As an accountant, strong client engagement may not be your top priority – but it should be. To help you out, our National Client Manager shares their top three tips on engaging clients right from the get-go. You’ll be surprised at how simple and effortless true engagement is.
- Pick up the phone
Not just for generating new work, but as part of your overall cultivation strategy. The phone call is a surprisingly low-tech, high-value touch. This outreach builds engagement and can allow you to identify obstacles and barriers to sale. If the person is unavailable, follow up with an email – it’s nice for them to know that you tried to call them first, rather than just flicking an email off.
- Sell yourself
The first thing you are selling is yourself, and if they don’t like you, they won’t engage. People value transparency, honesty and integrity – and fun! Find a sense of humour from somewhere – come on, even accountants have one! Interact with them like a person, not simply a business deal. Once you’ve established rapport, find ways to stay top-of-mind with them, such as through regular newsletters with a personal touch – it doesn’t have to be all about business.
- Share
When trying to engage your clients, don’t just share firm news or promotions. Make sure you provide valuable content. If you share content your clients want to read, they’ll keep coming back. You can then incorporate occasional marketing messages, much like a blog. Some examples of content you could create are:
- Tips on business or technology
- Strategy guides or a methodology
- Client success stories
- Benchmark reports
- Great blog articles you find
- Webinars
Mix it up! Don’t be afraid to experiment with your content by seeing what kinds of content generates the most click-throughs to your site or emails. Once you know what works, double down on that; just don’t forget to test the waters every now and then to see if your clients’ tastes are changing.
What are you waiting for? Get on that phone right now and re-connect. In a world so dominated by computers and self-service machines, that human touch is what will set you apart from the firm next door.