Client meeting, Private Real Estate Agent wants the WORKS.

Make him believe he can't do it without you and you are the only person who can do this job for him! Also you said you got a 2nd call, did you post your resume somewhere or how did they find you?

Sounds like a full time job to me. I hope $1500 a month pays your bills.

alexdb7 said:

Sounds like a full time job to me. I hope $1500 a month pays your bills.

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You either haven't read a thing and responded based on what you saw further up the thread, or just didn't full understand what was being said. Re-read what I've said so far please.

Jumbo_Refill said:

Make him believe he can't do it without you and you are the only person who can do this job for him! Also you said you got a 2nd call, did you post your resume somewhere or how did they find you?

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Absolutely, I'm coming up with the best way to present that too him and future potential clients as well. I saw ads in craigslist. They were actually old posts and I didn't expect anyone to get back to me because of that. Yes they initially look for "employees" but once they let me talk and sell them (or attempt to) on me as a consultant/contractor.

IM, social marketing, blogging, email marketing, they really can't teach you the advanced stuff that works at schools. That's why I laugh when I see these "jobs" wanting people with degrees. I have real world experience working with businesses.

It just so happens that life took a turn for me a few years or ago and things went south. But I'm back in the saddle now and ready to ride this bull again!

Anyway. I'm going for the $3K check, and when I meet with the other people I'll be doing the same thing again. Get your foot in the door any way you can with a potential client IMO.

splishsplash said:

He's looking for someone on the cheap. That's why he's contacted you. From the sounds of your resume you would be easy prey for him.



No no no. You don't justify anything. He's manipulating you.

If you approached a large SEO company and got a quote then asked them to breakdown all their costs and justify it, they would laugh you out the room.

You're the business. You don't justify shit. You can charge what you like. Those are YOUR costs.

You can give him a breakdown, which might be

$100/mo : maintenance of facebook page
$200/mo: maintenance of twitter feed

etc etc, but you don't discuss your own costs or contractors fees. Those are not his business.




Get a grip, man. Do you want to be an entrepreneur making $10k/mo+ profit and living the life of your dreams, or do you want to be a schmuck making $1500/mo working for some other guy who's living the dream.



He's manipulating you BIG TIME. This is EXACTLY why he's hand picked you based on your resume. I've ran into these people on plenty of occasions. Big shots who dress sharp and will try to impress the shit out of you with their own experience and income. Anyone who fucking crap about you working in real estate with him is trying to hook you in with empty future promises so you'll work like a slave in exchange for a few scraps here and there.

"possibly" working closely my ass. What a load of nonsense. Are you your own man, or do you want some fancy charlatan in an expensive suit to take advantage of you?

Fuck real estate. Focus on your own business and your own bottom line. Give him a breakdown of what he's paying for (NOT YOUR COSTS. YOUR PRICES) and sell him on the benefits. If he doesn't want it, then get the fuck out of there because you're damn close to finding yourself giving up all your own dreams and slaving away for this guy while living a barely mediocre life.




You're absolutely oozing of desperation and he knows it. It's not a damn good opportunity. It's crap and you're going to sell your own dreams away for his.

Trust you? He's really done a number on you. He's got you thinking that you need to prove something to him so he could just give you a chance. Forget that. The attitude you want is that you're a successful business and you get shit done. If he wants shit done you might be able to fit him in as a new client for a full-services package.

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^PLEASE tell me you listened to this guy. It's cold-hard truth he's spitting

On the flip side, it really sounds like OP is looking for a "stepping stone" and this may be exactly what he needs! If he's getting contracted out and is just getting paid just $20/hr (which I think sucks), then he's not really "slaving."

1) because he knows what the terms and agreements are and adhear to them
2) because he can GTFO of there whenever the fuck he pleases

I'm a firm believer of getting the MOST out of your time, but there's also negotiation as well as how much you value your time.

SO, if you believe that your time is worth X amount, by all means go for it. At the very least you get some experience going and a better paycheck than you currently are getting, doing something that YOU are passionate about.

The caveat here is to always be re-evaluating the value of your time. If you reach new heights and your real estate guy doesn't want to negotiate your payroll, then don't be afraid to move on to the next thing that you feel will keep you growing.

