How to start a practice

How to start a practice

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I am currently spending time cold-calling to try to get some clients as I have decided to go it alone.

Do any of you have any practical tips as to the best ways to win business? It seems from the calls I have made that businesses don't change their accountants very easily and that trying to find the right companies to call is quite difficult as well.

There must be loads of businesses out there that need an accountant for the first time or would be looking to switch but how do I find out who they are and more importantly, convince them that I am the answer to their problems?
Rob Derry

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By dggriffin
24th May 2006 13:09

Not what you know but who you know
Make a list of everyone you know or who you have ever known (however remotely)e.g. friends, relatives, colleagues from any job you've ever had, neighbours, the man in the corner shop etc and make sure that they ALL know that you are working for yourself and are looking for clients. I have got over half of my clients from word of mouth - (best form of advertising in my opinion and cheapest - may cost you a few beers here and there) Put yourself on Friends Reunited and state in your profile that you are looking for clients - people tend to like to deal with people they know in general which is why cold calling rarely works. May be worth advertising for a short time in local papers but it's expensive. However, if it gets you a couple of clients it's worth it.

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By tinamic
24th May 2006 16:32

Don't waste your money
I tried local press which cost a fortune and got no response.
I've got my clients through websites like this and then word of mouth I also do some outsource work for a local practice.
I had 3 months with no work & now I've got plenty and have worked weekend & evenings to get things out in time.
Be prepared for things to come slowly and it will be worth it.

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By alvitrp
26th May 2006 14:59

Try to look for overseas clients
I'm CPA from Moscow, and number of my clients wish to form UK LTD.
As usual they are have only few transactions per year and take little time from you.

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By deanshepherd
24th May 2006 19:06

I agree..
Everyone has made great suggestions so far. Don't be tempted to pay for advertising in yellow pages, business pages, local newspapaers, charity calendars etc. until you have a big fat advertising budget you can afford to waste.

Networking is the best way I have found to get clients. Either online (SoFlow, Ecademy) or offline (BNI, BRE). Once you have built up a certain number of clients then they do the advertising for you. Just remember to thank everyone that gives you a referral and you will find they keep on coming.

Good luck!

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By User deleted
23rd May 2006 21:53

Marketing
The best things that worked for me were -

1. Mass mail shots with a short and sweet message - and follow them up with a call.

2. Take some bank managers to lunch and ask for referals - it works!

Best of luck like Ali says unless you may be targeting my clients in Wiltshire that is. If so kindly disregard the above suggestions and give up now!!

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By User deleted
24th May 2006 20:42

Leaflet dropping worked for me
I printed 4 fliers onto one page of A4 thinish card, then cut them up with my trusty guillotine and spent my days pushing them through letterboxes. I targeted nice residential areas on the basis that everyone must live somewhere and if they went in to offices etc the receptionist would throw them away before they reached their target.
I used card (about £7-£8 for a ream from Partners) on the basis that people might read the note on the way to the bin as it would be harder to scrunch up.
5 years since I did my last leaflet drop (too busy now), I STILL get the odd one crawling out of the woodwork!
I advertised in YP for a while but never really felt I got the results. Local parish magazines can be excellent value for money. This is the only advertising I do now.

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By User deleted
24th May 2006 21:33

Cards
I think the last suggestion re cards is excellent. I did similar with letters and other friends setting up also did the same. Just a thought Vista Print do some super low cost/high quality postcards that would be ideal.

12 months from now you will be wondering how you will deal with all the work....honestly!!

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By AnonymousUser
24th May 2006 05:42

Network
I started with 25 clients on 1/1/04. I now have nearly 200. So what I'm about to tell you works.

Join your local chapter of BNI, BRE, NRG, or other breakfast/lunch/dinner group. Join one that meets weekly.

Cold calling has a low success rate. Switch to higher-success rate methods for more results. Not sure what's got a high success rate? Research. Keep Track of where your new business comes from. You'll know where to concentrate your marketing efforts next year, and which lead sources to stop paying for.

Post on tax websites like this. I got 10 of my new clients in the past year from postings on websites like this one.

Advertise your services in places you don't see dozens of other accountants advertising (one to five others max, zero is even better). Don't pay a lot for advertising! Always sound like it's too expensive, plead your poverty. You can finagle the price down to about half what they start you with if you wheedle about how you're just starting out. Try to wangle free ads in exchange for services.

Make friends with some lawyers, especially tax lawyers, lawyers who specialize in small business practice, and immigration lawyers. Lawyers don't want to do any maths, so they refer business on to you. Their work puts them in touch with people who haven't got accountants all the time.

Low Pressure sales. I'm not a natural sales person - I was the shyest kid in school. It helps me to sell if I mention that they don't have to decide today. Take things home, think about it. I tell them they ought to look around, I'm not the only game in town.

Final and Most Important: Follow-up. Contact every interested party between 1 and 2 weeks later to confirm they'd like to start doing business with you. Again, my version's low pressure. I ask if they received the Client Agreements I posted last week, and if they have any questions. I never come right out and ask, "geese, are youse gonna sign up wit' us or what?"

Good luck!

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By User deleted
23rd May 2006 21:37

Good luck!
There are generally 2 ways to do this. Either pay for a block of fees from another accountant or generate a block of fees whilst still working in employment, effectively spending every evening and weekend working until you've enough clients to go it alone. I did the second option which basically started from 2 clients who were friends and they recommended me, and they recommended me etc etc. Option 2 is obviously alot harder but is the cheaper option. As for marketing a practice, well, a science in itself!! Get your name on Business Link website, get in with an IFA, even get in with other accountants. May seem strange but you may get some bookkeeping out of it which will tide you over. Finally, don't wast your time cold calling, people will want to see you, get networking and talking to people in business. Good luck, assuming your not starting up in Poole that is!!!!!!

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By Rderry
25th May 2006 09:23

Thank You
Thank you all for your suggestions and advice. Today's job is to sit down and re-plan my approach. I've always known referrals are a great way to get new business but it's that first few clients that are the difficult ones. When I actually sit down and work out how many people I know that could be useful contacts, it's quite amazing.

Thanks again, but if anyone else wants to chip in with some more suggestions, I'd be most grateful.

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