Is London a tougher crowd?

I am in cold Edinburgh so no weigh-in today. Today's blog is on a subject that I think about a lot.

About 2 years ago I employed a telemarketer who gave up on me. He said that it was just not viable for him since London is such a difficult market. This is because of number of cold calls that potential clients receive from other telemarketers. I had the same response when I employed another telemarketer straight after.

My key question - is London a far tougher market due to increasing number of accountants chasing clients. Of course it is not only accountants, they are other sectors chasing clients. These include employment agencies, events companies, mobile phone companies, etc etc . If you are not looking for a particular product or service receiving a cold call is so annoying. The reality is for me is that in the early stages cold calling worked.

Would it be fair to say they are certain postal codes where it is a far tougher crowd and/or the business is not just there? Has anyone experienced this?

One key point I took on board yesterday from Tax Assist's prospectus is for growth I should not spend more than 50% of my time on client affairs. I need to allow time for marketing and development of my practice, staff supervision and administration. This is such a vital point. How can I expect expansion when I am not taking actions to expand! Like a large number of accountants I spend 98% of my time on client affairs and the remaining time on marketing. How stupid is this!

At this stage I am not sure how I go about changing? Subcontracting will not take the headaches away. Employing someone reliable and experienced who does not need much support may be a way forward?

Something needs to change. I just cannot go on the way I am!