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Winning this guy over

by jtlucas2511
14 replies
Okay, so I had a guy give me a call back, he owns an air conditioning company, and I was offering him a website, but he said that the yellowpages were doing his site. I told him I would take a look at the site and send him an email with some information the website, but the site was down for some reasons so I can't do that right now.

I am assuming that the website is not very well designed and isn't doing him much good by the way he talked, but how should I go about convincing him to switch over to me and let me re-design the website and get him signed up with me.

Any advice is welcome, thanks.
#guy #winning
  • Profile picture of the author jdwhite
    In my experience, yellow pages will create a site that he has no control of, and that they own the rights for.

    He won't be able to update content, do onsite SEO, or twiddle his little toe without paying them some fee. He might not even own the rights to his domain name.

    Long story short, he'll have no control, no freedom, and it will constrain him from having any real ability to have a dynamic, evolving site that he can integrate with any solid online marketing he wants/needs to do.

    The only thing yellowpages brings to the table is a big brand name that persuades these guys to let them tie their butt in a sling and then charge them a fee every time they want to move.

    That is what I have experienced, and I have had to set clients free from that garbage before I could do much for them.

    No matter who you are, you are probably a better option for him than yellowpages. Ask him his cost, underbid it, and let him own the rights. Then upsell him to expanded marketing services later.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jagged
      Originally Posted by jdwhite View Post

      In my experience, yellow pages will create a site that he has no control of, and that they own the rights for.

      He won't be able to update content, do onsite SEO, or twiddle his little toe without paying them some fee. He might not even own the rights to his domain name.

      Long story short, he'll have no control, no freedom, and it will constrain him from having any real ability to have a dynamic, evolving site that he can integrate with any solid online marketing he wants/needs to do.

      The only thing yellowpages brings to the table is a big brand name that persuades these guys to let them tie their butt in a sling and then charge them a fee every time they want to move.

      That is what I have experienced, and I have had to set clients free from that garbage before I could do much for them.

      No matter who you are, you are probably a better option for him than yellowpages. Ask him his cost, underbid it, and let him own the rights. Then upsell him to expanded marketing services later.


      This is sooooo true. They have no control what so ever....and most are locked into a lengthy contract so having them just back out and go with you won't happen unless their contract is just about up.....

      It hurts not only the organic search but is killing their Google Places listings if they have one....with many Google Places listings using a "blended search result"...showing a snippet of on-page text or description...you can't get yellowbook or others to make the much needed optimizations to better your rankings....

      You can make a good living searching out websites by yellowbook, vistaprint and contacting the owners and showing them exactly what they have and what you can do for them when their contracts are up.....
      Like I said...it's not only yellowbook....I've converted chiropractors who had websites from chiromatrix....real estate agents who had websites with ultraagent....they are all the same.

      ~Ken
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    Who is he going to call every time he needs something added or changed on his site? The YellowPages? What a pain in the backside that would be.

    Sell him on the piece of mind of having a personalized service with someone (you) he can contact EASILY whenever he needs to - the person who actually built the site for him and knows everything about it. Someone he can ask questions to if they arise and someone who can also help him with further solutions down the road as his business grows.

    Remind him the YellowPages are not building him a site out of the kindness of their heart - they are doing it to make money from him in some way or another.

    Dealing with big corporations these days is a massive pain.
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    • Profile picture of the author Mutiny
      Originally Posted by WillR View Post

      Who is he going to call every time he needs something added or changed on his site? The YellowPages? What a pain in the backside that would be.

      Sell him on the piece of mind of having a personalized service with someone (you) he can contact EASILY whenever he needs to - the person who actually built the site for him and knows everything about it. Someone he can ask questions to if they arise and someone who can also help him with further solutions down the road as his business grows.

      Remind him the YellowPages are not building him a site out of the kindness of their heart - they are doing it to make money from him in some way or another.

      Dealing with big corporations these days is a massive pain.
      Great advice... and if that doesn't work, don't sweat it. I just finished a website/seo package for a client that told me "no" 6 months ago because he was getting one of those whiz-bang YP sites. Needless to say, it didn't work out so well for him. Learning by experience is a sure way for lessons to stick.

