I have lurked here on the forum for a long time. Thought it was time to join and start contributing.

So, for my first contribution I thought that I would share with you guys exactly how I started building my offline consulting business earlier this year (2011). And, to really help out I wanted to share the prospecting / new client acquisition method that helped me get to my first $5,000 a month in billings.

I found the prospecting system that revolutionized my business on the Warrior Forum (I know what you are thinking, and I actually agree with you - most of the stuff over there is junk). But, I bought this WSO earlier this year.

Being new here on BHW I cannot post URL's - that is cool. If you do a search here on BHW for this phrase in the title, you will find the method that I am using:

The Amazing Google Maps Placement Letter That Gets New Clients

This is the EXACT METHOD that I use even to this day. A couple of things happened when I started to follow this method - I started to focus on just Google Places optimization - which focused my business. And, I also found with Google Places SEO that it was an easier sale (especially with this method).

Here is the bottom line - this method helped me to land my first 4 clients within 1 month. And, it is from these first 4 clients that I started to generate $5,000 a month in revenue.

On average when I send out 10 of these reports I will land at least 1 new client. And, on average that 1 new client will be worth between $300 - $500 a month to me. Also, the reports do position me as an expert when the prospects call me - which makes the sales process better / easier.

Lastly, the final piece of the puzzle for me was finding a great guy who specializes in Google Places SEO (I do not do the SEO work myself) to do the actual optimization work (I work with him on a sliding scale of what I pay him dependent on what I am making from each Places gig I land). This enables me to focus on obtaining new clients.

Thats about it guys. Bottom line - get the WSO listed above and send out 30 reports or so and you will be shocked and amazed when prospects / new clients actually CALL YOU. Then, just scale it up - rinse and repeat.

Here is to a great 2012.

Have any questions - post them here on the thread. I will be happy to answer whatever I can for you.

Thanks!

Congrats and thanks for sharing this info. I am always looking for new ways to land clients. I wll have to check out the WSO. I missed this one so thanks for drawing attention to it.

Happy New Year

thanks for the info i will take a look at it

here is the link for the lazy guys

http://www.blackhatworld.com/blackha...w-clients.html

Rep given for the single fact that you haven't race for your post count, and your share is great !

I sincerly hope that 2012 will be the year for you !

I have looked at the report (WSO) and it seems it is a once off fixed price service.

Do you charge similar start-up costs as outlined in the WSO, and additionally charge a monthly recurring to keep results going?

If not, how do you price your product - just a monthly with no start-up?

How do you justify, if at all, your monthly recurring to the owner, other than just saying 'so it doesn't drop'?

I'm very interested in creating recurring revenue streams for myself (much more than one time payments). I read the WSO and it is great (will see if I can implement it here, Australia has a much lower pop.) - but the one thing that was turning me off was the one time payment.

Your thread seems to suggest otherwise though, so I'll wait for you to chime in.

Gave you some rep to chew on

Thanks for the kudo. Have a good one.

Originally Posted by abysse

Rep given for the single fact that you haven't race for your post count, and your share is great !

I sincerly hope that 2012 will be the year for you !

That part of the WSO I do not follow to the letter of his plan.

To answer your questions:

I will always try and charge a start-up fee. I will usually try and get a start-up fee that is equal to whatever I am charging per month for the contract. If I am charging them $500 a month then I will charge them at least that for a start-up fee.

I charge monthly to answer your question. And, another strong selling point - I do not make them sign any type of contract. I have found that this is a strong selling tool. And, I have nothing to lose. I do tell them that it will take at least 2 months to get them to the first page (and, no I do not promise them that I will get them there, either).

These small business owners are desperate - and, Google Places is a real thing that they understand, that is what makes this method so powerful. And, again - this positions us as the expert (cuts out all of the objection handling crap, etc.). I then start to ask for referrals after the 1st month.

Also, I usually sell the gig over the phone. I had one client that I met with out of the original deals I mentioned in the original thread. This was a large furniture store chain.

Also, the original WSO mentions that you should go after businesses that advertise in papers, magazines, etc. I still do that. But, I have changed the system a bit and now I also go after guys that are advertising on yellow pages (online) as well. I started going after yellow pages online guys because I was having problems finding enough prospects to go after in the papers, etc.

To answer your other question - I have not had to have the "justify my prices" conversation with the biz owners. I believe it is because at the end of the day - $500 a month for them to pay me for their Google Places is reasonable. You asked a good question - but, it just has not come up.

