Offline Gurus - I've got my first appointment tomorrow - Any Advice

I like that you are taking action.

1. Bring the Laptop for sure just in case he is not familiar with internet marketing.

2. That's probably the right price but you need to sell him on the benefits and convince him that the investment is worth the cash.

3. Benefits of email marketing and keeping in touch with his clients. Offering them discounts on haircuts and products. Benefits of getting him to be #1 in the google search engine. If you can get some real numbers using wordtracker, then show him those. Make sure that he understands that if he doesn't get a website up in 2009, he will be leaving massive money on the table!

Let us know how it goes and remember you are doing more than most people on these boards are doing!

Become a person/man of value...give value.....What r you going to give your client for opting into the website. A free report or a ebook, video, cd free haircut or wash or what? eg only.

Your product is not the business

Your the product. (The barber)

Good ideas guys. I'll keep you guys posted.

You might want to find a smiliar type of site of a barber anywhere in the world and show him that this is what you can do for him... only better...

Congrats Jbreezy, Go Get 'Em!

My advice would be to completely forget about selling and enjoy yourself!

Go in and ask questions and just have a good laugh with the business owner and build a little rapport. Enjoy yourself!

Secondly as for what to price, I would ask what he is currently doing in regards to advertising and company promotion so far and what he's paying if you get the opportunity. Then you can work out what to charge!

I honestly wouldn't go in thinking, I am going to charge this or this! I would go in with an open mind and match it to his spending. Do not undercut yourself though!

This maybe a little different from other peoples advice and you may get told to go in and charge thousands but I would play it by ear and work out yourself what to charge when you are in there and talking.

The best advice I can give is:

Listen more than you talk, get excited about what you do and show a little passion and just enjoy yourself! Do this and this deal will close itself without you realizing!

Good Luck!

GoGetta

I sold face to face for a decade. Here's what you need to do to be prepared. Have about five simple open-ended questions you can ask the guy. Simple stuff. Also, stuff that doesn't back him in a corner "egowise". (Make him feel like he's the offline idiot.) These open-ended questions will get him talking, but will allow you to control the flow of the conversation. Important thing...you ask the question, then shut up! Let him talk as long as he wants to. You just sit there and make a few notes.

Questions could be something as simple as...what kinds of marketing are you doing, how do you market your busienss, what do you think about getting some of your marketing online, etc. That sort of thing.

Once he's answered all the questions, you use his answers to structure what you're telling him about his service.

For instance, if he says he wants to get online because he noticed that two of his competitors are online, then when you're talking about the benefits of having an email list, you would say something like..."your competitors may be online, but they probably don't know what to do with their web presence. With an email list...blah, blah, blah".

For a close, you could say something like, "when do you want me to get started?"

^^^^^ Exactly,

Its all about what the business owner is paying already. Some biz owners find that $5000 is fine, others may look at $5000 as there full yeary ad budget!

So listen and ask questions and make a decision depending on what they are already doing.

GoGetta

Hi,
Since he has a new business, he needs a total marketing program to bring in new clients. Get him some photo business cards with a discount coupon on the back and then post them on boards in gas stations, grocery stores and convenience stores that have boards. A lot of them in my area do. Just a thought to try and drive some clients to him.
Thanks,
Jim

Something that has always worked well for me is being interested in them as a person. And not just in regards to their business. If I see pictures of them on vacation say on a beach I will chit chat about it. Maybe go something like:
me
"Oh wow thats a pretty beach, where is that?
them
"yea thats down in Florida, my cousin lives down there so we visit when ever we get a chance"
me
"that must be nice! all my family lives here, if they lived somewhere nice like that I might actually visit them"..snikcer a little so they know your joking. In my case I am being serious lol

Ofcourse you can tell when someone isn't in the mood to chit chat or joke around, but I find many people open up and are much warmer when you care about who they are.
I like to B.S. a little and so do a lot of other people. Just feel it out and go with your gut.


Hope it helps.

,Jerry

First rule of any consultancy is to sell yourself first, your services second.

By the very nature of business consultancy, it involves change. Often very difficult change on the part of the organisation. Just because you get the opportunity to go in and do your thing, never lose sight of the fact that the effects of what you do can have a profound impact on the operations and sytems of the company that you are consulting with.

You need to get buy in from the key decision makers that not only will your services be valuable to them, but also and more importantly that there is a good fit between you and the attitudes and culture of senior management. They also have to believe that you have enough about you to help them make the transition - and often this is only achievable by confronting some pretty rigid processes and people lower down in the organisation.

The good news is that if you sell yourself successfully, there will numerous opportunities to sell countless different services.

Also, before you do any work at all, make sure that you set up ACCOUNTABILITY on both sides by having appropriately AGREED AND SIGNED SLAs (Service Level Agreements).

Good luck with it.

