Obtaining New Bookkeeping Clients

John Earl, in 1991 I used to subscribe to a list from the PA Dept. of State (maybe there are similar ones in your state) where I would pay 25 cents per corporate name, specify what county I wanted, what types of businesses (that is, if not just "all" I could pick non-profit, or foreign corporations, or professional corporations, and there may have been a couple of other designations), and then I would write individualized letters (by entering names and addresses into my own database / word processing program and writing my own mail-merge letters) to let the new companies know of my availability.

I started doing it when I was new to being self-employed, giving them that tidbit that perhaps they could relate to.

Then I kept sending little newsletters every so often (such as my annual payroll update to clients, and my annual automobile-info update to clients) to the same corporations that had gotten the initial letter. The repetition would sometimes generate new business even if the initial letter did not.

It's a lot of work, but it might work out. I still have a few of the clients involved, although many of them either went out of business or moved on for another reason.

The best way is through people you currently do work for recommending you and also your reputation

I agree with both answers so far. Word of mouth referrals is the most effective marketing method for accounting professionals. There are ways to develop your refferral networks and relationships. I'd recommend you watch a FREE webinar from Intuit Academy about Effective Marketing for Accounting Professionals. Here's the link:

http://learn.intuit.com/files/...

Also, if you visit the Intuit Virtual Conference area you'll find a recording of the webinar on Effective Marketing -- some info is duplicated, but there is more info that has been updated in this webinar.

Good luck--getting more clients is always a challenge & takes time, but you can do it!

PLEASE mark this answer as solved (click the button under the answer) or post additional questions. Thanks so much!!!

Michelle L. Long, CPA, MBA

Author of the book "Successful QuickBooks Consulting: The Comprehensive Guide to Starting and Growing a QuickBooks Consulting Business"

National Trainer for Intuit Trainer/Writer Network

Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor

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