Please welcome our newest franchisee, Dave Willers in Colorado Springs, CO. Dave’s professional experience includes 19 years at United Parcel Service, serving as a District Engineering manager in San Antonio, Texas, with direct responsibility for the engineering and the information technology teams. We worked alongside the operations teams developing and implementing daily and long range operating plans. From UPS he then spent eight and a half years as the Executive Director of Operations at Awana Clubs International, a leader in children’s ministry, where his responsibilities included the internal operations of IT, marketing, procurement, shipping, warehouse, and customer service. Most currently he has been a private investor for the last four years. His work experience gives me a good perspective on blending finance and accounting with outstanding service. Dave and Pamela moved to Colorado Springs to be closer to the grandkids and enjoy the wonderful Colorado scenery. Welcome aboard Dave, we know you will do well in the market.
Rob Hume has joined the BKE Corporate family as Senior Accountant. Rob’s experience brings a whole new level of financial experience and consultative skills to the corporate clients. Rob has the delightful Scottish accent so if you haven’t talked to him please give him a call at 703-226-2720 and listen to the brogue.
The long awaited EDOCS document storage system is nearing introduction. It has been in testing stage and the interface with QuickBooks seems to be working well. We plan to introduce it to you in the form of Webinar training prior to the formal introduction on October 1st. Pricing is still being resolved but it will be based on a per client monthly access basis. The client’s accountant will have windows of access for tax preparation.
The document management file cabinet will allow for partitioning so the client can store non financial information with complete confidence that it is secure and only those that they grant permissions will have access to the information. Either you or your client will be able to scan the data and build a file that you will then access to code the financial portions. That coding will then be automatically downloaded and inputted into their QuickBooks file on BKE Connect.
Set the dates of November 5th and 6th aside on your calendar for the first BKE Sales Boot Camp. We are going to have two days of intensive sales training for all interested parties. A complete agenda and other material will be supplied in the next couple of weeks.
After several months of work we are pleased to introduce the new look of the Bookkeeping Express website. The emphasis is certainly on the services side of our business, and should prove to be a bigger source of leads for each of you. We are spending considerably more dollars in our Search Engine Optimization (SEO) marketing on your individual landing pages as well as the corporate service page in an effort to help potential clients find you.
Many of you this year are able to take advantage of additional marketing we are doing with the SBA by placing a ½ page ad in the magazine the SBA hands out to all participants of their shows and seminars. It was too late for some of you to get in the magazine in 2009, but 2010 will be the year for all franchisees. Please contact Terri if you have not received any information for your market, and be sure to contact the SBA, letting them know that BKE is a strong advertiser and you would like to participate in their seminars to talk about the importance of complete and accurate financial numbers.
What does Customer Service do for your business?
There’s no real secret to getting your customers to come back. All you need to do is provide customer service that exceeds your customers’ expectations and outshines your competitors’ customer service. Shiny customer Service is service with a capital “S”, Service that makes your customer feel special, Service that makes him or her want to come back and do more business with you and recommend your business to their friends.
So how can you provide customer Service that shines? Follow this plan to ensure customer service that will dazzle customers and competitors alike:
1) Determine what makes what you offer special.
What do you like best about your favorite vendor that you could emulate? There are sure to be aspects of your customer Service that you can promote as “Special”.
Make a list of all these ideas for providing customer service. Remember, we’re talking about customer Service here. Lower prices are not service; they’re just lower prices.
Now that you have a list of customer service ideas that you might use to provide customer service that outshines the customer service your competitors provide, it’s time to look at implementing shiny customer service.
2) Study the customer service ideas on your list and examine their feasibility.
Can you really guarantee that you will always stick to your written estimate or provide a faster turnaround time than your competitors? If you aren’t sure, or can’t do it, cross it off your customer service ideas list. Customer service that shines is a guarantee; it’s not a “sometimes” proposition. So only choose what you can definitely do one hundred percent of the time.
3) Choose one or two of your shiny customer service ideas and implement them.
Feature this aspect of your customer service in your email signature. Make it part of your greeting spiel when you answer the phone and during your elevator speech. You need to make your customer service a prominent feature of every ad and letter campaign so people automatically associate it with your business. (Remember when you’re redesigning or creating ads never to describe your customer service as “new and improved”; this implies there was something wrong with your “old” customer service.)
I read this story somewhere and always thought it had a great meaning on the sales effort.
A young man, serving in the army, was assigned KP duty. Specifically, he was responsible for the apricots in the chow line. Now, most of the soldiers didn’t care for the apricots, and generally passed this young man without taking any.
After a while, the young man changed his serving tactic. Rather than ask his fellow soldiers if they “would like any apricots,” he simply said, “One apricot or two?”
Most of the soldiers went away with at least one apricot on their plate.
