stupid SEO clients (part 2)

[Bartman]

I finally got enough balls to go to a doctor's office to talk about seo services.
I thought he might kick me out...but i also thought oh well, what do i have to lose?
surprisingly, he was very receptive actually. He said he actually recently paid someone to design a webpage for him, he would have hired me had he known sooner.

However, every time I tried to explain to him about SEO and web marketing, it felt like we weren't on the same page. I couldnt get through to him - I felt like he couldnt understand what is the point of being on page one.

then came keywords time. When I suggested some keywords, again, he wouldnt get the point. he couldnt understand the importance of keywords. he said he wants to come up for his name (who the hell googles Dr. K***** J****?, and if they do google him, they already know he exists, so whats the point?)

OK given that background knowledge, here is my question. How should I handle these scenarios. This time, I said "oh, you are right..." but that makes me sound like an idiot. At the same time, I feel like maybe I am the one who is missing the point. is there something that I am missing here?
How would YOU have handled this?

 

[shab6969]

nevermind about SEO. Just slap up a wordpress blog for him and take the money. lol!

 

[imperial109]

You know when you try to explain to old people how to use technology? If yes, think of it this way. They have no knowledge of any of this.

There's a 2 step process in banking quick with offline SEO clients.
1. You try to make a quick sale. Tell them that you offer Website Marketing services. Don't use acronyms. Find out if they have a site. If they don't, then ask if they would like one, since it would boost their market exposure, and become available to thousands of people within the area. Don't mention anything about rankings and visitors, since it would be a waste of time. You may think that offering them both a website and promotion will make you more money, but it looks like you're trying to squeeze every penny out of them. Offer them the services a couple of months later, if you are no longer making money from them.

2. If they do have a site, offer them Website Marketing services. Tell them that you can increase their exposure online. You can get more people to click on his/her page, which will result in more sales. This is the tough part because 90% of people don't have a clue about effective online marketing. These same people like results. They have one goal in mind and that is to make money. You need to meet them where they want to be. Tell them how 93% of people in your town access the internet on an average of 3-5 hours a day. Now tell him/her that they can get those people to view his/her page and see what they are offering.

They will be very skeptical most of the time, so you need some sort of proof. Have portfolio in your car with graphs, premium website templates, and traffic stats. Never include revenue figures. They will either take a look at it and be impressed, or hold strong on their views against you. Nonetheless, get their contact info and tell them that you'll send them to a live site, and a place where they can see the traffic. Unless, they're super close minded and stubborn, you're almost guaranteed a sale.

Try to read sales books in your free time, and apply aggressive marketing when talking one on one with people. It's the most effective way to make a sale, and the conversions are very high if you keep on pushing.

 

[greentitanium]

yeah, let those tards building his site, that has no idea of real world bh ranking, buy a domain and out rank him for his own name, then go back there and say, see.. this is why you need my ass

 

[imperial109]

yeah, let those tards building his site, that has no idea of real world bh ranking, buy a domain and out rank him for his own name, then go back there and say, see.. this is why you need my ass

I completely agree with that, which I did not mention at all. If they are still stubborn, then drop them from the rankings. Make sure to leave your business card with them. Then a couple of days later when their site doesn't show up, send him an email pretending to be someone else. Say that you wanted to see their website, but it doesn't show up anywhere, and you don't know how to get to it. Now all you do, is pay a casual visit to the same person like you want their services again, and ask them how their site is doing. If it's something like the dentist, where you have to pay beforehand to see 'em, then just contact them and ask about their site.

 

[mccullum]

always make sure to first give them pleasure.i mean,when he says he wants to rank for his name,say "Of course,i can do that.".And that would be a big impetus for the doctor to buy your services.And then maybe you can push and make him hear out about the keywords and stuff.

 

[m3ownz]

"having a website that is only found by searches for your name is like paying for a billboard in your waiting room - essentially pointless. I will take that billboard and put it in front of 1000s of local people looking for a doctor"

 

[mccullum]

always make sure to first give them pleasure.i mean,when he says he wants to rank for his name,say "Of course,i can do that.".And that would be a big impetus for the doctor to buy your services.And then maybe you can push and make him hear out about the keywords and stuff.

