So I got question is from a lovely bookkeeper, and she says, "Currently I do not have a website. Does your program offer any training or provide any information on having a website that stands out?"
Now, regardless whether you're planning to join the program or not, and whether you currently have a website or not, this blog is going to give you the strategies you need about WEBSITES and CLIENT ATTRACTION – because that's primarily why we have a website in the first place. And I'm going to give you some insights into so much more, so as to help you build your thriving practice, delight your clients, and live your dream on your terms.
A quick & very special reminder: the doors to The Strategic Bookkeeper Transformation Program will open AUGUST 1! So I want to ask you: Are you ready to move from being busy to thriving? Are you ready to come into a community that will support you and lift you up, to build the business and life of your dreams? Because, I am ready to hold your hand every step of the way and help you go from strength to strength.
And I tell you, there is no better time than right NOW.
To celebrate the launch of the Transformation Program, there are foundation member bonuses. And, I have even priced the program to suit every bookkeeper, topped off with a money-back guarantee! Just join the waitlist, and you'll get all the details. You can also check out the podcast dedicated to this. I want to help you build a thriving practice, delight your clients, and, ultimately, live your dream on your terms. This is exactly what I've done in my practice, and now it's my heart's desire to help you do exactly the same things.
So, as I've created the Transformation Program, I have absolutely imagined me as a bookkeeper, at the very beginning of my journey. I was starting my practice with a baby in my belly, never knowing where this journey would take me, but just wanting to get started and have a crack and have a go and figure it out as I went along.
In terms of when I did decide to get a website, that was fairly early on because I'm very future focused around the tech and economic landscape. I like to recognise what is happening, what is coming, and be an early adopter. I started out with a free website from way back then – Yellow Pages.
But then, I started to realise that my little business was growing and I got that spark and that itch for wanting to do something more. And so I tried a web developer, but it didn't do anything. If we think about the purpose of your website, it's really client attraction.
A website is where people should be able to get to KNOW and TRUST you, so that they can see if your vibe is their vibe, and
if they think you can solve their problems.
So ultimately, this is about having a website that can GET FOUND on Google and that your prospective clients are able to start with in order to get to KNOW YOU, 24/7 digitally online. This was not such a big thing way back then. If somebody was referred to you, they would ring you. These days, that is not the case. Post-pandemic, if somebody is referred to you, they're going to want to check you out online and they're going to want to buy when they are ready.
So back then, I did try to put myself in the hands of people that were telling me they knew what they were doing. I remember my first couple of iterations of websites. I was raised by a really successful entrepreneur who got advertising right, and a website definitely is a form of your advertising. And I thought, this isn't working.
So one day I met someone and he was part of an organisation that had a reputation for being the biggest and the best, and they were pretty expensive in website development. It seemed like this guy knows what he's doing. So I threw a heap of money at him, and he made me something that looked really, really nice.
He made me something that looked really, really good – but got me zero results.
And while that was frustrating to me, it was also fascinating. And so long story short, I sat down and thought about the things that influenced his success, and I then proceeded to design and develop my website myself. Now, I didn't do the technical aspect. That is actually the easier part. At the time, I got connected to a lovely guy that lives in Pakistan that used to do a lot of work for a business buddy of mine, so there was good reputation. And so I gave him the full brief. I designed the website and everything that was going to go in it, and he put it into the WordPress template.
In terms of being found on Google, SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION sounds technical, and look, these days it is much more technical. We've actually recruited an SEO person for The Strategic Bookkeeper team. (I'll kind of pause and just remind you that with The Strategic Bookkeeper Transformation Program, you'll get my team behind the scenes that conceivably you couldn't recruit yourself, in order to help you with all these technicalities along with my little black book.)
And so what happened back then, and still to this day, there is a truth in search engine optimization –
the first thing that you need to do is show off online with GOOD CONTENT, and to make sure that you're visible.
