Building up the client portfolio

[Jenny100]

I am part of a Mother and Daughter Partnership which has been trading for 1 year, completing accounting and book keeping, based in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire area and I am struggling of ways of finding new clients.

I have tried fliers through residential homes, letters and price lists to small businesses and I have been emailling sole traders from out of local magazines, which in fact does seem to be attracting people, so does anyone have any other suggestions??

[Trotbot]

Word of mouth can help. If you have a good relationship with current clients, ask them if they can recommend any potential new clients.

Contact your local paper and offer to write an article on common errors that cause small business's problems, they are always looking to fill space and you get your contact details in the article. Try and make it interesting so it stands out a little

For serious targets, offer a personalised meeting and have some good powerpoint slides that demonstrate your 'value proposition'. These need to focus on your advantages (price, personal service, accuracy?). Differentiate from your competition - will you give your mobile number out and take calls at weekends?

Don't take no for an answer, the average selling effort needs multiple contacts.

Get involved in organisations that have a lot of targets (Chamber of Commerce, local traders associations?) Don't be too pushy, take your time)

Good luck

[newbie]

When I first started out as a book-keeper I wrote to several local accountants and managed to get quite a few contacts and clients in that way (they also employ self-employed book-keepers). Also financial consultants use book-keepers to. But by far the best way is word of mouth. I have now (thankfully) got enough clients and recently had to turn someone away! Good luck. Just as an aside I have been told that we book-keepers may have to register with the Inland Revenue in connection with the Money Laundering regulations. We will have to pay �95 per annum to do the Revenue's job for them!

[olly8080]

i work for a company who market small bookkeeping companies like yourself for a very cost effect method dont know how we could contact each other on here though????