Selling SEO Over the Phone

Not sure where this should go but this forum topic seems like the most applicable… Please correct me if I’m wrong and apologies if needed!

So I’ve been doing SEO as a day job for about 7 years now. I know how to do it. Ranked countless sites. But I’ve always wanted to have my own clients (local) but whenever I get a business owner on the phone I can’t seem to sell them for my own services.

I’ve gotten better by positioning myself as an authority in certain niches and I’ve been able to have success with a couple clients but it’s not enough. I want more clients and I want them faster. I’m kind of sick of dealing with the learning curve of selling SEO/digital marketing services.

Is there a sales program that anyone has done that seems to have helped them or do you have some pointers that will help? I don’t think hiring a sales guy is going to fix it. It’ll probably just bring more problems.

You have a couple of options;

Hire a sales person paid purely on commission only.

OR

Do it yourself, prepare a script but don't make it sound like you're reading off a script.
If you really do know the industry, you are able to answer questions thrown back at you, off the top of your head based on experience / knowledge.

I can explain it... I just can't seem to get the excitement in the client and close said client because there's no emotional connection. Maybe I'm explaining too much?

You can learn sales but in my experience I very much believe being good at selling comes down to your aptitude.

That said, I would say stick to the facts when pitching to the clients; what you achieved in other similar niches or for other clients, how did that translate into results for them etc.

Also, make sure your intro is strong and relevant - it can be a big enough pain getting through to people, let alone losing them when you finally do because you didn't tie into their needs and how you can help them from the offset.

It's also rare to never get any objections during the sales process so knowing how to handle them is key too. This however goes back to what I mentioned before about aptitude - sure there are certain ways you can tackle objection but a lot of it is more of an attitude - how thick is your skin to keep going and how much do you believe in what you are saying/selling, to do so?

sherpasean said:

I can explain it... I just can't seem to get the excitement in the client and close said client because there's no emotional connection. Maybe I'm explaining too much?

Click to expand...

If you don't feel the buzz of closing a sale now, then you're not motivated enough.

Years ago I had a business selling office supplies, I used to love closing a sale with a new client.

Another huge buzz for me was delivering to a customer in my local town, who had a small office because the next door to them was my competitor.
Nothing better than pulling up and parking outside their store and take deliveries into the client next door to them It was a huge ' fuck you' to them.

You have to have a want and a drive though, to sell.

sherpasean said:

I can explain it... I just can't seem to get the excitement in the client and close said client because there's no emotional connection. Maybe I'm explaining too much?

Click to expand...

Well, look at your approach. As you likely know, nobody cares about SEO really, what they care for is so what does that mean for my bottom line?
While just telling them hey I can rank you #1 for blabla you have to connect it to their business...I can rank you #1 for YOUR Keyword, which X people search for each month. They are in a buying mode (obviously depends on which keyword) and you can expect X new leads (use conservative conversion rate so you can over deliver later on)...

Also, look at their site. Does it suck? Well, would it even matter if it were #1? Would people fill out a form ? do they even have one, or a phone number?
While you do not have to fix their site you can either position it as an upsell (outsource) or just to show that you know what is important (producing leads)

Good luck

we can sell it by telling about our best part that what we can do it to enhance it in better way .we should know our work plus we should have skills to explain other people about our work

A quote comes to mind: "Price objections rarely exist. There are only objections to perceived value."

So the question is, why are they not convinced of the value and ROI you will deliver them yet?

Usually, when it comes to services, it's hard for prospects to imagine how you'll actually use your skills and experiences to help their specific business.

For example, I receive pitches like this regularly: "I can create content for your website that would be more likely to convert visitors." Ok...what content would be creating specifically for my website? How will this specific content help my website convert more visitors?

For your stalled prospects, you can demonstrate your value and minimize their perceived risk of trying someone new by offering to work with them on a small project with a defined deliverable that's important for them and relatively easy for you to achieve.

Example: outreach campaign to build backlinks from X relevant authority sites.

Present it as a way to show what results you can achieve for them and how you'll work together. Once you start working with them and they like you and the work that you're doing for them, you can reopen the conversation of a long-term contract to implement multiple, ongoing strategies.

Why not take participate in the local event there you discover lots of clients who are interested to grow their business via google.