At a starting price of £350 pcm, I doubt there's much danger to most of us, however, I'm happy for them to do the marketing and then steal their clients when they realised what a rip off it is!
Accountancy practice The goodwill of an accountancy practice is internally generated, however, can be sold off in blocks and has a well defined market value. Presumably this cannot be recognised as an asset, but I can't think of a better valued intangible asset.
What are you charging? You often mention you're not doing very well financially - I always think enquiries are a great way to make money - have your clients got insurance, if so make sure you charge for every hour - you shoul be charging £100 per hour minimum - you should see this as a great opportunity!
70% - no way I'd like to see the stats on how many businesses are discouraged from applying by their bank managers before they get to application stage, or what the bank define as an application - I think the stats might be very different.
Specialism the future? Whilst the benefits of specialising are clear, what about the advantages of being a GP to clients? We've started picking up work from national specialists, as we are specialist in being great local accountants ;)
Also how often do you get a forex trader coming along?
Great article as always Mark, but I would say in my limited experience, not to get too hung up on the point about using being cheaper as a selling point (at least to begin with). Ultimately, if it means the difference between earning a crust and having to go back to working for someone else just do it and regret it later - just don't make it a long term habit!
Also, I would add that again in my experience, not only is the ROI better with telemarketing than most other marketing activities, you can also target who you want, and you will be in front of better quality clients.
Portals We use Lucey technology as it has the full package, you can accept payments, get documents signed off electronically and do all the normal portal stuff as well. It's not cheap but I think if you're going to use a portal, do it properly and get a full package, that way you and your clients are more likely to use it.
My answers
At a starting price of £350 pcm, I doubt there's much danger to most of us, however, I'm happy for them to do the marketing and then steal their clients when they realised what a rip off it is!
Accountancy practice
The goodwill of an accountancy practice is internally generated, however, can be sold off in blocks and has a well defined market value. Presumably this cannot be recognised as an asset, but I can't think of a better valued intangible asset.
Half below average?
Wow - who would have thought? ;)
Niche
We specialise in knights who say niche.
What are you charging?
You often mention you're not doing very well financially - I always think enquiries are a great way to make money - have your clients got insurance, if so make sure you charge for every hour - you shoul be charging £100 per hour minimum - you should see this as a great opportunity!
70% - no way
I'd like to see the stats on how many businesses are discouraged from applying by their bank managers before they get to application stage, or what the bank define as an application - I think the stats might be very different.
Specialism the future?
Whilst the benefits of specialising are clear, what about the advantages of being a GP to clients? We've started picking up work from national specialists, as we are specialist in being great local accountants ;)
Also how often do you get a forex trader coming along?
Great article as always Mark, but I would say in my limited experience, not to get too hung up on the point about using being cheaper as a selling point (at least to begin with). Ultimately, if it means the difference between earning a crust and having to go back to working for someone else just do it and regret it later - just don't make it a long term habit!
Also, I would add that again in my experience, not only is the ROI better with telemarketing than most other marketing activities, you can also target who you want, and you will be in front of better quality clients.
For what its worth...
I've found a fantastic firm of telemarketers - http://www.brightlightsmarketing.com/.
I'm currently enjoying a 300% ROI and 50% appointment success rate.
Portals
We use Lucey technology as it has the full package, you can accept payments, get documents signed off electronically and do all the normal portal stuff as well. It's not cheap but I think if you're going to use a portal, do it properly and get a full package, that way you and your clients are more likely to use it.