Up-sell, Cross-sell
Script: “Do you have a will or living trust for your family? As part of my tax preparation and planning service we also provide estate planning. If you care
to have this done while I am working with your file I can save you $100”. Without at least a “basic will” your property will go to probate and your kids
may be big losers. Without a living trust, you could pay over $125,000 in taxes that are totally unnecessary."
Expanding Customer Purchases
What about an accountant? She can tell her business clients about her consulting services. Rather than wait until year-end, she can provide quarterly
evaluations, which helps keep her clients on track. She can also educate clients about her the other services she provides - payroll, estate planning,
and out-source bookkeeping. If they use her only for year-end taxes, they may be totally unaware of these other services. She can offer to train the
client’s staff on Quickbooks® so they can do the legwork more efficiently – and so on.
Strategic Endorsements (a.k.a. JVs)
Let’s go deep here by using a personal example from my healthcare services business. My accountant, who was great at taking care of my needs,
referred me to our insurance agent. Although we shopped rates, we went with this broker because of the referral – now we had over 800 employees
and 13 fully equipped offices, so this agent made substantial commissions over the years.
My accountant also referred us to our corporate attorney. Being in a litigious business, dealing with medical information and attorneys, we spent
millions of dollars over 10 years in legal fees. My accountant also referred me to a national accounting firm when it came time for our business sale
audit. Do you see how powerful their endorsement was!
Now they could have taken it a step further by continually and methodically recommending other providers to me as well. Office supply companies,
copy machine companies (we bought 500 of them every two years), computer system companies (we owned 600 PC’s and spent hundreds of
thousands on outside consultants and developers to link them together nationwide), a payroll service, a commercial realtor and so on.
Do you see where this would have been an enormous benefit to me as a client – saving me time, money, and the headache of searching for the right
vendors? Whether the accountant derived any compensation or not, the benefit of a lifelong customer alone it is worth its weight in gold!
Compelling Incentives
For example, if you are an accountant and are focused on new residents that move from out of the state, then you could offer a “Free Tax Return –a
$250 value”. You may put on the envelope of your direct mailing something like “ A Free Tax Return is waiting for you inside”.
Package Synergistic Products/Services
A business accountant could include a copy of Quickbooks® (small business accounting software), training, quarterly statements and statements, tax
preparation and payroll services as a “Small Business Package”. This ensures that they not only get the basic financial statement work but also the
more profitable tax and payroll work as well.
Offer “Up to X hours or Visits per Year” for a discounted price.
Other Ideas
1. Consider focusing on outsourced controller or CFO positions. Develop a strategy to compare what it would cost companies if they were to hire on a
person full-time to do the work you are going to do. Detail the cost of benefits, insurance, employer payroll taxes, paid vacations, internal employee
conflicts/headaches, the additional software packages that they would have to buy. Create some visual pain for your prospect. Put a price tag on that
pain. Then show them what your service will cost them if they choose to use you.
2. Buy books on finance or money management at a "remainder" price and give them to prospective clients. Track the results of new business. If you
buy $1,000 worth of books but get $20,000 worth of business, you have found a great marketing strategy.
3. Make friends with your local bank manager. Banks require financial statements and you can make yourself available to the bank to be the
"beneficiary" in a "host/beneficiary" relationship.
4. Use testimonials about how you have saved some clients from pain (such as large IRS bills). See the MindMap on how to write strategic testimonials.
5. Look at the back end. Instead of just doing annual tax returns for people, see what other services they need. Financial planning, succession
planning and other options might attract 5% or 10% of your current clients. Simply by making the offer, you might add 10% of new business, which
should increase your net profit line by a much higher amount.
6. Package your time. One problem you may have is getting paid on time, though you can likely count on 90-day receivables. Instead of billing
$100/hour (for example--your rates may be higher or lower) at the end of the month, sell a package for $500 and show your clients how they can save
x percent. Sometimes your client will not use your service but it results in a positive cash flow for you. You can also calculate how many hours they are
likely to buy, and try to sell a monthly package that would result in more hours per year. This is one way you could easily grow your business 20%.
7. Give a money back guarantee. This is not so common in the accountancy profession, but it might have a dramatic impact for you. State that if they
are not fully satisfied with their service that they may return the invoice market CANCEL and all monies paid will be returned. Go one better and then
also offer to do the next year's accounts for free.
Beware: test this on a segment of your new client prospects. You will likely double your response rate, but you may see refund requests of about 5%.
8. Establish referral systems. Offer a certain discount (10% to 20%) for every client they bring in. See the MindMap for more on referral systems.
9. Consider establishing a joint venture company with a firm of insurance brokers. Your network would expand and you would have much more control
of the service delivery.
10. Focus on education-based selling, possibly in the form of seminars. This will establish you as the authority in your local market. It also educates
your clients so it adds value to them, as well as giving them a chance to network. It gives you low-key cross-selling opportunities. If you can get
different clients to sponsor each event, then it will keep your costs down.
Accountant