Better To Be An Expert On 1 Thing (SEO, PPC, Web Design etc) Or Offer A Range Of Services?

by SeanyG
37 replies
Hey guys,

I know from my previous businesses that the more niche you become, the easier it is to become an "expert" and get clients. The more you focus in on one niche the more relevant your marketing and you product / services can be.

The old saying is that "when you try to be everything to everybody, you end up not appealing to anyone".

But this brings me to offering online marketing services to local businesses. I'm just getting started with offline consulting and I'm having difficulty deciding between specializing in something like Email Marketing Campaigns and offering all only marketing services: email campaigns, SEO, PPC, web design, Google local listings etc.

I've been out there talking to local businesses to get a feel for their needs and what I've found is that they're all different. Some need a new website. Others need an email campaign to turn their traffic into sales. Others need trafic above and beyond everything else.

If I offered just email marketing services I would be missing on on being able to help a lot of local businesses (my personal contacts) with their websites and online marketing.

That being said, my web developer is the best in our city. He recommends choosing one area of expertise and focus on that. He says that when you're the best at 1 thing you end up getting a lot more referrals.

What is your experience with the offline consulting? Is is better to focus on 1 specific service or to be more of a "go to web guy for all things website and online marketing"?

Thanks for your time and for your advice,

~Sean
#design #expert #offer #ppc #range #seo #services #thing #web
  • Profile picture of the author Chris Cho
    Like you said, go out there and find out what the business owners want. Some people might need a customized facebook, twitter, youtube. And some might need a direct response website or some ppc. I personally like to sell a package because it's like wasting everyones time if i bring all the traffic to their site and it doesn't convert. I emphasize why having a direct response website is important (CTA, email, proof/reviews)

    Traffic + Conversion = $$$
    Educate them about it.

    I don't claim to be an expert at a lot of stuff but i built a team of experts around me. Web designers, web developers, link builders, article writers, project managers, seo specialists. I wouldn't want invest my time to become an "expert web designer" when i can just hire an expert. I only started selling websites to get my foot in the door and to cross sell. =)




    Originally Posted by SeanyG View Post

    Hey guys,

    I know from my previous businesses that the more niche you become, the easier it is to become an "expert" and get clients. The more you focus in on one niche the more relevant your marketing and you product / services can be.

    The old saying is that "when you try to be everything to everybody, you end up not appealing to anyone".

    But this brings me to offering online marketing services to local businesses. I'm just getting started with offline consulting and I'm having difficulty deciding between specializing in something like Email Marketing Campaigns and offering all only marketing services: email campaigns, SEO, PPC, web design, Google local listings etc.

    I've been out there talking to local businesses to get a feel for their needs and what I've found is that they're all different. Some need a new website. Others need an email campaign to turn their traffic into sales. Others need trafic above and beyond everything else.

    If I offered just email marketing services I would be missing on on being able to help a lot of local businesses (my personal contacts) with their websites and online marketing.

    That being said, my web developer is the best in our city. He recommends choosing one area of expertise and focus on that. He says that when you're the best at 1 thing you end up getting a lot more referrals.

    What is your experience with the offline consulting? Is is better to focus on 1 specific service or to be more of a "go to web guy for all things website and online marketing"?

    Thanks for your time and for your advice,

    ~Sean
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  • Profile picture of the author Doran Peck
    Most good clients will end up calling on your or relying on you to manage other aspects of their marketing once you have proven yourself with something.

    Research each worthwhile client, offer them a solution for their biggest need then move in and knock it out of the park. Then you are in a great position to move into other responsibilities.
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  • Profile picture of the author redlegrich
    I would say the real expertise you want is small business marketing. The other skills are merely tools to make those initiatives happen. If you approach it from that angle and not as an email guy, or a SMS guy, or whatever then you can pick from different resources (partners, outsource, etc.) to get the actual results. There are tons of able folks here in the WF who can work with you, many in BC I'm sure!
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    • Profile picture of the author SeanyG
      Originally Posted by redlegrich View Post

      I would say the real expertise you want is small business marketing. The other skills are merely tools to make those initiatives happen. If you approach it from that angle and not as an email guy, or a SMS guy, or whatever then you can pick from different resources (partners, outsource, etc.) to get the actual results. There are tons of able folks here in the WF who can work with you, many in BC I'm sure!
      This was one of the approaches I've been considering.

      There are 2 things that make me hesitate with becoming a "small business marketing" expert:

      1) Small businesses don't have much money to spend and will nickel and dime you. Medium sized businesses spend more and are easier to work with.

      2) If I'm offering everything online marketing for businesses, how am I different than all of the other agencies?

