I Love Bookkeeping

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Top Tips for Finding and Keeping a Good Mentor Jun 09, 2022

Show notes

Did you have a mentor? If so, are you making the most out of their guiding hand? What have you learned from them so far? Co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan discuss why they believe having a mentor is key to developing and fulfilling your potential. They also reveal how you can find your own mentor and build a long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationship.

Hannah and Melissa both agree on why everybody should have a mentor.
Hannah asks Melissa whether she has an official mentor. Melissa reveals how she found her mentor and how she has been instrumental in the growth of her business.
Melissa and Hannah explore the difference between having a mentor and a business coach.
Melissa describes the three fundamental qualities she looks for in a mentor and she also explains why it's never a good idea to take advice from just anybody.
Hannah breaks down the standout traits that define a good mentor.
Hannah and Melissa describe their experience with mentors early on in their careers. Melissa also shares how a mentor-mentee relationship can evolve into a close friendship.
Melissa explains the reason she believes that mentors choose their mentees, and not the other way around.
Hannah and Melissa explain why you need to get out of your comfort zone if you are to bag yourself a mentor.
Hannah describes the benefits of having a mutually beneficial mentor-mentee relationship.
Melissa shares her thoughts on why she believes mentors should give advice only on what they have experienced firsthand.
Hannah talks about how humility plays a crucial part in cementing a mentor-mentee relationship.
Melissa asks Hannah whether it's appropriate for people to ask other people to mentor them. Her answer is yes.

Mentioned in this episode:

success@ilovebookkeeping.com

How Do Referral Relationships Work? Jun 07, 2022

Show notes

Does your business need a referral partner? Should you even be building referral relationships with other bookkeepers in your space? Co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan share their thoughts on why and how you can build mutually-beneficial referral relationships with other service providers in your space.

Melissa starts off by explaining who an official referral partner is and why you need a signed document that clearly states what you'll both get from the relationship.
Melissa describes the types of referral partners she has in the painting sphere. She also reveals her process of identifying potential partners and the best places to find them.
When asked about her social media marketing strategy, Hannah explains how she primarily focuses on potential buyers and not people who are only interested in her content.
Melissa reveals how she landed their biggest referral partner and how they've benefited from the relationship so far.
Hannah discusses easy-to-implement ideas on overcoming the fear of reaching out to potential referral partners, especially if you're an introvert.
Hannah asks Melissa how she's effortlessly able to manage all her many referral partners without feeling overwhelmed.
Melissa shares how long it took before she could master the art of time blocking.
Melissa talks about the struggles of building a referral relationship and the amount of work it takes to maintain a mutually beneficial one.
Hannah and Melissa explain the benefits of forming referral relationships with other bookkeepers in their space.

Mentioned in this episode:

success@ilovebookkeeping.com

Building Great Relationships With Contractors Jun 02, 2022

Show notes

When should you hire an employee and when should you go for a contractor? Co-hosts Melissa Honan and Hannah Robinson discuss what to consider and what business owners can do to build great relationships with their contractors.

Melissa discusses the differences between a contractor and an employee.
According to Melissa, oftentimes, the first hire is trying to find a contractor for your bookkeeping business. That's followed by you hiring a virtual assistant.
Melissa talks about the subcontractor-based model and the employee-based model, which of the two is not sustainable in the long run, and goes over the approach she uses in her own bookkeeping business.
Hannah shares when she believes most bookkeeping businesses are going to need a contractor.
For Melissa, welcoming contractors into your company culture and treating them as if they were actual employees is an excellent way to get them to stick around and work with you longer – even if they aren't helping you in quite the full-time capacity.
Melissa breaks down the approach and onboarding process she uses for new subcontractors in her business and shares a story that has led her to adopt this onboarding approach.
Melissa offers a breakdown of the bookkeeping services she uses subcontractors for.
There are different ways to find and connect with potential subcontractors, Melissa discusses a few of these options.

Mentioned in this episode:

ILB episode 33 - Are You a Boss or a Leader? Your Pick! with Alyssa Lang

slack.com

BKX.com

bookkeepers.com

success@ilovebookkeeping.com

Are You a Boss or a Leader? Your Pick! with Alyssa Lang May 31, 2022

Show notes

The Workflow Queen, Alyssa Lang, joins co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan to discuss whether you should be a leader or a boss, and how to build a great relationship with your employees.

