For many freelance bookkeepers, the biggest challenge is achieving work/life balance, especially if you are working from of a home office. We feel pressure to work with any business that shows an interest in our services, even if it costs us (money, time, energy, etc.) to be providing services to that business. Why do we do this to ourselves?

Maybe it’s because we think that by placing boundaries around the way we deliver our services will make the pot of available clients even smaller. So we become nervous and our solution is to mold ourselves into what the client desires, thus creating a straight path to burnout!

Carving out the niche that suits your expertise and has you passionate about your business WILL bring you more clients than you can possibly imagine. Here’s how to open that faucet and create a business that supports you body, mind and spirit and working with clients you love!

1) Define how your business operates. Sounds so simple, yet many service professionals don’t stop to think out HOW they will operate their business. They concentrate on getting clients first and then mold themselves into becoming the solution needed by that business. The next thing you know is that you have six different clients with very different needs leaving you feeling frustrated, overwhelmed and under appreciated.

By taking the time to identify things like:

• Your hours of operation
• Your holiday schedule
• What accounting software program(s) your company will use
• How you pay bills on behalf of your clients
• How you bill your clients
• Where your services will be delivered
• Under what circumstances you will terminate a working relationship
• How client information is received to be worked on
• Etc.

creates the framework or “game rules” everyone will follow. When everyone knows the rules, working relationships become much easier and joyful.

2) Define exactly WHAT services you will offer and HOW you will provide those services. Trying to be the solution that each individual client or business needs, diffuses your energy and will cause burn out. Instead identify exactly what services or group of services you will provide to clients. Focus on what it is you love about bookkeeping and make that the main attraction in your service offerings.

When I first started my practice we offered both live accounting and historical write-up services. Over time I found that I did not enjoy providing write-up services and it showed. The fulfillment of this service was burdensome and these clients were not receiving the quality I prided my company on. When I made the decision to no longer provide this service, I transitioned my clients to bookkeepers who did enjoy this service. Guess what – everyone was much happier?! A few former clients who had originally resisted the transition could not thank me enough for the new provider they were working with.

The clearer you are about what services you provide and how, the easier it becomes for clients to find you. (Not to mention the happier you will be.) Think about a lighthouse. A lighthouse’s job is to stand on the shore and guide ships into the harbor during a storm. Ships know exactly what service (the light beacon) they will receive from the lighthouse and they have no hesitation utilizing it. The same will be true for your services – the clearer you are about what you provide, how you provide it and to whom, the easier it is for clients to find you.

3) Identify your ideal client. Now that you know how your business operates and what services you will provide and how you provide them, it is time to create your ideal client profile. Creating a profile that outlines the characteristics of the individuals and businesses you want to work with creates a paradigm shift that gets you thinking in a whole new way.

Yes, you get to define who it is you want to work with. Remember my story from above? I liked the people that we worked with but, I did not like to provide historical services. We would have been perfect for one another if I liked to provide historical services or they had hired us to provide live accounting.

Your ideal client profile identifies everything about that client from the type of business that they operate to what services you will be providing for them. Think of this exercise a little like day dreaming – allow your mind to float and think about the perfect bookkeeping client relationship. For example: my ideal client is a business of high integrity, who pays their bills on time every time, values and respects the services my firm provides to them and looks to me as a valuable business resource that helps their business to grow.

You may find that you have more than one type of ideal client. Perhaps, even one for each group of services that you offer. The point is to become familiar with the characteristics that you have outlined so that during a prospective client meeting you are asking pointed questions that help you to identify if this client fits your needs.

As you get clearer about who it is that you want to work with, it becomes easier for clients to find you because you are putting the same message out every time you speak about your business.

Just hours before a big snow storm we had on the East Coast this past winter, I learned that my landscaper would not be able to plow my driveway because his truck had broken down.  So with such short notice, I took a chance and called a phone number I noticed on my way to the grocery store advertising snow plowing services.  No name, just a number.

When I phoned the number, the young man on the other end did not identify himself and I had to state what I was looking for (Clue #1)   The conversation was pleasant enough and the young man stated that he would have my driveway plowed between 7 AM and noon the next day.  We agreed upon a price and all that was left to do was to wait for the snow to fall.

The snow fell as predicted and the next day I waited for this young man to come and plow my driveway.  I waited and I waited and I waited.  (Clue #2)  There was a lot of snow so I was giving him the benefit of the doubt that he was a little behind schedule.

