I need to set the record straight on Reputation management and this method.
We have been receiving a lot of messages from people who want us to teach them how to do Reputation Management and use this method. We have spent HOURS on the phone and online helping other people do this themselves but we don't have enough time to spend with everyone so I'll do my best to keep this thread updated.
Many people jump into Reputation Management thinking they are going to pick it up quick and easily outsource it like other services. Reputation Management IS NOT as simple as other services like Google Places Optimization. You can outsource the majority of Google Places Optimization but you'll be hard pressed to find one outsourcer that can handle all the tasks associated with Reputation management. Let me give you a better picture of what I m talking about.
We use a complete end-to-end project management software to manage all of our services & client projects. We'll build one master project file (with all associated tasks & subtasks) for all our services which includes a schedule of all the tasks for each project, the phases & milestones. When we get a new client we simply duplicate the "master" project file for the particular project and perform the service. Our project manager file for Reputation management is 90 days long, involves half a dozen phases, more than a dozen milestones and nearly a hundred tasks. In comparison, our Google Places Optimization service is only 60 days, has only three phases and just a few dozen tasks.
Big difference. We can get 1-2 outsourcers to do the majority of the work for our Google Places Optimization and do the rest. You'll need a lot of different people to handle the array of tasks associated with Reputation Management and then you have to direct the orchestra of outsourcers.
There are a lot of people outsourcing Reputation management but many of them are not doing all the work and their client aren't getting the results they wanted (or were promised). If you jump into Reputation management without taking the time to learn it and speak with people who have experience then you run the risk for failure. I can coach you 4 hours a day, 5 days a week and teach you everything I know BUT I CANNOT GIVE YOU THE EXPERIENCE, no one can. So be careful. I cannot tell you how many business owners we talk with who are defensive about Reputation management because they know someone who has been burned. Usually its because they didn't get the results they were promised or it didn't happen as fast as they wanted.
This is becoming more of an issue as more and more people are jumping into Reputation management and offering the service before they know what they are doing. Business owners are starting to get defensive about the words "Reputation management" as its becoming as taboo as "SEO". If the business owner your talking with hasn't had a bad experience with Reputation management yet then they probably know someone else who has.
OK, ENOUGH ABOUT THAT. MOVING ONTO THE LEAD GENERATION METHOD...
This method works but its not all a bed of roses. Let me explain.
We sent another 50 FedEx packages last night using 3 different post offices. We have been getting a lot of our FedEx packages returned by the post office. In a attempt to save money we tried switching to simple (8.5 X 11in) brown envelopes but they DON'T WORK WELL. We were sending 60-70 of these full size brown envelopes each week and getting NO LEADS! Not a single call, no emails...nothing.
It just shows there's no
urgency or importance with standard brown envelopes. Just to be clear, there isn't a lot of conversions with the FedEx envelopes either. Sometimes we only get 1 call out of 60 of these FedEx envelope that we send and the prospect won't even want to meet. They will only talk over the phone and will want to get RIGHT TO THE POINT of what your selling and how much it cost. You'll get no chance to pitch them, no time to tell them the benefits of your service or anything like that. So you must understand
So due to the low performance of the brown envelopes we started sending the FedEx envelopes again. Its getting harder to use this method because the post office could simply send your envelopes back and at $1.30-$1.50 each it hurts (not counting the 12-24 hours you put into doing the research, printing & packaging 50 packets or finding 50-60 blank FedEx envelopes to use each week!). To help reduce the number of FedEx envelopes that get sent back we split them up and send with 2-3 different post offices.
So the method works but its not cheap and very time consuming. Our best advice is to know what your getting into before you start and use more than this one lead generation method. Just like investors in the stock markets you need to DIVERSIFY your lead generation portfolio. Try to use at least 2-3 lead generation methods each week and MEASURE the performance. Rotate methods by getting rid of the one that are not working. Ideally, you find 2-3 lead generation methods that work pretty well that will fill your sales funnel each week. Good luck!
