A Powerful Way to Grow Your Referral Network
Posted by Gabrielle on 23 Dec 2009 at 01:46 pm | Department: Articles, Everything Else, Marketing, Training
The most effective way to market your freelance bookkeeping services is by building relationships. Word of mouth and referrals are what supply almost all bookkeeping and accounting businesses with their clients.
So how does one build the kind of relationships that grow a strong bookkeeping practice? There are many ways. Of course, face-to-face, as well as online networking are key. But the vast majority of would-be networking bookkeepers make a BIG mistake and are wasting their time.
They aren’t getting results because they fail to follow-up!
If you’re serious about building your freelance bookkeeping business in 2010, make sure you follow-up with the people you meet at business mixers and seminars, or meet through online discussions.
One of the most effective, convenient and economical way to follow up with all of your business relationships (prospects, clients and strategic alliances alike) is simply through email.
Big surprise, huh?
When it comes to following up with prospects and referral partners, in fact, email is almost expected. Depending on whom you’re networking with, many small businesses no longer even bother to list their mailing address on their business cards – only their email address and phone number. Electronic contact has become the norm.
Yet as easy as it is, I am amazed at how many times I’ve met people at seminars or networking situations where we really connect, yet I never hear from them again. Has that happened to you?
Of course, email works both ways. I find in my own case, I may have a fistful of business cards of folks I intend on staying in touch with after connecting in person, yet time can pass quickly, and then it feels a bit awkward to send an email. Will they even remember who I am?
That’s why now I make the goal of contacting new prospects and alliances within only a couple days of returning to the office. It becomes a priority on my daily list. I also keep the first email short and sweet.
Of course, it can be more of a challenge if there is nothing specific to talk about in the email other than, “Hey, it was great to meet you and let’s stay in touch.” It’s a bit easier if there’s a more specific purpose for the message. So I try to ask a question based on what we spoke about when we first met. The idea is to continue the conversation and have a reason to stay in touch.
And that’s the point. The true value of using email is to build a relationship. And relationships are what will keep referrals coming your way.
A Word of Caution
The temptation in email, especially on a business level, is to attempt to get immediate business and directly sell your services. Be careful with that. It can end the relationship in a hurry if your in-person encounter had more of a social tone and business discussions were indirect. Keep your messages on that same level as your initial contact until you know each other better.
On the other hand, if the people you meet showed an interest in learning more about your bookkeeping services specifically for their own business, then by all means, arrange a phone call or follow-up meeting to take the conversation to the next level. Use your discernment here as to how hard or soft to sell, just don’t lose site of your objective – to build a relationship first. If you do it right, the referrals will follow.
Another way I’ve seen people use email as a follow-up tool from networking events is to add everyone they’ve met to their email newsletter list. While this may seem like a good idea, be very careful with it!
If you send out regular sales messages or newsletters via email, unless the recipients specifically asked to be put on your emailing list, you may be breaking the law! The FTC provides guidance on how “The CAN-SPAM Act” applies to sending out commercial email messages. Even if you are a sole freelancer, these laws apply to you too.
A better procedure would be to follow-up personally one person at a time via email after a networking event. Let them know about your online newsletter and ask them if they’d like to receive your messages. Giving them a choice not only puts you in compliance with the law, it shows respect and further nurtures the relationship.
How to Use Email to Get the Best Results
While email is a communication tool that can be very effective in building your business, it takes time to see results.
One email will not bring you a flood of new clients. As in any type of relationship, communication must be maintained on a regular basis, otherwise the relationship will eventually die. So be sure to stay in touch with the best contacts you have on a consistent basis.
As mentioned in the book, “Successful Email Marketing Strategies,” email marketing is more like farming than hunting. You are not trying to capture new clients, but grow them from your consistent efforts over time. If you stick with it, you will reap a healthy network of contacts that will send you a crop of new clients almost automatically over time.
Next Steps
While sending personal email messages one at a time can be effective, as your network grows, it can also become very time consuming. That’s why I do recommend having your own email newsletter or other way to stay in touch with all or groups of your contacts all at once in an automated way.
I’ve seen many small businesses simply attempt to do this using Outlook or their email address book. This is not the best way to do it, and can ultimately become a nightmare. An email service is a better way to handle this chore easily, economically and legally.
But there is a lot more to effectively using automated email marketing to really ramp-up your business relationships. And there’s lots of questions about best practices in this area too, to save time and frustration with the technical side of it all.
That’s why I’m going to be attending a webinar being held live next week by Ely Delaney of My Business Marketing Mentor. I know Ely personally (we met at a business seminar!) and he is an excellent teacher and quite passionate about automating as much as possible…instead of doing everything manually. That’s my weakness, so I know he’ll have some great tips, tricks and techniques to share for getting more done with less.
If you’d like to join me in attending this training, I’ve added a link to the sign-up page in the Resources section below. But be warned, this is a small online class with only 50 slots available (I’m not sure how many are already taken). So I’ve already signed up because I know it will sell out fast. It’s happening next Tuesday, December 29th at 5:00 PM Eastern Time.
In any case, start using email as your primary follow-up tool to build your referral network, and you will create a solid foundation for growing your freelance bookkeeping practice for years to come.
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Please Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links and I may be compensated for my recommendations. However, I will never recommend anything that I don’t personally believe in or use in my own business. Your questions and feedback are invited.
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Resources:
Automated Email Marketing Systems webinar (Tuesday, December 29 at 5:00PM-Eastern Time)
The Complete Guide to E-mail Marketing: How to Create Successful, Spam-free Campaigns to Reach Your Target Audience and Increase Sales – recommended reading
Aweber – the email list management service I use (and love)
Great article Gabrielle, and oh so true. I recently read an article where a study was cited that indicated over 60% of people attending a trade show event never received any follow up from the firms they had indicated an initial interest in. Not good, and Not Smart.
Really good tip on using a personal email 1st to reconnect, rather than just adding someone directly to your newsletter. In addition to complying with regulations, from a marketing standpoint – it empowers the prospect – as they feel that they are in control of the relationship, rather than being “chased.” A small but significant distiction.
Keep them coming & Happiest of Holidays!