Prepare for your first call with a prospect before you pick up the phone: call back quickly, prepare three questions about their situation, and focus on assessing their needs rather than delivering a sales pitch. Listen first, identify their needs, and provide a rough estimate of fees based on a reference such as the Bankeo Fee Barometer (median of about $3,000 per year for a business client), then propose a specific next step with a set date. It’s the speed of your follow-up and the clarity of the next steps that close the deal.
An entrepreneur who leaves their contact information with an accounting firm has just done something rare: they’ve raised their hand. They have a real need, a deadline in mind, and often a build-up of frustration with their current situation. This first call is the moment that makes or breaks it: if handled well, it turns an inquiry into a closed deal; if improvised, it sends the prospect to the next firm on their list. And yet, while most firms meticulously prepare their financial statements, they completely improvise their calls to prospects.
The good news: a successful first call doesn’t require any salesmanship. It’s a matter of structure, very similar to what you already do on the job: assessing the situation before making a recommendation. This guide details how to prepare before the call, the minute-by-minute structure, the questions that truly qualify the prospect, how to discuss fees without scaring them off, and the follow-up that closes the deal. At Bankeo, where we’ve received over 15,000 requests from entrepreneurs since 2023 and closed hundreds of deals in Canada, one observation keeps coming up: when firms are equally qualified, it’s the quality of the first contact that sets them apart.
The number one factor in conversion isn’t what you say, it’s when you call. A prospect who has just submitted an inquiry is at the peak of their intent: they’re thinking about their problem, they have time on their hands, and they probably haven’t spoken to a competitor yet. Every hour that passes diminishes that intent. Calling back the same day should be the firm’s standard practice, ideally within an hour if the inquiry arrives during business hours. In fact, this is one of the key strategies that maximizes the value of a pre-qualified lead, as explained Our guide to buying accounting leads : Paying for a lead and then calling them back three days later is a waste of money.
Next, five minutes of preparation is all it takes, but it’s non-negotiable:
A good first call follows a simple structure: open, listen, define the scope, outline the plan, and wrap up. Here’s the sequence that works for a call lasting about 20 minutes:
The difference between an unstructured call and a structured call is directly reflected in the closing rate:
| Timing of the Call | Impromptu call | Structured Call |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction | Presentation on the firm and its services | Context confirmed, process outlined |
| Mid-call | The accountant does most of the talking | The prospect speaks; the accountant assesses the situation |
| The Issue of Price | Dodged or improvised on the spot | Estimated range, based on a benchmark |
| End of call | “I’ll send you some information, and we’ll talk again.” | Next specific step, with a set date, led by the firm |
| After the call | Nothing, or a belated follow-up | Summary written the same day |
“The accountants who close the most deals aren’t the best salespeople, they’re the best listeners. When an entrepreneur hangs up thinking, ‘Finally, someone understands my situation,’ the contract is practically signed. The first call is your first mission, not your sales pitch.” ” Arnaud Bertrand, CEO of Bankeo
The call serves as much to convince the prospect as it does to decide whether you want this client. A poorly qualified engagement is costly: mismatched pricing, vague expectations, and a relationship that wears thin. Here are the questions that help you screen prospects, grouped by purpose:
This screening process has a second benefit: it allows you to say no early on. A prospect who is outside your area of expertise or incompatible with your way of working should be referred elsewhere, politely and promptly. Your time spent on business development is your scarcest resource, as shown by Our Analysis of Time Wasted Looking for Clients : Wasting it on poorly aligned engagements is the most costly drain on a firm’s resources.
The question of price almost always comes up, and dodging it is the worst possible response: the prospect will conclude that it will be expensive, or that you don’t have a firm grasp of your offering. Conversely, throwing out a figure off the top of your head, without having assessed the scope of the project, will set you up for trouble throughout the entire relationship. The right approach consists of three steps:
A point of principle: never apologize for your fees. The prospect isn’t looking for the cheapest accountant, they’re looking for someone who will take a weight off their shoulders. If your pricing strategy makes you uncomfortable, you need to rework your fee schedule beforehand, not your confidence during the call. And if your firm is looking to expand its client base beyond inbound calls, the channels compare in Our guide to finding clients for your accounting firm and measure themselves against The Cost of Acquiring an Accounting Client.
An excellent call without follow-up is as good as a failed call. Three steps close the loop:
Finally, track your progress. For each lead, note the source, the follow-up timeframe, whether or not a call took place, whether a proposal was sent, and the outcome. Within a few months, this simple table will show you exactly where your leads are falling through the cracks: whether it’s due to a delayed follow-up, the call itself, or the follow-up process. This is the same data-driven management approach that Bankeo applies to the credibility of firms with The Bankeo Trust Index : You can only improve what you measure.
And remember that the quality of the initial inquiry sets the tone for everything else: a well-structured call is much more likely to convert when the prospect’s needs have already been verified. That’s the logic behind Bankeo Pro : pre-qualified requests from business owners, matched to your firm’s profile, often within 48 hours, with fees per file known in advance, never a percentage of your fees.
How soon should you call back a prospect who has submitted a request? On the same day, ideally within an hour during business hours. A prospect’s interest can quickly wane: the longer you wait to follow up, the more time they have to contact another firm or put off their decision.
How long should an initial call with a prospect last? 20 to 30 minutes: long enough to make an accurate assessment and outline next steps, yet short enough to fit into an entrepreneur’s schedule. A five-minute call doesn’t qualify anything; an hour-long call should have been an in-person meeting.
Should you give a price during the first call? Provide a rough estimate based on a benchmark, such as the median of approximately $3,000 per year for the Bankeo Fee Barometer For a business client, explain what causes the amount to vary. Save the exact figure for a written proposal to be sent within 48 hours.
What should you do if the prospect is comparing several firms? It’s healthy, and it’s normal: embrace the comparison rather than dread it. A summary written the same day, a clear proposal, and a scheduled next step set the standard against which other firms will be measured.
How can you tell if a prospect is a no-go right from the first call? If the client’s needs fall outside your area of expertise, their expectations are incompatible with your working style, they have a history of conflicts with previous accountants, or they refuse to provide basic information, it’s better to politely refer them to someone else than to take on an engagement that will quickly fall apart.
How does Bankeo help accounting firms with that first contact? The requests received by Bankeo are pre-qualified: the client’s needs are described and verified, and the profile is matched to your firm. You call back a business owner who is waiting for your call, with their background information already in hand, and you pay a fee per file that is known in advance, never a percentage of your fees.
By Arnaud Bertrand, CEO of Bankeo. Bankeo Pro connects more than 1,500 registered accounting firms with pre-qualified requests from entrepreneurs across Canada: qualified clients, with no cold calling required (4.7/5 based on over 180 Google reviews). Discover Bankeo Pro for your firm.
Bankeo attracts entrepreneurs, filters them, and presents you with leads that match your practice. A fee per file is charged, and the amount is known in advance.
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