When you took the plunge into your own freelance bookkeeping business, did you fully realize how much more would be required of you than just sitting at your computer and crunching numbers? A big part of running a successful freelance bookkeeping business is actively marketing your services to prospective clients, and that can be frustrating and scary!
How many times have you made an appointment to talk with a prospective client when your gut is telling you don’t do it! But you’re so desperate for work you ignore your feelings and push ahead promising services you don’t want to do. You know how miserable that can be!
Or after spending two or three hours with a prospect, you find out they’re not going to move forward with you. With each rejection, your energy drains away because of the time wasted and your self-confidence gets dashed to pieces.
It’s enough to make you wonder if you should even be in the freelance bookkeeping business!
Let me share with you some things you can do to prepare yourself – even before the first interview – so you can market in a non-pushy way that gets you the clients you love.
- Identify a market segment you enjoy servicing. What are the types of businesses that you enjoy working with and where will you find them? Once you know that, your authenticity and enthusiasm when speaking with your favorite market segment will shine.
- Write out the specific characteristics of an ideal client for your freelance bookkeeping business. Do they pay their bills on time, value and respect the services you provide, are easy to work with, are organized, etc? By identifying these characteristics, you’ll ask the right questions in your initial interview to determine if they are a fit for you and your services.
- Identify exactly what services your freelance bookkeeping business will and will not provide. When you are clear and consistent about the best way to service your clients, this instills confidence in them that you have their best interests at the center of your working relationship.
- Get rid of desperation. It is a proven fact that our focus becomes our reality. So, why focus on the negative when a positive outcome is so much more enjoyable? Visualize yourself and your new client smiling at one another as they sign on the dotted line and write the check for the initial deposit.
- Sell the value and results that your freelance bookkeeping business provides rather than trading dollars for hours. Recognize that you’ve acquired this knowledge through years of education and experience and that has VALUE. That expertise is what they are paying for.
- Create different ways for your client to select your services. You can establish a pay-as-you-go-rate or packages and retainer fees with different levels of service such as the no frills package, basic package and a deluxe package that’s loaded with value. Then base the price upon what you are worth – not what you think the client can afford.
- Prepare a script that clearly defines the deal breakers for you. You must have clarity of your business before you can effectively present it to others in a way that attracts your ideal client. Include questions and then listen carefully to their answers.
- Send out an amazing pre-consult meeting package so the prospective client gets the feel of working with you. Don’t forget to include all the information about working with you that could be a deal breaker for them.
Are you looking for more techniques to help you successfully qualify a prospect? Check out my free teleclass tomorrow, “8 Insider Secrets to Qualifying a Prospect and Working with Clients You Love!”
You’re not going to want to miss this great opportunity to get insider secrets on how to transform your freelance bookkeeping business! Here’s the link to reserve your spot: www.sumsolutions.com/qp_promo_info/. If you can’t make the live call sign up anyway and I’ll provide you with the recording so you can listen at your own convenience.