To your last question - divert from his pricing approach (the one in the WSO). Here is what I do - when they ask me about how much it costs I tell them that I normally charge a start up fee of $1000 and I normally charge $750 a month for my service and that it will take about 2 months to get them to page 1 of Google Places. And, then I pause (shut up) after I say this! I wait to see what they say and then I go from there. My objective is the $500 a month - that is what I am after. If they balk at the start-up fee, then I lower it a bit, etc. I will always discount the monthly a bit as well (that is the reason I start out higher than what I want - $500 in this example). We all want a deal, remember. So, if you start higher then go down your prospect will do business with you.

Also, I mention when I am talking to them (and I am going to incorporate it into the reports I send out) that I am talking with a few of the prospects competitors -- this really gets them going, and helps to land the client, as well.

Last thing about pricing - I am like you. I want the monthly recurring revenue. Here in the states (I am in Texas) I have found that the lowest I have had to go on a per-month basis to get the deal is $300. I normally get the $500. From my research, I have found that $500 seems to be a pretty reasonable number to go with.

Heres to your success.

Take care.

Originally Posted by krzysiekz

I have looked at the report (WSO) and it seems it is a once off fixed price service.

Do you charge similar start-up costs as outlined in the WSO, and additionally charge a monthly recurring to keep results going?

If not, how do you price your product - just a monthly with no start-up?

How do you justify, if at all, your monthly recurring to the owner, other than just saying 'so it doesn't drop'?

I'm very interested in creating recurring revenue streams for myself (much more than one time payments). I read the WSO and it is great (will see if I can implement it here, Australia has a much lower pop.) - but the one thing that was turning me off was the one time payment.

Your thread seems to suggest otherwise though, so I'll wait for you to chime in.

Gave you some rep to chew on

Congratulations to you success and happy new year!!

I also wolud like to says thanks for bringing that WSO to my attention - I'm downloading it now.

Cheers, M.

I would like to know where you outsource your Google Places listing
Is it a guy from Warrior Forum ?
How much do you pay him to do the job for you?
Is it one time fee or recurring fee ?
Would you mind to share ?
You can PM if you want.

Thanks,

Originally Posted by joe0074

I would like to know where you outsource your Google Places listing
Is it a guy from Warrior Forum ?
How much do you pay him to do the job for you?
Is it one time fee or recurring fee ?
Would you mind to share ?
You can PM if you want.

Thanks,

I did find him on Warrior - I had to go through a few guys to get him (meaning - had to go through a few duds to find a good guy who could actually do the work).

I normally pay him $200'ish per month per listing he manages for me.

Shoot me a PM if you want to know more.

Later,
Redhill

Originally Posted by joe0074

I would like to know where you outsource your Google Places listing
Is it a guy from Warrior Forum ?
How much do you pay him to do the job for you?
Is it one time fee or recurring fee ?
Would you mind to share ?
You can PM if you want.

Thanks,

Joe,

I got your PM.

Just realized that I cannot respond to you via PM yet here on BHW (I do not have 15 posts yet). Shoot me another PM with your email address and I would be happy to continue the conversation.

Later.

Thanks for the tip, going to add to my list of methods to work on this year, especially as closing the sale is always the part I find the hardest.

Tried some sales-type stuff this time last year and had terrible results. A lot of bricks and mortar businesses didn't seem to want to spend in Jan so not sure whether to hold off on this one til a little later in the year

I feel like an idiot asking this, buuuut

Can you list multiple business (multiple clients) with one google account?

Very interesting share, thank you very much

Cant pm so pm me please with your mail adress as i would like to get in touch

Originally Posted by ebcenter

Very interesting share, thank you very much

Cant pm so pm me please with your mail adress as i would like to get in touch

PM sent. Thanks.

Originally Posted by zachlepwner

I feel like an idiot asking this, buuuut

Can you list multiple business (multiple clients) with one google account?

Not sure what you are asking, per se. But, I will answer your question this way.

Places listings are locked / tied to an address. And, in that context they are tied to a single business.

Now, say for example that said business is a carpet cleaning company that also does tile work, does ac repair, and also makes quilts (went out on a limb with that one....but, hey it could happen) then it will still be Places listing tied only to the 1 business and we would optimize the Places listing to try and come up for the other lines of businesses. Clear as mud?!

Thanks and thanks.

Redill

Thanks a lot for your explanation of how you deal with the recurring charges.

Just to be absolutely clear, when you tell them that it takes 1 or 2 months to get the results -- does that mean that the recurring is only valid for that time frame & after results are achieved, the recurring stops?