How many times do you give your prospects/customers a chance to “slip” away without a sell? Is the way you sell to your customers making the most of your services? Sometimes, prospects and customers simply need a push in the right direction.
- Always speak about your services with enthusiasm
- Know that your prospect/customer wants and needs your services
- Use encouraging words and phrases such as “when we start doing your accounting” versus “if we start doing your accounting”
- Ask for the sale! Later...ask again!
Follow these tips and you’ll be surprised at the number of customers you gain.
We all recognize the importance of networking. It is drilled into you when you came for training, and it is a weekly conversation for those in the FDP. Most every month you are asked how many referrals you gave, not how many you got. Following on that theme, it’s NOT about you as much as helping the other person. If all you do is “take” from your network, your network will soon become limited. Networking is about helping others and this can’t be done until the issues are understood.
I’ve found these open ended question particularly valuable:
“Tell me more about…”
“Would you elaborate on…”
“Give me an example of…”
“What else should I know about…”
“What else would help me understand…”
“Talk to me about…"
“Tell me your experience with…”
“How do you handle…?”
Asking good questions provides the road map to helping others. Doing so, the “Law of Reciprocity” kicks in... In social psychology, reciprocity refers to responding to a positive action with another positive action.
BKE has custom Christmas cards to send your clients, but marketing experts suggest that Thanksgiving Cards can be more effective. Because customers receive so much mail at Christmas time, your special card may get lost in the shuffle. If you send a Thanksgiving card and add a calendar for the next year, you will potentially be the first to thank your customer during the holiday season. By sending a calendar with your card, you will also ensure that your name will stay in front of your client for the entire year. This technique is also a creative way to stay in front of prospects. Our marketing partner, Unity Business Solutions, has put together some cost effective programs to help you get the word out and reach your clients and prospects during the holiday season!
BKE has their OWN site...http://bke.promoshop.com
Whether you are looking for a specific item or just browsing for ideas, your site is your one-stop shopping source. From fun items to the traditional, you can easily shop for some of the hottest items on the market.
Quickly and easily find products to:
- Improve traffic at trade shows
- Motivate prospects
- Thank a customer
- Increase community awareness
When you are ready to buy, our secure check out makes it safe, easy and convenient. Or, if you are just browsing, use the ‘information only’ option and we’ll get back to you. See Unity Business Solution’s (our marketing partner) website - www.ubsolutions.biz - for more helpful tips!
We all know that time is money, and using QuickBooks shortcuts is a great way to work more efficiently. Here are 65 shortcuts that, if you’re not already using, you should start using today! Print the following list and keep it close to your computer as a quick reference.
The following are all date-related shortcuts:
1. Y = First day of the Year
2. R = Last day of the yeaR
3. M = First day of the Month
4. H = Last day of the montH
5. T = Today
6. W = First day of the Week
7. K = Last day of the weeK
8. + = Next day
9. - = Prior day
Small start-up businesses don’t usually have the resources to launch huge advertising blitzes in multiple media formats. In fact, even if you are already in business, chances are you don’t have an extensive cash allocation earmarked for promotion, or you’ve tried many different advertising approaches and vehicles and haven’t hit on a really successful campaign yet. You aren’t alone!
Advertising is extremely expensive. Despite adequate funding, even large national companies often find it difficult to develop successful advertising campaigns. And, with an increasing number of companies advertising through every imaginable communication avenue, it is becoming increasingly hard to attract the attention of consumers.
However, there are non-advertising approaches to promotion. They generally require less money to implement and are often more effective. The only catch is that they require time and creativity to develop.
Coupons: You don’t have to distribute coupons in print advertising or in big direct mail campaigns. You can hand them out on the street corner, at trade shows, or just about anyplace else. You can send a few to your best customers, or you can include “next purchase” coupons in customer orders.
Coupons can be “quick and dirty” to design and print because their selling point is price, not image. To assure your chances of getting an additional sale or establishing an ongoing relationship with your customers, make your coupon offer exceedingly generous.
Contests: People love contests. They even love to see other people win! Just witness the phenomenal success of game shows on television. If you choose to develop a promotional contest, in-fuse it with fun, make it silly, and don’t forget to really talk it up. If your contest is wacky and crazy enough, you should be able to get good media coverage—and remember, this is essentially free advertising!
Gifts: People love to receive something for free, even if they have to pay a premium price for a more expensive item to get the freebie. Don’t ask why! It may not make sense, but it doesn’t have to, as long as you make money. While this technique has been used most successfully in the beauty and cosmetics industry, it can be used in almost any business endeavor. It isn’t unheard of to see deals such as a free computer desktop with the purchase of a higher-priced notebook computer or, even a free subcompact car with the purchase of a full-price luxury sedan!
