Advice on my next move with potential SEO client

Hi guys,

I had my second meeting with a potential client yesterday. The first meeting was a preliminary meeting and the second was with the owner. It went very well, he was impressed and said he was committed to hiring me. He definitely saw the value in SEO and was asking lots of questions.

In the end he said he would want a fairly expensive package at 2k+ per month. He then revealed that he was getting an entirely new site rebuilt which would be finished in a few months. So, I can’t sign them up for a month to month package because their old site is going to be binned. Once the new site is created, they want to go ahead with this package.

In the meantime, they want to use me as a consultant. To work with the developers to overlook the build of the site from an SEO perspective. This of course, isn’t going to be a big pay day for me right away and will reduce my work load once the site is built. Meaning I will make less because they’ll be less work to do. They also want me to clean up the link profile as well in the meantime becasue I discovered a lot of spammy links. They are good on money, they just want me to send a proposal over with my offer for consulting, links and then the SEO package once the site is built.

Do you guys have any ideas how I could leverage my skillset and make as much money as possible before the site is built? Of course this cant include any on-page work due to a new site being built. I wish it could though! Let me know how you would maximise output in this situation. Im fairly new to the freelance game.

Anyone?

I would recommend that you look at the relationship aspect of the work. First of all you may not receive a big payday from the work you do at first however, it allows you to build relationships with people that will allow you the ability to gain more work. The people building the website have other clients. Why can't you build a relationship and work out something that allows everyone to win in order to give you the ability to market your services to the rest of their clients. What about the website owner. If he is able to spend this kind of money he likely knows other business owners who also have the same type of cash flow and are able to use your services. Have you asked for referrals from him yet? This alone could give you clients almost instantly.

How many hours will you be consulting? Hourly Rate x Number of Hours or charge them a flat rate
Charge them $2k-$3k per month for consulting, + whatever you charge for link clean up

Asif WILSON Khan said:

How many hours will you be consulting? Hourly Rate x Number of Hours or charge them a flat rate
Charge them $2k-$3k per month for consulting, + whatever you charge for link clean up

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Not actually sure yet, its unpredictable at this point. Ill need to take a look at the website

2-3K seems very heavy just for consulting tbh. I don't see how i can provide that much value while the site is being built. @Asif WILSON Khan

Br4mz said:

Hi guys,

I had my second meeting with a potential client yesterday. The first meeting was a preliminary meeting and the second was with the owner. It went very well, he was impressed and said he was committed to hiring me. He definitely saw the value in SEO and was asking lots of questions.

In the end he said he would want a fairly expensive package at 2k+ per month. He then revealed that he was getting an entirely new site rebuilt which would be finished in a few months. So, I can’t sign them up for a month to month package because their old site is going to be binned. Once the new site is created, they want to go ahead with this package.

In the meantime, they want to use me as a consultant. To work with the developers to overlook the build of the site from an SEO perspective. This of course, isn’t going to be a big pay day for me right away and will reduce my work load once the site is built. Meaning I will make less because they’ll be less work to do. They also want me to clean up the link profile as well in the meantime becasue I discovered a lot of spammy links. They are good on money, they just want me to send a proposal over with my offer for consulting, links and then the SEO package once the site is built.

Do you guys have any ideas how I could leverage my skillset and make as much money as possible before the site is built? Of course this cant include any on-page work due to a new site being built. I wish it could though! Let me know how you would maximise output in this situation. Im fairly new to the freelance game.

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Depends how much offsite and onsite you are doing. TBH the new site could take months or drag into 2019. Just explain any content that you make now will be transferable to the new site and you will be that much ahead of the game if we start now. You don't want to loose them but being a consultant now and then more later... explain by going with the full deal that you will be exclusive to them for a certain geo or some shit like that. Time is money from my experience the sweet spot for us is 1800-2500 a month for just regular seo stuff not including paid search. After 3k most clients will hire inside, however there are a lot here that have 4-10k month clients. It's just our own sweet spot that works. Consulting will usually be under 500 a month after that it's more being a vendor and doing instead of just consulting. It's a tough call, and it's a jaded world, they can dump you after you've consulted your heart out and then again will bring in you forever for doing it. Depends on the niche or vertical I suppose.

b1step-ahead said:

Depends how much offsite and onsite you are doing. TBH the new site could take months or drag into 2019. Just explain any content that you make now will be transferable to the new site and you will be that much ahead of the game if we start now. You don't want to loose them but being a consultant now and then more later... explain by going with the full deal that you will be exclusive to them for a certain geo or some shit like that. Time is money from my experience the sweet spot for us is 1800-2500 a month for just regular seo stuff not including paid search. After 3k most clients will hire inside, however there are a lot here that have 4-10k month clients. It's just our own sweet spot that works. Consulting will usually be under 500 a month after that it's more being a vendor and doing instead of just consulting. It's a tough call, and it's a jaded world, they can dump you after you've consulted your heart out and then again will bring in you forever for doing it. Depends on the niche or vertical I suppose.

