Breaking the Barrier

I'll be honest, I'm sure as hell not going to beat around the bush I know you guys don't want that crap and I sure as hell wouldn't. So here it is.

I've been acting on advice here on BHW and I'm not letting failure stop me. I don't know what the next step to succeed is but with the amount of failures I got under my belt success is gonna land. Here's a quick run down of what I've done thus far.

So far I have:

1. Done research, lots of it and made sure I stayed focused on services that benefit local businesses nothing else!

2. Created websites with keywords that rank first page for local businesses with a good volume of searches.

3. Called these local businesses to rent these sites(no dice)

4. Setup a corporation for marketing

5. Began cold calling 100-200 restaurants per day to setup SMS marketing VIP clubs within their restaurant.

6. Got the script down packed to the point of getting past the gate keeper 90% of the time when the owner was available(less than 10% of the time) and setup a number of interviews for the following few weeks.

7. Changed up my offer to include a free month, kept the price at a reasonable $250 per month and a demonstration of how it worked via my smartphone during the interview(no dice despite a good level of enthusiasm). I even walked door to door to restaurants immediately talking to the owners/managers when they were there. I never got a bad response by phone or in person, but I didn't get a check either.

8. Decided to switch up and sell SEO through cold calling. Instead of going with the direct sales method I decided referrals will be the way to go I realized I'm obviously dealing with trust issues. So I started pitching FREE (yep free) web design to accountants who want it and I rather then appear disingenuous informed them of how new my company is and that my sincere intent is to provide a solid service for the purpose of getting good referrals. I also alluded to the fact that should they refer me they would enjoy a big fat 10% for each client they sent my way that wrote me a check upfront!


So where am I now? Like I said above I'm going to continue refining my strategies, shifting my methods/services if that's what I discover the client wants and letting any luck, let any helping hand to grab on to mine to break through that barrier where money starts entering my hands for a change.

I want to help people, and myself. I can genuinely create value through the things I have learned here on BHW.

I'm assuming your new so that may be the very problem. People generally don't want to pay for marketing unless they can see what the money they put in is going to get them and its a relatively sure thing.

Also selling yourself may just not be your thing, some people are just naturally great at closing deals while it is more difficult for others.

Perhaps you could pretend you're pitching me and lay out what you would say I'll see if I can give some more specific pointers.

Yes I would like to hear your pitch and also know what kind of look you are sporting it has a lot to do with how people see you they see your company.

Dizz

wowhaxor said:

I'm assuming your new so that may be the very problem. People generally don't want to pay for marketing unless they can see what the money they put in is going to get them and its a relatively sure thing.

Also selling yourself may just not be your thing, some people are just naturally great at closing deals while it is more difficult for others.

Perhaps you could pretend you're pitching me and lay out what you would say I'll see if I can give some more specific pointers.

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Well currently what I say is the following.

Me: Hey how are you doing?

Owner: Great how can I help you?

Me: I spoke with someone last week over some of the marketing efforts of the accounting firm and was asked to call you today. We're setting up websites for accountants and we are doing this for free. We're a fairly new company and we want to get the word out about what we can do so we know if we provide you with something valuable you'll talk about us and that's all we want!

Do you have a website currently?

Owner: 1. No 2. Yes 3. I don't need one

Me:

1. Lets get one setup for you right away I'm currently in the area and I'm a little busy today and tomorrow so lets schedule an appointment for wednesday at 10:00am

Owner that sounds good.

2. Ok are you on the first page of google with your website?

Owner: No

Me: This is what we mainly focus on for our clients, getting them more business through their website. Right now there is X amount of searches being done by people who are looking for your services in your area. We put you in position to get this level of business and we can do this for your business clients as well. Do you think this is something that would increase your current marketing efforts?

Owner: Oh yes, yes it would.

Me: Ok I'm currently in the area and I'm a little busy today and tomorrow so lets schedule an appointment for wednesday at 10:00am.

3. In this last response I've honestly tried a few rebuttals, what I mainly try to do is tell them that a website will add to their firm's professional image ensuring that they can showcase that in the online marketplace as well and that I am willing to pay some solid referrals should they send some clients my way giving them the details on how their clients can benefit from SEO etc. I've landed appointments that way.

dizz said:

Yes I would like to hear your pitch and also know what kind of look you are sporting it has a lot to do with how people see you they see your company.

Dizz

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I dress well, professional. Clean cut, good dress shoes, nice watch, gold bracelet, rings. Complete with business cards, laptop carry bag etc. No Ipad 2 yet but lets hope soon.

I'm not a marketing expert but I do have experience selling advertising -- very recent experience. I can tell you right off the bat that it's the toughest market ever right now. Businesses don't want to pay for ANYTHING. They're going for social networking stuff and other outlets that are cheap or free. They're also doing Groupon, etc. to drive sales.

IMO, you have a wonderful idea, a solid approach and (probably) a great image. The problem is not you. It's the bad economy. Nobody wants to spend money these days, especially without guarantees. Just my $0.02, of course.

Maybe you can break the barrier and get a lucrative business going, in spite of economic adversity ... I wish you the best of luck.

MMBlack said:

I'm not a marketing expert but I do have experience selling advertising -- very recent experience. I can tell you right off the bat that it's the toughest market ever right now. Businesses don't want to pay for ANYTHING. They're going for social networking stuff and other outlets that are cheap or free. They're also doing Groupon, etc. to drive sales.

IMO, you have a wonderful idea, a solid approach and (probably) a great image. The problem is not you. It's the bad economy. Nobody wants to spend money these days, especially without guarantees. Just my $0.02, of course.

Maybe you can break the barrier and get a lucrative business going, in spite of economic adversity ... I wish you the best of luck.

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Thanks MMBlack I took a good look at what you said and that is what I've experienced they're going for cheap or free as well as Groupon. I probably missed out on this aspect but it might be a good time to offer a gaurantee. Something along the lines of I'll rank x amount of keywords etc or your money back. At least then the owner won't feel like a putz just giving money for nothing.

I'm going to push some pro bono work to get my foot in the door for people who have powerful circles of influence ie accountants, lawyers, etc.

Create some good will, value and a little word of mouth to boot.

That's my plan of action for Wednesday. I'll be posting updates over the next few days over how it's all going.

Master099 said:

I dress well, professional. Clean cut, good dress shoes, nice watch, gold bracelet, rings. Complete with business cards, laptop carry bag etc. No Ipad 2 yet but lets hope soon.

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i would remove bracelet and rings except wedding ring. Too much jewelry feel kind a dodgy to me and remindes me of car insurance seller. You don't need to prove yourself wealthy, just professional and convincing. i have years of direct experience with accountants