So that's kind of like step one. Once again, these days a little more complex, but I did those things. I built a strategic website based on everything I knew in business, contra to what these alleged professionals were telling me. I built it the way that I knew sales worked, and it worked for me.
But, I'm going to tell you something else. It was some years ago when I really nailed my website by building it myself (about eight or so years) – and then we asked ourselves, what's changed in eight years?
As you may know, I work strategically with many of my clients. And one client I was working with, he is in the electrician trade kind of space, he was getting a website built, and he asked me to have a look at the website build. So I got on and had a look, and I spoke to his developer. And I said to his developer, "This website is absolutely beautiful. Visually, it is absolutely gorgeous." And he said to me, "Thank you so much. I think it is too." I said, "It is. Honestly, it is gorgeous. But I do not see it generating any SALES." And look, the basis of that was,
while the graphics were beautiful and everything about it was pretty,
it didn't have the strategic moving parts
– those that called the website visitor to action, that offered up a COMPETITIVE EDGE, unique SELLING PROPOSITIONS, back to call to actions, profile, results-based MARKETING, and everything else that you need to have in a website.
Now, here's the really shocking part about that story. That web developer said to me, "I agree." He said, "I agree that this website has not been built to generate sales whatsoever." And so of course, I inquired why he had done that then, and he told me that he was unable to get from the client the images and the various things that he needed in order to make it a website that converted the visitors into actual customers. And so he just did his best and built a pretty website rather than a powerful part of a SALES MACHINE, which to be honest is what a website is designed to be.
The moral of that story is, many web developers are graphic designers, and graphic designers are often built to make visually beautiful stuff, but not necessarily understand the SALES PROCESS and all the other parts of how to build a strategic website.
A year ago, another client of mine got really excited as well because she was building a new website, and from the get go I thought, oh crap, I've got a crystal ball, I can see the problem she's going to have. Because, she got cracking with a web developer and started to make all the cool stuff and the cool assets, without having a mapped out PLAN that would make it far more PROCESS-DRIVEN than creative.
And really, I do believe that's how you build a strategic, smart website that does what it's meant to do. If we think about that, when somebody visits your website, they're able to get the information they need, they're able to get to KNOW, LIKE, and TRUST you. They're able to see your profile, your REPUTATION... They're able to build your competitive advantage based on what they're seeing. And so if you have a process for building a website that is going to work, then it's simply about that step-by-step process and just implementing that over a very tight timeline.
So this client of mine, they think at the beginning, yay, build the website, and they've engaged a professional, "we'll be done with this in no time". And a year later they're telling me, "We haven't actually finished that website. I just don't know how to do this bit and that bit." Problem is, only they can do it. The web developer can make stuff look pretty and they can maybe do some other stuff, but a marketing copywriter is actually probably a really important piece of the puzzle as well.
And just to pause again, in terms of the Transformation Program, guess what, you get two marketing copywriters at the moment. You get my amazing head strategist, lead strategist, and I personally am a passionate marketing copywriter myself.
Now, in my book, I give you a playbook and I give you some suggested website pages and I give you some help in there and talk about a lot around that. But, let's talk about program and how it helps you, as that's what the question is also about.
So back to the beginning of my journey, I held myself in my mind and I said, if I had known this, if I had have had this kind of help, if somebody had of stepped in and did this for me and with me, what would the impact of those things have been? And here's what I came up with – I thought, it would've been helpful for someone to tell me everything I NEED to know. That's the EDUCATION piece. And then, if I already know all of those things, it would've been helpful if they just gave me a whole lot of stuff that I needed done for me, like the digital ASSETS and collateral.
Then once I got told what I needed to know and got even all that great digital collateral, I know from experience that I would've needed that person to help me IMPLEMENT it all. To just hold my hand every step of the way, definitely for the first year, so that I could practice and fall over, ask questions, try again, and get it all right. And then I thought, who were the other kinds of experts and professionals that I need to help me with this stuff ongoing? And that was the TEAM. So it'd be great if,
rather than having to figure all that out myself and go and try and find these professionals, and then make all the mistakes that I've made along the way and just being clueless around who I need to do what...