Thomas

Am looking forward to hearing what happend with this.

sell yourself, detach yourself from the outcome. learn from your mistakes, and keep at it.

I've done a lot of b2b sales in the day like the folks above. The info above is great! Each salesperson has a different style which may work for someone else or be disasterous(like me trying to be funny) for the next person haha Anyway, this sale won't make or break you so relax and let him buy. Nudges are ok. haha

I agree with above- have a sample site, have your game on, and all the other good stuff,etc you would expect in a professional.

PS- Something I like to do is invite a prospect to a lunch and offer dutch (we can go dutch if you wish). I let the customer recommend the place and tell him I have a lunch budget and only have a half hour or so

((courtesy time restriction so he doesn't think he's married to you for the rest of the day))

so something quick where we can sit down and eat affordably. The reason I like this when I can do it is- it gives a more friendly environment to open up(do not talk about serious business until the end- get to know the customer). This is just another way and not the only way.

* Also, I am not a big fan of being in the chair across the desk in the same place a new hire would sit while applying for a job. I like to meet on neutral turf if possible. It brings out the best in me.

PSS- I always offer Dutch but I always end up buying.

PSSS- I do dress up to meet a customer but not over dress to the point they feel uncomfortable. haha

PSSSS- I never bring a huge bag or box with sales material- when a prospect see it you can almost see the look on their face-> "like darn this is gonna take all day!" haha

Just having fun...

Congrats, I'll be looking forward to your updates as this will inspire me to get going with this business model.

Terry

Congrats on your appointment with the Barbershop Owner. I have read many interesting ideas from fellow warriors and most are good. If it where me I would dress casually, meet with the owner on a friendly basis and not try a hard sell. Get to know him and his business and ask questions that will allow him to open up and talk about himself.
We all like to talk about ourselves, especially when there is genuine interest from the person sitting across from us. Definitely bring some examples of what you can do to help him grown his business and try to set your pricing at a reasonable rate. Ask yourself what you would be willing to pay for the services you offer. Do on to other and all that. I think people can tell when someone is trying to take advantage and if you show him you are genuinely interested in helping him grow his business then price will only be secondary.
I also think it's a good idea to setup a mock site for him so he can have a visual representation of what to expect for his money. Oh, and $199.00 plus $50 a month may not sound like a lot but consider this will be a lifelong customer who will come to you whenever he needs help. So, in the long run you will make much more money than if you nailed him for $2000.00 up front plus your monthly fee.
Well just my two cents worth.

I am new to the forum and seems like Jbreezy's appointment may have come and gone, but I'll add my thoughts, too, for future readers. I'm no big expert, but here's my chime in:
A) Do research prior-Before the appointment, I'd google him and his business, see what may be out there already, then, google the industry + location to see what his neighborhood competition is doing. Google maps will show a map of his neighborhood. Print out that page and do a little legwork to see what each of the top 5-7 industry/neighborhood competitors are doing online. You may discover that none of them have optin boxes, or that none of them even have websites. Now, you have a great selling point for him AND you have a way to motivate him to take action right away. After all, if he doesn't use you, you can always go to his competition and see if they are interested. Give that analysis or report a name and now you have left him with something of tangible value whether he buys right away or not.
One thing that motivates new businesses to invest in your services is having confidence that you 1) understand their needs, 2) have some understanding of their industry and 3) that working with you may give them some competitive advantage.
B) Ask pre-appointment Questions-Ask him at the time you set it up, "What are the top 3 questions you have about setting up your website?" His answer to that question will give you great clues about how deeply he has thought about it, how tech savy he is (or isn't), even what his hot buttons may be.
C) Listen-As others have said, the key in the beginning is to listen more than you talk. What does he want the website to do for him? What are his goals for the business? Has he seen other websites that he likes? Who created the postcard you got from him? Was that part of a marketing campaign someone else created or did he do it himself? How much did he spend on it? Ask him how that campaign worked for him. How much does he have budgeted for marketing in the first 6-12 months?
How would he like to supplement his direct mail efforts with an online campaign?
D) Give him a sample of your work-Show him how you can create a quick online coupon replicating his direct mail postcard "free haircut" offer with the Google maps coupon tool for free. Now, thanks to you, he has exponentially increased the exposure and range of his marketing campaign for free and you haven't even gotten started yet.
E) Finally, plan on learning from the appointment. Make notes immediately afterward that will help you tighten up your presentation for the next time.
Congratulations for getting out there. I'm eager to hear how the appointment went. -CP

I would go for bigger ticket clients.
A barber shop (especially a start up) seems
to be a bit risky.

Just my 2 cents!

hari

the douche bag barber kept canceling on me but I have landed a few clients since then.

I have put together a web system specifically designed for small businesses based on the offline/cash cow concept.

