Proven Focused Strategy For Accountants To Get ‘A’ Grade Clients

The problem with good marketing is that it takes time. And most of the time marketers teach you to throw mud, hoping that some of it will land with the right prospect, at the right time, and that these prospects they will buy your services.

This attitude to marketing wastes time and more often than not results in poor leads.

Examples of this marketing include; magazine advertising, having a stand at an event, attending networking events.

However, there is a much better option available to get your ideal clients.

Let me explain the concept of your Top 100 List.

The Top 100 List is a concept I first used back in 2009 when I started my agency. I wanted to get copywriting gigs, and no matter how much I networked I just couldn’t make enough money in my business on a monthly basis.

It was breaking point and I decided the best thing to do was to approach my ideal client and offer my services, rather than wait for them to stumble across me. So I sat down and devised a list of my Top 100 Clients.

At the time I hadn’t niched my Marketing Agency, so I decided that my list should comprise of Web Designers, as they would have lots of clients who needed copywriting, yet as a designer they probably didn’t offer it as a service.

Within my first week I had become the go-to copywriter for a small sized web design (there were 5 on their team) agency with lots of clients who needed my help. All because I sent a message to the owner on LinkedIn and asked if they needed support.

Over the course of the next few months I built relationships with more web designers and before long I was no longer worrying about where my next client was coming from. I no longer needed to waste time in networking groups or sitting in the office feeling invisible to the world.

My Top 100 List delivered.

The Top 100 List soon became known as the A List. Over the years I have taught this concept in workshops and with my clients, and today I share it with you in this article.

Your Top 100 List, or A List, is all about going after your ideal clients with a vengeance. It is a campaign that integrates a variety of marketing tactics and tools to ensure you are top of mind when a prospect is ready to buy.

Step 1. Know Your Ideal Client

When you approach marketing in this way it is essential you understand who your ideal client is. Who is your best buyer? What are their characteristics? What size business do they have? How many employees? Define the size of company that makes them an A Client.

Once you are clear move on to step 2.

Step 2. Assemble The List

Research on LinkedIn who will make your A List. Get all the details of who the decision makers are, who influences the decision making process and their contact details and social media profiles. Then put these details into a CRM platform as you will need to manage your actions. If you don’t use a CRM platform then use Excel.

Step 3. Grab Their Attention

The goal is to stand out from the crowded market place, and be front of mind. Over the following months you are going to raise your brand visibility and your positioning in the marketplace.

The campaign may take you 6 months to deploy, and some buyers may take up to two years to make a decision. The key is persistence and consistency to make this work. After the initial 6-month campaign, if no action is taking by a potential A Client then you move them to a monthly maintenance campaign consisting of emails/direct mail.

Here is a Sample Campaign Strategy:

Attempt 1

• Place a call and follow up with email.
• Follow on Twitter and RT a tweet.

Attempt 2

• Place a call and follow with email attaching a content piece of interest (yours or someone else’s).
• Comment on Blog on Website and/or LinkedIn blog.

Attempt 3

• Send letter in the post with free gift of some kind (known as lumpy mail).

Attempt 4

• Ask to connect on LinkedIn and follow up with an email mentioning the LinkedIn connection request.

Attempt 5

• Call and send email.

Attempt 6

• Comment on LinkedIn post/share post/send InMail

and so on…

As you begin the Top 100 Campaign take an inventory of your content so you can use it in the process. Do you have blogs/webinars/videos/interviews that will be useful and support your campaign?

Keep your letters/emails/voicemails short and sweet. Voicemail less than 15 seconds, emails less than 200 words.

Only talk about your prospect, avoid talking about yourself.

End all correspondence with a question. You are trying to evoke a response and start a conversation. You are not looking to sell to them at this stage.

Have a swipe file for any messages/emails/letters that work and get results so you don’t have to be creative all the time.

Make sure you personalise all correspondence. Reference something that is unique to them, so they know you are not mass mailing them.

Send all emails from your personal email. Do not use MailChimp or any other mass email delivery platform.

The goal of your Top 100 A List is to transform the recognition and relationship with your prospect from:

I’ve never heard of this company

To

Who’s this company that I keep hearing about?

To

I think I have heard of this company

To

Yes I have heard of this company

To

I keep hearing about this company I must make contact

To

Yes I know this company, I do business with them

Summary

The Top 100/A List Campaign Strategy is the fastest and easiest way to get clients but it requires discipline and focus. You will need to plan it in advance and commit to the strategy. If you want to get better clients, and don’t want to waste your time, then now is the best time to plan it.