It would've been great if someone said, "Oh, don't worry. You just need this, this, this, and actually we've got those people in the little black book."
And then the very last thing was, throughout my journey, I was constantly meeting suppliers and other bookkeepers (and definitely I've told the story of how helpful Dext was in my bookkeeping practice), but ultimately, I never met anyone that knew more than I did. And so, I actually felt alone. That there is the last piece of the puzzle – the SUPPORT. I thought, imagine if I had have had somebody that was there to support me with a team behind them, and then imagine if they put me in a community of people came together and we lifted each other up to do all this...
That's how I came up with Education, Assets, Implementation, Team, and Support. So in terms of developing your website, we give you all that in the program. Just to rinse and repeat, The Strategic Bookkeeper Transformation Program is not static. It's not like I build it once and then, "Off you go, best of luck." – It is a program that will EVOLVE over time. As I always say, the world never stops spinning, the tech and economic landscape never stops changing. And so, you can expect me and team HQ to be in the program with you, listening and asking questions, and changing with you and changing with the industry and providing you with the things that you tell us that you need and want.
And right now, as a bookkeeper, you've either got a website, haven't got a website, or you're in the middle of trying to build one. (If you are, I feel the pain.) Well, the Transformation Program's going to actually help anyone in any of those situations because I have absolutely held all of you in my mind as I've developed the program. So if you don't have a website, or if you do or if you're developing one, I designed a solution that kind of helps all of you.
My team and I have developed and refined a beautiful and killer BROCHURE
– and it has all the moving parts of what you would put in a WEBSITE, along with a place for your BRAND. Within that brochure, you're going to have all The Strategic Bookkeeper unique selling propositions and SELLING POINTS, which is made visual with MODELS, your CERTIFICATIONS, and more. These all contributes to your competitive advantage and helps you make clients outcome and value focused, not cost focused.
And, all that contributes also to your PROFILE. Basically, that brochure has a marketing copy included which is meant to tell a STORY.
It's designed to CAPTURE your prospective clients and clients
in a way that CONNECTS them as to why they're going to use you.
If you listen to any of my other podcasts or you've read the book, you'll know that I rattle on a lot about helping bookkeepers to be able to talk in why language.
Because, people don't buy what you do, which is the bookkeeping.
They certainly don't want to pay a premium for it – they buy WHY you do it.
For example, bookkeeping is globally recognised as pillar one for the success of any business. And, we know that successful business owners know and use their numbers – how well do you know and use yours? You can see how I'm transforming what language into why, and there's a whole lot more in terms of the psychology which I'm not going to break down here.
So in that brochure, we showcase results-based MARKETING. Whether you have no clients right now or you have clients, I will show you exactly how you can put your results-based marketing in there.
And just a tip,
anything that comes out of someone's mouth that they say about you, whether they're currently paying you a fee or not, is something you can use in your results-based marketing
– because it's what someone's saying about you. So in the program, we make sure that we're showcasing those results, what others are saying about you, which then stacks your REPUTATION.
Circling back to the profile, there's other things that we insert in there, but the key to understand here is that the brochure has some of the moving parts that make it work and make it stand out, because this brochure becomes a brief for a web developer – a really big part of the process in developing your website.
So, from your profile and your reputation, we move on to your MENU, which there's a whole chapter in my book. In the brochure, we dissect the menu and we kind of turn it into a story. So that includes your VISION for your client, your MISSION on how you're going to achieve that vision, the key problems that your clients face, the customer journey, the key benefits and outcome you're going to achieve for them, your guarantees, and we definitely make sure that we've got clear ways to allow them to take action, which are Calls To Action.
The other thing to note there is, your PRODUCT LADDER is a part of this beautiful brochure. And actually, your brochure is a part of your product ladder as well. There's a whole podcast on that – you've got content, welcome lines, core products, and succession products. And your welcome lines are actually Calls To Action.