At 1:30 PM I decided to check in, just to see what was going on and ensure he had not forgotten me. (I was already wary of his reliability just from my first conversation with him.  He had not introduced himself; he had no definite method for telling me how he charged for his service, and; he forgot to ask me for some crucial information – my name and address.) 

I reached him without a problem and he shared with me a very nice “story” about why my driveway had not yet been plowed.  (Clue #3)   He then promised he would have my driveway plowed within the hour.  So again, I waited.  Instead of him showing up as communicated, I received another phone call telling me there would be another yet delay.

At this point, I was done.  In just these brief interactions with this young man I lost all faith and trust in his ability to provide any type of service.  I formed a negative opinion of him and no matter what he said I was at the point of no return. 

The fastest way to lose a new or existing client is to not do what you say you will, when you say you will.  

The fastest way to retaining a client is keeping your word and doing what you say you will, when you say you will.  Fastest

Want to know more?  Click here to see all of the resources for freelance bookkeepers.  Don’t forget to sign-up for my f^ree webinar “Lead Generating Strategies That Keep Your Pipeline Full”

There are many business owners who like to delegate their bookkeeping by abdication.  They think that as long as there is someone else handling the books, they don’t have to think or do anything to assist in the process.  If not corrected, this attitude will result in major frustration for you which is definitely something we want to avoid!

As you begin working with new clients, it is very important to let those clients know what their role and responsibilities are in your working relationship.  Again, I will refer back to the payroll processing companies.  When you sign up with them, the sales rep tells you:

□ what information is needed to get you started on their system;
□ what information you will need to supply for each payroll, and;
□ how to supply that information.

If the client doesn’t comply with any of these steps, the service cannot and is not provided!

Create a standard “Getting Started Guide” where you begin to communicate your process to the client and what happens if they do not provide you with the information that is needed.  Bookkeeping is a little more complex than payroll processing because we work with the uniqueness of each business.  So while the debits and credits are the same from client to client, the execution (frequency, who prints the checks, etc.) will vary.

Stating it boldly lets the client know you are serious and gives them the opportunity to decide if working with you and your firm is a fit for them or not. (Remember, you only want to work with businesses who take bookkeeping seriously.)  Here is a sample of the language I use:

Your Role and Responsibilities in Our Working Relationship
The success of our working relationship lies in both my team and your team knowing what is expected and when.  It is our highest priority to provide you and your business with the best financial expertise and information that we can, which is why we need your assistance in:

□ Providing us with the requested information when due.
□ Being available for questions and occasional meetings.
□ Understanding that we work with other clients in addition to working with you.

You, doing your part, is crucial to the success of our working relationship and if you or someone on your staff cannot:

□ Routinely set aside time in your schedule to gather and submit to us the information that we need when due;
□ Be available to answer questions and occasionally meet, and;
□ Have emergency requests be the exception and not the rule,

I regret to inform you, we are not the bookkeeping service for you. 

We routinely set aside time in our schedule to specifically work on your account and give you our undivided attention.  When your information is expected and not received, or we cannot obtain answers to our questions it affects the quality of the work we are providing and creates a lot of frustration for both you and us.

We keep our requests simple and are very respectful of your time and expect the same treatment back.

The language I use clearly tells the client our expectations of them in our working relationship.  I am teaching the client how we like to be treated.  As they read this paragraph they know whether or not they can comply with the requests.  The really nice thing is that once people know what is expected of them, they will rise to meet and exceed that expectation.

Want to know more?  Click here to see all of the resources for freelance bookkeepers.  Don’t forget to sign-up for my f^ree webinar “Lead Generating Strategies That Keep Your Pipeline Full”

“I have to sign this prospective client because I need the money that I’ll earn from this account.  I will say “yes” to whatever it is that they want and I’ll worry about how to handle it later. ”

In this mindset my main focus is on the money and I am desperate to do anything it will take to sign this new client, including discounting my rate and agreeing to provide services I may not be comfortable providing.  I am sacrificing all of my needs and the way I operate my business to meet the needs of the prospect and make them happy.

A prospective client can smell the fear a mile away and when you are operating from a place of desperately needing cash, you are operating from a place of fear.  When a prospect smells fear they will usually try and negotiate the fee you have quoted downward and/or ask for additional services to be included for the same price. 