 

[m3ownz]

forum bug - double post

 

[googlemonster]

i wanna rank a vagina doctor

best vag dr alabama
careful vagy doctor vegas

 

[Monrox]

People don't look for doctors online, they have the yellow pages for that. What people do is searching for opinions about a doctor or the services he is providing. It is understandable for him to want to rank for his name.

Which makes your job a lot easier, how hard is it to bring Dr. K***** J**** to #1? Just say that's a great idea but will take $$$.

Besides, they are forbidden to blatantly say 'I can cure chlamydia better than anyone else'. Learn the niche before promoting yourself, not everything is done CPA style.

Other than that the other replies contain great advices.

 

[ulijonroth]

At your scenario I would get the money from him, make a contract with the keywords chosen by himself and make him sign it. If he asks to get the new keywords, tell him that it will cost more than the contract he has signed.

 

[secretboy08]

At your scenario I would get the money from him, make a contract with the keywords chosen by himself and make him sign it. If he asks to get the new keywords, tell him that it will cost more than the contract he has signed.

yes thats exactly right.if he is ready to pay,who are we to say he is wrong.benefit from his stupidity.

 

[noermanto]

Just say yes, then do the real scenario behind his back. As long the result is good, you will get money, and more in advance. I hope I'm not missing something, I kind sleepy while posting this.

 

[txhepoker]

Eat Failure, Shit Success!​

That is freaking classic!!!

:laughing:

 

[flaktrak]

When a potential client does not understand what you are talking about there is an old trick to get them to where you want them to be.

You ask them questions!

Ask them things like. How many patients/clients do they see a week?
When they say oh 50.
You say, Is that your maximum capacity.
If they say NO.
how many do you think you can handle?
They say 100
You say I will get you another 50 a week!

Anyway one of the best tricks in sales is to ask alot of questions. Always bring the answers back to how much more busines/how much more money they could make.

Never get stuck trying to explain technical terms like SEO etc. You will just hurt their heads and they will want you to leave!

However having said that Doctors are notoriously bad people to sell to! They hate to spend money and they usually have little competition in their area!

You want a good niche? Go for hairdressers! they are usually younger/funkier so they understand that the web can make money and they are usually willing to spend some cash, because there is so much competition locally!

 

[goodseoman]

You may try to find some local online yellow page, which show some business owner that have sense of IM although they do not know anything about it.
Anyway, they tried to touch it by listing there business online.
The customers are very targeted.

 

[TradingWiz]

talk about how much more he could possibly make. everyone understands money

 

[Bartman]

People don't look for doctors online, they have the yellow pages for that. What people do is searching for opinions about a doctor or the services he is providing. It is understandable for him to want to rank for his name.

Which makes your job a lot easier, how hard is it to bring Dr. K***** J**** to #1? Just say that's a great idea but will take $$$.

Besides, they are forbidden to blatantly say 'I can cure chlamydia better than anyone else'. Learn the niche before promoting yourself, not everything is done CPA style.

Other than that the other replies contain great advices.

you know what, you are right. now that i think about it, people either ask their friends/family members for references or go to the nearest hospital. nobody is going to search online. I feel like a fool now. dammit, I am so embarrassed, now he is going to think I am an idiot.
what should my next move be? tell him I made a mistake? or forget about him and go to someone else? or pretend i am not an idiot and just continue with him?
Now that I think about it more, why the hell would a doctor need a website? again, people go to the nearest hospital when they are sick, or ask relatives/neighbors, etc. why would a doctor need a site?

 

[englandrm]

Pull out the numbers. On page one, especially at the top, your site will attract a certain percentage of the hits. The use the Google Keyword tool, to find the average number of searches monthly.

Tell him these people are actively looking for the service you offer. And get him thinking about how much money he can make by just having a few new clients each month. Then he can justify the cost of paying you.