How To Get Bookkeeping Clients Using LinkedIn (3 Easy Steps)

If you want to know how to get bookkeeping clients, then look no further than LinkedIn as your go-to resource. Do note that you must use LinkedIn the RIGHT way or you’ll fail. The good news is that using LinkedIn is NOT that difficult. Learn how to get bookkeeping clients by leveraging LinkedIn with this simple, three-step formula. In this article:

1. What Is LinkedIn?
2. What Can You Do on LinkedIn?
3. 3 Simple Steps to Help You Get Bookkeeping Clients on LinkedIn

How to Get Bookkeeping Clients on LinkedIn Easily

What Is LinkedIn?

Before I go into discussing how to get bookkeeping clients on LinkedIn, let me first talk about this platform. Simply put, LinkedIn is a social networking site for professional networking. It encourages people to form professional connections, build their network, hire someone (as an employer), or get a job (as a job seeker). This can benefit accountants and bookkeepers, especially those who are just starting out, in various ways:

• This platform can help rookie bookkeepers build their network and form relationships with people in the industry. These connections may prove valuable over time since they can lead to referrals, job opportunities, and keep you in the loop when it comes to industry-specific news and trends.
• LinkedIn can open up opportunities to develop your career, so you can connect with other professionals who have already established their careers in the industry and are looking to mentor a newbie.
• Clients can also find you directly on LinkedIn and vice versa. This can help you cut out the middleman, allowing you to communicate and make your own deals with the client directly.

Like other social networking sites, it’s easy to join LinkedIn. Another great thing is it’s free, and you can sign up at any time. You just have to sign up and build your profile by providing some information, such as your career history and skill set. Colleagues and clients can also write a testimonial to describe your career strengths and their overall experience working with you.

What Can You Do on LinkedIn?

How can you use LinkedIn to attract the attention of people looking for bookkeeping services? Here are some features you can utilize to build your business, especially if you want to get the attention of potential clients:

1. Post Blogs

If you’re looking into blogging as a marketing strategy to advertise your services or build your authority in the industry, LinkedIn can help with that. The platform can allow users to read the content of expertise you publish on your profile. This helps increase your credibility as a professional expert in your niche, as an accountant or bookkeeper.

2. Participate in Groups

A great way to use LinkedIn is to participate in groups related to your field of interest. You can connect, join, and even start participating in communities that help you to attract new clients and let your target market notice you more easily. Once you’ve joined a group, you can also connect and network with group members. This can help you expand your network and form meaningful connections that can jumpstart or advance your career.

3. Connect with People You Know and Other Professionals

By using LinkedIn, you can also find and get in touch with your old colleagues, increase your connections, and reach out to potential clients. Aside from using this site to get clients from home, you can also use LinkedIn to connect with other professionals in the industry. Not only that, you can extend your search internationally and get the chance to connect and work with international clients like tax professionals.

4. Apply for Jobs

Aside from finding like-minded people you want to connect with on LinkedIn, you can directly apply for virtual bookkeeping jobs using the platform. LinkedIn sends recommendations on jobs you might be interested in, helping you get a job easily. If you know of companies that are hiring bookkeepers, you can search for them on the platform, and then apply there directly. Through the “Jobs” tab on the menu, you can even see similar job postings based on the last position you applied for.

5. Utilize Your Profile to Increase Your Professional Image

Another good thing about LinkedIn is that you can use your profile to increase your image as a professional. You can link your LinkedIn profile when you send applications or proposals to companies. Some companies even ask for your LinkedIn profile or other professional accounts, so it would be advantageous if you already have an established profile on the platform.

3 Simple Steps to Help You Get Bookkeeping Clients on LinkedIn

Step 1: “U Got the Look”

“You got the look, you got the hook!” If Prince said it, it must be true. You need to LOOK great on LinkedIn, and you need to HOOK your prospects immediately. To hook your prospects and referral partners, you need to understand that:

“your LinkedIn profile is all about THEM…”

Repeat after me: “My LinkedIn profile is NOT about me!” Most people use LinkedIn as a resume, focusing on who THEY are, but that’s not how you attract clients. While you still want to show who you are and why you rock, your profile is much more about your prospective clients and referral partners than you. So, how do you make your profile rock on LinkedIn? There are three elements to a rockin’ LinkedIn profile:

1. Professional photo
2. Throat-grabbing headline
3. Action-oriented summary

Here’s a quick exercise: think about the last movie trailer you saw that really drew you in and made you say, “I gotta see that flick!” I bet that the trailer had all the elements of an optimized LinkedIn profile. Your photo is the cinematography. If the movie trailer looks like it was shot on a flip-phone by a kindergartener, you probably paid no attention. The same holds true for your profile. LinkedIn is NOT Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat. Ditch the iPhone candid shot of you at the beach. LinkedIn ain’t the place for that!

“Get a professional photo to use on your LinkedIn profile.”

