Canvasing Local Business Case Study
- Thread starter WebOracle
- Start date
WebOracle
Regular Member
- Aug 7, 2011
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So it's been bad weather and raining all week where I live. I was still interested in drumming up some business locally. So what I did was take some advice from Taktical's thread and put a spin on it. I took the idea of using a 10% commission paid for referrals, rewrote it to fit my pricing and services offered, and then posted it on craigslist in the jobs section with the title "Easiest Job In The World." I have had such a huge response I had to post here. I posted it two days this week in two different sections and have had 10+ emails, and about 5 phone calls. From those I have had 4 referrals, 3 of those where phone calls and 1 face to face. I closed 2 of the phone calls, the third was worse then a cold call...lol they did not know who referred me and hung up on me mid sentence. The two that I did close were for websites(upsell potential) and the face to face rescheduled on me, supposed to meet with him tomorrow(auto repair shop for website, adwords, SEO).
I am still going to have the canvassers start when the weather lightens up. Also I did come across a great sales rep that contacted me off of the ad and has already started working with me. So all in all the craigslist idea was a hit and I am still waiting to start the canvassing.
The craigslist ad was free and netted me $3,150 + monthly hosting fees after referral commissions were paid.
....Canvassing- still in the bullpen.
I am still going to have the canvassers start when the weather lightens up. Also I did come across a great sales rep that contacted me off of the ad and has already started working with me. So all in all the craigslist idea was a hit and I am still waiting to start the canvassing.
The craigslist ad was free and netted me $3,150 + monthly hosting fees after referral commissions were paid.
....Canvassing- still in the bullpen.
Taktical
Elite Member
- May 15, 2011
- 1,641
- 3,343
hello! Doing this right now...
NYC you have to pay $25 to post in the jobs section, so i'll probably do "gigs offered"
NYC you have to pay $25 to post in the jobs section, so i'll probably do "gigs offered"
sanjeev2010
Regular Member
- Oct 11, 2008
- 201
- 90
@tak
So how did your post on Craigslist pan out?
So how did your post on Craigslist pan out?
Spawn
BANNED
- Jun 20, 2009
- 1,184
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" A few businesses" is not nearly enough to test anything.
WebOracle
Regular Member
- Aug 7, 2011
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Alright so I ended up with only one girl setting appointments and just had a guy come aboard. They both worked a few hours a day last week and set 8 appointments for next week. I'll post more next week with the with the details.
WebOracle
Regular Member
- Aug 7, 2011
- 250
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It's been going really good we are averaging about 5-6 meetings a week just off of the canvasing plus we call and set appointments and call nationally as well. I actually just messed up my close ratio, I have one guy that is going through a divorce and has to wait a few weeks until we start. And another guy that just purchased new equipment and has to wait as well. But I am very confident that I can get them closed once they have the cash. That is the only downfall working in Nevada is that the economy is so bad that there are so many businesses that are broke and/or going out of business. In return I get a client that's business is relying on the results that I can show them which is sometimes good and sometimes bad when they are so desperate to see fast results.
For the most part I we have been getting a lot of website deal, which is good because I make sure we plant the SEO/SEM seed a few times during the process.
I am working towards a milestone right now and once I hit it in the next couple of months I am going to post a share all thread and divulge some other things that have been essential to my success!
For the most part I we have been getting a lot of website deal, which is good because I make sure we plant the SEO/SEM seed a few times during the process.
I am working towards a milestone right now and once I hit it in the next couple of months I am going to post a share all thread and divulge some other things that have been essential to my success!
Good luck, seems like your full steam ahead and will be making good money soon.
Do you do your own SEO work or use others?
It must be tempting to promise everything, but how do you give them not so high expectations and still close the deal, nothing worse than a client coming back at you 6 months down the line and saying there not seeing results.
Do you do your own SEO work or use others?
It must be tempting to promise everything, but how do you give them not so high expectations and still close the deal, nothing worse than a client coming back at you 6 months down the line and saying there not seeing results.
WebOracle
Regular Member
- Aug 7, 2011
- 250
- 164
Thanks, I am full steam ahead! For the SEO work I have a pretty good system down that has been showing great results for my clients. I would say I am about 50/50 with the work I do and outsource. I use BTB Linkpushing service here which is a great addition to my link building strategy and shows awesome initial movement.
The way that I close deals without promising them the world and set realistic expectations. Is #1 having several clients that have seen great results that allow me to use them as references. #2 I ask them how long they plan on being in their business, I always get a response numbering in years. And after they answer me with forever or 20 years then I tell them great because SEO is not for someone that doesn't plan on being in business for the long run. It is more of a long-term investment that will eventually have them dominating their market, but it takes time. I build value in the service by explaining to them the type of conversion they can see from SEO and primer them by saying it could take up to three months before they see results and then when I show them results right away they are thrilled. I also think in my head that the money I am asking for is nothing really compared to the results they will see and I am sure this helps with my body language and tone of voice when asking for the money.
