Web Design Cold Calling and Cold Emailing Journey

[baidovich]

Yeah I sound like a little bitch. I am recording it and working on my voice. Imagine a b tard souding nerd calling you...

You should work more on your sales bro

Listen to jordan belfort Straight Line Persuasion

It will help you a lot !

 

[Major_Tso]

You should work more on your sales bro

Listen to jordan belfort Straight Line Persuasion

It will help you a lot !

Thanks I know I can make this happen. It is like running X miles, it takes time to get up to that point, but then it is easy once I do it.

 

[darulez]

I wouldnt be worried about that.

those stinks like those "pickup rapeartist" telling you the same old "I approach 10 girls and take one home" ..

 

[Major_Tso]

People keep saying that they see my designs are an obvious improvement, but their site makes no money, and is pointless to spend $500 bucks on. These people are dentists so they should have money. Maybe I will shift to another niche.

Tomorrow I am making follow ups only because I am curious to see if that makes a difference.

Or maybe should I try to sell them as a lead for a SEO/ads agency?

 

[darulez]

People keep saying that they see my designs are an obvious improvement, but their site makes no money, and is pointless to spend $500 bucks on. These people are dentists so they should have money. Maybe I will shift to another niche.

Let them "age". I get those clients on a weekly basis too.
They net 1k a month, but are to cheap to invest into a better linkprofile.
I tell them "I WONT get better, but I LL be there the next years"

It's pointless arguing. Focus on the 3%. Just as in dating. Pretty girl with options wont jump on a slob. But a a guy would always jump on any "option". Dont be that guy. Be the pretty girl with standards.

I'd also advice you to check for some automated ways of getting you leads.
What you are doing is kind of insane. Or IF you find some "offline" method of getting clients, try to outsource that shit.

ATM, I got my youtube "spamblaster" running for service #2, and testing taboola.

 

[Major_Tso]

Let them "age". I get those clients on a weekly basis too.
They net 1k a month, but are to cheap to invest into a better linkprofile.
I tell them "I WONT get better, but I LL be there the next years"

It's pointless arguing. Focus on the 3%. Just as in dating. Pretty girl with options wont jump on a slob. But a a guy would always jump on any "option". Dont be that guy. Be the pretty girl with standards.

I'd also advice you to check for some automated ways of getting you leads.
What you are doing is kind of insane. Or IF you find some "offline" method of getting clients, try to outsource that shit.

ATM, I got my youtube "spamblaster" running for service #2, and testing taboola.

So you're saying I want to dragnet for as many leads as possible.... so that I can toss aside the time consuming/low ROI clients. That makes a lot more sense. I'll just link people to my portfolio of these sites, instead of making a new fucking site every time! Genius idea thanks.

 

[masta2133]

As an entrepreneur that is trying to use online methods to generate client leads, I encourage both of you (darulez and op) to pursue what you are trying to do.

one advice would be to check what methods competition is using (SEO, display ads, adwords, email marketing etc..), it can help you understand the market better.

specialization helps a lot too.... instead of approaching randomly any business, you only approach the healthcare sector, you are not an app dev company you are a company that specializes in building healthcare oriented apps for hospitals and clinics...helped me in raising the price several folds and making a profit.... also, helped me provide a better service to my clients by building better apps as i spent time understanding this specific field, so at the end of the day it is a win/win situation....

If you still want to work for all clients/sectors, your best bet is to create a product instead of a service, check all the guys in the marketplace section that are paying for advertising...most of them have products or services that are packaged and require very little work or at least standardized work (well defined specific tasks ala macdonalads).....

Anyways, wish you good luck, keep going

 

[Griouss]

Hi, nice try I'm doing the same from 2010 but I was in trouble too with my conversion rate. A cold call didn't provide nice result anymore. If you running your business locally there is a tricky ADS bet that you can play with.

Find 2 or 3 agency with a nice reputation in your area. place a PPC campaign on each agency name. So each time someone looking for these agencies they gonna sees your ads first . The cost of the campaign is fucking low and the potential conversion fucking high.