Hannah asks Alyssa what are some things she does to have boundaries with her employees while also maintaining the fact that Alyssa is the boss.
For Alyssa, the biggest tactic is not being scared to be exactly, and authentically, who she needs to be as a boss.
Alyssa believes in not wanting to be someone's boss, but rather their leader, and being a leader that joins everyone's unique abilities together.
Alyssa shares a big challenge she faces from time to time: "Am I a leader or a boss right now?" She discusses the fact that there are days where it isn't easy for her to be the leader she would like to be, and not a demanding boss.
Melissa has had a team member that always came up with big, visionary ideas. Whenever that happened, she used to be quite reactionary; whereas now she uses a different approach to address the situation in a better way.
Melissa explains how she brings her sales mindset to relationship-building and how other leaders can do the same.
Alyssa goes over how her overall relationship with her employees has evolved over time and touches upon something she's focusing on at the moment.
Hannah sees being able to learn as you go, adapt, and evolve as a great quality of a good leader.
Alyssa, Hannah and Melissa share their thoughts on the concept of company culture.
Alyssa breaks down the five core parts of her company culture and discusses how she goes about assessing the health and well-being of her employees.

Mentioned in this episode:

WorkflowQueen.com

success@ilovebookkeeping.com

Debate: Camera On or Off? May 26, 2022

Show notes

Should you have your camera on or off during zoom meetings? Do the benefits of having your camera turned on in a zoom meeting outweigh the drawbacks? Co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan discuss a hugely contentious topic regarding zoom meetings: camera on or camera off. They go through zoom etiquette tips to help you decide when it's appropriate to have your camera turned on as well as the pros and cons of turning on your video for zoom meetings.

Hannah reveals why she doesn't like turning on video for zoom meetings - and the reason she believes being on camera is taxing, stressful, and unnecessary.
Mellisa explains why more than 90% of people keep looking at themselves during video calls.
Hannah recounts the never told story of how the first episode of the show was an absolute disaster and how their editors made them rerecord the episode.
Mellisa shares her thoughts on why you should always have your video on – and she also goes through some ingenious strategies introverts can use to get comfortable using video.
Mellisa illustrates how communicating through text and audio makes us forget we're human - and how 'video off' means we lose all the eye and body language cues that are crucial for forming connections.
Hannah and Mellisa still can't seem to agree on whether to have video on or off during zoom meetings - but they both agree on some of the issues that cause Zoom fatigue regardless of whether your video is on or off.

Mentioned in this episode:

success@ilovebookkeeping.com

How to Save Your Clients Money May 24, 2022

Show notes

What should bookkeepers think about and actually do to help their clients save money? Co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan share their thoughts, pet peeves, and advice when it comes to saving your clients some of their money.

Melissa shares that she's skilled at being frugal and helping her clients save money.
When asked about pricing, Melissa confirms that her bookkeeping business has higher pricing compared to other ones.
For Melissa, having a toolbox of how to save clients some of their money is going to have an impact on your pricing.
Melissa discusses a service she provides that she refers to as 'her favorite thing to do' – this is something any bookkeeper can do without having much tax knowledge.
Education people don't actually implement is one of the biggest money wasters, according to Melissa.
Hannah asks Melissa what's one thing she believes one shouldn't try to cut corners about.
Melissa shares her frustration with people constantly switching CRM tools.
Hannah talks about something she often sees business owners struggling with, and shares her belief that 'your process is your profit margin'.
Hannah asks Melissa whether there's something she sells in her business that's unique and helps her clients save money.
Melissa shares the first step bookkeepers can take to help their clients save money.

Mentioned in this episode:

Quickbooks

success@ilovebookkeeping.com

Communication Series: Managing Expectations During the Onboarding Process May 19, 2022

Show notes

What should you consider and do to manage expectations, especially during the onboarding process? Co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan discuss the role onboarding has in the entire sales process, how to share your expectations with existing and new clients, and how to act when things don't go well.

Melissa explains why, in her opinion, the onboarding time is actually the most important time of a relationship with a client – and what you should do during onboarding.
Hannah asks Melissa at what time you should communicate your expectations to a client… and her answer is simple, yet, powerful: the entire time.
Melissa shares a recent update she made for her proposal at Bookkeeping for Painters.
Melissa opens up about the way she communicates her expectations to new clients.
Melissa touches upon a question she has been asked a lot lately: "What are the biggest red flags you see in your bookkeeping clients?".
Hannah and Melissa talk about a big mistake many business owners make when it comes to communicating a particular expectation of theirs to new clients.
Hannah asks Melissa how she goes about managing expectations when it doesn't have to do with onboarding that much, but rather with maintaining a client relationship.
Melissa shares a pet peeve she has with those who reply faster to prospects compared to current clients – and she discusses what the best way for you to make more money should look like.
Melissa talks about how relationships with clients have been terminated in her business.

