Your current clients and prospective clients like dealing with a well-known and successful accountant. The more visible you are, the more likely it is that people will consider you successful. Take the opportunity to speak at local service clubs and to write articles for your local newspaper or trade journals for industries in which you are interested.
If you write a letter to local service clubs (a list should be available from your local Chamber of Commerce) telling them that you are available to speak at no charge, you should find several takers. Also let your clients know that you are available to speak to groups in which they hold memberships.
If your local newspaper or trade journals won’t print your articles as news releases (free placement), consider paying for them as advertising. These articles make you very visible to people in your community. Don’t expect an instant landslide of clients from a few articles. Such exposure has cumulative benefits. It might take a year or so before you see much feedback from the articles. Your clients will also appreciate these articles because it is their accountant who is being published in the local media.
Do that which you do well. If you enjoy writing, write articles. If you enjoy speaking, secure speaking engagements. If you don’t have the time to write your articles or speeches, buy ready-to-use material.
Don’t join organizations to prospect for clients. This could work against you. People with whom you have lunch every week may be inclined to avoid you as a financial advisor. They may like a little distance between their social contacts and those who know about their financial affairs. In our practice, we acquired new clients from speaking to organizations where there were other accountants sitting in the audience.
I invite your comments and questions. Contact me at mostad[at]mostad[dot]com or 1-800-654-1654.