Transcript Document

Lead Generation For
Accountants
Plus a sneak preview into the new
RAN ONE marketing solutions
initiatives
Upcoming Events – Take Two!
• Two Half day workshops
• Two Key topic areas:
– Proven Marketing Strategies for Accountants
Find out more: www.ranone.com/Events/Event20.asp
– Gain, Train and Retain Great People
Find out more: www.ranone.com/Events/Event25.asp
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Sydney 11 June 2008
Melbourne 12 June 2008
Brisbane 18 June 2008
Perth 24 June 2008
Adelaide 26 June 2008
Introducing Alicia Olesinski
• Owner and marketing strategist for New Angle
Marketing, LLC, a full solution marketing and
communications company
• 12 years of marketing and selling experience
specifically in the accounting sector
– Sole practitioners
– Small to mid size practices
– Large firms of 500+ team members
• Services : development and implementation of company, niche
and personal marketing plans; retreat facilitation; internal
marketing programs; client retention programs; copywriting;
seminar development; advertising; graphic design; lead
generation; and more
• Partnered with RAN ONE to develop our new range of
marketing solutions for accounting practices
Today’s Challenges
How do I find clients?
How do I consistently position myself as a
valuable member of the team?
It’s Your Move
53% - 88% of business owners (in the U.S.)
are willing to switch to new service providers.
How Clients Buy: The Benchmark Report on Professional Services Marketing and Selling from the Client Perspective, 2007
We can expect Australian / New Zealand statistics to be
similar
Satisfaction ≠ Loyalty
Switching accounting firms is stressful for
most so they often adopt the attitude:
“At least I know what I’m getting.”
Your job is to show them the value they are
not getting from their accountant.
Where Firms Go Wrong
• Did not listen to me
• Did not understand my needs
• Did not respond to my requests and
correspondences in a timely manner
• Did not convince me of the value I would
receive from using their services
• Talked too much
Nurture Your Leads Long-Term
Over 80% of generated leads
are never followed up on,
are dropped, or mishandled.
BPM Forum, Gauging the Cost of What’s Lost
Why Long-Term Efforts are Critical
25% of proactively generated leads
are short-term leads
75% of proactively generated leads
are long-term leads
Give up too soon and you may miss out on ¾ of
your opportunities.
Which strategy will have the
greatest impact and generate
the most leads?
Referrals are the #1 way to obtain
new business
• It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you
• Develop personal relationships everywhere you
go (associations; team sports; playgroups;
church ; wine tastings etc.) and nurture them
• Everyone in your team is important to this and
can contribute
Top 3 Ways (After Referrals)
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Top three ways business owners found their
professional service provider:
1. Presentation at a conference
2. General awareness of the provider
3. Attended an in-house seminar
How They Learned Of The Event
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Direct Mail: 74%
Referral: 61%
Email invitation: 57%
Email sent by third party: 39%
Events Materials: BGR Seminar Topics
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Competition
Customers
Family Business
Business Environment
Vision
Strategy
Structure
Culture
Client Service
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Time Management
Products & Services
Pricing Strategies
Marketing & Sales
People
Recruiting & Retention
Systems & Processes
Finance
Most Effective Strategies
Most Effective Strategies include:
• Seminars
• Articles
• Case study on issues related to client
• Consultative sales call
• Company conducted published research
Extemely Effective Strategies
Extremely Effective Strategies include:
• Warm calls to existing contacts
• Speaking at conferences and trade shows
• Company sponsored events
• Professional/Trade association involvement
• Public Relations
Direct Marketing As A Strategy
Create a plan that includes:
• Testimonial based mailers
• Article offers or summaries
• Timely industry information
• Research
• Gifts
Direct Marketing Checklist
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Verify prospect list
Mail in small groups
Hand stamp all envelopes
Write (or print) addresses on envelopes
Mail on a schedule
Follow up
Measure
Strategy: Become A Thought Leader
Say something interesting
Say it first
Differentiate with Technology
• Post audio and video files
• Provide text transcripts to assist when
speakers not available
• Blogs (a “web journal”)
• Forums (online discussion group)
• DVD brochures
Strategy: Online Marketing
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Ideal for communicating timely information
Content is king
Every communication needs a call to action
Customized landing pages
Contact information clearly visible
Great visual design to reinforce your brand
Integrated with other marketing
What To Look For (And Beware Of)
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Web site with strong content
Fresh content
Ability to segment lists
HTML
Banner advertising
Beware of becoming a spammer
Online Strategies
• Social and Professional Networking
(i.e., LinkedIn, Facebook)
• Blogs and Forums
What’s in Store in 2008
Ask Yourself…
• Does your web site generate business opportunities?
• Are your ideal prospects finding you?
• Are you communicating with clients enough about
everything you do?
• Do you have the expertise and time to develop and
manage a powerful integrated business development
plan all year round?
What Lies Ahead
RAN ONE and New Angle Marketing have teamed up to
develop a solution that will:
• Make you more discoverable to your prospects
• Communicate your offerings to your clients
• Uncover needs and wants that you can match to your
own solutions
• Help you to connect with business owners in a way
that demonstrates your value and builds relationships
• Engage people so that they want to work with your
firm – and no other
The Solutions
Our goal is to keep the solution simple, practical, and
affordable for accounting practices to promote their
services to clients and prospects.
► Powerful interactive web sites
► Templated and custom marketing campaigns
► Online diagnostic tools
► Client relationship management software
► Implementation guides
► Blogs and discussion forums
► E-marketing capabilities and creative banner advertising
► Reporting and tracking
► Strategic marketing support
► Outsourced marketing department
The Benefits
• Developing an online business model will increase
your prospect pool
• React to client inquiries quickly and efficiently
• Access critically valuable marketing information
• Create interactive and dynamic communities that
view you as their greatest resource
• Communicate with your clients and prospects
consistently, creating new opportunities throughout
the year