As a business owner or partner in an accountancy practice, there seems to be a never-ending stream of emails or phone calls about some great deal on advertising, sponsorship, buying data etc. Most usually offer a massive discount if you book within a short time frame (usually the next day or so), and so consequently, it can involve a lot of time on internal emails and conversations discussing whether to go ahead or not. In my opinion, if the activity is not aligned with your marketing plan, just say no!
The chances are you are already busy and have other planned marketing activities taking place.
Why do we say ‘yes’ when we’d really like to say ‘no’?
Many people struggle with saying no, as they do not like letting people down. But in some cases, when it comes to marketing opportunities, they feel that this could be the one opportunity that will help them to significantly grow the practice (or that is what they have been led to believe!).
The next time an ‘amazing’ marketing opportunity is sent your way, ask yourself, is this great timing because we were already thinking about doing ‘X’ as part of our marketing strategy, or is it just another distraction?
How to say no, politely
Assuming that you were not thinking of signing up for the latest local radio ad campaign, that promises to double your fees in 3 months, here are some suggestions of what to tell the salesperson who has contacted you:
- “Thank you, but that particular audience is not who we want to target”.
- “Sorry, but our marketing budget is already committed for this quarter/year”.
- In terms of charity/not-for-profit marketing activities, say, “Thank you, but we have a policy of supporting only one/two charities each year so that any activities we do help to generate a larger amount of money for that charity. If you’d like to be considered to be our nominated charity next year, please send details about your organisation to x”.
- “We currently work with xx or advertise in xx and we are happy with the response we are achieving and so are not looking to make any changes for the foreseeable future”.
- “Sorry but that form of marketing does not fit with our culture/is not of interest to us”.
You do not have to be rude to the caller/emailer, but you will save a lot of time and ongoing calls/emails if you are upfront with them at the start and say ‘no thanks’. It will also free up their time to pursue other businesses who may be interested in their proposition.
A marketing plan will save you time and money
Over the years I have worked with lots of accounting firms from sole practitioners to multi-partner/multi-office firms. Without a doubt, the firms that have the most effective marketing strategies are those that have a documented annual marketing plan, which sets out:
- what their objectives are for that quarter/year;
- who they want to target and what services do they want to focus on;
- what marketing activities they will implement;
- what messages they want to communicate;
- what the deadlines are;
- how much they have allocated to the marketing budget; and
- who is responsible for each activity.
A marketing plan helps firms achieve their marketing objectives and reduce the amount of time on discussing ad-hoc marketing initiatives. This is particularly relevant if the activity does not fit in with the parameters laid out in their marketing strategy.
Further reasons for creating a marketing plan are highlighted in the blog, ‘Why a marketing plan generates success’.
Some firms have saved thousands of pounds by saying ‘no’ to ad-hoc marketing requests through the year. It is surprising how ‘£50 here, or £150 there’ for different adverts, sponsorship activities etc add up, but also annoying if they have not helped your firm achieve its objectives.
If you would like help with creating or updating your firm’s marketing strategy, so you feel more empowered to ‘just say no’ to unwanted sales pitches, do get in touch on 01822 833300 or email me at vicki@momentumforprofessionals.co.uk.
