How do I get in front of business owners ?

Ive been offline marketing for alittle while now and Im having some issues getting in front of business owners to push my SEO and website business. Cold calling on the phone is abit of a problem getting through receptionists and gatekeepers. Im working on just walking up and dropping off flyers in person to try and gain their attention. Any advice on what technique works best? Any help here is appreciated

sorry double post

This may seem a bit obvious, but if I were you I would try to use friends and family to connect you with business owners they know. That has worked well for me.
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I don't have a good answer for you because even though I've had a lot job where I had to manage salespeople, I've never been good at it myself. Your question does bring up the point as to why sales people are usually the highest paid employess in most companies. Finding leads, getting access to the right people, making a sales presentation, and most importantly closing the sale are all much harder than a lot of people give the sales people credit for.

That's why online marketing is so attractive. It gives marketers a chance to let the computer be the salesman. You have to set everything up correctly and do a lot of work, but you don't actually have to walk into someones office and ask them to talk to you.

The one suggestion I wanted to make though is to try networking with other salespeople in your area. Real Estate Agents, Insurance Agents, Car Salesmen, and anyone that sales any products for companies in your area. Each industry has it's differences, but for the most part salesmen have a lot of similarities. Get to know a few personally and they mindset you can learn from them can help you in this industry as well. Most of the salesmen I've worked with have known a lot of other salesmen as well.

Another thing to do is look for some of the more popular books targeted for salesmen. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie is of course the classic that everyone knows. There's also The Accidental Salesman, The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People, and many others I've had recommended to me over the years.

Hopefully you'll get some good advice from people in here that are good at face to face sales.

teeniegenie said:

This may seem a bit obvious, but if I were you I would try to use friends and family to connect you with business owners they know. That has worked well for me.
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Click to expand...

Whats the best way of letting them know your looking to connect with businesses? A generic email to a list ?

Try this:


If you want tiger meat...



...Hunt where the tiger is!

Or this:

In order to catch a mouse, you must think like a mouse.


In all seriousness, these two points are made to help you realize and ask the right questions...

It is NOT HOW to get in front of business owners...its WHERE and WHEN

When you ARE in front of a business owner it then becomes the WHY (sales presentation) also remember to focus on personalized benefits with a business owner. How will buying you and your product help him spend more time with Nancy, his 8 year old daughter...

see how specific that was? Rapport building is a good fundamental for any sales person to master.




To answer more directly, here are some good "hunting grounds":

-chamber of commerce
-social clubs
-word of mouth (as someone else suggested owners your friends/family know)
-industry conventions specific to the biz owner's field..example...HVAC biz owner goes to a convention/expo for new products for HVAC units...
- other area professionals and giving them a reference and a kickback ($$$) will work well as someone else suggested


I used the above strategies to dominate the life insurance field for almost 3 years. I got tired of the long hours put in ultimately for someone else. I had to strike out on my own...but my last three months I pocketed over 10k each month!

I tell you this not to brag, but to vouch for the validity of points others have made and the additional points I have made.


Happy hunting!

1.direct mail with list of businesses you think might be interested?
2.twitter - create company pressence and hand add all the small businesses you can find and create useful tweets then contact later.
3.Advertising - local papers etc. whatever is cheapest
4.If or when you can afford it pay someoene else to do cold calling
5.Business forums, create pressence and communicate etc.
6.PPC advertising and banner advertising on related sites.

bamafan84 said:

Try this:


If you want tiger meat...



...Hunt where the tiger is!

Or this:

In order to catch a mouse, you must think like a mouse.


In all seriousness, these two points are made to help you realize and ask the right questions...

It is NOT HOW to get in front of business owners...its WHERE and WHEN

When you ARE in front of a business owner it then becomes the WHY (sales presentation) also remember to focus on personalized benefits with a business owner. How will buying you and your product help him spend more time with Nancy, his 8 year old daughter...

see how specific that was? Rapport building is a good fundamental for any sales person to master.




To answer more directly, here are some good "hunting grounds":

-chamber of commerce
-social clubs
-word of mouth (as someone else suggested owners your friends/family know)
-industry conventions specific to the biz owner's field..example...HVAC biz owner goes to a convention/expo for new products for HVAC units...
- other area professionals and giving them a reference and a kickback ($$$) will work well as someone else suggested


I used the above strategies to dominate the life insurance field for almost 3 years. I got tired of the long hours put in ultimately for someone else. I had to strike out on my own...but my last three months I pocketed over 10k each month!

I tell you this not to brag, but to vouch for the validity of points others have made and the additional points I have made.


Happy hunting!

Click to expand...

great stuff. this is the kind of insight i was looking for. anything else you can add would be great

I own a marketing company. Marketing several products B2B. I make cold call all day long with great success. It's all a number game. I have no special formula.