I am waiting for a WSO offering free training to be approved, but the goal is to setup a network of independent developers and internet marketers that can work together and share referrals.

There is a free webinar tomorrow to discuss the system and I will show you exactly how I do things and give everyone the opportunity to ask direct questions.

Use this link to sign up for the webinar, or to get access to the video if you can't make it:
Free Intro Webinar | 4500 Percent

I reckon its sort of the wild wild west out there. No real rules of engagement and no concrete pricing structure. I work with a company that won't charge less than 15k for a website. They sell plenty but someone down the street maybe willing to pay 1500. The key is gaining the trust od the client first. IF THEY TRUST YOU THEY WILL FOLLOW YOU! the next part is determining what the budget is and going from there. Once you have that then you can close. Heres a simple inoffensive way to close the deal. Do you believe I understand your concerns? Do you think I have the expertise to handle your problems effectively? would you like my help?
If you asked enough questions they will say yes to all three and you can get the check good luck

1. SHOW HIM THE FRIGGIN' MONEY!!!!!!!!!

Never forget there is only one reason a business hires a consultant.....and that reason is very simple: It aint your warm and fuzzy personality....a business wants MORE MONEY! PERIOD. END OF FRIGGIN' STORY. Anything else...is fairy tales and little elves and green men! MONEY IS THE ONLY REASON SOMEONE CUTS A CHECK!

So show him the money. Or show him the money he's losing or leaving on the table because of this or that....no lead capture...no site...no search engine presence etc.

2. SHOW HIM THE COMPETITION...IN HIS NICHE. Show him how so and so down the block is kicking his ass!

Cuz sometimes the best way "to show them the money" is to show them the money they are giving up...to the competition! Capiche!

3. Do not complicate this stuff. It's not hard. Do not go in with some bullshit canned presentation cuz you don't have to! Offline marketing done correctly does NOT require you to come off like the typical salesperson filled with facts and figures and this and that.

Do your job...and show him the cash. That's all you have to do. It's that friggin' simple. No manifesto needed. And remember..anything he needs done you'se can do! Cuz if you can't do it....you can find someone who can do it for you.




xxx Vegas Vince
Legend.

All the best !

I like to treat the 1st appointment like a 1st date, I want to find out if I actually want to be around the person, then see if we can work together so both of us get something of value out of a continuing partnership. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it's better to shake hands and say goodby.

"# 2: Can you get people to come in more often for a hair cut?

You could have an email notification list that tells people they might be due for a haircut and encourage them to get it done slightly more often.

You may even have a special deal.

If every client at a barbers gets his haircut every 3 weeks instead of every 4 weeks that's a MASSIVE increase in turnover."

Hi Andrew,

How can I set up AR to do this?
Interesting.

Hey man,

DO NOT go in there with a pre-determined price. You need to ask questions and listen carefully to the answers, so that you can tailor fit a program for him. THEN you will know what he actually wants/is comfortable with and can determine your price appropriately.

This isn't a cookie cutter business. This is a custom-made solution. Treat it as such, if you want to have success.

Also, this barber would need to pay at least $20 dollars for an autoresponder, each month, and you are doing his messages, too?

You need to ask for at least $50 per month! (and that's cheap)

$20 mo for autoresponder, $10 mo hosting, the rest for your copywriting skills.

Make sure he understands you are giving him a deal that you won't be offering to the rest of your customers. For this deal, you expect 2-4 referrals to other businesses, and a great testimonial.

Adam

Hey, I hit send by mistake before I was finished.

When you set this up, you will be using your own Autoresponder & hosting account. This will increase your profits on the cheap price you are offering for the maintenance. This also helps stop him from hiring some cheap high school kid to do the work for him. All his customers will have to re-opt-in to his new list. Leverage!

Great work with actually taking your first step with the offline stuff- I hope we can hear your results with more clients in time.. I've been interested in doing similar stuff myself.

Remember to act natural and be interested in finding what bothers and then what intrigues them most. Just my 2 cent.

Adam,

I certainly agree with you that this is not a cookie cutter business, and you need to be flexible sometimes to provide the solution that works.

That being said, I do find that there is alot of value in having a list or "menu" of services. It sets the foundation and gives the client some structure for what to get and how much to spend.

I mean, they may be thinking that they will get a website for $200-300 (as there are low quality services that offer this)...

also, by seeing a range of services and prices, it puts it all into perspective. BUT - this menu or price list is really a tool... you should still be flexible and change it up depending on a client's needs.

Consider that if you were to offer $50/month for hosting, newsletter and managing, this should be considered a discount... but how does the client know that?

When they see your service list and see that the price is $100/month, then they know you are giving them a discount. You can also treat all your clients this way, but I don't suggest it.

Now, with all of that being said... throw it out if it doesn't work for you!

Everyone is different with different styles and strengths. Use what works FOR YOU...

Ron