Why Your Accounting Practice Must Follow Up On Leads

Let’s start by asking you a question. In all honesty, how much time do you spend following up on leads that have come into your accounting practice?

You may wonder why I am asking. Whilst it is a rhetorical question I ask it because I want you to be honest with yourself.

One of the first things you need to do when growing your client base is to be honest with the way you are already approaching marketing and sales.

Research shows that only 2-3% of sales occur on the first contact between a sales professional and a lead.

If only 2% buy on the first contact, that leaves a whopping 98% of leads walking away and not buying from you.

As the aim of business is about getting and keeping a client, we need more clients to say yes.

By getting more ‘yes’s’ and less ‘no’s’ your accounting practice will grow.

However, it is astounding that on average 80% of leads don’t get followed up! In fact this is what happens

• 44% of sales people stop asking after just one ‘no’.
• Then 22% of them give up after two.
• 14% cave after getting three ‘no’s’.
• and 12% then throw in the towel after being told ‘no’ four times.

So 92% of you are giving up after getting 4 no’s.

Now here is the shocking statistic – 8% of people follow up 5 times. And following up 5 times means that 80% of your leads will say yes.

These shocking statistics then beg the question – why are you not following up?

Well, as someone who abhors being “salesy” I know first-hand why you don’t follow up.

Firstly, you don’t like being salesy. If you did, you would be a sales person not an accountant.

Secondly, you don’t like being pushy. Why should you push someone into working with you?

Thirdly, you don’t like being rejected. Who likes to hear the ‘no’ word? It can be disheartening, and soul destroying.

On top of this, even if you are someone who enjoys selling and gets a buzz when you get a new client, you are really busy.

And this busyness means:

• You forget to follow up
• You don’t have a process for managing your leads
• You don’t have an email database where you regularly email your prospects
• You don’t track what your team members are saying to your prospects
• You have no reminders in your diary to follow up

So what is the solution to getting more clients from the leads that come in?

The 5 No’s Follow Up Strategy

Well, introducing a 5 no’s follow up strategy should certainly enable you to get more clients from the leads that come through your door.

Every time someone says ‘no’ you need to see it as a win, a chance to celebrate, a chance to see you are getting one step closer to having them as a client.

You want them to say ‘no’, ‘not now’, or ‘call me back as I am busy’. You need them to say this as it is all part of the sales process.

To ensure this happens you will need to install a system in your practice to track your leads and ensure you have regular contact with them. You need to be able to schedule follow up calls and have marketing material on hand to help them with their buying decision.

But having a customer relationship system in place is only worthwhile when you understand why it is needed. Once you get your head around the fact that your job is to get the 5 ‘no’s’ you can put the processes in place.

A keep in touch strategy is essential so your accounting firm can save time, money and get more clients. One of the strategies we cover in The Pioneering Practice Programme is how to follow up and keep in touch with leads so you can convert them into happy clients. If you are interested in finding out more about the programme send me a message or reach out at [email protected].