I use a crm software to keep track of my leads..very important to take note..i.e time you called and name of the person you have spoken with..don't matter who inc secretary..in fact you want to get friendly with them. because ur right they are gate keepers. most of the time they don't even know what they are saying no too. From my experience. after the 3rd call u should have build rapport with the gate keeper.

there are success in cold calling..most people give up early because it easy to do by phone. don't give up don't take it personal it does work..so here is my tips on how to make it easy on yourself.

try to get the person your trying to contact name if possible..9 out of 10 times if you ask for the "owner, decision maker,who is in charge" they will block you. name is important..you can find there name by google there company name ,BBB, facebook, jigsaw and other b2b social sites.

if you cant get there name..then act as if you know who the owner is and use a common name..i.e. .. hey (gate keeper name) is Michael in? oh theres no Michael here?, this is (company name) ..right? and michael is the boss right? no..oh i am sorry what is the big boss name? with the sound of your voice and rapport that you have build with gatekeeper ..this will work 6 out of 10 time! trust me it works

also clear your voice and sound clear on the phone..my lats tip is do this standing up.. by standing up you convey for confidence over the phone which is key. i use a head phone..

Sorry no secret formula..just hard work and don't give up! it works but yes get that name!

I am feeling generous today!


Co-ops with other professionals that have EXISTING client bases...specifically someone that has your target market...

The all important question to ask yourself for offline marketing?
- WHO else targets your target market? (business owners)

BBB (Better Business Bureau)

or better yet...go after specific niche... Which niche of biz owners really need/want a local online presence, and would drop a pretty penny without hesitation?

HVAC?
Plumbers?
Insurance Agents?
Auto Insurance?
Mom and Pop Suppliers?


Play around and create a 10 question survey to ask business owners. Tell them you are evaluating if your service makes sense to offer, and if so what price to offer it at. This will peak interest...


"Well, what service is e offering?"

"Oh, internet promotion, I need THAT"

"He doesn't have a set price, let me put him on the spot with this"


Then he will ask...How much do you want?...Sold!



Just some ideas to get you going.

also clear your voice and sound clear on the phone..my lats tip is do this standing up.. by standing up you convey for confidence over the phone which is key. i use a head phone..

Click to expand...

I also smile, but photo smile not fake cheesy smile!

like this :
not this:

Good tips above, as I used this for any calls not just cold calling...

goingreen said:

teeniegenie said:

This may seem a bit obvious, but if I were you I would try to use friends and family to connect you with business owners they know. That has worked well for me.
Posted via Mobile Device

Click to expand...

Whats the best way of letting them know your looking to connect with businesses? A generic email to a list ?

Click to expand...

The reason for starting with friends and family is that it's easier to get in front of them face to face already. Just make a visit or phone call and talke to them. If they're going to give you any leads, they're going to need to believe in you as well. Just sending an email isn't likely to accomplish that.

Many, many years ago I was selling Kirby vacuum cleaners. At the end of the sales call, regardless of whether a sale was made we would always ask for a list of other people that might be interested. Unless you could get the people to give you the leads while you were there, it was rare that they would fill out a form to send it in. It was the same thing when I gave insurance sales a try. Asking for referals is one of the constants in any kind of outside sales.

You're not just asking people to have trust you. You're asking them to take the trust that others have given to them and extend that to you. Most people don't take that lightly, even for friends or family. It's a lot easier to do that face to face or at least over the phone.

Don't make a hard sales pitch pounding your friends to give you leads. Just have a nice visit, tell them what your doing, and ask if they can give you some referals.

great stuff bamafan84 and makemoneyonline. ill work a few of those angles. solid advice

NP anytime last piece of advice... is peak time of calling business owners either come in early and stay late..calling 7 am to 9 am then again 6 pm to 8pm works best for me. Secretary hours are 9to5 and if secretary is not there..who picks up the phone??? the owner. my 9am to 5 pm is my follow up and online demo's " time to close deals and make money" good luck.. but getting to them is the hard part. Once you open that door make sure u have the key to come back in..if you know what i mean. meaning... get as much info during that first meeting with the owner and seting up another appointment b4 you hangup! GL beat the bamafan84..lol/j/k

I'm lucky enough to live in a large city. When I first started I went B2B and got a few clients that way. I hate cold calling and refuse to do it so I had to improvise.

One of my clients has a very good sales person and they have lots of clients themselves. So I gave them a really good discount on my SEO services in exchange for referrals. That's what worked for me.

Also since I do local SEO, I always try to meet with the client and close the deal in person. They will trust you more that way and probably keep you for a long with good service of course.