      Any advice for these two points?
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    • Profile picture of the author DH5
      Originally Posted by redlegrich View Post

      I would say the real expertise you want is small business marketing. The other skills are merely tools to make those initiatives happen. If you approach it from that angle and not as an email guy, or a SMS guy, or whatever then you can pick from different resources (partners, outsource, etc.) to get the actual results. There are tons of able folks here in the WF who can work with you, many in BC I'm sure!
      now we're talking!
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  • Profile picture of the author TrumpiaTim
    I'd offer a wide range of tools so that you have a versatile offering and also features to upsell to clients once they are on board with your company.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dr Dan
    I personally go after 1 industry and become the expert to that group. Then I become the go-to guy for that niche.

    I also offer just 1 main service and occasionally will do additional services that I can easily do myself our outtask to someone simple.

    Sometimes I just split the commission and refer it out to someone else since I am too busy to take on new clients as well.
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  • Profile picture of the author Adam Lok
    If you prefer working with small business owners, they are not interested in your IM services. They just want you to help them make more money!

    If you are targeting medium/big companies in a big city, go after one niche industry and be known as the go-to-expert. If you have stiff competition, get known for one main service. When they come to you and depending on your analysis of their needs, you can sell them other services. Always ask: "Why should the businesses engage you instead of your competitors?"
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    You should definitely just be an expert at ONE thing - and that is NOT any of the services you mentioned above. You should be an expert at getting businesses more customers and more money - that's it. Forget about the services because the business owners don't care about them. The types of services you use will also change as time goes on. Years ago it was just websites and SEO. Nowadays it's fanpages, mobile sites, sms, etc.

    For that reason you do not want to brand yourself as a master of any particular service. If you do this then you are no different from all the other offline marketers out there. You need to speak the language of the business owners. They don't know anything about SEO or meta tags, or hosting... nor do they care.

    All a business owners really cares about is making as much money as they can - that's the only reason they get up and go to work each day. Be the person who can get them more customers and more cash and they won't care what service it is you are selling... so long as they see the results.
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    • Profile picture of the author SeanyG
      Thanks for the reply Will. You're bang on!

      I noticed in your reply that you used a bunch of different words when you described the type of expert I should become. "I am an expert in getting small - medium businesses more "_____________"?:

      - sales
      - customers
      - money in pocket
      - cash
      - leads

      Which do you think is most appropriate?

      "Getting more sales" doesn't get me fired up because I want cash in my pocket. But "Getting more cash in your pocket" sounds like IM spam.

      What do you guys think should be my claim of expertise?

      Thanks!

      Originally Posted by WillR View Post

      You should definitely just be an expert at ONE thing - and that is NOT any of the services you mentioned above. You should be an expert at getting businesses more customers and more money - that's it. Forget about the services because the business owners don't care about them. The types of services you use will also change as time goes on. Years ago it was just websites and SEO. Nowadays it's fanpages, mobile sites, sms, etc.

      For that reason you do not want to brand yourself as a master of any particular service. If you do this then you are no different from all the other offline marketers out there. You need to speak the language of the business owners. They don't know anything about SEO or meta tags, or hosting... nor do they care.

      All a business owners really cares about is making as much money as they can - that's the only reason they get up and go to work each day. Be the person who can get them more customers and more cash and they won't care what service it is you are selling... so long as they see the results.
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      • Profile picture of the author S3Ware
        We tell them we can help them attract new customers and get more business from existing customers. They can connect the dots and realize that if they can do those two things it will lead to more money in their pocket.

        Like Will said, the "how" isn't really important, it's the end-result that matters. Having said that, you do need to have an arsenal of services that you can competently deliver and right now, the best bang for the buck is far and away mobile marketing in my opinion.
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      • Profile picture of the author RentItNow
        Originally Posted by SeanyG View Post

        I noticed in your reply that you used a bunch of different words when you described the type of expert I should become. "I am an expert in getting small - medium businesses more "_____________"?:
        Customers for sure. But you can be more specific and say "Tenants, Restaurant patrons, etc. if you can".

        On the main topic, you may want to niche the business as opposed to the service. In other words, only deal with real estate lawyers or dentists or wine making businesses....whatever. I would never limit my services to one.
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        I have no agenda but to help those in the same situation. This I feel will pay the bills.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Grant
    It's best to do one thing, and one thing really damn well than doing a ton of things and just being average.
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    • Profile picture of the author SeanyG
      Originally Posted by Mike Grant View Post

      It's best to do one thing, and one thing really damn well than doing a ton of things and just being average.
      Whats your 1 service Mike?
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  • Profile picture of the author MsMotivation1
    This is a really good question because when I first started this is what stumped me.

    I started out trying to offer only one service - Email Marketing.

    But, when I met with business owners, some of them had no interest in Email Marketing and wanted to know how I could help them with SEO or Facebook or something else.

    But I didn't want to continue to miss out on opportunities by specializing in only one service...
    But I wasn't knowledgeable about ALL services...

    So, I changed my approach... I took on the "I can help your business bring in more customers and repeat customers" role like Will said...

    Then, I decided to find out what each individual business's needs were...

    Then, if I couldn't fulfill the services on my own, I outsourced the work, which helped me learn more about fulfilling the services.

