7 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
7 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

A 2nd appointment - how would you proceed?

by omurchu
6 replies
Have a 2nd. appointment to schedule with an accountant in my business network group. First talk went really well so I did the research on his niche and have the following numbers (all searches are broad match):

mytown accountants - 880 - domain taken
accountants mytown - 880 - domain taken
accountants in mytown - 880 - domain available
mytown accountant - 880 - domain available
accountant mytown - 390 - domain available

Now he has a (branded) website which is not ranking for any of these KWs. He takes an ad in the local paper for $ 1,000 and gets a return of 4,500 form it (about 3 clients). A client is worth $1,500 per year to him and he tends to keep them. He is young and seems to be busy but will take all new clients he can get. He has not got his Google Places listing filled out.

So I would love to know, if you had this information, how would you proceed?

Should I offer a new website based on one of the KWs above and how much would you charge (for site and monthly)?
Should I offer to try to rank his current site? And how much to charge?
Any other ideas?

this is one part of the process where I get stuck - how much to charge based on the numbers.

BTW he paid $500 for his site and $120 per year to have it renewed (yes, not sure either what that means!) His web guy has moved abroad, so I think I can land this one and would like to do a good job here and hope to get plenty of referrals from him.

All ideas/suggestions welcome especially form those who have been here before!

Regards,
Frank
#2nd #appointment #proceed
  • Profile picture of the author mjbmedia
    Hi Frank well done for getting a second meet, you must be making the right impressions on him

    Ok so I presume the paper ad is weekly/ monthly, has he got a date collection form on his site , he needs it as he wants to build relationships with everyone that visits from that ad, 3 new clients can easily turn into many more if he collects their contact details , builds relationship and gives tremendous value to them and promos to them as and when.

    He thinks he makes $4500 from the ad, yet you say he keeps the clients, so the lifetime value of the client is what $1500 * 10+ years $15000+ per client and if using the data collection he then makes 7 new clients per ad ..........
    Now start getting him thinking of each new client being worth $15000 to him and he will listen to you when you suggest improving website or making a new one , places, just talk figures ROI with him , get him salivating about how much profits you can bring him then layout a timed and phased and priced plan to achieve it
    Signature

    Mike

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4073754].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author exsuit
      What's the benefit of having a new site developed? Why not just tweak the existing site and charge him a monthly fee to get him and keep him at number 1 for those keywords?
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4073796].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author MaxReferrals
    Nice work mate!

    Seems since the LTV of a new client is worth so much to him, and
    he has good retention, you should work the client acq side further.

    GP might be a good place to start, considering he understands the online
    model, has success attracting locally, and will likely embrace it any spend there.

    I agree, I'm not sure I'd expend efforts on a new site dev at this point.
    Money could be spent in current local avenues that are working.

    Plus, accountants tend to like the competitive angle -- try showing him
    some other local CPAs who have GPlaces and you'll prob. cinch the deal.

    Good luck!
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4074003].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author omurchu
      MaxReferrals exsuit mjbmedia

      Thanks for the replies and suggestions.

      Here is where I am stuck. If you look at the figures i.e 880 searches per month, how do I realate that to what it is possible for his business?

      I mean, I build a site, get it to #1 - then how many leads can he expect? 10%? 20% or 1%?

      Without knowing this isn't it hard to price the work based on how many clients he might get and therefore their LTV?

      Do you just estimate 10%?

      This is a point where I struggle to close a deal. If I knew he would be getting 80 to 90 leads per month then I can base a price and monthly ongoing on that. But right now it's just a guess.

      So if you were in this position how would you proceed? What figure would you quote exactly for either a new site or rank the existing one?

      Thanks,
      Frank

      PS I figure a new site would be easier to rank for the KWs since I can get a EMD - so less work and quicker results.

      PPS have told him I will optimise G. Places for him as an introductory freebie - seeing as he is in my Business networking group
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4075929].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Doug Terry
    I agree with Bayo; it is very necessary to define exactly his expectations, wants and needs. You have extended goodwill by offering the GP optimization freebie which is fine but now you need some cashola in return.

    I think deciding on a figure for the number of clients he will likely get based on the searches is dangerous because the chances of you landing on the exact result is low. Thus you will either sell yourself short or he will feel duped if the number doesn't meet his expectations or what you told him. And my experience has been that people will always forget what you gave them for free ie GP optimization and harpoon you on what they paid for and feel they didn't get. SO what would i do?

    If you are going to base the project around specific clients then you need to track the number of phone calls that come from the site you build. Because you do not have control over the way the calls are handled in his office / conversion rate you can at least say you generated x number of calls. To do this you need to include some direct response principles in the copy and he needs an offer to hook people.

    One other point; he claims he gets 3 clients from his ad resulting on a return of $4,500 for $1,000. Forgetting the LTV for a moment; I think there is a good chance he is padding the numbers just to try to get you to do the job for around the $1,000.

    Be careful you don't end up regretting taking this client on as it could turn out you are doing a lot of work for a low return.

    I try to remember that i can go broke sitting on the beach if i want rather than working hard to get the same result-

    Good luck
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4085009].message }}

Trending Topics