I run Google Ads for them for their targeted keywords until I have them ranked on the first page so that they will see some traffic during the process. And another thing I resort to if I can't get the deal closed is I offer our No Risk SEO package. They will not have to pay will not have to pay a dime until they see the first page for one of their targeted keywords. I also let the potential client know my intentions and that I am in it to earn them as a life long client.
I think that there are a lot of people out there that promise businesses the world so when you come at them with realistic goals and expectations they can see you are offer a genuine service and are more at ease.
"I run Google Ads for them for their targeted keywords until I have them ranked on the first page so that they will see some traffic during the process."
Simple but good idea. One other question. Do you choose the keywords to rank for or do they?...If it is a very competitive keyword it may take many months if not longer to get ranked.
Simple but good idea. One other question. Do you choose the keywords to rank for or do they?...If it is a very competitive keyword it may take many months if not longer to get ranked.
WebOracle
Regular Member
- Aug 7, 2011
- 250
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Yes I choose they keywords for the clients. I feel keyword research is a very important part of SEO that will set the stage for the progress you are able to show the client. If they want to choose a keyword that is really tough of out of reach then I let them know that they need to achieve rankings for smaller keywords before we can go after the big ones. If they are stuck on a keyword they want to rank for I will put it in my list of targeted keywords so they can see what type of movement they see for it vs the movement for the keywords that I researched.
PauloPT
Regular Member
- May 22, 2008
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So in your meeting with the prospect you tell them they don't pay until they see the results?
How do you go about setting up a contract then, or moving forward with them? Do you not charge them now?
You tell them it can take 3 months to see results, but you give them the results right away through Adwords when you start working with them as a way to surprise them?
WebOracle
Regular Member
- Aug 7, 2011
- 250
- 164
@PauloPT
So in your meeting with the prospect you tell them they don't pay until they see the results?
I will only do this as a last resort if I can not close the deal. I let them know that they qualify for our No Risk SEO plan and then do not bill them until they see the first page.
How do you go about setting up a contract then, or moving forward with them? Do you not charge them now?
I have them sign a contract that is specific to No Risk which states they will not be billed until we rank them on the first page for at least one of their targeted keywords. The contract also has the targeted keywords listed and I collect all of the billing info at this time as well.
You tell them it can take 3 months to see results, but you give them the results right away through Adwords when you start working with them as a way to surprise them?
I tell them it can take up to three months to see results from SEO. I run Adwords so that they can see some type of traffic. And I usually rank them on the first page for one of their targeted keywords within the first month. I feel that it is good to set lower expectations so then when you deliver early or show better than expected results you will receive great praise from your clients and they will be ecstatic that and be left feeling you went above and beyond. If it takes you some time to rank them then you deliver on time and showed them what you told them you could do in the time frame you told them. But I have learned that when you make promises or set too high of expectations for your clients you are setting yourself up for the chance at under delivering also the client is already expecting amazing results and they will hold you to them.
So in your meeting with the prospect you tell them they don't pay until they see the results?
I will only do this as a last resort if I can not close the deal. I let them know that they qualify for our No Risk SEO plan and then do not bill them until they see the first page.
How do you go about setting up a contract then, or moving forward with them? Do you not charge them now?
I have them sign a contract that is specific to No Risk which states they will not be billed until we rank them on the first page for at least one of their targeted keywords. The contract also has the targeted keywords listed and I collect all of the billing info at this time as well.
You tell them it can take 3 months to see results, but you give them the results right away through Adwords when you start working with them as a way to surprise them?
I tell them it can take up to three months to see results from SEO. I run Adwords so that they can see some type of traffic. And I usually rank them on the first page for one of their targeted keywords within the first month. I feel that it is good to set lower expectations so then when you deliver early or show better than expected results you will receive great praise from your clients and they will be ecstatic that and be left feeling you went above and beyond. If it takes you some time to rank them then you deliver on time and showed them what you told them you could do in the time frame you told them. But I have learned that when you make promises or set too high of expectations for your clients you are setting yourself up for the chance at under delivering also the client is already expecting amazing results and they will hold you to them.
WebOracle
Regular Member
- Aug 7, 2011
- 250
- 164
Lol well it depends if you are talking about general intelligence or internet related intelligence. Yes most of my clients have or are currently running ads in Adwords. And I always make sure they understand the difference if they are not. I compare the difference between ads and organic with my potential clients and build value in SEO through the comparison.