Virtual Assistant Forums | Work from Home

Paulette · #1 (**permalink**) 12-08-2011

Last week I sent out an announcement to friends and former colleagues announcing the launch of my new business. I included my accountant in that email and he expressed an interest in my services. We set up a meeting and I'm heading over to his office on Tuesday morning to speak with him.

This will be my first consultation so I want to make sure I am prepared.

I assume I need to bring with me an initial questionnaire/intake form like the one provided with the VAF new client welcome packet? Is there anything else I need to bring along? I don't want to seem unprepared. Also, should the questionnaire be tailored to his business or should I just leave it as a general questionnaire?

Thank you!

Tess · #2 (**permalink**) 12-12-2011

Congratulations on the PC Paulette

You might want to take along and leave behind a brochure, your business card (or a few of them so your PC can share your services with others if they're so inclined). If you have service packages you could also bring a copy of those so he can see what the investment will be when he's ready to contract with you.

Good luck and keep us posted!

leedrozak · #3 (**permalink**) 12-12-2011

Paulette,

You sound like you are right on track with what you need. I would have a questionnaire that is tailored to his industry however be mindful that he may want a variety of services to help run the office too.

Just be sure that you run the conversation: what needs do they have, is anything not getting done (great upsell option), how many hours does he have budgeted, etc.

Good luck to you!

Paulette · #4 (**permalink**) 12-12-2011

Tess, I actually don't have business cards yet since I'm so new. I started designing them on vistaprint last week but haven't ordered yet. I have an online brochure but it's not printed. I also don't have service packages! I figured if he wanted something like a website done (because I dont think he has one) I would have to come up with a number tailored to him depending on how extensive it would be, you know?

Lee, thanks I'll tailor the questionnaire to his industry and include those questions.

Your Virtual Wizard · #5 (**permalink**) 12-12-2011

Paulette,

If you have Publisher, you can put together a quick brochure to give to the potential client. Also, in a pinch I have picked up a package of business card blanks at Staples or even my local supermarket and just created a few using Publisher or Word. If you don't have either program, you can use open source software such as OpenOffice.org to get you started.

I feel that marketing materials are important for a face-to-face networking introduction and can lead to more work later from referrals.

You don't have to give him a package price at the time of the consultation.

Take down all the information as Lee mentions and you can quote him a package of services when you have time to crunch the numbers.

The most important thing is to find out what problems he has and then be ready to provide those solutions. It's not an interview. You are the expert so you have the solutions and can help him.

Good luck and let us know how you do!

Janine

Paulette · #6 (**permalink**) 12-12-2011

Janine, like I mentioned before I do have a brochure (which I created with Publisher) that I can print out, but that's probably it. I don't have time to run to the city to go to Staples (because I have to finish revising my final paper for class and get that off to my professor) although I'm sure I can find some business card blanks around here somewhere since there are a lot of stores. Thanks for the suggestion.

Your Virtual Wizard · #7 (**permalink**) 12-12-2011

Sounds like a plan, Paulette. Good luck!

Janine

Suave · #8 (**permalink**) 12-12-2011

congratulations, for your brosure you don't need to run to the city any one with a laser color printer can just print you 1 or 2 copies and you can fold them your self, also depending on how many hours you get keep in mind that your accountant now's many potential clients |I would say that you are just starting and if he now's other people that might need your services...

Good luck
Suave

Paulette · #9 (**permalink**) 12-12-2011

Originally Posted by Suave

congratulations, for your brosure you don't need to run to the city any one with a laser color printer can just print you 1 or 2 copies and you can fold them your self, also depending on how many hours you get keep in mind that your accountant now's many potential clients |I would say that you are just starting and if he now's other people that might need your services...

Good luck
Suave

Well assuming things go well and he hires me, I was planning on asking him to please refer me to any other accountant friends he might have after completing my first project. And in return I can refer him to any friends of mine that need an accountant, or in the future when I have more clients, I also refer those clients to him. Then everyone wins.

Paulette · #10 (**permalink**) 12-13-2011

Ok so I'm back from my consultation. Basically the two things he needs help with are his website, which is actually like half complete but he's not really happy with it, and organization. I asked him what kind of organization he needs help with but other than maybe calendaring, he couldn't really say. His wife just said that he really needs to get better organized. Any suggestions on how to help someone get organized?

His main goal is really to get his website fully functional in English, Spanish and Portuguese, by mid-January when tax season starts. I told him that that's a very short period of time, it's not impossible but to get a website running in 3 languages in 1 month is tight. The other issue is that he is basically bartering services with his IT guy so the IT guy is also the one maintaining the website. I guess what he wants to do is take the maintaining the website part away from him and give it to me so that I can develop it. THe thing is I don't think the website runs on Wordpress so I would need to install Wordpress to even begin working on it. Plus he doesn't even know how to get into his own site to make edits, his IT guy is the one with that info.

We were looking around his website a bit while I was in his office and there are sections that still say "coming soon" and some links, like his newsletter picture, that aren't clickable at all, not to mention that he doesn't even have a newsletter. He also wants to add a section where all his clients, which is about 2000 of them, go to his website and add their contact information so that he can have it stored and maybe once a month he will send out relevant updates to his contact. The thing is he wants the contacts to be able to choose if they want the updates in English, Spanish or Portuguese. Is that possible? I assume that it is but I would need to figure that out. Do you ladies have a suggestion for a contact form I could use?

I guess the next step is for me to email him my suggestion for improvements, along with a contract right? Is there anything else I should send him? Should a job like this really be billed on a project basis instead of hourly? I told him to give me a couple of days to look over everything and that I would get back to him.

I have a feeling I'm going to have my work cut out for me.