Help for a poor desperate newbie please

Hi All,

first of all I would like to give thanx to BHW and all the members for GREAT information and an abundance of it!

ok so lets start about me - im looking at doing IM and making money but a spin on some things I have seen (will explain below). The reason for this is I work 1.5hrs from home, so 3 hours travel each day for average wage. Needs to change and fast.

the reason it needs to be fast is my health is slowly declining so need something to take the travel out so I can get better, the faster this works the better for me

I have made the below deal (sorry link wont post as im still to new here )

- Custom made website (limited to static pages or info pages)
- Hosting provided
- $100 adwords campaign
- on page SEO
- Domain registration
- Backups taken regularly.

All for $25 per month!

Now I have emailed out this offer but have yet even had a nibble (sent about 2000 emails).

In addition I have run adwords campaigns which get me alot of traffic but no converts.

What I would be after, if anyone is willing to help, is advise or help on how to change this. All I need is 160 people signed up paying to survive financially but so far only have 2 (friends of mine).

I feel it may be the "sales" page or even the email I send but I dont know anything about sales, only customer service and making websites

All and any help is so very much appriciated

You can try and open a BST here on BHW. Btw do you provide $100 adwords voucher every month for just $25 including with all the other features of the package. If yes then you may hit gold and people may start buying your serive here on bhw.

HADAKUMULLAH

Hi and thank you so much for replying.
Originally I only provide the voucher at the begining. But no reason I can't provide it every month for my BHW friends

Only 160 eh? Sounds like you're doing alot of work for not much, managing 160 clients on your own is insanity.

Here's what you should do:

Build a business directory, for every state. One by One, start with your own. Use Directory Press.

Cold call every business owner in every state using yellow pages. Tell them you've alreay added them to your directory, give them the url. Ask them if they want to change anything, and if they want to keep it charge them $10 a month. Sit there all day on the phone for a year.

Make 250 Calls a week. Convert 10% and make $250 a week, and in 4 months you will have achieved your goal.

Hi and thank you for your input.
That sounds like more work to me well 160 would be hard at first (making the sites) but once up its the maintenace and if need be adwords. the main part of this is really work from home so my health can improve, I dont mind working hard so long as I can enjoy it

I will however keep your suggestion in my ready to put into effect plans, would people really pay $10 a month for a link though?

If you think that's more work, you're fuckin doomed.

Its not just a link, it's a Citation, their entire address, phone number and everything. You're essentially building them a little mini website. But since it's already up there, and you've created it for them, Maybe there's other things you can do for them too? It's really just a foot in the door my friend.

"If you would like to keep it, $10 a month, but I also offer a full web design package that can include this link at no extra cost and here's what i will do for you for $25"

bensonsearch said:

Hi and thank you for your input.
That sounds like more work to me well 160 would be hard at first (making the sites) but once up its the maintenace and if need be adwords. the main part of this is really work from home so my health can improve, I dont mind working hard so long as I can enjoy it

I will however keep your suggestion in my ready to put into effect plans, would people really pay $10 a month for a link though?

Click to expand...

hmm will definately consider it. any other suggestions on getting my deal out there?

Are you targeting local AU businesses or anybody? Because there are a lot of deals out there for au that are $399 or $499 for a website with hosting and domain for a year so that may be part of the problem.

This is what my plan is, just gotta get my web page finished off so I can start advertising.

I was looking at doing something similar in my area but I'm not sure if I can sustain it with a monthly fee, yearly may be better for the initial website/hosting/domain and then charge a fee for updates and extras. You could also split the Seo part and just charge monthly for that service and get at least $50-$100 per month for those businesses that want it.

Sent from my HP Touchpad using Tapatalk

Hi,
yes targetting AU business. well my deal works to be $300 a year so cheaper than the ones you mention.

If I cant even get someone for that price how could I sell it without the SEO? I suck dont I

Maybe you need to either visit the business in your local area in person or get on the phone to get your first few businesses and go from there, if you start in your own suburb you will be amazed at what the power of referrals can do.

Where abouts are you located?

