Last year, Bizink surveyed over 400 accounting businesses from across the globe. We were shocked by the statistics around lead generation.

Read on to see how your firm compares and some suggestions on how to get more leads.

Number of Leads

 

Number of Leads

How many leads do you get each month?

 

The vast majority (58.6%) of the firms we surveyed get only one to five leads each month. And over a quarter get no leads at all!

Quality is more important than quantity when it comes to leads but it’s hard to grow a firm on low numbers like these.

Referrals

One of the issues is clearly that many firms have a reliance on referrals.

We asked “Are referrals your main sources of leads?” and they were for 80.9% of firms.

Are referrals your main source of leads?

 

Of course, referrals are wonderful leads but they don’t tend to be a predictable way to generate new business. Some months you may get several referrals and in other months none at all.

Good business systems are repeatable and predictable and lead generation can be too – but it’s imperative to put in place consistent marketing campaigns.

Leads from Website

Do you get leads from your website?

 

55.3% of the firms we surveyed get leads from their website but that means a whopping 44.7% have a website that is just an online brochure and generates no leads for them.

Maybe that’s because 73.7% get less than 100 visitors per month. Again, quality is more important than quantity for website traffic but with less than 100 visitors each month, building a lead funnel will inevitably be challenging.

Want more Leads?

Would you like more leads? Bizink’s mission is to help busy accountants and bookkeepers get more leads.

From lead generating websites, automated blogs, newsletter and social media marketing through to optimized landing pages. We have a range of products to counter a reliance on referrals and bring in qualified leads every month.

Speak to one of our lead generation specialists to find out how we can help your firm.

6 Lead Generation Ideas for Accountants and Bookkeepers

From working with hundreds of firms across the globe, we’ve learned a lot about how accounting businesses can get more leads. Here are our top six lead generation ideas:

1. Have a “book meeting” button on your website

Your prospects are busy so don’t make it hard to get face time with you. It should be stupidly easy to book a meeting through your website.

The ideal way to do this is by signing up for an appointment booking app like Acuity, Calendly or Timely. You can then create a button for your website which prospects can use to book a meeting instantly, without playing email tag.

To see it in action check out the “Book Online Demo” button in the top right of our website. We added this and got a 30% uplift in demos booked from our website. An added bonus was 10 minutes of admin time saved per demo booked.

2. Add a lead magnet to your website

Most people who visit your website won’t get in touch and will never come back. To counter this, add a lead magnet to your website.

A lead magnet is a valuable piece of content that website visitors can access – in exchange for their email address. Once you have their email address, you can keep communicating with them. This transforms your website from an online brochure into a lead gathering tool.

Stuck for ideas for what to use? Here are some free lead magnets we created that you are welcome to use on your website.

3. Ask for referrals

In 2017 we surveyed over 400 accounting firms. For 80.7% of them, referrals were their main source of leads. Yet 36.5% of firms do nothing to try and get more referrals.

We recommend:

  • Asking clients for a referral at the end of every project
  • Emailing all your clients once per quarter and asking for referrals
  • Creating a network of referral partners (lawyers, bankers, financial planners etc.) and systematically asking them for referrals – don’t do it ad-hoc.

4. Send an email blast

Email marketing has a return on investment of $44 for every $1 spent. That’s very high by the way!

Many firms send an email newsletter but very few send email blasts which are simply promotional emails.

You should be sending at least one email blast per month. Ideally, send one to prospects and one to clients.

The email should promote only one thing. This might be a service, a product or an event you’re hosting. Don’t muddy the waters by trying to promote two things in one email.

Always include a clear call to action. People are lazy – don’t make it hard to buy from you!

5. Host an event

When it comes to generating leads in the professional services sector, nothing beats face-to-face. Nobody wants to go door knocking so consider running an event.

It doesn’t have to be too flashy – a workshop style events for small groups work great.

Pick a simple topic based on the pain points of your ideal prospect. You could invite along fellow professionals too. We’ve seen events where accounting firms invite along HR specialists, financial planners or lawyers.

If you think you’ll struggle to get numbers, ask clients to come but tell them they must bring a friend who’s also in business.

6. Revisit old leads

Old leads are a great source of new business. Hopefully you’ve kept a list of people you’ve had sales meetings with in the past. Sales is mainly about timing and the reason someone didn’t engage you will often be due to their circumstances rather than how good or bad your offer was. These circumstances may now have changed and the timing could be right for them to engage you. Reach out to them with a simple and direct email like this:

Subject: Still looking for an accountant?

Hi {first name}

We had a meeting a couple of months back. Are you still looking for a new accountant?

If not, let me know and I’ll stop bothering you!

Thanks

{your name}

Resist the temptation to make this email longer or add in redundant content like “Hope you’re are well” as people see straight through it. The effectiveness of this email (which we use all the time) comes from being direct and offering one clear question. It also offers them a way to stop being followed up by you. If they don’t ask you to stop, keep following up! Persistence pays off in sales and it often takes several follow ups before somebody acts.


I hope you find these lead generation tips useful. If you’d Bizink to help you implement a lead generation system speak to one of our marketing specialists.