And if you only listen to one thing that is stated in this post, SAVE SOME MONEY. You will need it. Also, you do sound like a "good guy" in the sense you are a hard worker and are in tune with others' perspectives. Unfortunately, that also means that you might get walked allthefuckover if you don't know boundaries. It's a cold world and it really, really won't hurt to save as much money as you possibly can while you can for your future funzies.

Hey, this might work really swell for you as you can get some real estate knowledge, money in the bank and some buying opportunities. I know for sure I'm looking at some investment gems as far as housing here in NY goes. And a big reason why I have the ability to do that is because I was able to SAVE a bulk of cash that I made from 2013 and can explore some growth building opportunities.

Best of luck to you, sincerely.

LoDownLoad said:

Yet another AWESOME response! I calculated an hourly fee from my initial number... Wasnt good. I figured since I was outsourcing the vast majority it'd be ok, but now that you guys have me thinking...

I'll basically be an international project manager... Plus some things I'll do on my own... Plus I'll have to put all this shit together and provide reports. The part about being "up-my-ass" really put it all in perspective. If you're gonna be all up my ass I better be getting paid good for it!

$15/HR x 40/HRs per week= $600 x 4 weeks= $2400/Month

OR

$627(costs) x 2= $1254 + $15/HR x 6/HRs x 5 days/Weekly x 4 weeks= $1800+$1254(costs x2)= $3054... I could drop that to $2999 (basically 3K like @Spook2992 says)

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$15 and hr is minumum wage mate, if you're trying to sell your "highly specialist skills", you need to take pride and realise that you're worth more than that.

No client expects you to work 40/hrs per week on a project, that's full time employment.

Work out the value of the service in their eyes, and charge it proportional to gains they may get, remember if he gets one client in a month from the service, he gets commision on a house sale ($20,000), gets a rental agreement ($3000 per month??), think about the value of the service to them for your pricing, not the other way around.

You work out what they need, then the benefit to them, and then proportionally give value based on the benefit to them.

So for example, your working with a lawyer who wants email marketing, a targeted list of lawyers would cost 3x as much than that of fishing enthusiasts, so you charge 3x more than your fishing client.


This helps you get the max money from each client, while still providing value.

FPS

LoDownLoad said:

Ok... First of all.. I THANK ALL OF YOU for your input, insight, advice, words of wisdom, etc.


The craigslist posting was for a job, however I went in with the ulterior motive of getting a contract : ). We have another meeting planned for next week... This is where I'm determined to close the deal or walk...


No one's mind-fucked me (lol) or taking advantage. I see opportunities from all angles. I wasn't even looking for "clients" when I ran across his post. I actually was looking for a second job to provide cashflow for my IM business..


I'm very much an IM entreprenuer (in the making). I saw the opportunity, I shot, and we have a 2nd meeting...


As far as breakdowns go... I'm providing an overview of services in the amount of $2999. I'll "waive" $3999 and make him an offer he can't refuse. The first and best option is the monthly package which works out better for both of us. The second option is hourly... No less than $20/hr, EXTREME basics, nothing fancy or advanced at all, just basic posting, etc.


Why is hourly an option for me?.. Again, I work for ridiculously low pay killing my body.
$15-$20/hr is a huge jump from $8.50 my friends. Again, I was really looking for something to provide positive cashflow into my IM business.


I know and understand this offline game is EXTREMELY LUCRATIVE. My plan was to go back to building an offline biz when I made enough in my IM biz ($10k/Mo.). This way I eliminate the need to ever go back to a traditional job because again... I would have created a second stream of positive cashflow income to fund the main business.


Long story short, I'm shooting for $3K/Mo. On a side note I just realized I could just as well freelance on Odesk/elance for $20/hr. But again If I can close it than I'm going for it!


P.S.


Got an email & call from a HUGE "Urban" clothing store today. They have stores (as far as I know) all over the mid-south/southeast. I sent em' the resume, they got back promptly...
However this first one turns out the universe sent me a 2nd opportunity! They're looking for a blogger... Again, at the end of it I'm GOING FOR THE GUSTO!


Thanks again my friends. I'll keep everyone updated. Damn I love BHW btw : ).


