way, many business owners like you are taking advantage of this _______ because they want to reduce their ________ by _____ %. – and I thought you would like to do the same. “
This is an example of how you can further peak a prospect’s interest by talking specifics regarding how your services can benefit their business.
4. Don’t let a prospect turn cold
Whatever you do, don’t let too much time pass before placing a follow-up call. The truth is, the longer you wait to revisit a contact, the more you’ve allowed the individual to forget why they were interested in the first place.
Follow-up calls are an important part of your business; without them it would be difficult to reconnect with prospects and, finally, secure their business. If you want to grow your clientele, you’ll need to place many follow-up calls; implementing these 4 techniques will help.
Let UAC Help You Promote Your Business
Follow-up calls are just one way to promote your business. If you want to grow your accounting practice, you’re probably interested in ways to attract new clients. Unfortunately, many accountants and bookkeepers are unaware of how to market their services effectively. That’s why, for over 25 years, Universal Accounting Center has been training professionals like you how to promote their businesses. The Universal Practice Builder program will train you in the following (and much more):
- Increasing your annualized billings by $30,000 within the next 12 months
- 12 proven marketing strategies that will increase your client base
- Techniques that can generate 15 to 25 qualified leads per month
- Creating your own customized marketing plan
- Effective phone marketing techniques
In a matter of hours, you will know exactly what you need to do to grow your business. Advance your accounting practice to the next level and become the premier firm in your area.
Build Your Practice’s Prestige
One more way to make those follow-up calls more effective is by enhancing your firm’s prestige by enrolling in our Professional Bookkeeper program! Designed to teach you the day-to-day accounting functions required by small business, this course will give you the skills and the confidence to act as a Profit Expert while you manage your clients’ books. Here are just a few things the PB course will provide:
- Practical and extensive training in small business accounting
- The opportunity to earn valuable certification as a Professional Bookkeeper
- DVD training materials you can review again and again
- Hands-on instruction that will provide you with experience setting up and managing small business accounts from scratch
- Flexible training that you can master on your own time and at your own pace
- 6 months of follow-up support provided by knowledgeable accounting professionals
- An iron-clad guarantee
These two complementary programs will enable you to catapult your practice to the next level. Take advantage of this opportunity and enroll in these two programs today!
Resources
Fallovollita, Glenn. “The #1 Secret to Making More Effective Follow-up Calls.” Ezinearticles.com
