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Hi Everyone,
I am doing some homework on how to gain clients.
According to the majority of threads posted in here, word-of-mouth is the most successful. Flyers, banners, yellow pages...have also been mentioned but not NETWORKING.
Has anyone got a success story having gained clients by networking to share?
Any suggestion, tips or advise would be helpful.
Kind Regards,
NathalieXXX
Edited at 24 Sep 2011 09:16 PM GMT
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nckbookssaid:
“Hi Everyone,
I am doing some homework on how to gain clients.
According to the majority of threads posted in here, word-of-mouth is the most successful. Flyers, banners, yellow pages...have also been mentioned but not NETWORKING.
Has anyone got a success story having gained clients by networking to share?
Any suggestion, tips or advise would be helpful.
Kind Regards,
NathalieXXX
Edited at 24 Sep 2011 09:16 PM GMT”
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- Fellow PM.Dip
- Practice Licence
- 111 posts
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Hi Nathalie
I'm a member of a networking group (4N) and it is great as it's given me a huge support network and group of contacts.
As anyone who "networks" will tell you, it is by no means a quick way to gain clients. You have to put a fair bit of time in to getting to know people and as they get to know you, they build trust and will (when opportunity arises) start to refer you on to their network.
You can join the 4N forum for free and attend up to 2 breakfast meetings before committing to joining, so it's worth checking it out to see what you think of it.
Personally, I have gained clients from leaflet drops, advertising in local magazines, email and direct mail marketing. I have not heard one person recommend Yell. You just have to keep trying different avenues and see what works. However, don't just rely on one method just because you gained a client from it. A lot of success with advertising & marketing is just because you managed to reach that person just at the right time, and as you won't know when their 'right time' will be, it's a bit of pot luck!
Good luck!
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I did a lot of networking in the beginning of my business. The thing you need to be careful of is that you don't become a habitual networker. That is you begin chasing the meetings round the country, spend all your time networking and forget about the reason you're doing it.
I don't go to any meetings now. I found that the majority of my clients weren't actually coming from networking, but was coming through my website. I think this is an important advertinging and marketing medium for any bookkeeping business. The key is to have a site that is easy to navigate and easy to find.
I think for a new business you need to have multiple marketing streams. No one should rely on one method, but have a good mix.
Good Luck
Kris
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Hi Everyone,
I would like to thank Vik and Chris for sharing their thoughts on networking. Your advices are helpful.
Kind Regards,
Nathaliexxx
Edited at 27 Sep 2011 08:06 PM GMT
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viksaid:
“Hi Nathalie I'm a member of a networking group (4N) and it is great as it's given me a huge support network and group of contacts. As anyone who "networks" will tell you, it is by no means a quick way to gain clients. You have to put a fair bit of time in to getting to know people and as they get to know you, they build trust and will (when opportunity arises) start to refer you on to their network. You can join the 4N forum for free and attend up to 2 breakfast meetings before committing to joining, so it's worth checking it out to see what you think of it. Personally, I have gained clients from leaflet drops, advertising in local magazines, email and direct mail marketing. I have not heard one person recommend Yell. You just have to keep trying different avenues and see what works. However, don't just rely on one method just because you gained a client from it. A lot of success with advertising & marketing is just because you managed to reach that person just at the right time, and as you won't know when their 'right time' will be, it's a bit of pot luck! Good luck!”
Hi
Apologies for hijacking Nathalie's thread.
I have a quick question about the leaflet drops. Did you canvass businesses or residential addresses, or both?
Thanks
Kate
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- Fellow PM.Dip
- Practice Licence
- 111 posts
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Hi Kate
I targeted purely business addresses (high streets and business parks). IMHO it's too much of a gamble to go for residential addresses on a leaflet drop. I know others may well disagree but it wasn't part of my plan to target like that. I reach businesses at residential addresses with marketing letters & leaflets by post instead.
Hope that helps.
Vik
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- Member PM.Dip
- Practice Licence
- 195 posts
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I spent a long time networking through 4N and other groups and gained not a single client from it. It wasn't completely wasted as I made new friends and business contacts but in terms of paying for itself it was a complete waste of time (for me and only my opinion). TO be honest the problem I see with networking is that everyone wants something e.g. clients, sales and they don't want to give anything. That means that their focus when talking to you is to sell their own product or service and not listen to you sell yours!
For me, word of mouth has been by far the best means of gaining clients. I speak to everyone who is a potential client and give out business cards everywhere I go. For example I had a plumber come to service my boiler who is now a client!!
Canvassing has not been terribly successful in the GLoucester area but when based in Somerset/Devon I did find that an accountant mailshot worked wonders and gained me numerous new clients.
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Hi Clare,
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Kind Regards and wish you a great weekend,
Nathaliexxx
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Hi All
For me outside of word of mouth from one client to another the best method I found was the local free paper I just simply wrote or called anyone advertising for a part time bookkeeper.
I also forged close links with some local employment agencies again targetting those companies looking for part time bookkeepers.
Kind regards
Stuart
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Stuart Wildmansaid:
“Hi All
For me outside of word of mouth from one client to another the best method I found was the local free paper I just simply wrote or called anyone advertising for a part time bookkeeper.
I also forged close links with some local employment agencies again targetting those companies looking for part time bookkeepers.
Kind regards
Stuart”
Morning Stuart,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this topic.
See you Wednesday at London CPD.
Kind Regards,
Nathaliexxx
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No problem Nathalie
I am always more than happy to share my thoughts.
thanks for booking into the workshop we need to frum up some more attendees as we only have 14 at this point 
Kind regards
Stuart
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