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You make a good point, new website builds are always late by at least 3 months. I like the idea of the transferable content, I will need to speak with the developers to see how far along they are.

Thanks man

Br4mz said:

You make a good point, new website builds are always late by at least 3 months. I like the idea of the transferable content, I will need to speak with the developers to see how far along they are.

Thanks man

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You're welcome! Get in fast, charge the big bucks, win em over with your performance. You're time is just as valuable.

This sounds like a shitty arrangement. They are promising you work in the future but the reality is they are giving you nothing immediately. Anyone knows that when a customer promises you something in the futrure but doesnt commit to it, you are more than likely going to receive nothing.

The only way to build a client b2b business is to build on the relationship. Its not about the service you're offering, its about the relationship with the business owner. Make that your priority, the reality is you can offer any service, SEO, web design, coding but you need to be working directly with the business owner. Working with his developers or 3rd party developers is bullshit.

TLDR; Find a real client so that you are not so desperate.

There's a lot you can do from a consulting point in the beginning stages since it's actually the most important part. I mean I have seen some shitty sites with no compressed html, js or css code, no compressed images, title tags all off, all services listed on one page with none of them broken up to distinguish between different services, meta-data looking bad, etc. That's really the tip of it all but what separates a really good seo consultant from an average seo consultant is being able to explain to clients how much work you did for them and how much it will benefit their business online.

For one of my clients I break it down for them so they understand it to a basic level, but I explain how each part will increase their leads, save them money, get them higher against the competition since their competition isn't doing it, get them to do what their competitors are doing so they can see if they can inch ahead in that particular keyword etc.

Lastly and I think the most important part that I wish someone told me when I first started doing SEO/Web Development/Digital Marketing 2-3 years ago is you have to find a way to make them somewhat dependent on you, you need to create some form of control to keep this going so your not out looking for clients with no money in 3 months again. I don't mean doing anything bad or shady, just have them understand that getting you to the top is only a part of it. It's like a vehicle that needs tire changes, oil changes and routine maintenance. Getting to the top is only the beginning, they will still need off page seo, and more to get them to maintain great rankings. It's an investment in the end, you charge them 2-3 grand and if everything goes as planned they will make an extra 5 grand+ depending on the business a month from organic traffic. If they are ranking high, look at their social media presence, online reputation, video marketing, brand, etc and see what else you can get them to do that's outside of just SEO to make more money.

How much is the figure in your mind ? If someone suggests you a much higher figure, it will be hard to digest for you. This will reflect in your communication with the buyer.

Br4mz said:

2-3K seems very heavy just for consulting tbh. I don't see how i can provide that much value while the site is being built. @Asif WILSON Khan

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They are paying for your expertise. The fact you doubt you are worth it, probably means you are not ready to take on clients. Don't undervalue yourself.

The alternative is to work out your hourly rate and charge them for the number of hours you will be consulting.

xavier23 said:

TLDR; Find a real client so that you are not so desperate.

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My thought exactly. The consulting work isn't going to occupy your entire day everyday. There's plenty of time in your day to do work for another client or two that will put more money in your pocket right now.

How long you been working on getting this client OP? I ask because I find some deals take longer than others but I have found anything over a month your really dealing with stupid people that don't understand your value.

I had a company that had their website hacked and it showed in their metadata in the serps it was hacked and it took them a month to finally agree for me to fix it for them, even tried to low ball me. It's messed up since they use primarily organic traffic to get customers and they still didn't see the value in having it fixed within a week. Those are clients you don't want.

Another thing is people often get emails from spammy seo services offering them page 1 for $99 a month from some chump in India and then balk when you want to charge $500 a month.

I must get 2 of these spammy emails daily.

This could very easily end up in a situation where you are investing too much time into the clients project and not getting paid enough. There is only so much money they would put into consultancy in this particular situation as there is only so much advice you could give them. I've been freelance and run an SEO company in the UK a while back, problem is a lot of clients think they can just pick the phone up whenever they need advice / an opinion on something, you need to be quite clear with your packages and what they involve. Remember, you can't steer the ship from the engine room ... Keep time aside for yourself and other opportunities.

MarvinMartian said:

How long you been working on getting this client OP? I ask because I find some deals take longer than others but I have found anything over a month your really dealing with stupid people that don't understand your value.

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Only 2 weeks, the first meeting was with someone in marketing. Then she liked it enough to bring the owner in. I agree with your point here, but it depends on what companies you're dealing with. I visited a client today who said there are 20 directors who have a vote to decide if they need your services. He was the marketing manager. The larger the company, the most expensive you charge, therefore the longer it takes. Also really agree with your point about keeping the client forever!

darkfury said:

here you are investing too much time into the clients project and not getting paid enough

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Very true, in the end I sent them a proposal for cleaning up their link profile up until the site is done. This will be good monthly recurring revenue for me and any consulting fee's can go on top.

Thanks for the help guys, great advice from all