So for you to go out and develop that brochure by yourself... you would need a really great graphic designer, an exceptional copywriter, and you would actually need someone to do what is normally called a full brand strategy where they understand your industry and they dive into the problems, the solutions, they develop your vision, your mission, everything else. You would need all of these things, and that would easily cost you in excess of $10,000 for the brochure alone. If you're going to go out and create that yourself and develop a website and all of those things, you're going to spend 2, 3, 4 times what you're going to spend in the Transformation Program. And let me tell you right now, none of those people are going to give you a money-back guarantee.
Let me tell you right now, if you have got someone that has developed that entire process for you – so I am a bookkeeper who has spent 13 years in practice, and I had to build my own website because nobody was able to get me a result. I've tested iterations and I've worked out what doesn't work and what works. I have had well-meaning experts over the years tell me, "No, no, no, Jeanie, you are wrong and we know what works and you change yours up." I've tried everything, and I've been able to try, and fail, and work it out – you're going to get all of that experience from me.
So to rinse and repeat, that brochure is going to be the most incredible brief for your web developer. That is going to save you so much MONEY and so much TIME, and that alone can easily give you the return on investment on the program.
Another thing about that brochure and something I'm really passionate about, is I'm developing it so that you can have it printed really, really beautifully.
Imagine that you speak Italian and you are trying to speak to someone who speaks English, but they don't speak Italian and you don't speak English – that is what it is often as a bookkeeper trying to convey your VALUE to a prospective client, or your market.
And what I want to do is give you a translation device, and that brochure acts like a translation device. And guess why I know? Because even I do it. Recently my right hand said to me, "Oh, Jeannie, you know what, I always find myself reverting back to the what language and not the why." And I said to her, Me too. It's okay, me too. I'm a bookkeeper too. That's why I have a menu that I pick up and I use as a translator, and I point to it and I read from it, and it helps me to take that bookkeeper hat off and put the PR hat on and talk client.
The brochure is a SALES and MARKETING collateral that you give to yourself when you're in the role of the person who is looking for more people to help and solve problems for, so rather than have them look at you confused and scratching their head, they nod, and they shoulders drop and they relax and they say, "Oh my goodness, how did you know?". And sometimes, the outcome there is just for you to be able to relax and just think, "Gosh, I don't even really know how this works. I feel like I'm saying the same thing." And guess what?
You are saying the same thing,
but you are now speaking the same language.
So, that brochure serves as a brief for a web developer, but it also serves as collateral you can take to any NETWORKING event that you go to. It serves as the basis for your video sales letters, which I will hold your hand and walk you through developing and give you all the support you need to create amazing video collaterals. (If that scares you, don't worry, because I will move heaven and earth to get you there.) We can do some done-for-you collaterals as well, but I'm going to work with you and the tribe to make sure that we do what's right for you and what works for you.
To sum it up, that beautiful brochure is an asset that works in Brand, Menu, Attraction, Conversion, and it actually works in Systems and Team – because it is a part of what you are giving to the team to convey your vision and mission, which the team is living every day to achieve your vision for your client. This is something that threads throughout every ingredient in my seven-step method in order create an impact. But, for this blog, it was mainly around how I help you with your website – how I help you build from scratch, or renovate your existing, or get through the pain of being stuck right now in a process where you thought the website would be done ages ago and it's not done.
If you've got a website now, I DON'T want you to get into the program and go, "Oh, okay. Well then the first thing I need to do is renovate my entire brand."
NO, NO, NO, NO, NO.
What I want to do is give you done-for-you assets and collateral that will allow you to start kicking goals, while we go about renovating your brand. I want to be able to give you things to hit the ground running, so that we don't have to stop and do work that doesn't immediately generate RESULTS.
So hopefully, that's given you some insights into how The Strategic Bookkeeper Transformation Program solves that problem. Now, I would encourage you to join the waitlist NOW as we don't have never ending capacity, and doing so is going to reserve your spot for the August 1 launch, together with bonus specials x
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