Dear All,
I am looking to get more clients. I have heard that there are companies which provides leads to accountants for potential new clients. Does it really worth paying to these companies? If yes, any reputable companies in this regard.
Best Wishes
Replies (29)
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Choose Your Accountant
I have used, and still use, Choose Your Accountant website. Their fees are reasonable and I have found that the clients I have got from them are of a fairly good quality.
The best source of new clients is, as everyone will tell you, referrals from your current client base. But sometimes this can take a while, especially for new practises. Websites like Choose Your Accountant can be a shot in the arm although you need to be choosy who you select.
Really? So you've actually acquired clients from this website? I have to admit, perhaps to my detriment, I'd never normally consider paying such a site in the hope of gaining clients. Seems mostly American ie their references to CPA's etc.
I'm intrigued but very sceptical. Please tell more.
I have used other sites but not CYA
To be honest my opinion is split on ths type of site. I have used others with mixed success. Other sites charge £30 to £60 per lead and supposedly only sell the information to a few people. What is really annoying is if you don't get a response back either even if its just to say they are fixed up elsewhere. You also find a lot of people use these sites to beat the price down with their existing provider which is again annoying. All in all I have spent about £500 on this type of thing and gained £1800 fees for 2 jobs, which is probably a decent return, but most of the others didn't even reply so it's makes you wonder how genuine the request was in the first place. I was put off CYA by the initial £600 up front payment then the need to buy credits on top. If they did a 1 month trial it may be better to [***] how successful it would be. Would be keen to hear any success stories from it.
IMHO
Load of crap.
Leads aren't qualified at all and as I've stated on other threads I believe a lot of the leads are posted by other firms looking for price comparisons.
I appreciate others may have different experiences but I would say you'd be a lot better of buying a list of direct marketing leads and carrying out your own marketing - letters, e-mails and phone calls. I would expect that you'd get a far better return.
New start ups
In my experience people tend not to change their accountant, they tend to stick with them unless something goes wrong. Also I’m really not interested in getting into a pricing war with other practices and ending up working for peanuts.
I therefore tend to target new start-ups and do my marketing accordingly. I have a contact with a large national brewery who steer all their new tenants in my direction which results in a steady stream of new clients, sometimes the same pub but a new tenant, sometimes a pub I’ve not dealt with before.
Also, again through an industry contact, I’ve picked up quite a number of micro-breweries.
Actually it’s rather ironic that I have pubs and micro-breweries as clients, because I don’t drink, which is probably a good thing or after a day visiting clients I’d be be in real trouble driving home.
New Start ups are for me also
For £50 per month I get the full details of about 250 new start up businesses per month. You can opt in or out each month if you are still going through the ones from the month or opt in if you have a quiet month. I think this is better value for money.
Glennzy do you have details?
For £50 per month I get the full details of about 250 new start up businesses per month. .
Do you have the details for this Glennzy?
alternatives
For £50 per month I get the full details of about 250 new start up businesses per month. .Do you have the details for this Glennzy?
200 leads (newly incorporated companies) - £10+vat http://www.michrome.com/subscriptions
- They also offer a free service but that's 3 months behind
If these sites can attract so many leads to their websites why can't we accountants have our websites optimised This is what we have tried!! Also, leads from the paid sites look for the cheapest accountants - so may not fit in most of the time.
@ Peter
Is that Thomson Directories that do it, assuming based on new entries into the book?
Thomson
They are moving away from the book because people don't use it but they still collect the data.
Options
There are plenty of alternatives.
Take a look at Selectabase
They can refine the data you get and despite what they may say initially you can try for a month at a time to see if it works.
I've thought about using them.
@kent
That's who I use the data is spot on, they can even print and post your mail shot for 50p per letter.
Thought about it
I've tht about doing this kind of thing but I've been stung so much by so many who promise so much that I offered to do it on the basis of no up front fees and I wld only pay for actual business gained. I never heard from them again which, for me, says it all.
Ok
I've tht about doing this kind of thing but I've been stung so much by so many who promise so much that I offered to do it on the basis of no up front fees and I wld only pay for actual business gained. I never heard from them again which, for me, says it all.
So avoid the websites offering leads and buy your own marketing list - then its down to you whether you succeed or fail. The cost shouldn't be prohibitive and you could buy one months worth of leads and see how you get on.
@ Kent accountant
Tried the marketing lists but no luck, but this was probably down as much to our follow up calls as much as anything. Sales is not our strength.
no sale, no fee
When I used them, the Accountax telemarketing outfit charged only for the fees that I signed up.
@asillahi
If you find someone who will do all the work, set up the meetings, and then only charge for clients you actually convert to business will you send me his number so I can beat the rush to his door.
You will find the results you get are directly relative the effort you have put in to generate them.
Bad experience with Thomson Local
The New Connections service sounds like a great idea, but I had a terrible experience with them. I bought the whole package including mailouts for two areas.
Three times we were told the letters had gone out and were provided with the lists to follow up. On each occasion at least one area, and on one occasion both areas, had not in fact had the letters posted.
The result was hours of wasted staff time, awkward calls based on the content of letters never received and then hours of my time in dispute.
Eventually after getting the matter escalated to the operations manager I got a full refund and an apology.
Thanks to Ismac65
I have had a quote from Thomson Local in the last few days and thought the cost of the mailing was extremely competitive. I like to only mail people I really want, and the thought of them mailing all startups without me selecting them first worried me. Ismac65's story has put me off the mailing option, although I will keep them in contention for the supply of data.
http://www.changemyaccountant.co.uk
Try them we have had a few leads from them. fair price too at £17.50!
Changemyaccountant
We also bungle all the newly formed limited companies once a month
I hope that isn't indicative of your service level :)
Leads
I have improved my client base by using a certain company. Whilst they charge a fee, a simple scenario is this from the 30 specific leads I got I marketed these cases. 2 replies and one conversion. Not a bad hit rate really as from that lead I now have 8 more company clients and 16 SA Returns and this tree of client referrals grows.
They also offer a postcode distance so no rivals
Email me on [email protected]
Leyton
Leads
Forgot to say all new cases have taken on my fixed approach and direct debit system thus reducing fee and payment issues
When I had my own practice I used to work with a Local Authority sponsored new business support advisor. I would attend meetings with him and new business when tax/accounts advice was going to be discussed, and in return he pushed all manner of new business my way.
No financial outlay whatsoever, and even the time cost wasn't particularly high.
Mutual back-scratching was always effective ..
.. but hope it was quicker to payback than the 8 years on this thread! :=)