The following reflects my opinions and lessons learned from Case Study #1 posted here.  I will highlight the points and respond underneath.  Let me know your thoughts.

I recently decided it was time to hire an accountant.  Why?  I’m spreading myself too thin and just wanted to allocate my time more effectively.  I did not know any accountants.  And I certainly was not going to go the Yellow Pages or do an arbitrary Google search.  My brother and my parents,who are now retired, had businesses so I called them and asked who they used. (Point #1)

62% of your business will be referred from people who already know, like and trust you and these include family, friends and coworkers.  These people either have a relationship with the service provider or know of someone who does have a relationship with the service provider – you.  Given this extraordinary statistic a significant amount of your energies need to be devoted to making it very easy for your ‘evangelists’ to refer you.  You need to leverage these relationship which you’ve already cultivated over the years.  They will be a significant source of your business.

When I asked my brother who he used he offered no name and simply said, ‘he’s not for you.’

When I asked my parents they said, “We used (insert name) but he is too expensive and he’ll be the first one to tell you he is too expensive.  But call him and I know he’ll give you a referral.  Also, call (a good family friend) and find out who he uses because he’s very sharp and you can trust whoever he uses. (Point #2)

People who know you must WANT to refer you as a service provider. And if they don’t refer you, you need to know why.  Why did my brother say, ‘he’s not for you? I don’t know.  I never pursued it because I trusted his assessment.  If I was his accountant, I’d want to know what his thought process was that he wasn’t promoting me to another family member. But the sad fact is, his accountant will NEVER know.  How many other clients are not referring him business?

My parents described their accountant as ‘too expensive.’  But they trusted him to refer me to someone who would be more within my price range.  I happen to know this accountant has carefully targeted his market and anyone who knows him knows he only handles certain types of clients.  Yet, he made himself available as a resource for referral based upon his reputation.  Does he like to be known as ‘too expensive.’  I’m not sure.

Notice, however, I went to people I respected and trusted and who had my best interests at heart?  

I opted to call our family friend who ‘is very sharp’ to find out who he uses because I trust him having known him for more than 30 years.  He is a shrewd businessman, too. When I got the name of the accountant, I immediately ‘googled’ to find out something ‘more’ about him.  He had no web presence and there were two people in the town with the same last name but different first names.  My friend’s wife actually gave me the WRONG first name but the right street address.  I had to keep digging to get the right phone number.  (Point #2 cont.)

Why did I opt to call the family friend over the expensive accountant who could refer me to a third accountant?  Precisely because of that one degree of removal from an actual client experience being the basis for the referral.  The referral was to an accountant they trusted (whom I’ve never met) to get another referral to an accountant removed. This pushed me out of my comfort zone given I feel an accountant is a more personal and intimate relationship.  Had there been no other option, I would have still chosen this route over yellow pages or an arbitrary internet search.  But I didn’t have to.

The referrer of the accountant did not have the correct information or phone number.  This is not uncommon.  And, naturally, in this day and age we assume we can find what we need to find with an internet search.  Repeat: in this day and age we assume we can find what we need to find with an internet search. This is why I didn’t press her for specfics.  The assumption was the professional had a web presence which would provide me the relevant information I needed to contact them as well as learn a little more about them.  This was a reasonable assumption but the accountant did not have a web presence.  Although he had a leg up because it was a strong, solid referral, I was upset for two reasons he did not have a web presence.

1) I was unsure I had the right person and it required extra work on my part. He could very easily have made my search painless.  This is, in my opinion, an unneccessary hurdle for a potential client to have to jump.  It is low cost to do; costly NOT to do in terms of lost business. And it is business we will seldom learn we’ve lost.  Whether someone will continue the search turns on the strength of the referral.  The strength of this referral was a 10 on a scale of 1-10.

2) Perception: Not having a web presence represents the professional’s commitment to technology.  A few years back this may not have made much of a difference.  But given pricing structures of professionals (the billable hour) we now know that there is a significant cost to the client for a practitioner not being technology forward thinking and clients are too savvy now to accept these costs.  In my opinion, a good, solid web presence tells me the professional is considering many things that impact the client. Everything is about perception.  This is a valid thought shared by many.  From the customer’s perspective the connection between this ‘marketing tool’ rooted in technology reflects a commitment to technology across the board, even if it is not necessarily factually true.

But, again, in today’s world, the absence of this low cost ‘marketing tool’ can have many ramifications. (Now, please note, I refer to a ‘web presence’…not a specific type of platform.)

I called to make an appointment, left my name and who referred me.  The receptionist asked where I could be reached and I would receive a return phone call shortly.  (Point #3)

When a potential client is on the phone you must appreciate their time and their urgency. I had mixed feelings about not being able to make an appointment.  I did not understand why I could not make an appointment while I was on the phone.  I got his actual secretary. Maybe I would not be available later to take a return phone call.  If you do not set the appointment or provide specific details for follow up, they can move on to the next service provider on their list.  Again, the strength of the referral kept me committed to this choice so I provided my phone number.  Had the receptionist told me the time frame for the phone call and who would be calling me back and why, this might have changed my impression from one of feeling ‘not important’ to ‘very important.’

When I was called back, however, I got the accountant himself and had a  ‘pre-screening’ phone call.  He was at the computer as we spoke, checking out various information I gave him.  We chatted about the referral and he let me know he actually knew my dad, was now working with the referrer’s kids and was pleased he was bringing on the ‘next generation’.  We set up an appointment to meet. He told me what paperwork I should bring with me and it was a very nice, comfortable conversation. (Point #4)

This was a pleasant ‘surprise’.  The question remains, should it have been a surprise?  Was this the protocol or because the accountant heard who had referred me he opted to make the return phone call himself?  I don’t know.  Had it been protocol, should the receptionist have told me he would be calling back so I could have felt ‘important’?  Did this office have a standard protocol for dealing with new potential client calls or was this just shooting from the hip and casual?

As a solo, you should always have a policy and procedure for dealing with new (and current) clients upon which you can rely and the referrer of the clients can rely.  It should be effectively communicated and should respect the potential client’s sense of urgency.

What do you think?

(I’ll continue with the points 5 – 10  in the next post!)