This is a huge red flag even if you are operating from a place of fear.  It is really important that you pay attention to that gut feeling.  You know the one.  If you allow this prospect to become a client they usually have unrealistic expectations of you and your services and will always ask for some sort of compromise.

So how can you prevent this from happening?  By teaching this client how to properly work with and treat you and your business and this begins during your qualifying phase, in your initial conversations.   

When your main focus is on the money you will meet your short-term goal of bringing in a couple of hundred dollars a month but, remember, that couple of hundred dollars could end up costing you thousands!

Want to know more?  Click here to learn more about my 8-step easy-to-use and easy-to-implement process on How to Qualify a Prospect & Work With Clients You Love!

No matter how a prospective client finds you and your business, it is important that you qualify them to ensure you are a fit for one another.  Gone are the days where you think and feel that you don’t have a say in who you work with and how!

During the pre-screening process in my 8-step easy-to-use and easy-to-implement system, each party is interviewing the other and establishing their opinion about whether or not it makes sense to work together.  The way you interact with one another during this initial phase plays a large part in the tone of the working relationship should you both decide to work together.

The other factor that shapes the tone of the working relationship is the mindset you are operating from when speaking with a prospective client.  From the moment we begin interacting with a prospect the groundwork for the tone of that working relationship is being established.

The best mindset to be operating from is one of neutrality when interviewing a prospective client, keeping in mind that your sole objective is to determine whether or not you are a fit for working with one another.

Once you know that you are a fit for working with one another then and only then, is it time to turn your attention to moving the prospect to the next step which is either referring them to your bookkeeper network or scheduling a paid Bookkeeping Evaluation.

Want to know more?  Click here to learn more about my 8-step easy-to-use and easy-to-implement process on How to Qualify a Prospect & Work With Clients You Love!

When you receive a referral from a colleague, or a lead from one of the list directories, it is important that you qualify whether or not that individual and business and your firm are a fit for working with one another.

What do I mean by fit for working with one another? 

When your business needs and parameters within which you operate, are a match for the business needs and parameters within which the client operates. 

This means not trying to be everything to everyone! I know how talented people in our industry are which naturally translates into our being able to meet the vast and diverse needs of the businesses we work with.  The key to success is doing it in such a way that supports the way we operate our business.  Not constantly transforming ourselves to fit into the way our clients operate their businesses’.  And that success starts with your understanding:

□ What services your business offers

□ How those services are offered

□ Who you like to work with and why

Before I transformed my client base, I had no real understanding of those three critical elements which is why for every one client that I loved working with, I was working with two, who were making my life difficult.

Too often service providers place the needs their clients before their own.  Before long, find themselves endlessly working around the clock.  This only leads to burn out and resentment.  But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Think about outsourced payroll companies like ADP or PAYCHEX.  When you work with them, they explain to you their process for doing payroll. If you want to their services, you must prepare your payroll within their parameters.  Otherwise your staff won’t get paid.  Your freelance bookkeeping firm can require the same thing. 

Want to know more?  Click here to learn more about my 8-step easy-to-use and easy-to-implement process on How to Qualify a Prospect & Work With Clients You Love!

When I started my firm, it seemed that for every one client I loved to work with, there were two that I absolutely dreaded.  Each time I would see an email from them or hear the phone ring, I would cringe.

Being a firm believer that there is no such thing as coincidence, I knew on some level I was contributing, whether consciously or not, in bringing these clients into my life and that of my business.  That is when I learned that I had the power to change these circumstances and work with only clients that I loved.

I embarked on a journey of self-discovery and created these 8 easy-to-use and easy-to-implement steps on how to qualify a prospect and work with only clients that you love.  These very same steps can be used when hiring employees, subcontractors and vendors.

□ Step 1:  Set-up a scheduled time to speak with your prospective client via telephone
□ Step 2:  Send an email reminder with call instructions
□ Step 3:  Create a “New Lead” form for the call to capture important details and delegate tasks
□ Step 4:  Making the Call/Receiving the Call
□ Step 5:  Open your conversation with the “Pre-Call”
□ Step 6:  Ask your qualifying questions
□ Step 7:  Provide prospect with information about your company
□ Step 8:  Close your call by moving the prospect to the next step

Use these steps to qualify whether or not a prospect is a fit for you and your firm. 