Cheers and good luck for your business

 

[Major_Tso]

As an entrepreneur that is trying to use online methods to generate client leads, I encourage both of you (darulez and op) to pursue what you are trying to do.

one advice would be to check what methods competition is using (SEO, display ads, adwords, email marketing etc..), it can help you understand the market better.

specialization helps a lot too.... instead of approaching randomly any business, you only approach the healthcare sector, you are not an app dev company you are a company that specializes in building healthcare oriented apps for hospitals and clinics...helped me in raising the price several folds and making a profit.... also, helped me provide a better service to my clients by building better apps as i spent time understanding this specific field, so at the end of the day it is a win/win situation....

If you still want to work for all clients/sectors, your best bet is to create a product instead of a service, check all the guys in the marketplace section that are paying for advertising...most of them have products or services that are packaged and require very little work or at least standardized work (well defined specific tasks ala macdonalads).....

Anyways, wish you good luck, keep going

Thanks that is a good idea for market research. It ties into this direct response book I got.

Hi, nice try I'm doing the same from 2010 but I was in trouble too with my conversion rate. A cold call didn't provide nice result anymore. If you running your business locally there is a tricky ADS bet that you can play with.

Find 2 or 3 agency with a nice reputation in your area. place a PPC campaign on each agency name. So each time someone looking for these agencies they gonna sees your ads first . The cost of the campaign is fucking low and the potential conversion fucking high.

Cheers and good luck for your business

This is an interesting angle. Thanks for the idea.

____________________________________________________________________________
UPDATE: Made a sale late last afternoon. =]

What I did: I emailed a prospect with a twist on what @tony_d wrote in this post. I focused on the belief I am calling with good news, and that since it is the end of the month I will let them make an offer that is anywhere near reasonable and I will accept right here and now. This was for a site I tried the premade cold call method.

To clear something up I have called 36 premade, and 160 without a specific site premade.
I am 1/36 and 0/160.

I think you're somewhat missing the point. You're still approaching it from a hopeful-salesperson perspective.
What you need to do is approach it from the perspective of someone who was just done a significantly valuable thing for that client (potential client), and you're now calling them to let them know what a nice person you've been, by way of what you've already done.

As for the 'cold calling method having a high conversion rate', you need to be clear - it's not cold calling. It's a call to tell them the good news. Very, very different. If you're not clear on that when you pick up the phone, you won't even be able to convert food to shit.

Get your templates from wherever you like, and design them however you like. It's totally and utterly irrelevant.

People who think that selling web design is about the design fundamentally miss the point. It's sales, like anything else. And if you've ALREADY DONE THEIR WEBSITE, and it's even remotely good, your chances of converting are at least 10,000 times higher than the guy that cold-calls and says "hi, I design awesome sites, look at my portfolio".

As for the final part of your question, RE the pricing; it's entirely up to you what you sell it at. There are no rules. Don't ask me. I don't have a list of rules for you to follow. Go out there and do something - make it up as you go!

However, if you ask me what we used to do, I would tell you that the initial price would be any random amount between $600-$1500, depending on how profitable their industry typically was. Then, those who didn't convert at the first instance would get a call back near the end of the month saying "hey Bob, it's Jim - the guy that made you a new website. Look... it's been a really slow month, I need to get some money in the door... if you liked the website I made for you, and it's just a financial thing, make me an offer that's anywhere near reasonable, and I'll say yes on the spot". That converted a significant amount, and the offers would usually average in the $300 range (with some outliers, of course).
By throwing in the 'if you liked the website, make me an offer' premise, you're implying that they will insult you if they don't make you an offer, and no reasonable person wants to insult someone who just poured their sweat into building them a pretty cool website, FOR FREE. Nor do they want to insult you by offering you $20.

So I will keep moving forward. Now, I have confidence that I can close over the phone. I also see that follow-up is really useful. Next, I am going to keep testing different upsell methods.

This is a much more interesting than school ever has been. Too bad I had class all day today. Tonight I will keep making sites and send out emails.

 

[darulez]

So you're saying I want to dragnet for as many leads as possible.... so that I can toss aside the time consuming/low ROI clients. That makes a lot more sense. I'll just link people to my portfolio of these sites, instead of making a new fucking site every time! Genius idea thanks.

put some video with YOURSELF on your site. you will be surprised how many tyrekickers you scare away and the "instant buyer" rate goes up.

 

[darulez]

one advice would be to check what methods competition is using (SEO, display ads, adwords, email marketing etc..), it can help you understand the market better.

depends. however I like the idea.
usuall: adwords, display ads and orgarnic rankings. some are on "networking shit" and events. waste of time for me. I need to automate as much stuff as I can to work on stuff I love.

