5 EFFECTIVE WAYS TO GROW YOUR BOOKKEEPING BUSINESS.
You did it, made your website, registered your LLC, and nailed down your offers, you’re open for business baby! Or maybe you’ve been in the bookkeeping game for a while – no matter where you are in your journey, the need for clients will be there.
Doing the work of a bookkeeper is the easy part, finding dream clients is a whole other ballgame. But don’t worry, I’m sharing 5 ways to find clients for your bookkeeping business!
Friends & Family
Working with friends and family is what a lot of people do when they are first starting out but it’s not the best practice. Mainly because things can get…messy.
Let’s face it as much as we love Aunt Linda, her calling you at 9:30 pm to have you check whether or not her invoices have been paid is not okay and when you tell her that, she gets upset: cue the family drama 🙄.
And you may also get asked the infamous, “Can I have the family and friends discount?!” I don’t want you to get paid less than you’re worth or even worse, not getting paid at all.
My advice is to use work with your friends and family sparingly (unless you have strong boundaries) for building experience and gathering social proof.
Referrals from your network and word-of-mouth.
Tap into your current connections and ask them if they know anyone who may be looking for your services.
And the O.G. of lead generation…word-of-mouth.
The best thing about word-of-mouth referrals is that they likely already trust you because they’ve discovered you from someone they trust. Meaning that you may not have to jump through a ton of hoops to prove your worth and expertise.
Your reputation for being a rockstar bookkeeper will begin to spread and the next thing you know, you’ll have people you never heard of filling out inquiry forms!
Current & Past Client Referrals.
This is the holy grail and most effective way to find clients because your current and past clients are going to be your BIGGEST cheerleaders and will happily sing your praises.
They are the ones when they see someone posting in a FB group that they need a bookkeeper, they are tagging you immediately.
You can encourage referrals from them by offering an incentive like a Starbucks gift card or a small gift!
Get Social and Join Networking Groups.
Time to shake some hands and have real conversations. Attend local business events, join your Chamber of Commerce, and participate in networking groups.
If you’re an introvert or prefer to not change out of your sweats, network from your sofa while binge-watching Real Housewives of Orange County. There are plenty of online network groups filled with business owners just like you! One of my favorites is the Social Squad Society.
Remember to approach networking not with a “what’s in it for me” kinda attitude but “how can I help? Vibe.”
Social Media Platforms.
Let me preface this by saying please, please, please don’t use social media as a billboard where everything you post is promotional asking for business. That’s the quickest way to get unfollowed and get zero engagement.
Social media is about being, well, social. And let me tell you, finding clients on social media is possible!
Find a platform that you enjoy creating and hanging out on and start building your community.
For me, I love Instagram.
Here’s how Instagram helped me grow my bookkeeping business:
🪩 Share content that is valuable and easy to consume. I bring humor into my posts to make it super relatable for my ideal client to understand.
🪩 Be active in Stories. Listen, do I enjoy being on camera, nope. But I know how important it is for people to get to see my face and hear my voice to build trust.
🪩 Share personal content. No, I’m not sharing my deep dark secrets but I am talking about my son’s soccer games, parenting fails, my favorite products, and what I’m eating for dinner.
All of these together help to build know, like and trust with my followers. They get to know me and I get the opportunity to have conversations to get to know them better too!
TL;DR: Finding clients is all about connections.
Leverage your network, get client referrals, rely on word of mouth, network locally, and rock your social media presence. Start some conversations, provide value and watch your leads grow!
Want to learn more about scaling your bookkeeping business? Check out The Studio! a 6-week program designed to help you create offers that attract your ideal client.
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