The last thing you ever want to spend time on is marketing. Many of you are overwhelmed with clients, sometimes even turning away leads. While you may not need more clients, you do need better clients. A recent book can help solidify your thoughts on a small firm owner's role in marketing.
The key takeaway? The most important job in an accounting firm is deciding which clients stay and which need to go. As a firm owner, you curate that list, ensuring your capacity is filled with the most profitable and aligned projects.
Focus on attracting clients who feel the pains you solve most acutely and are willing to pay significantly more. Clients who pay top dollar and appreciate your work do so because they feel those pains intensely. Those at the bottom of your list, who receive discounts, may not feel these pains as sharply and often require more effort.
To attract the right clients, you need to build trust. Prospective clients need to learn about you and build trust before making a buying decision. An effective way to do this is by providing value beyond your existing client list. Consider creating an email list to keep potential clients engaged and informed about your expertise.
When creating content, get specific. Focus on a niche area where you can provide unique insights and solutions. The more specific you get, the easier it becomes to stand out and attract clients who feel specific pains that you can address effectively.
Look at how you spend your time and consider how much value you assign to different tasks each day. Marketing should be a significant part of your time allocation because it dictates the quality of clients on your list. By challenging assumptions about how you should spend your time and embracing new strategies, you can make room for effective marketing efforts.
One way to free up time for marketing is by leveraging offshore hiring. This can help you handle tasks that don't require your direct involvement, allowing you to focus on attracting and serving better clients. Exploring offshore hiring can be a game-changer in making your firm more efficient and effective.
To get to a better place, you need to acknowledge that something has to change. The framework for running your firm has gotten you this far, but to reach the next level, you need to break old patterns and embrace new strategies. By focusing on specific, high-value clients and building trust through targeted marketing efforts, you can transform your client list and elevate your firm's success.