      Just be nice, offer some great advice, be a real person (not a salesperson). If you do it right, he'll remember you when he's ready to invest.
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    • Profile picture of the author casperd
      Originally Posted by WillR View Post

      Who is he going to call every time he needs something added or changed on his site? The YellowPages? What a pain in the backside that would be.

      Sell him on the piece of mind of having a personalized service with someone (you) he can contact EASILY whenever he needs to - the person who actually built the site for him and knows everything about it. Someone he can ask questions to if they arise and someone who can also help him with further solutions down the road as his business grows.

      Remind him the YellowPages are not building him a site out of the kindness of their heart - they are doing it to make money from him in some way or another.

      Dealing with big corporations these days is a massive pain.

      very well said buddy,You are a great adviser...
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  • Profile picture of the author Creativegirl
    You have a really good selling point if he's paying premium for the privilege of a website vs. an actual website asset that he owns, can move to his own host, and have control over. If he's new to YP you may have to wait until he gets jaded.

    Give him a proposal showing cost and IM for first 3 months. Show benefits of owning his own site at a fixed rate vs. paying thousands of dollars over and above it for the life of the site. Build in reasonable cost online marketing/seo/etc. with the intent to re-evaluate in 3 months (to expand or maintain what you accomplished).
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  • Profile picture of the author barache
    If it's similar to the kind of yellow pages sites I see, they are all pretty much the same. It's a very simple template, for most business categories, and if the visitor has seen one, they've seen them all!
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  • Profile picture of the author Jagged
    I have 3 local contractors who presently have a website with yellowbook. Each is so displeased that each contractor has already commited to have new website designed as soon as their contract is up with yellowbook.

    Getting yellowbook to make any kind of modification is like trying to get my ex-wife to cook a meal that didn't come out of can or box...lol

    It's not only yellowbook, but others like vistaprint, deluxe, or any of those 3rd party website farms are like this...most sites are riddled with poor designs, poor seo and poor customer service and all are next to impossible to work with to have any modifications done....

    ~Ken
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  • Profile picture of the author turryrunner
    Why don't you send him a sample of some of the sites you've done and include sites done by YP in the same categories? That way he'll see how generic the YP pages are compared to ones you do.
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  • Profile picture of the author absolutelee
    It's really a matter of money. Call Yellow Pages and see how much a site costs. Let's suppose it's more than what you charge. (If it's less, then you're probably out of luck.) Next call your guy back and tell him that not only will he have control of his site, but it's going to save him money. Businesses owners respond very well to saving $$$$.
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  • Profile picture of the author kershawm
    Originally Posted by jtlucas2511 View Post

    Okay, so I had a guy give me a call back, he owns an air conditioning company, and I was offering him a website, but he said that the yellowpages were doing his site. I told him I would take a look at the site and send him an email with some information the website, but the site was down for some reasons so I can't do that right now.

    I am assuming that the website is not very well designed and isn't doing him much good by the way he talked, but how should I go about convincing him to switch over to me and let me re-design the website and get him signed up with me.

    Any advice is welcome, thanks.
    Have a look at Yellow Pages generated sites. List all of their flaws, then ask him about each one. I'm not sure what they have but ask things like if it has a lead capture mechanism, how often can he update his content, is it a cms (like Wordpress), can he have a blog....etc. Then let him know how important each one of those are, etc.
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  • Profile picture of the author deepali goyal
    send him sample of some sites you just finished. Then ask him to compare. your work will speak to him more than you.
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  • Profile picture of the author rotten72
    I would let him know that the site was down when you checked it and that aint good! Then I would ask him if he is happy with results he is getting (Obviously NOT). Then ask him "So what makes you think your results are going to improve if you keep that website?"

    If getting the client is like pulling teeth leave them alone and move on. Some will, some won't. Who cares, who's next?
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  • Profile picture of the author MaxReferrals
    Tip: Show him what his competitors are doing with their sites. That will get him
    real interested.
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