As a Commercial Finance Consultant (CFCs), one of the best sources of client referrals will come from your relationships with accounting and bookkeeping professionals and these can be especially prolific (and profitable) during tax season. All CFCs, factoring brokers, merchant cash ISO, and even part-time agents need to have an ongoing marketing strategy or campaign to build this important network.
Launch Your Campaign with LinkedIn
To develop this important marketing campaign, start by optimizing your LinkedIn business profile with a solid professional and comprehensive overview of your services, emphasizing how they complement the work of accounting professionals. Join relevant LinkedIn groups to engage in discussions and connect with these important industry experts. Regularly, share insightful financing tips and the latest economic content and trends. Its important to create LinkedIn articles but always link to other supporting blog articles located on your website or blog. These will help to position yourself as a valuable resource. With LinkedIn’s ability to connect you to accounting and bookkeeping professionals, you will quickly start building this powerful referral network… but…you must also be able to cement these new relationships for long term results and one of the best methods to do so is to embrace direct marketing tools available at IACFB’s Academy and Factoring 202.
Employ Direct Marketing Relationship Building Campaigns
As a CFC, you should always view accounting professionals exactly the same way you view prospects for financing. Understand, Commercial Finance Consultants are significantly different than most factoring brokers and certainly dramatically different than merchant cash ISOs in that CFCs tend to position themselves more like “private bankers”. They look at their primary job to be one of building a lasting and long term relationship with a business owner or any individual and simply one where they are always available when needed. CFCs never look at themselves as a simple product salesman.
Once a “seedling” relationships is planted, it is the job of the CFC professional to nurture it and the best methods to do just that often involve powerful direct marketing support tools such as:
DIRECT MAIL: Consider direct mail campaigns utilizing an informative cover letter enhanced with eye-catching support materials such as a product-related mail stuffer or 3-panel brochures showcasing your services and benefits. Always include a call-to-action directing them to your website for a FREE booklet or, even better, to contact you for more FRREE information.
CANVASSING and DOOR HANGERS: For a localized and low cost approach, engage in canvassing efforts in areas with a high concentration of accounting professionals. Distribute door hangers with a succinct message highlighting the advantages of partnering with your services. Ensure that your contact information is easily accessible.
LOCAL NETWORKING EVENTS: Participate in virtual and in-person networking events. This provides an opportunity to engage directly with local bookkeepers and accountants, fostering relationships in a more personal setting. Be proactive in initiating conversations and demonstrating the value of collaboration. Use opportunities sponsored by you local Chamber of Commerce, fraternal organizations such as Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions Clubs and others. Connect on LinkedIn to personally invite members of your new network to these “meet and great” after ours functions.
SEMINARS, AND WORKSHOPS: Seminars and workshops are one of the most productive marketing campaigns available to CFC’s but are also one of the more costly methods of marketing. This is why they should be “integrated” campaigns. Hold popular luncheon or after hours seminars for prospective clients but additionally invite selected local bookkeepers, accountants, and tax professionals. Of all the various methods of prospecting and the most sure ways of developing new clients, nothing compares to live seminars and workshops. For you, inviting your new local accounting connections to view your presentation and business finance options is a great way to cement these important relationships with not only attending business owners, but also your referrers.
ONLINE GUEST SPEAKER WEBINARS: Hosting webinars or online presentations on factoring are very popular methods used to build relationships with accounting professionals. To add some additional credibility to your webinar, consider inviting a “guest speaker”. Invite your accounting connections to this type of webinar and invite them to participate, showcasing not only your expertise but also creating a platform for direct interaction with a direct lender. This not only establishes you as a thought leader but also facilitates relationship building in this virtual venue.
Developing Your Direct Marketing Materials at IACFB Academy
If you are seeking the professional status as a true commercial finance consultant, its important for you to invest in the power of direct marketing. All serious-minded “marketeers” know it is essential to touch your targets and prospects at LEAST 7 TIMES before you make a sales impression. As we have said over and over, if you are truly devoted to this profession for the long haul, you need to focus your marketing efforts towards relationship building and it is very difficult to do this effectively with social media content and email campaigns alone. Whether targeted to client prospects or referral sources, well designed direct marketing campaigns and especially direct mail campaigns can supercharged and speed up your relationship building processes and help you to fill up your bathtub much more quickly than with social media or email campaigns alone.
