When you’re constantly looking to acquire more clients, it’s easy to forget about your most prized asset - your EXISTING clients. This is a mistake I see often.
In many ways, it’s easy to understand why existing clients are neglected, but it’s no excuse.
Growing your firm is challenging (I don’t need to tell you that). But having strategies to retain existing clients and to maximise profits from them are without doubt the quickest, easiest and most cost-effective ways to grow your accounting firm AND give you the income and earnings you desire.
So let’s take a look at the different strategies you can use right now to capitalise on the relationship you already have with your existing clients…
Systematically increase your fees by at least 15% EVERY year.
You’ll be surprised how few clients you lose as a result and the ones that do leave are the ones you don’t want anyway (price-conscious).
The reason why price increases are so successful is because YOU’RE NOT CHARGING ENOUGH RIGHT NOW ANYWAY. There’s a significant element of added value which you can capitalise on - and increasing your prices is the easiest way to do this.
If you focus on every interaction you have with a client and make this the BEST it can be each time, you will create a world-class service.
You’ll retain far more clients and strengthen the bond you have with them - making them less susceptible to the advances of your competition.
How many times have you spoken to a client and they’ve turned to you and said something like, “We’ve just gone to ABC company for XYZ,” only for you to turn round to them and say, “Didn’t you know we do that?”
This is more common than you think. Plus, it also brings into focus that if they don’t know what you offer, they won’t even think to buy it. So making them aware of what you sell will prevent many clients from sourcing this service from other suppliers and also increase the likelihood of them buying the service from you.
There are more, but here are 2 easy ways to do this…
Simply picking up the phone once or twice a year and having a general discussion on how things are going will ultimately lead to more opportunities and, therefore, more business for you.
There are, of course, many more strategies you can use to generate more and more business from your clients. These 7 strategies are a good place to start.
To know more and be up-to-date, contact us:
☎ 020 89310165 | ☏ 07900537459 | ✉ info@apjaccountancy.com
In many ways, it’s easy to understand why existing clients are neglected, but it’s no excuse.
Growing your firm is challenging (I don’t need to tell you that). But having strategies to retain existing clients and to maximise profits from them are without doubt the quickest, easiest and most cost-effective ways to grow your accounting firm AND give you the income and earnings you desire.
So let’s take a look at the different strategies you can use right now to capitalise on the relationship you already have with your existing clients…
STRATEGY #1: INCREASE YOUR FEES ANNUALLY
The best and easiest way to maximise profits is to increase your fees. This is a no-brainer.Systematically increase your fees by at least 15% EVERY year.
You’ll be surprised how few clients you lose as a result and the ones that do leave are the ones you don’t want anyway (price-conscious).
The reason why price increases are so successful is because YOU’RE NOT CHARGING ENOUGH RIGHT NOW ANYWAY. There’s a significant element of added value which you can capitalise on - and increasing your prices is the easiest way to do this.
STRATEGY #2: WOW YOUR CLIENTS WITH MOMENTS OF TRUTH
One of the best ways to add value, build strong relationships and retain clients is to use Moments Of Truth (MOT). We discuss MOT often in these pages, but if you’re new to AFG, MOT are the steps you take at each interaction with your clients to ensure their experience with you is exceptional.If you focus on every interaction you have with a client and make this the BEST it can be each time, you will create a world-class service.
You’ll retain far more clients and strengthen the bond you have with them - making them less susceptible to the advances of your competition.
STRATEGY #3: TELL THEM WHAT YOU SELL
I know this sounds almost ridiculous, but guess what? Your clients don’t know what you sell.How many times have you spoken to a client and they’ve turned to you and said something like, “We’ve just gone to ABC company for XYZ,” only for you to turn round to them and say, “Didn’t you know we do that?”
This is more common than you think. Plus, it also brings into focus that if they don’t know what you offer, they won’t even think to buy it. So making them aware of what you sell will prevent many clients from sourcing this service from other suppliers and also increase the likelihood of them buying the service from you.
There are more, but here are 2 easy ways to do this…
- Include a list of services with short descriptions in your newsletter (see next strategy). This can either be within the newsletter itself or as an insert.
- Send a letter 4 times a year making clients aware of the services you sell. A good way to do this is to use a tick-box approach whereby you ask them to tick the services they would like more information on. You then follow up with those who want more information. This strategy alone will yield significant income opportunities for you.
STRATEGY #4: SEND A MONTHLY PRINTED NEWSLETTER
This is still one of the least-used strategies, but sending a printed monthly newsletter to clients is one of the best things you can do. Done right, it can achieve all of the following for you…- Help to retain clients
- Get clients to buy new services from you
- Motivate clients to buy more existing services from you
- Keep clients engaged with you, strengthening your relationship with them
- Differentiate you from the competition
- And much, much more
STRATEGY #5: SEGMENT YOUR CLIENT LIST
Segmenting their client list is something that very few firms ever do. Instead, they treat every client in the same way. But, clients are not created equally. Pareto’s ‘80/20 Rule’ is applicable to your client base. 80% of your profit will come from 20% of your clients. 80% of your headaches come from 20% of your clients, and so on. It is vital that you identify who your best clients are, so you can focus on giving them the attention they deserve. Reference our execution plan on ‘A-D Client Segmentation’ for more details.STRATEGY #6: PHONE YOUR BEST CLIENTS
Now you’ve segmented your client list, you can start to communicate more with your best clients (’A’ and ‘B+’).Simply picking up the phone once or twice a year and having a general discussion on how things are going will ultimately lead to more opportunities and, therefore, more business for you.
STRATEGY #7: CLIENT APPRECIATION EVENT
Once a year, you should organise a ‘Client Appreciation Event’ either at your office or a local hotel/restaurant and treat your best clients. Once again, you’ll be surprised by how much extra business this generates for you.There are, of course, many more strategies you can use to generate more and more business from your clients. These 7 strategies are a good place to start.
To know more and be up-to-date, contact us:
☎ 020 89310165 | ☏ 07900537459 | ✉ info@apjaccountancy.com
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