Follow Up Your Introductory Calls With A Well-Worded Email and a Complimentary Value-Add
After making your initial phone call to a local accountant, BAS agent or tradesperson the next step is to follow up with an email about your bookkeeping services. Offering a value-add such as a training manual or a free service shows that you are confident in your abilities and able to demonstrate your competence.
As a goodwill gesture, a value-add will help to establish trust and show them that you genuinely want to help. It’s not just about the sale, it’s about the relationship.
Why You Should Follow Up
If you don’t get to speak to the appropriate person, the next best thing is to email them.
This is why it’s important to try and obtain an email address before completing your first introductory call.
Sending a follow up email allows you to:
- Have a second chance at reaching the decision maker if they were not available the first time you called.
- Contact the decision maker directly instead of relying on the judgement of a receptionist or ‘gate-keeper’.
- Explain your reason for calling in your own words without the pressure of having to explain everything on a hurried phone call.
- Demonstrate professionalism and credibility.
- Establish goodwill by offering a complimentary value-added product or service.
- Include a Call-To-Action that offers a win-win outcome for both parties.
- Ensure that the recipient has your contact details for future reference.
The accountant may not reply to your email today or next week, but one day they may have some work or a client referral that you’d be perfect for. Sending a professional introduction email with a genuine offer of assistance means that you are more likely to be remembered when the need arises.
What To Include in Your Follow-up Message
The first thing to do is to create an email template that you can use for all of your call follow ups. This means that you won’t have to retype or copy and paste the same information over and over.
The process may vary depending on which email service you use, but they are generally very simple to create. Simply search on how to create an email template and follow the instructions. Then each time you want to send your follow up email to a different accounting firm, all you have to do is pull up your template and change the recipient name. (See our sample email template below).
Introduction
Include your:
- Name
- Business Name
- Qualifications
- Location
Headshot
You don’t necessarily need to have a headshot taken by a professional photographer, however your photo should be representative of your business profile and project your professional image.
- Choose the right background depending on your brand and personality, for example, a plain white or grey wall, a green garden setting, or a stylish home office.
- If you are using your phone, use portrait mode to help soften the background.
- Use natural light. If indoors, stand with your face towards the window. If outdoors, sit in the shade so that the sunlight is not directly hitting your face.
- Choose your outfit. Wear what you would wear if you were attending a meeting or a professional job interview.
- Camera height. Set up the camera to be slightly above you or at eye level.
- Avoid ‘selfies’. Use a camera tripod, a timer or another person to hold the camera rather than using your arm.
- Focus on your eyes. Make sure that you are looking at the camera and that your eyes are sharp and in focus.
- Positioning. Lean in towards the camera slightly and try angling your shoulders to the left, right and straight-on to see what works best.
Bio
Rather than attaching your full resumé, include a short bio (a paragraph or two at the most) that summarises your professional education and achievements.
The key here is to stick to the highlights and to keep it relevant to the type of work you are pitching for. You may be proud of your first place win in your high school athletics competition, but an accountant who is assessing you for bookkeeping work probably won’t consider this important.
Link to online profile
Include a link to your National Bookkeeping online profile. This is so that the accountant can easily save or share your details with potential clients.
If you haven’t already registered for pre-qualification in our talent pool, simply complete this form and we’ll be in touch about setting up a profile for you.
Value-add
A ‘value-add’ describes anything that makes a product, service, feature, or other topic of discussion objectively or subjectively better. i.e. anything that enhances the value of an existing value proposition. (Ward, 2022)
What you choose to offer depends on your strengths and the skills that you want to showcase to potential clients. It also has to be something that you can give away without incurring excessive costs to your business.
Consider the following examples:
- A training manual
- 1-2 hours of complimentary tutoring
- A helpful checklist for monthly tasks
- A worksheet to assist with calculating and organising monthly totals
Sample Email Template
Stuck for words?
Here’s a simple email template to get you started. Be sure to embed links to relevant information on your website.
Hi XXXX,
I’m sorry I missed you when I called your office last week.
My name is XXXX from National Bookkeeping. I am a new licensee in the XXXXX area so I am contacting you to see if I can refer potential clients to you, as well as offer my services to you OR your clients?
We also offer training on how to use MYOB, Xero and QuickBooks so I have attached a free training manual for you to evaluate and get to know us.
This workbook is the first of 3 workbooks that is included in our Xero Online Beginners training course.
I would welcome your feedback and the opportunity to discuss this with you further.
Please call me on 04xx xxx xxx if you’d like to have a quick chat.
Kind regards,
XXXXXX
Summary
Making an introductory call is just the first step in establishing professional relationships with businesses in your local area. It’s unlikely that one phone call will be enough to get you put straight through to the decision maker and have them engage your services.
Be clear about your objectives and work through the process systematically. If you cannot speak with the right person, ask for their name and email address, and let them know that you’ll be sending through something that may be helpful to them.
After this, you’ll be in a prime position to follow up with a personalised email directly to the decision maker.
Finding Xero Bookkeeping Work—”Who You Gonna Call?”
At first glance, making calls to potential clients and employers may seem incredibly daunting, but with the right techniques and a bit of practice you’ll become much more comfortable and increasingly productive for your bookkeeping business.
https://workface.com.au/2022/05/finding-xero-bookkeeping-work-who-you-gonna-call/
Industry Connect
With Industry Connect you speak directly with a bookkeeping and finance professional working in the real world.
https://natbooks.com.au/the-career-academy/industry-connect/