Download PDF
Please welcome our newest franchisee, Dave Willers in Colorado Springs, CO. Dave’s professional experience includes 19 years at United Parcel Service, serving as a District Engineering manager in San Antonio, Texas, with direct responsibility for the engineering and the information technology teams. We worked alongside the operations teams developing and implementing daily and long range operating plans. From UPS he then spent eight and a half years as the Executive Director of Operations at Awana Clubs International, a leader in children’s ministry, where his responsibilities included the internal operations of IT, marketing, procurement, shipping, warehouse, and customer service. Most currently he has been a private investor for the last four years. His work experience gives me a good perspective on blending finance and accounting with outstanding service. Dave and Pamela moved to Colorado Springs to be closer to the grandkids and enjoy the wonderful Colorado scenery. Welcome aboard Dave, we know you will do well in the market.
Rob Hume has joined the BKE Corporate family as Senior Accountant. Rob’s experience brings a whole new level of financial experience and consultative skills to the corporate clients. Rob has the delightful Scottish accent so if you haven’t talked to him please give him a call at 703-226-2720 and listen to the brogue.
The long awaited EDOCS document storage system is nearing introduction. It has been in testing stage and the interface with QuickBooks seems to be working well. We plan to introduce it to you in the form of Webinar training prior to the formal introduction on October 1st. Pricing is still being resolved but it will be based on a per client monthly access basis. The client’s accountant will have windows of access for tax preparation.
The document management file cabinet will allow for partitioning so the client can store non financial information with complete confidence that it is secure and only those that they grant permissions will have access to the information. Either you or your client will be able to scan the data and build a file that you will then access to code the financial portions. That coding will then be automatically downloaded and inputted into their QuickBooks file on BKE Connect.
Set the dates of November 5th and 6th aside on your calendar for the first BKE Sales Boot Camp. We are going to have two days of intensive sales training for all interested parties. A complete agenda and other material will be supplied in the next couple of weeks.
After several months of work we are pleased to introduce the new look of the Bookkeeping Express website. The emphasis is certainly on the services side of our business, and should prove to be a bigger source of leads for each of you. We are spending considerably more dollars in our Search Engine Optimization (SEO) marketing on your individual landing pages as well as the corporate service page in an effort to help potential clients find you.
Many of you this year are able to take advantage of additional marketing we are doing with the SBA by placing a ½ page ad in the magazine the SBA hands out to all participants of their shows and seminars. It was too late for some of you to get in the magazine in 2009, but 2010 will be the year for all franchisees. Please contact Terri if you have not received any information for your market, and be sure to contact the SBA, letting them know that BKE is a strong advertiser and you would like to participate in their seminars to talk about the importance of complete and accurate financial numbers.
What does Customer Service do for your business?
There’s no real secret to getting your customers to come back. All you need to do is provide customer service that exceeds your customers’ expectations and outshines your competitors’ customer service. Shiny customer Service is service with a capital “S”, Service that makes your customer feel special, Service that makes him or her want to come back and do more business with you and recommend your business to their friends.
So how can you provide customer Service that shines? Follow this plan to ensure customer service that will dazzle customers and competitors alike:
1) Determine what makes what you offer special.
What do you like best about your favorite vendor that you could emulate? There are sure to be aspects of your customer Service that you can promote as “Special”.
Make a list of all these ideas for providing customer service. Remember, we’re talking about customer Service here. Lower prices are not service; they’re just lower prices.
Now that you have a list of customer service ideas that you might use to provide customer service that outshines the customer service your competitors provide, it’s time to look at implementing shiny customer service.
2) Study the customer service ideas on your list and examine their feasibility.
Can you really guarantee that you will always stick to your written estimate or provide a faster turnaround time than your competitors? If you aren’t sure, or can’t do it, cross it off your customer service ideas list. Customer service that shines is a guarantee; it’s not a “sometimes” proposition. So only choose what you can definitely do one hundred percent of the time.
3) Choose one or two of your shiny customer service ideas and implement them.
Feature this aspect of your customer service in your email signature. Make it part of your greeting spiel when you answer the phone and during your elevator speech. You need to make your customer service a prominent feature of every ad and letter campaign so people automatically associate it with your business. (Remember when you’re redesigning or creating ads never to describe your customer service as “new and improved”; this implies there was something wrong with your “old” customer service.)
I read this story somewhere and always thought it had a great meaning on the sales effort.
A young man, serving in the army, was assigned KP duty. Specifically, he was responsible for the apricots in the chow line. Now, most of the soldiers didn’t care for the apricots, and generally passed this young man without taking any.
After a while, the young man changed his serving tactic. Rather than ask his fellow soldiers if they “would like any apricots,” he simply said, “One apricot or two?”
Most of the soldiers went away with at least one apricot on their plate.
