280 likes | 442 Views
Lead Generation For Accountants. Plus a sneak preview into the new RAN ONE marketing solutions initiatives. Upcoming Events – Take Two!. Two Half day workshops Two Key topic areas : Proven Marketing Strategies for Accountants Find out more: www.ranone.com/Events/Event20.asp
E N D
Lead Generation For Accountants Plus a sneak preview into the new RAN ONE marketing solutions initiatives
Upcoming Events – Take Two! • Two Half day workshops • Two Key topic areas: • Proven Marketing Strategies for Accountants Find out more:www.ranone.com/Events/Event20.asp • Gain, Train and Retain Great PeopleFind out more:www.ranone.com/Events/Event25.asp • Sydney 11 June 2008 • Melbourne 12 June 2008 • Brisbane 18 June 2008 • Perth 24 June 2008 • Adelaide 26 June 2008
Introducing Alicia Olesinski • Owner and marketing strategist for New Angle Marketing, LLC, a full solution marketing and communications company • 12 years of marketing and selling experience specifically in the accounting sector • Sole practitioners • Small to mid size practices • Large firms of 500+ team members • Services : development and implementation of company, niche and personal marketing plans; retreat facilitation; internal marketing programs; client retention programs; copywriting; seminar development; advertising; graphic design; lead generation; and more • Partnered with RAN ONE to develop our new range of marketing solutions for accounting practices
Today’s Challenges How do I find clients? How do I consistently position myself as a valuable member of the team?
It’s Your Move 53% - 88% of business owners (in the U.S.) are willing to switch to new service providers. How Clients Buy: The Benchmark Report on Professional Services Marketing and Selling from the Client Perspective, 2007 We can expect Australian / New Zealand statistics to be similar
Satisfaction ≠ Loyalty Switching accounting firms is stressful for most so they often adopt the attitude: “At least I know what I’m getting.” Your job is to show them the value they are not getting from their accountant.
Where Firms Go Wrong • Did not listen to me • Did not understand my needs • Did not respond to my requests and correspondences in a timely manner • Did not convince me of the value I would receive from using their services • Talked too much
Nurture Your Leads Long-Term Over 80% of generated leads are never followed up on, are dropped, or mishandled. BPM Forum, Gauging the Cost of What’s Lost
Why Long-Term Efforts are Critical 25% of proactively generated leads are short-term leads 75% of proactively generated leads are long-term leads Give up too soon and you may miss out on ¾ of your opportunities.
Which strategy will have the greatest impact and generate the most leads?
Referrals are the #1 way to obtain new business • It’s not who you know, it’s who knowsyou • Develop personal relationships everywhere you go (associations; team sports; playgroups; church ; wine tastings etc.) and nurture them • Everyone in your team is important to this and can contribute
Top 3 Ways (After Referrals) • Top three ways business owners found their professional service provider: • Presentation at a conference • General awareness of the provider • Attended an in-house seminar
How They Learned Of The Event • Direct Mail: 74% • Referral: 61% • Email invitation: 57% • Email sent by third party: 39%
Competition Customers Family Business Business Environment Vision Strategy Structure Culture Client Service Time Management Products & Services Pricing Strategies Marketing & Sales People Recruiting & Retention Systems & Processes Finance Events Materials: BGR Seminar Topics
Most Effective Strategies Most Effective Strategies include: • Seminars • Articles • Case study on issues related to client • Consultative sales call • Company conducted published research
Extemely Effective Strategies Extremely Effective Strategies include: • Warm calls to existing contacts • Speaking at conferences and trade shows • Company sponsored events • Professional/Trade association involvement • Public Relations
Direct Marketing As A Strategy Create a plan that includes: • Testimonial based mailers • Article offers or summaries • Timely industry information • Research • Gifts
Direct Marketing Checklist • Verify prospect list • Mail in small groups • Hand stamp all envelopes • Write (or print) addresses on envelopes • Mail on a schedule • Follow up • Measure
Strategy: Become A Thought Leader Say something interesting Say it first
Differentiate with Technology • Post audio and video files • Provide text transcripts to assist when speakers not available • Blogs (a “web journal”) • Forums (online discussion group) • DVD brochures
Strategy: Online Marketing • Ideal for communicating timely information • Content is king • Every communication needs a call to action • Customized landing pages • Contact information clearly visible • Great visual design to reinforce your brand • Integrated with other marketing
What To Look For (And Beware Of) • Web site with strong content • Fresh content • Ability to segment lists • HTML • Banner advertising • Beware of becoming a spammer
Online Strategies • Social and Professional Networking (i.e., LinkedIn, Facebook) • Blogs and Forums
Ask Yourself… • Does your web site generate business opportunities? • Are your ideal prospects finding you? • Are you communicating with clients enough about everything you do? • Do you have the expertise and time to develop and manage a powerful integrated business development plan all year round?
What Lies Ahead RAN ONE and New Angle Marketing have teamed up to develop a solution that will: • Make you more discoverable to your prospects • Communicate your offerings to your clients • Uncover needs and wants that you can match to your own solutions • Help you to connect with business owners in a way that demonstrates your value and builds relationships • Engage people so that they want to work with your firm – and no other
The Solutions Our goal is to keep the solution simple, practical, and affordable for accounting practices to promote their services to clients and prospects. ► Powerful interactive web sites ► Templated and custom marketing campaigns ► Online diagnostic tools ► Client relationship management software ► Implementation guides ► Blogs and discussion forums ► E-marketing capabilities and creative banner advertising ► Reporting and tracking ► Strategic marketing support ► Outsourced marketing department
The Benefits • Developing an online business model will increase your prospect pool • React to client inquiries quickly and efficiently • Access critically valuable marketing information • Create interactive and dynamic communities that view you as their greatest resource • Communicate with your clients and prospects consistently, creating new opportunities throughout the year