Use this when your work fixes problems accountants see in their clients' businesses: messy books, cloud accounting set-up, failed laptops and backups, business insurance, a cash flow squeeze. Bookkeepers, BAS agents, IT support businesses and brokers get the most from it, but any business that suits an accountant's clients can use it.
Pick practices whose website names the kinds of clients you serve, and write to the principal or a named accountant. Avoid the weeks around BAS due dates and the end of the financial year. The email asks for a coffee, not a referral, because accountants refer people they've met or seen work. The accountants page covers who they refer to and the disclosure rules, and getting referrals from other businesses covers the habit of keeping a referral partner.
The template
Hi [First name], I’m [Your name] from [Business name] in [Your town]. Most of our clients are [Kind of client] businesses, and we [What you do for them]. I saw on your website that you look after a lot of [Kind of client] businesses. When one of them asks you who to call about [Problem you fix], I’d like to be a name you can give. [Proof line] I’m not offering or asking for a referral fee. I’d just like you to know who we are. Would a coffee in the next few weeks suit? Thanks, [Your name] [Business name], ABN [ABN] [Phone] If you’d rather not hear from me, reply ’unsubscribe’ and I’ll take you off my list.
What to put in each part
| Part | What to put there |
|---|---|
| [What you do] | Your service in the accountant’s words: ’Bookkeeping’, ’IT support’, ’Business insurance’. |
| [Kind of client] | The clients you share, taken from their website: ’trade’, ’hospitality’, ’farm’. It is used in the subject and twice in the body, so pick a word that reads well before ’businesses’. |
| [First name] | The principal or a named accountant from the practice’s team page. |
| [Your name] | Your first name. |
| [Business name] | Your registered business or trading name. |
| [Your town] | Where you’re based. |
| [What you do for them] | One concrete thing, such as ’keep their files reconciled every week’ or ’look after their email, backups and accounting software’. |
| [Problem you fix] | What the client actually says to their accountant: ’a pile of receipts’, ’a laptop that died before BAS’. |
| [Proof line] | Your registration, or a shared client: ’I’m a registered BAS agent.’ or ’We already look after one of your clients, who’s happy for me to mention it.’ Delete it if neither fits. |
| [ABN] | Your ABN. |
| [Phone] | A mobile you answer. |
Filled in, for a made-up business
Hi Anika, I’m Raj from Range Office IT in Toowoomba. Most of our clients are farm businesses, and we look after their email, backups and accounting software. I saw on your website that you look after a lot of farm businesses. When one of them asks you who to call about a laptop that died the week before BAS, I’d like to be a name you can give. We already look after one of your clients, who’s happy for me to mention it. I’m not offering or asking for a referral fee. I’d just like you to know who we are. Would a coffee in the next few weeks suit? Thanks, Raj Range Office IT, ABN 00 000 000 000 0400 000 000 If you’d rather not hear from me, reply ’unsubscribe’ and I’ll take you off my list.
Tips
Start with accountants your clients use
Ask a happy client who does their books, and whether they’d mention you. A shared client is the strongest start you can have.
Time it for mid-quarter
Accountants are flat out around BAS due dates and the end of the financial year. An email in a quiet week gets read.
Close the loop after a referral
Thank them, and with the client’s permission, tell them how it went. It’s the reason they send the next one.
Stay in your lane
Never give tax advice or criticise the accountant’s work to a client. It’s the quickest way off their list.
Or have it done for you
Curlew writes and sends introductions like this in your business name, up to 50 a day, and passes on anyone interested.
Mistakes to avoid
Pitching your services to the accountant
They may buy IT or cleaning for their own office, but that’s a different email. Mix the two and it reads like a sales list.
Leading with a referral fee
It turns a favour into a conflict the accountant has to manage and disclose. Many will simply say no.
Asking for a referral on day one
Accountants refer people they trust with their clients. Ask for a coffee and let the referrals follow.