And my maths was a bit off before, lol

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lol,

im located on the central coast of NSW near Toukley (i drive to Sydney everyday) lots of business but havent approahed them. Im really really bad at selling esp face to face. maybe i could hire u for that? lol

ouch that is a bad drive, especially with our fcked up roads (i'm south of sydney)

hmm if you don't feel comfortable with the face to face stuff how about advertising in the local paper or church/school newsletters and stick a couple of fliers up if your local woolies/coles/iga/whatever has a notice board. just something with a call to action and your website, you will end up having to speak to people though but at least this way they will be warm leads. just let them call you and then organise to go and meet them and see what they need or do it all over the phone, if they're local you may as well do it face to face as it makes you look more professional

i dont mind talking to people if its them coming to me (warm lead) but the whole rock up and sell thing really never suited me. south of Sydney ay. fancy a team up? lol

I think i need to work on my face to face and start getting out there. oh boy get to make flyers lol.

Ooh it's good to see other Aussies on here. I'm in Adelaide and thinking of starting up something similar.

bensonsearch said:

i dont mind talking to people if its them coming to me (warm lead) but the whole rock up and sell thing really never suited me. south of Sydney ay. fancy a team up? lol

I think i need to work on my face to face and start getting out there. oh boy get to make flyers lol.

Click to expand...

Rejection is normal. Just learn how to deal with it.. it can be demotivating for 5 minutes, but just know its a numbers game. If you relate to peoples problems it`ll be a lot easier for someone to open to you.

mrhelpfulguy said:

Rejection is normal. Just learn how to deal with it.. it can be demotivating for 5 minutes, but just know its a numbers game. If you relate to peoples problems it`ll be a lot easier for someone to open to you.

Click to expand...

Yes a million times, rejection is hard and I get nervous as well as its alot on the line for me. I need to get more confident talking to strangers.

tilraen it is good to see Aussies here

You have stated that you sent out about 2000 emails without a nibble....where did you get your list? Are these just random businesses or are they already looking for this kind of service? Did you seek local businesses with little or no web presence to try and sell your service?

A couple of things....

This is going to take some hard work by you to get started. Nothing comes easy my friend, and there is no such thing as a push-button work-from-home operation. One thing that you have on your side is a goal. Work hard towards that goal but do not neglect your health! I personally would recommend to focus on your health first...even if you have to quit your job and seek work locally - even part-time. At least this way, you will gain time and freedom....which is an important asset as you already know.

To be successful in your venture, you will need to start doing one of three things:

First, if you can't sell, then you may want to form some sort of JV with someone else who can...team up! You have already sold services to a couple of friends...maybe they could recommend someone who might be a strong seller. This will allow you to meet face-to-face with businesses which may be all the difference you need to remain competitive. This brings up another point....what are your competitors doing that you're not? Answer that question and you'll be making money.

Next would be to really target your clients better and find a marketing strategy that converts. Email lists are wonderful but only if they are interested in what you have to offer. You will need to provide samples of your work and maybe a couple case studies with proven results/increases in business. If you have emailed 2000 people and only converted to 2 friends, your conversion rate stinks and this will need to change right away.

Lastly, search this forum and Google for methods where you can implement postcards or send letters to businesses (start local first). People are more likely to delete unimportant emails for services they aren't interested in than they are in opening a letter addressed directly to the owner of a business. Personally addressed hand written envelopes work really well and rarely see the wastebasket. This may provide an additional edge over your competition and warm them up to what you have to offer. Follow these letters up and track your success/failure rate with getting contacted back. This is where your 'salesman' comes into play.

Good luck with your venture! Sooner you can leave your existing job, the more time you'll have to devote to your new business!

thank you for your input, firstly yes its a list of business without website, in fact very few in this type of business have them (the ones that do are successful the ones that dont well some are but most no). So they can def benifit from it.

I like the idea of the hand addressed mail. would you suggest hand writing it as well?
I would take it something like, "Hi im Nick, I run a local website design company. I tried to find your business online but I couldn't." then go into why its important etc?

I love the idea of teaming up with someone, only need to find them lol

I agree on the health, the only issue is (which i havent said yet) is I have a wife and 2 kids to support so part time is not really an option (rent, food we all know the drill). I would love NOTHING more than to say see ya to my job and spend more valuable time with the family and getting my health back to where it needs to be.

Of course I know its nothing that can be done with a push of a button and im willing to work for it. I will def take all everyone has said and thank you all deeply for the help. If anyone else has any tips ill be happier still

ps. this is a good deal right?