If the recurring lasts for only a month or two it would still be okay. I am just interested to know how you do it. Maybe the start up cost covers the first phase of getting it onto the first page, and then the monthly maintenance fee there on in to keep it there?

How soon do you find your guy can get the listing to the first page if they already have a listing.

If they don't have a listing at all, how long after postcard verification does it take till it is showing up on the first page?

Thanks a lot for your help so far, can't give any more rep. at the moment unfortunately. Sorry!

Originally Posted by krzysiekz

Thanks a lot for your explanation of how you deal with the recurring charges.

Just to be absolutely clear, when you tell them that it takes 1 or 2 months to get the results -- does that mean that the recurring is only valid for that time frame & after results are achieved, the recurring stops?

If the recurring lasts for only a month or two it would still be okay. I am just interested to know how you do it. Maybe the start up cost covers the first phase of getting it onto the first page, and then the monthly maintenance fee there on in to keep it there?

How soon do you find your guy can get the listing to the first page if they already have a listing.

If they don't have a listing at all, how long after postcard verification does it take till it is showing up on the first page?

Thanks a lot for your help so far, can't give any more rep. at the moment unfortunately. Sorry!

Good to hear from you again. Happy to clarify more.

Here is what I do. I do not start any work until I have payment.

So, if I am able to get a set-up fee then I get that first. That is what I use to pay my guy who starts the optimization. Then, after 1 month has gone by, I charge them the first monthly maintenance charge.

My point about the not promising to have them on the 1st page of Google for their places listing is a traditional SEO tactic that we all know about and use - we cannot control how competitive a given niche is. So, I want to set expectations that give me a little breathing room to get them some results.

With this said - I usually have serious positive movements for my clients within 3-4 weeks at least. They are very happy!

After we have the postcard verification we are usually showing up on page 1 after 3-4 weeks, depending on how competitive the space is. Meaning - it is easier to get a dry cleaner on page 1 for Abilene, Texas versus a dry cleaner in Houston, Texas, etc.

Ask some more questions - happy to help.

Later,
Redhill

Awesome thread, I'm literally clipping right now. What're you doing for optimization though? Just standard fare of buying citations/reviews and pocketing the difference?

Originally Posted by lykathe

Awesome thread, I'm literally clipping right now. What're you doing for optimization though? Just standard fare of buying citations/reviews and pocketing the difference?

We are doing the standard stuff. And, depending on how competitive the deal is we will go above and beyond. But, yes - to answer your question - we are doing the standard fare.

Originally Posted by redhill

Good to hear from you again. Happy to clarify more.

Here is what I do. I do not start any work until I have payment.

And just lastly, when you reach a spot that the client is happy with (presumably spot A) - does the recurring then stop, or does it keep on going to keep the spot there?

Thanks again!

Originally Posted by krzysiekz

And just lastly, when you reach a spot that the client is happy with (presumably spot A) - does the recurring then stop, or does it keep on going to keep the spot there?

Thanks again!

That is the beauty of the system. Yes, I am going to continue to charge a per month charge to keep them there in the top spot.

The fear on the part of the client is that if they do not continue to pay me per month they will lose that spot (again - a usual SEO scenario).

It is a beautiful thing.

Good questions.

Great post redhill..and I will definitely implement some of these tactics in my own offline marketing niche of choice. Thanks given

Quick question. You said that you were working with a big furniture supply chain. How were you able to get beyond the gatekeepers for the big corporations. I have found that owners of small businesses are much easier to get ahold of. When it comes to big corporations, many times I have no idea who to address my letters to or how to begin getting in contact with the correct person. Any tips? Thanks a lot in advance man

Originally Posted by seananniganss

Great post redhill..and I will definitely implement some of these tactics in my own offline marketing niche of choice. Thanks given

Quick question. You said that you were working with a big furniture supply chain. How were you able to get beyond the gatekeepers for the big corporations. I have found that owners of small businesses are much easier to get ahold of. When it comes to big corporations, many times I have no idea who to address my letters to or how to begin getting in contact with the correct person. Any tips? Thanks a lot in advance man

manta.com start searching.

I have a few questions, PM please do have 15 post yet

Nice man. I love it. I'm sending like 20 letters tomorrow, ontop of launching a pretty large social media campaign I've been cooking up for some time to get clients, so by weeks end I should be quite well off, and you were certainly a nice catalyst to that, so thanks.