How many times do you give your prospects/customers a chance to “slip” away without a sell? Is the way you sell to your customers making the most of your services? Sometimes, prospects and customers simply need a push in the right direction.
- Always speak about your services with enthusiasm
- Know that your prospect/customer wants and needs your services
- Use encouraging words and phrases such as “when we start doing your accounting” versus “if we start doing your accounting”
- Ask for the sale! Later...ask again!
Follow these tips and you’ll be surprised at the number of customers you gain.
We all recognize the importance of networking. It is drilled into you when you came for training, and it is a weekly conversation for those in the FDP. Most every month you are asked how many referrals you gave, not how many you got. Following on that theme, it’s NOT about you as much as helping the other person. If all you do is “take” from your network, your network will soon become limited. Networking is about helping others and this can’t be done until the issues are understood.
I’ve found these open ended question particularly valuable:
“Tell me more about…”
“Would you elaborate on…”
“Give me an example of…”
“What else should I know about…”
“What else would help me understand…”
“Talk to me about…"
“Tell me your experience with…”
“How do you handle…?”
Asking good questions provides the road map to helping others. Doing so, the “Law of Reciprocity” kicks in... In social psychology, reciprocity refers to responding to a positive action with another positive action.
BKE has custom Christmas cards to send your clients, but marketing experts suggest that Thanksgiving Cards can be more effective. Because customers receive so much mail at Christmas time, your special card may get lost in the shuffle. If you send a Thanksgiving card and add a calendar for the next year, you will potentially be the first to thank your customer during the holiday season. By sending a calendar with your card, you will also ensure that your name will stay in front of your client for the entire year. This technique is also a creative way to stay in front of prospects. Our marketing partner, Unity Business Solutions, has put together some cost effective programs to help you get the word out and reach your clients and prospects during the holiday season!
BKE has their OWN site...http://bke.promoshop.com
Whether you are looking for a specific item or just browsing for ideas, your site is your one-stop shopping source. From fun items to the traditional, you can easily shop for some of the hottest items on the market.
Quickly and easily find products to:
- Improve traffic at trade shows
- Motivate prospects
- Thank a customer
- Increase community awareness
When you are ready to buy, our secure check out makes it safe, easy and convenient. Or, if you are just browsing, use the ‘information only’ option and we’ll get back to you. See Unity Business Solution’s (our marketing partner) website - www.ubsolutions.biz - for more helpful tips!
We all know that time is money, and using QuickBooks shortcuts is a great way to work more efficiently. Here are 65 shortcuts that, if you’re not already using, you should start using today! Print the following list and keep it close to your computer as a quick reference.
The following are all date-related shortcuts:
1. Y = First day of the Year
2. R = Last day of the yeaR
3. M = First day of the Month
4. H = Last day of the montH
5. T = Today
6. W = First day of the Week
7. K = Last day of the weeK
8. + = Next day
9. - = Prior day
Small start-up businesses don’t usually have the resources to launch huge advertising blitzes in multiple media formats. In fact, even if you are already in business, chances are you don’t have an extensive cash allocation earmarked for promotion, or you’ve tried many different advertising approaches and vehicles and haven’t hit on a really successful campaign yet. You aren’t alone!
Advertising is extremely expensive. Despite adequate funding, even large national companies often find it difficult to develop successful advertising campaigns. And, with an increasing number of companies advertising through every imaginable communication avenue, it is becoming increasingly hard to attract the attention of consumers.
However, there are non-advertising approaches to promotion. They generally require less money to implement and are often more effective. The only catch is that they require time and creativity to develop.
Coupons: You don’t have to distribute coupons in print advertising or in big direct mail campaigns. You can hand them out on the street corner, at trade shows, or just about anyplace else. You can send a few to your best customers, or you can include “next purchase” coupons in customer orders.
Coupons can be “quick and dirty” to design and print because their selling point is price, not image. To assure your chances of getting an additional sale or establishing an ongoing relationship with your customers, make your coupon offer exceedingly generous.
Contests: People love contests. They even love to see other people win! Just witness the phenomenal success of game shows on television. If you choose to develop a promotional contest, in-fuse it with fun, make it silly, and don’t forget to really talk it up. If your contest is wacky and crazy enough, you should be able to get good media coverage—and remember, this is essentially free advertising!
Gifts: People love to receive something for free, even if they have to pay a premium price for a more expensive item to get the freebie. Don’t ask why! It may not make sense, but it doesn’t have to, as long as you make money. While this technique has been used most successfully in the beauty and cosmetics industry, it can be used in almost any business endeavor. It isn’t unheard of to see deals such as a free computer desktop with the purchase of a higher-priced notebook computer or, even a free subcompact car with the purchase of a full-price luxury sedan!
Download PDF