When I first started my bookkeeping business I didn’t have much confidence and I didn’t say “boo to a goose” in those days so most of the time I just went along with what people wanted just to keep the peace as long as it didn’t bother me terribly. I’ve spoken before how that behaviour resulted in me avoiding lots of conversations that I needed to have. And not only was it a constant source of angst, but it also held my business back until I dealt head-on with the issues that I was avoiding.
I was mentoring a bookkeeper who was just starting to use a marketing PowerPoint presentation to help her explain to prospects about her services and how she was going to be able to help them. However, she said that she noticed at the end of the presentation when the prospect asked about her rates that she felt a bit uncomfortable and the client seemed hesitant after that. I asked her why the client had to ask her rates assuming she included that on the last page of her presentation. She revealed that she hadn’t included that information in the presentation. I explained that the client would want to know how much she charges so it made sense to be upfront about that. After all, she’s charging what she’s worth and what the market can bear so why not?
After a little more discussion she realised that she was avoiding talking about money and getting paid – an issue that has come up repeatedly for her. She realised that avoiding it however doesn’t make it go away. It just pops up somewhere else.
Have you noticed that the same issue pops up repeatedly? Perhaps it’s because you’re avoiding something important which is holding back your potential and impacting on your bookkeeping business.
Article by Debbie Roberts