How long does it take you to rank on places, though? You said 2 months, is that average or just worst case?

Thanks for the great share and explanation.
I will definitely look into this.

Wow, great to see someone helping people out.

I found that Google Places thread earlier this week and just found your thread. As I am new to Google Places and would love to do it all myself I am just looking for the best tutorial/book to learn it step by step succesfully.

Since I am in The Netherlands it is quite hard to find someone/get the right contacts to do it for me. Obviously that is my preference.

Can a US or anyone else in the world work on the SEO/Google Places when it is for a Dutch website? Will that work?

Redhill, great share I love to read success story like yours.

I have a question, did you follow the WSO to the letter or you changed a few things? If so, what did you change? I'm getting low on budget and I don't want to burn my last money by sending letters that will not convert..

Thanks a lot and happy new year!

You need the Google Places post on here, to save you looking here it is:

HTML Code:

http://www.blackhatworld.com/blackhat-seo/member-downloads/375521-get-google-places-takeover-wso-490728-a.html

Originally Posted by BlackCat83

Wow, great to see someone helping people out.

I found that Google Places thread earlier this week and just found your thread. As I am new to Google Places and would love to do it all myself I am just looking for the best tutorial/book to learn it step by step succesfully.

Since I am in The Netherlands it is quite hard to find someone/get the right contacts to do it for me. Obviously that is my preference.

Can a US or anyone else in the world work on the SEO/Google Places when it is for a Dutch website? Will that work?

Your Avatar is one of the freakiest / spookiest images I have seen in a long time. Scared the hell out of me. Ha!

Originally Posted by BlackCat83

Wow, great to see someone helping people out.

I found that Google Places thread earlier this week and just found your thread. As I am new to Google Places and would love to do it all myself I am just looking for the best tutorial/book to learn it step by step succesfully.

Since I am in The Netherlands it is quite hard to find someone/get the right contacts to do it for me. Obviously that is my preference.

Can a US or anyone else in the world work on the SEO/Google Places when it is for a Dutch website? Will that work?

Originally Posted by dotcomdesigns

You need the Google Places post on here, to save you looking here it is:

HTML Code:

http://www.blackhatworld.com/blackhat-seo/member-downloads/375521-get-google-places-takeover-wso-490728-a.html

Originally Posted by BlackCat83

Wow, great to see someone helping people out.

I found that Google Places thread earlier this week and just found your thread. As I am new to Google Places and would love to do it all myself I am just looking for the best tutorial/book to learn it step by step succesfully.

Since I am in The Netherlands it is quite hard to find someone/get the right contacts to do it for me. Obviously that is my preference.

Can a US or anyone else in the world work on the SEO/Google Places when it is for a Dutch website? Will that work?

You are certainly welcome - happy to help out whomever I can. Happy to give back to BHW.

As far as whether my tech guy (or a US based guy could work on Dutch Places gigs)......do not really know. I do not stray outside the US borders.

Does anybody else know the answer to this?

Maybe you should start a new thread in the offline sub-forum as well to see if you can find your answer.

Let me know if I can do anything else.

Redhill

Austin, you are such a great guy trying to help people.
I wish BHW forum had more people like you.
Happy New Year to you !

Originally Posted by lykathe

Nice man. I love it. I'm sending like 20 letters tomorrow, ontop of launching a pretty large social media campaign I've been cooking up for some time to get clients, so by weeks end I should be quite well off, and you were certainly a nice catalyst to that, so thanks.

How long does it take you to rank on places, though? You said 2 months, is that average or just worst case?

Thanks for the kudos my friend. Glad to see you taking action (sounds cliche I know).

On average we start to see positive results around weeks 3-5 and we just go up from there. Happy clients = More Bank in the pocket.

Originally Posted by Wings[SENSE]

Redhill, great share I love to read success story like yours.

I have a question, did you follow the WSO to the letter or you changed a few things? If so, what did you change? I'm getting low on budget and I don't want to burn my last money by sending letters that will not convert..

Thanks a lot and happy new year!

I followed it to the letter of the law! The only thing I added / changed was I tested different envelopes. And, I found a great tactic - send your report in a Fedex or UPS envelope (that you can get for free) and I sent these envelopes via the United States Postal Service for normal postage! Ended up costing me about $1.47 a letter that I sent out. And, I guarantee you my letters (reports) made it to the decision makers because UPS and Fedex envelopes get to whomever they are addressed to and they bypass the gatekeeper!

Hope this helps.