Next, going back to our movie trailer exercise is the voice-over — the words used, the tone, the dramatic effect all drew you in and made you lean forward in your seat. While you’re not presenting the next Academy Award-winning film on LinkedIn, your headline is what draws in your audience. You’ve got ONE chance to tell a prospective client or referral partner that they need to check you out. With a great headline, you do just this. Let’s get one thing clear about the headline: your profile headline is the sales pitch for your sales pitch. What I mean is: the headline is there to draw your prospect’s attention and make them want to read on. You need your prospects to keep reading, so you can wow them with how you will help them achieve the results THEY desire. As you develop your LinkedIn profile, you should spend more time on the headline than any other element — it’s THAT important. If the movie trailer has boring dialogue, you’re back to eating popcorn. Don’t let your prospects return to their popcorn; draw them into your profile with a headline that rocks. You’ve drawn them in and wowed them; now, it’s time for a killer summary with a great call to action. The summary is a clear, succinct way of telling your prospect why YOU are the best person to help THEM achieve their desired results and what action they need to take now. The summary details and supports the promise you made in your headline and should ALWAYS end with a clear call-to-action. Think of it like this: you love everything about the movie trailer, so now you want to know. When can you see this flick? You don’t have to guess because the film producer clearly tells you when and where to see the movie. Imagine if they showed you an amazing trailer only to leave you with no “next move.” Don’t do this with your LinkedIn profile. You’ve grabbed your prospect’s attention, and they’re stoked about you! Now, ask yourself: “What action do I want this person to take as a result of reading my awesome LinkedIn profile?” Most of the time, it’s a clear and simple action to enter your marketing funnel. That could mean an email, a call, or a free resource for your prospect to download (in exchange for their name and email). Whatever the next move you want your prospect to take, be sure to articulate this at the end of your summary. Please make it EASY for them. RELATED: Starting A Bookkeeping Business

Step 2: Build Your LinkedIn Network Without Being Creepy

If you’ve spent any time on earth, you know what creepy is. It’s the guy at the bar who sees a pretty girl and stares awkwardly Or, the girl on the first date who starts naming your future children. #creepy If you’ve spent any time on LinkedIn, you’ll discover that creeps hang out there as well.

Don’t be a LinkedIn creep!

To build your network as a bookkeeper on LinkedIn is so much more than just getting connections. Knowing how to get more clients is about developing a system to find quality prospects and referral partners with whom you can SERVE. Now, I want to take a moment and bust a myth. The overwhelming majority of your success as a bookkeeper on LinkedIn comes not from prospects contacting you; it comes from YOU contacting prospects. Most people think you can just set up a LinkedIn profile and get a line of prospective clients. Sure, you might get some clients this way, but you’ll lose a lot of weight between now and then waiting for your meal ticket to be punched! Understand that success on LinkedIn comes from your OUTREACH, not clients finding you magically. The first step of outreach on LinkedIn is to build your network. Here is a quick three-step formula to build your network on LinkedIn:

1. Connect with all your friends, family, and colleagues first
2. Find groups (strategically selected) and join
3. Provide value to your network or give to get

Finding the right kind of groups and “working the room,” so to speak, are critical to your success.

Step 3: “Set It and Forget It”…NOT!

Ronco Rotisserie® made millions with the promise of “set it and forget it.” But, LinkedIn ain’t supper…it’s a tool to help you bring home the bacon. LinkedIn (like most things in life worth pursuing) is not something you set and forget. It takes a little attention. Your attention (just 15 minutes a day) is met with a great return on your investment in the form of new bookkeeping clients and referral partners. To succeed on LinkedIn, you must adopt a long-term strategy that is part of the overall media marketing plan of your bookkeeping business. LinkedIn is a marathon, not a sprint! There are lots of activities you could be doing on LinkedIn, but you want to know precisely how to get bookkeeping clients. You should ONLY be doing the activities that bring you desired RESULTS and results that you can measure with accuracy. With landing great bookkeeping clients as your desired outcome, here are the top three results-oriented activities for you to focus your LinkedIn efforts:

1. Communicate in an orderly, systematic fashion with connections
2. Connect with 5-10 new prospects and referral partners every day
3. Share valuable content with your network

So, drop the mic and there you have it: the three-step formula for using LinkedIn to get quality bookkeeping clients for your practice. To recap how to get bookkeeping clients using LinkedIn, here is a short list:

1. Create a beautiful profile
2. Get connections (and don’t be a creep)
3. Develop a plan and work it DAILY!

I enjoy helping professional bookkeepers discover how to get bookkeeping clients and create the business of their dreams. Whatever I can do to help you with yours, I’m here. What other things about how to get clients on LinkedIn would you like to know? I’d love to hear your comments and questions in the comments section below! Up Next: 7 Clever Client Management Tips For Entrepreneurs Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on August 22, 2016, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.