 

[Kabone]

You shiuldn't have any issues I have done 40,000+ in sales a month doing this.

 

[SiriNO]

You shiuldn't have any issues I have done 40,000+ in sales a month doing this.

In doing the pre-made method?

 

[Kabone]

In doing the pre-made method?

Was selling MLM Marketing services - Pretemplated wordpress sites, facebook posting, etc.

 

[MarvinMartian]

I do the same thing with cold calling at times. It's really great training because you get to see the whole entire process. Cold calling then closing that deal in a week or so and getting paid a big check is one of the most rewarding things out there to be honest. So keep at it. If you are failing on one part, go back to the drawing board and tune it in. If you sound like a nerd then work with your tonality so that you sound good on the phone.

Another thing is you need to find the reason that someone wants to buy from you. If you were to call a dentist for a website design job and your saying shit like "Yeah but this is a better option than what you have now because it looks better and it's updated to give you a faster load time and helps your SEO", they don't give a shit about that (not saying your doing that, but I am sure I did that when I first started a couple years ago). You have to bring the case for them to leave their current web developer or provider to work with you so that all of the hurdles make sense. So something along the lines of "Having a great looking website that I can create for you, will ONLY cost you $499 (play on numbers to make it seem less than it is), it will look better than your competition, will make people more inclined to use your dental service and will increase your revenue and will allow you to expand your business at a much faster rate. Sound fair enough?"

I went through all of the Jordan Belfort straight line method, brilliant stuff. But your cold calling already so I respect you for that man!

 

[balerec]

I'm glad you lerned your lesson about ass wipes who try to take advatage of you. If you like, I'll do the guys site for $100 including the free maintenance and hosting for a year. I have the resources to do it and I guarantee, it will be a year he will never forget!

BTW- I want to add this: Man keep on "cold calling". You are going to make it because you are taking a shot at something that frankly terrifies the shit out of 99% of people on earth.

That's why it has the potential to pay well.

When you do something that most people can't or won't due to irrational fear, you can write your own ticket.

Personally I love cold calling and all that goes with it. Maybe it's self esteem thing, I'm not sure but I love talking to people, even the ass holes.

You can always learn from them too. So keep on keeping one!

 

[sparagas]

Thanks that is a good idea for market research. It ties into this direct response book I got.



This is an interesting angle. Thanks for the idea.

____________________________________________________________________________
UPDATE: Made a sale late last afternoon. =]

What I did: I emailed a prospect with a twist on what @tony_d wrote in this post. I focused on the belief I am calling with good news, and that since it is the end of the month I will let them make an offer that is anywhere near reasonable and I will accept right here and now. This was for a site I tried the premade cold call method.

To clear something up I have called 36 premade, and 160 without a specific site premade.
I am 1/36 and 0/160.



So I will keep moving forward. Now, I have confidence that I can close over the phone. I also see that follow-up is really useful. Next, I am going to keep testing different upsell methods.

This is a much more interesting than school ever has been. Too bad I had class all day today. Tonight I will keep making sites and send out emails.

How is your journey going?

 

[Major_Tso]

Hey guys, I know I haven't updated in a while...

That is because I have been nose to the grindstone.

My main advice is keep dialing and focus only the most direct obstacle of making money.

Everything in this journey is more than sufficient insight for someone to change their life. Obviously, I can't give a cookie cutter blueprint for it, but it just freaking works. This method's skill of reaching out and making sales is solid, learn it, master it, make it your own. Once you make your first small success just keep running as fast as possible.

I'm stopping out of Comp Sci after this semester. I've really learned how time is money. Makes me sick to waste time now haha

Thank you very much guys!

 

[sparagas]

Hey guys, I know I haven't updated in a while...

That is because I have been nose to the grindstone.

My main advice is keep dialing and focus only the most direct obstacle of making money.

Everything in this journey is more than sufficient insight for someone to change their life. Obviously, I can't give a cookie cutter blueprint for it, but it just freaking works. This method's skill of reaching out and making sales is solid, learn it, master it, make it your own. Once you make your first small success just keep running as fast as possible.

I'm stopping out of Comp Sci after this semester. I've really learned how time is money. Makes me sick to waste time now haha

Thank you very much guys!

Maybe you have some comments about method then you prepare a website for a client, it is working for you, or you just keep cold calling?