You placed an ad for Xero bookkeeping tutoring services and you’re starting to receive inquiries. Congratulations! However, before you start calculating your profits it’s important to gather some basic information from your potential clients – they’re called Prospects.
Asking a few targeted questions up front will help you to qualify your prospect and ensure that they are the right fit for your services. It will also serve as an opportunity to build rapport and find out where they are in their decision making process.
An inquiry could come from a business that needs urgent assistance with bookkeeping, or it might simply be a fact finding exercise for a new start-up. Knowing which questions to ask will help you to prioritise your own work according to the needs of your clients and your business, and save you time and energy in the long run.
Here’s what you should be asking when you receive an enquiry about your services:
1. Where is your business located?
This will determine the feasibility of face to face meetings and the delivery of on-site training. Depending on your own preferences for travel and working in the field, it’s important to establish this before you go any further.
2. What is the nature of your business?
Understanding what types of products or services the business offers will highlight any industry specific questions that you may need to ask.
3. How many staff does the business employ?
The number of employees indicates the size of the business.
- Micro-business: 0-4 employees
- Small business: 5-19 employees
- Medium business: 20-199 employees
- Large business: 200+ employees
Larger businesses will have more departments and managers so you may need to agree on guidelines for communication, reporting and training delivery. Some small businesses may also be eligible for government assistance.
4. Who is currently responsible for bookkeeping?
This tells you whether they already have an accountant or a BAS agent, or if an internal staff member does the bookkeeping work.
5. What is their experience with Xero?
Establishing whether a bookkeeper has Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced knowledge of Xero will help you to identify skill gaps and tailor the training accordingly.
6. What are the top 3 bookkeeping issues that you wish to address?
Uncovering the client’s ‘pain points’ will show them that you are listening and that you have an understanding of the business challenges they are facing.
This helps to build trust and confidence in your expertise. It can also provide you with an opportunity to see if there is a better solution for their needs – like an online Xero Training Course.
7. What specific outcomes do you expect to achieve as a result of Xero training?
Being clear about your client’s expectations allows you to tailor your tutoring sessions to address the issues that are most important to them.
You might find that they need work done or training that is more advanced than you can offer so it is important to identify as many of their requirements as possible.
If the person wants services that only a BAS Agent or Accountant can provide you need to make sure that you have your own referral network.
8. What is your preferred method of remote communication? Phone, email, website chat, SMS or screen share on Zoom.
Establish practical considerations for communicating and delivering tutoring sessions, and ensure that you have the appropriate systems and equipment ready to go.
9. Do you have a preferred day or time for participating in Xero training sessions?
Your time is valuable and although you need to remain flexible, you may not wish to take on a client who can only chat with you after 9pm on Wednesdays.
10. Timeframe – When do you hope to commence/complete the Xero training?
In the early stages of an inquiry this gives you an indication of how serious your prospect is about getting started. Knowing the client’s preferences will also assist with scheduling and setting deadlines for tasks, ensuring that your services are delivered within an acceptable time frame.
It is a well known fact that only 3% of prospects are ready to buy when they make contact so your prospect might end up needing to be contacted by you a couple more times. Professional sales people call these stages and process the “Sales Pipeline” and we’ll cover more information about that in another blog post.
11. Do you have any questions for me?
This allows the client an opportunity to raise any questions or concerns that may not have been covered, and demonstrates again that you are listening to their needs.
12. When is a good time to follow up?
Asking for a time frame to check back in gives both you and your prospect time to review the information that has been discussed. When you agree on the next steps for moving forward, it shows potential clients that you want their business without coming across as ‘pushy’.
Summary
When you start to receive ad inquiries for your bookkeeping tutoring services it’s natural to feel a little nervous. By having a trusted list of questions ready to refer to, you’ll feel much more confident about qualifying your prospects and demonstrating your knowledge and expertise.
When you can genuinely show that you are listening to your client’s problems and that you are able to match your solutions to their needs, you will not only be taking more bookings, you will have built trusted client relationships that will ultimately lead to more business and referrals.
Need help with writing an ad for Xero bookkeeping tutoring?
See Josika’s ad as an example. Visit: https://workface.com.au/2021/12/bookkeeping-tutoring-one-to-one-training-and-business-support-for-xero
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