Originally Posted by redhill

I followed it to the letter of the law! The only thing I added / changed was I tested different envelopes. And, I found a great tactic - send your report in a Fedex or UPS envelope (that you can get for free) and I sent these envelopes via the United States Postal Service for normal postage! Ended up costing me about $1.47 a letter that I sent out. And, I guarantee you my letters (reports) made it to the decision makers because UPS and Fedex envelopes get to whomever they are addressed to and they bypass the gatekeeper!

Hope this helps.

USPS lets you mail UPS or FedEx envelopes ?! You can't be serious... game changing for me if so.

Also, where in Texas are you in? Is it a major city like Dallas or a small suburb city? The reason I ask is I live in a major city with a ton of other SEO competitors. It seems like we have hit up all the local businesses and they are getting immune to our sales letters.

Originally Posted by ViperVin

USPS lets you mail UPS or FedEx envelopes ?! You can't be serious... game changing for me if so.

Also, where in Texas are you in? Is it a major city like Dallas or a small suburb city? The reason I ask is I live in a major city with a ton of other SEO competitors. It seems like we have hit up all the local businesses and they are getting immune to our sales letters.

Viper,

I know, I know. I am totally serious. Go ask them yourself (which is what I did because I did not believe it myself) - and, YES it is true.

One post office clerk told me you could ship a coconut thru their system as long as it had right postage and was addressed right.

This was a game changer for me too.

I am in a suburb of Dallas / Fort Worth - you called it. I have competitors just like we all do. But, these reports cut thru the shit.

Are there other people doing this system, sure there are. But, like anything else the guys that put systems in place and stick to them and build a real business are the ones that will be successful.

The ones that jump from "new shiny thing way to make money" are always going to fail.

My point - just send the reports out (even though it is boring to do so) and the business will come your way over time.

Just my 2 cents.

Later,
Red

Originally Posted by redhill

Your Avatar is one of the freakiest / spookiest images I have seen in a long time. Scared the hell out of me. Ha!

LOL, yeah I've read that a few times - my kids love it!

BTW I'm onboard with this in the UK and running it from next week, off to Prague at the weekend. I went through our local yellow pages here and was stunned by the number of businesses without websites, let alone SEO services. Gotta get on the money train here while it lasts

Originally Posted by dotcomdesigns

LOL, yeah I've read that a few times - my kids love it!

BTW I'm onboard with this in the UK and running it from next week, off to Prague at the weekend. I went through our local yellow pages here and was stunned by the number of businesses without websites, let alone SEO services. Gotta get on the money train here while it lasts

Ha ha! Cool! Let me know if there is anything I can do for ya! Also, check out the posts above this one - where we talk about cheap / good ways to get the envelopes through the gatekeepers. I am sure there is a comparable thing you can use in the UK.

Later,
Red

Great ideas here and thanks redhill. Giving me some ideas for my area.

Redhill: I PM'ed you with a queston. Looking forward to your reply...

Excellent job OP!! I operate my own SEO company and Google Places optimization is what gets me in to most companies. I'm a one man operation, built a nice site, on page 1 for several google places keywords, etc.

Google Places allows one to build trust and show off their ability to a client which if you want will lead to other opportunities. All my GP clients are now full time SEO clients. Yes, it's tons of work but very rewarding.

BTW, I'm in the Austin, TX area. Thanks for the great share and showing that if you have the will....YOU will find the way...

Originally Posted by ESM2012

Excellent job OP!! I operate my own SEO company and Google Places optimization is what gets me in to most companies. I'm a one man operation, built a nice site, on page 1 for several google places keywords, etc.

Google Places allows one to build trust and show off their ability to a client which if you want will lead to other opportunities. All my GP clients are now full time SEO clients. Yes, it's tons of work but very rewarding.

BTW, I'm in the Austin, TX area. Thanks for the great share and showing that if you have the will....YOU will find the way...

Nice to see Texas well represented here. I am in Dallas / Fort Worth. I have clients that are trying to get me to do their PPC advertising management, and a whole slew of other services. So, far I have been resisting because the Places thing is such a good low-maintenance revenue stream.

Reach out to me if you need anything at all - happy to help a fellow Texan.

Red

Originally Posted by teeniegenie

Redhill: I PM'ed you with a queston. Looking forward to your reply...

PM'ed you back. Thanks for the message.

Later,
Red

Thank you, Redhill

Great share and thread post, and I really appreciate all your follow up posts!

I PM'd you a message, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Syd

btw, Longhorn fan by chance?

Hookem' Horns!