How to Get Accounting Clients Using Events

Never has it been easier to engage people through an online event than now.

The pandemic has made sure of that.

However, the thought of creating and hosting a webinar or masterclass or some other online event can fill many with dread.

But I know that when it comes to getting your ideal clients on board, events work.

Which is why accounting firms are missing out BIG TIME by not creating and hosting events for prospects and clients alike.

An online event can be set up and run for little or no outlay.?

All that’s needed is a mic, a camera and the ability to use Zoom?- which should be second nature to most people these days.

And the event itself doesn’t need to be something out of the ordinary - but it does need to appeal to your target ideal client.

An often overlooked event type which can be carried out online or in person, is the advisory board.

The idea has been around for decades, but its usefulness as a way to build authority and a loyal tribe is proven.

Think of it as a round table devoted to coming up with solutions to challenges experienced by your audience.

Invite clients and prospects to attend and discuss their experiences around a seed topic, advertised beforehand.?

The objective is to emerge with a game plan to address issues raised by one or more attendees, that everyone can benefit from.

Online or in person, attendees can be split into breakout groups to discuss their approaches, bringing the collective view to the whole group afterwards.

Online the event doesn’t need to take up more than an hour.?

Offline it can be a focused networking event lasting as long as the venue allows.

Each have their benefits, but either way, the agenda is structured to keep the focus on coming up with solutions to the issues raised.

By hosting the event, the host firm can start to build authority and help their clients - and their prospects - to move forwards with their business.

Allowing clients and prospects to mix might fill you with dread, but the benefits outweigh any issues with failings in your service (unless of course your service really is bad, in which case, better focus on improving that before embarking on this type of activity).

Mixing clients and prospects in this way has the effect of enabling prospects to get a better picture of how your firm could help them, predisposing them to consider you when their need arises.

Get existing clients that have used your services, to explain how they resolved the issue your event is focused on, with your assistance.

Clients get an external perspective on their experiences of your firm too, which (service level notwithstanding) should only serve to underline how lucky they are to have such a supportive accountant.

You also get the opportunity to follow up with attendees and promote the next board event.

Schedule events in advance, around topics which you know your target ideal clients have, to focus on promoting your specialism(s).

Promote them far and wide, using as many social and events platforms as you can.

Apart from the obvious Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc. consider Eventbrite too. Eventbrite promotes its own listed events and has useful social sharing options available to the registrant after sign up.

Make sure that any platforms you do use can feed into your CRM (you do have a CRM don’t you..?) so that you can focus future marketing and promotion to the prospects you really want in your business.

How often should you run events like this??

You could start off quarterly, until you get into your stride, but monthly is a reasonable frequency.

Monthly gives you a decent run up to promote the next event and enables you to develop a system that can be delegated and automated to a large extent.

What other ways can you run events?

Think about the ways you can support your ideal clients and trawl your email inbox to identify the main issues they face.

You can then come up with workshops or masterclasses that show them what they need to do to avoid those issues, promoting your services at the same time.

It doesn’t need to focus on avoiding negatives either, think also about the positive aspects of your services which can support their efforts to grow.

What advisory services can you provide? What other support can you offer?

Show and tell. They’re sure to be amazed.

Developing and using events like this can not only boost your network from the event registrations, but can also provide a regular opportunity to educate your clients and your team about your firm’s capabilities.

It reinforces your firm’s brand values and elevates you above your competition, who are unlikely to be doing this kind of thing anyway.?

Events like this can form part of a very effective client attraction system, something that we build as part of the 100K Success Formula?.

The 100K Success Formula? builds the only funnel you'll ever need to grow and scale your accounting firm. We design, build and implement the funnel for you too, so you just need to handle the enquiries.

We’re currently looking to work with a maximum of five firms to implement the formula, but there’s a qualification process.

For more info on what’s involved and to see if your firm qualifies for the formula, go to formulaforresults.com and book a demo.?