Want to know more?  Click here to learn more about my 8-step easy-to-use and easy-to-implement process on How to Qualify a Prospect & Work With Clients You Love!
 

The first step to identifying your ideal client is to become crystal clear about whom it is, you are meant to serve.  When I first started my freelance practice, one of our services was after-the-fact bookkeeping.  I offered this service because I knew I and my staff were more than capable of providing this service.  But just because we were more than capable does not mean we should have been providing it. 

You see,  for my company, this service was a problem every way you looked at it – from clients not paying on time to not paying at all; work being submitted late, work not being submitted at all; clients not responding to our questions – you name it, it happened.  I was unhappy, my staff was unhappy and most importantly the write-up clients were not happy.  The point is just because you have the skill to provide a certain type of service does not necessarily mean you should offer that service.

Once I became clear that we should not be offering this service and who my ideal client was, I was able to communicate that in my marketing materials, 30-second speeches at networking events, and, on my website.  My ideal clients were able to see and identify themselves in my marketing message and how we could help them. In essence, we became magnetic. 

Want to know more?  Click here to learn more about my 8-step easy-to-use and easy-to-implement process on How to Qualify a Prospect & Work With Clients You Love!

Has that thought ever crossed your mind? 

Did you ignore that feeling in your gut?

The one that said, “Don’t do it, you’ll regret it.” 

Often the feeling is more subtle.  Something’s off, but you can’t tell what.  You need the client fees, but don’t see the train-wreck coming until after you work together.

For me, that thought happened one time too many.  It seemed for every one new client that I absolutely loved working with there were two that I absolutely dreaded. 

There is no such thing as coincidence.  I came to realize on some level that I was contributing, whether consciously or not, in bringing these clients into my life and my business.  That’s when I learned that I had the power to change these circumstances and to work with only those clients that I loved.

Ask yourself…

□ Who is my ideal client? 

□ What do they look like and what types of characteristics do they possess?

□ What four or five things they must have in order to work with me and my firm?

By defining the answers to these simple questions you will be well on your way to establishing the criteria against which you will measure a prospective client. 

Want to know more?  Click here to learn more about my 8-step easy-to-use and easy-to-implement process on How to Qualify a Prospect & Work With Clients You Love!

I’ll never forget the first time someone asked me, “Who do you like to work with?”  I remember fumbling over my answer because I had never thought of that before.

The prospect of being able to select who I wanted to work with was just delicious to me.  The first moment I got, later on that very same day, I began to sat down and was ready to start my list of what I liked most about working with certain clients and I went blank.  So, I changed tactics and began writing down what I didn’t like.  I then decided that for everything I did not like I had to come up with the opposite – something I did like.  That took me a couple of days to finish. 

Since that first list I have refined my process.  Below are the steps I use when I am identifying or refining what my ideal client looks like. 

1. What qualities do I want my ideal client to possess and demonstrate?
For this question, I usually write down very descriptive bullet points, they are quick and to the point.  My style may not work for, so instead you may want to try and write a short story of your vision of an ideal client. I include such details as to how great it feels to be paid on time every time, that I really enjoy receiving phone calls from this client, that their information they submit for us to work on is always neat and on time, always says thank you after every transaction, always responds to your phone calls, has a sense of humor, etc.  The more detail you can give yourself the better.  Use your current clients as examples.

2. What do I want my perfect client to expect me to deliver in services and attention?
As we all know, any relationship is a two way street, so it is only fair that we turn our attention to what our client’s expectations of us may be.  This does not mean that we have to fulfill their every expectation, it just means we need to be clear about what we want to personally deliver to our clients.  To answer this question, start by asking yourself, if I hired a bookkeeper, what expectations would I have?  For example, I would expect the bookkeeper I hired to have a business that makes a profit, to be an expert at what they do, be courteous, to communicate with me on a regular basis, etc.

3. What do I need to improve to attract or maintain my client relationships with my ideal clients?
This is the easiest of all the questions – refer back to your answers in question #2.  You basically have to do exactly what is on your list for each and every client.

Answering these questions the first time around will definitely give you food for thought as you continue to work with clients and meet potential new clients.  I encourage you to revisit your answers periodically and refine your answers.  As you grow and develop your business, you will find that your vision of an ideal customer grows and changes to.  Answering and updating these questions will keep your vision of your ideal customer in the forefront of your mind.