Mentioned in this episode:

ILB episode 28 - Crafting an Effective Sales Process for Your Bookkeeping Business

success@ilovebookkeeping.com

Pre-Qualifying Sales Leads May 17, 2022

Show notes

How should you go about pre-qualifying sales leads? And why should you do that in the first place? Co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan share their thoughts and experiences of the good, the bad, and the ugly of attracting and working with clients.

Hannah thinks that narrowing down who's going to be a good client for you is key, especially when you're starting out.
Melissa strongly recommends against trying to close every single person out of desperation like she did when she started out.
Melissa explains how her bookkeeping for painters business has a funnel that, in addition to painters, attracts other professionals like plumbers and roofers. She wouldn't have but her husband Daniel took the lead in making sure the business only served painters and would send others away.
Melissa talks about the red flags potential clients will say when you ask the right questions during a discovery call – but also if you don't ask them. The biggest red flag, says Melissa, is when a potential client says they have had countless bookkeepers and start talking badly about them.
Hannah shares her belief that having certain clients pre-qualified to be a good fit is something that requires a level of patience and it isn't an easy thing to do.
Melissa discusses how it took her a long time to think about longevity. At first, she was focused on growth, growth, growth, so she could pay people but that approach can lead to a short-sighted sales funnel.
In her business, Melissa uses a form but she has found the best qualifying strategy to be having an actual call with the potential client. She discloses that her sales role is the last thing she would outsource.
When it comes to finding prospects, Melissa and her team try to be everywhere painters are. One way they do that is through partnerships with business coaches who specialize in their industry.
For Hannah, pre-qualifying your clients ensures that your retention rate is the best it can be and it helps you maintain the relationship. However, she stresses, it isn't just all about you but it's about whether that person is a good fit for you too.
Melissa goes over the types of potential clients, including the types she breaks down into two categories, as well as an exercise they use to qualify a certain type of prospect.
For Melissa, one of the biggest frustrations with the bookkeepers she works with are clients that don't respond to them and then also don't care.
Melissa discusses scenarios in which she doesn't want to work with a particular client, and shares some recent changes in her business.

Mentioned in this episode:

Quickbooks

success@ilovebookkeeping.com

Crafting an Effective Sales Process for Your Bookkeeping Business May 12, 2022

Show notes

Co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan talk about the 3 key principles of an effective sales process, as well as some tools you can use to make your own sales process a more efficient one.

[1:33] Hannah asks Melissa what's something that each of her sales processes have in common.

[3:57] For Melissa, crafting an effective sales process starts with the desire to make sales easy.

[6:08] Melissa shares a pet peeve she has when it comes to scheduling meetings.

[9:14] Melissa believes that making it as easy as possible for someone to sign up for a free consultation is key. And she discusses what she asks in the form her prospects have to fill out.

[11:08] Hannah talks about how she goes about buying and touches upon something that she considers a game changer when it comes to sales processes.

[12:04] Melissa talks about the importance of putting yourself in a prospect's or client's shoes and actually going through your own sales process to experience it as they would.

[13:28] Melissa shares her biggest takeaways – and resources – for creating touch-points with potential customers.

[19:44] Melissa has 3 big points in her sales process: making sales easy, having significantly more touch points than you feel comfortable with, and managing expectations.

[23:02] Hannah and Melissa share their thoughts regarding managing clients' expectations.

Mentioned in this episode:

ILB episode 27 - How to Communicate Value as a Bookkeeping Business Owner

success@ilovebookkeeping.com

How to Communicate Value as a Bookkeeping Business Owner May 10, 2022

Show notes

Co-hosts Hannah Robinson and Melissa Honan discuss how to communicate value, the role your mindset plays, and they share an exercise that will help you better articulate what you do in a way that's clear and attracts customers.

[1:14] Even though, in this episode, the topic of communicating value is addressed from the perspective of entrepreneurs and bookkeeping business owners, Hannah believes that it can be applied pretty much anywhere concerning your workplace and relationships.

[1:43] Hannah believes that one of the first things you should do is identify what your value is and identify your promise to your clients. For Melissa, this is one of the reasons why having a niche matters.

[2:09] In Melissa's opinion, the value communication process starts with doing an internal audience.

[3:52] Melissa talks about her "features, benefits and check questions" exercise.

[7:47] Hannah asks Melissa how she goes about communicating value while looking more confident to a potential client even when imposter's syndrome kind of creeps in.

[10:11] Hannah believes that being prepared is a great way to feel confident and avoid the feeling of not knowing what to do next.

[11:09] Melissa goes over how she manages to stay consistent in communicating value to current clients.

[14:04] Melissa shares that, in her opinion, standing out in a particular niche comes down to how you package a concept, the words you use and the enthusiasm you project when discussing or explaining it.

Mentioned in this episode:

Quickbooks

Zoom

success@ilovebookkeeping.com

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