Also as far as the realtor guy... Any tips on successfully closing the deal in my favor? Whatever the best reccomendation is WILL be implemented next week. As well as a multitude of what's already been discussed here so far. : )

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Think about what he values most out of the business, and manipulate your words to show how each thing you provide, benefits his core dream and end goal.

Then add the "wave the setup fee" to close.

FPS

Hello LoDownLoad,

Imagine you are detective investigating a case, a case about what's important to the client* ask him questions about his business needs/wants, where he is/doing now and where he wants to be/doing in the future... then after you are done gathering all the important information Pull out your magnifying glass show him how you can get him what he needs/wants, and take him into the future, tell him about what to expect when partnering up together [how he will be able to get more listing, book more seminars, etc.] also acknowledge him for investing* in his online presence to bring in more business, it's a wise decision.

Playing that part, mentioned above will help you learn more about him and his business, and using that information to position yourself as the beacon to his success.. He will more likely hire you. Hope the above is helpful. Other than that...

I enjoyed your "Setup Fee Waived" line, good closing statement! And

regardless the outcome, I applaud you for shifting it from a "job position" to "obtaining a client" I am sure if you keep doing that and tune your pitch by explaining how it is wiser & cheaper to take the monthly service. You will be picking them up with ease. [Remember] they are looking for online help already; they just need to know why the monthly service is what they need to get there.

Keep It Up!


"Out of Nothing"

Didn't have time to read the whole thread. You're doing it wrong. Stop selling bullshit services to the guy and sell the outcome.

You really think he wants some crappy email marketing, SEO, website or any of that unrelated crap? No.

He wants his phone to ring with people wanting to buy or sell a house.

Now use your knowledge to make that happen. When you do that, you can charge a lot more and be in full control. You sell a result, and deliver it. They don't need to know what you're doing, SEO, PCC, email marketing, etc.

If you're thinking in terms of "hourly" and being happy with $15-$20/hr, you're doing it wrong. Sorry. Do something that you can scale.

OP, I think you need to read a book called Think and Grow Rich. In the meantime, there has already been some solid advice posted in this thread, but I'd like to highlight a few things for you:

Pricing Strategy - When you buy an Xbox at Walmart, do you care what they paid for it? Same goes with your client. He wants a solution that will bring in new, profitable, sales. He doesn't want to pay someone to sit on a computer for x hours, nor does he care what it costs you to get the results. He just wants results. Set your price based on the value of of your product in the market. This sounds abstract but its really not. Justify your price based on projected sales, and set partial contingency pricing based on results. Break even, then profit when you get the results you're promising.

Value - I didn't see much talk about value in this thread, and I'm guessing this has been communicated to your client as well. In this type of selling scenario, price should be discussed last. Right now you need to focus on gathering information and developing solutions that would fit his needs. Educate him. Once he sees how you will make him money, the price will be a non-issue. He'll assume a higher price just means he'll get even better results than he expected.

Starting Out - Don't ever tell him, but be honest with yourself that you are just starting out. If you do a killer job getting him the results he wants, he'll be coming back buying several magnitudes more and referring you all his buddies. If the project goes through, understand your freedom depends on his ROI. 40hrs/wk won't cut it. You need to learn and research like crazy to LEARN to provide better services than the competition. This isn't your 1054th customer. Its your first. Don't delude yourself that you know exactly what to do. Be available 24/7, give him way more than he ever asked for. Just don't let him take advantage of you. If he attempts to, make him feel like you'll walk without saying it explicitly.

The relationship is key - These services are a commodity, nobody likes to admit that here but its true. There are 41k other established firms he could go to for (brutally honestly) probably better results, or at least a better chance of success. My point is not to depress you here. Just keep in mind that in an environment of high competition and low entry barriers, he as a lot of options. Most of them are unreliable and scammers. They'll sit around and squabble over $50. They won't deliver on promises. You can't scale on innovation because there is none (again, brutal honesty). But you can scale your relationship network.. quite successfully. Make yourself indispensable and loved. Make him afraid to to say no to an up-sell because he can't survive without your services.

Just my $.02 doing this for years. PM me if you want some help buddy.

I've begun working with real estate agents within my local area. I've been doing Seller Listing lead generation by Social Media PPC. I've been able to generate legitimate seller leads via buying traffic and pointing to a landing page. I highly advise you look into it.