    And whenever I hit a road-block, I always came back to this forum to get help.

    I will say that it makes things easier to go in with a "lead-in" service once you figure out what they need and then go from there...

    It's a process, but you'll figure it out... good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author John Durham
    People dont trust you if you claim specialize in too many things...

    It could go both ways, and knowing everything is good too, but the rule is that when energy is diffused over a large area it loses power. Thats the law that never fails.

    Focused energy has more power.

    Specialize in one thing, go there... earn trust based on it... then other things will open up.

    If you are trying to focus on too many things and cant move because of it... Welcome to the 80 percentile.
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    • Profile picture of the author SeanyG
      So then how do you focus down?

      Because I had a similar experience to what MsMotivation1 said where I talked to a bunch of different businesses and they all had VERY different needs.

      Some had traffic and needed a better website. Others needed an opt in and autoresponder. Others don't know how to drive traffic. Some don't have a website!

      How do you focus down on a few different markets or one specific service? It seems like starting out providing everything I'll quickly learn where the biggest need is and where the money is, and then I can niche down.

      What do you guys think?



      Originally Posted by John Durham View Post

      People dont trust you if you claim specialize in too many things...

      It could go both ways, and knowing everything is good too, but the rule is that when energy is diffused over a large area it loses power. Thats the law that never fails.

      Focused energy has more power.

      Specialize in one thing, go there... earn trust based on it... then other things will open up.

      If you are trying to focus on too many things and cant move because of it... Welcome to the 80 percentile.
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      • Profile picture of the author TracyNeedham
        Originally Posted by SeanyG View Post

        So then how do you focus down?

        Because I had a similar experience to what MsMotivation1 said where I talked to a bunch of different businesses and they all had VERY different needs.

        Some had traffic and needed a better website. Others needed an opt in and autoresponder. Others don't know how to drive traffic. Some don't have a website!

        How do you focus down on a few different markets or one specific service? It seems like starting out providing everything I'll quickly learn where the biggest need is and where the money is, and then I can niche down.

        What do you guys think?
        First, I applaud you for focusing on what the customer needs and wanting to offer the right solution to them. Too many people try to make their square peg fit into the customer's round hole.

        You're getting businesses to talk to you--that's half the battle. For the time being, find good people to outsource what they need to and manage it. That way, you can see where the demand is and where your interests are while still serving their needs. But I would start lining those people up before approaching customers, so you won't have to go searching.

        In the meantime, learn all you can about marketing. Bottom line, most businesses' biggest problem is not having enough clients. The more you know about marketing, the more you can choose the right solution to suggest. Because what the owners think they need and what they actually need are often 2 different things, in my experience.

        As for your web designer friend, keep the relationship going. One big advantage you and your customers will have over the agencies for him is that agencies take freaking forever and a day to pay. I've yet to find one that pays deposits--they pay it all on the back end--at least 30 days out.

        On the other hand, you will be getting a good chunk of your money upfront. And money in the hand is worth a lot more than money in the bush several months away...

        Tracy
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  • Profile picture of the author Mary Wilhite
    Its always better to be an expert in one thing,specialize in that particular prospect and then focus on the other later,this will surely take you places.Thank you.
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  • Profile picture of the author ZachWaldman
    Originally Posted by SeanyG View Post

    Hey guys,


    That being said, my web developer is the best in our city. He recommends choosing one area of expertise and focus on that. He says that when you're the best at 1 thing you end up getting a lot more referrals.
    I think the biggest opportunity comes from having a relationship with the best web developer in the city.

    Why don't you ask him what service people are asking for that he doesn't provide and offer to provide it? He has the customers, I'm sure he'd happily give you referrals for a commission.

    These types of relationships are powerful and are a great source of leads.
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    • Profile picture of the author SeanyG
      Thanks Zach. I'm trying to leverage this but he already has relationships (gets a ton of referrals from) the big marketing agencies in the city.
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  • Profile picture of the author thehypnoguy
    Don't forget working with local printers too. They have the customers you are looking for and if you white label can bring new services to their business they can provide their customers helping them to remain more relevant and survive the dwindling of their businesses.

    Martin
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  • Profile picture of the author wilder1047
    Well, I don't think it's a good idea to take advice from your web design guy since you guys are in two very different niches.

    You're an internet marketer - you're out to make the business more money, web designers are out to make a pretty looking site and getting paid, that's that. Once you get to speaking with business owners and hear the prices they're charged by these companies and the site isn't optimized to convert ANYTHING. Sorry, but I hate the way these web companies gauge people.

    But, really - when you meet with business owners you should be asking tons of questions, trying to figure out what would be best to be implemented into their business. If you think that say facebook would be great for their business and you're a little hazy on the details - just come onto WF and get the information needed that you can help the client out.

    Don't be one-dimensional. That's the old way of doing business - especially since the name of the game is to come up with the solution - and then outsource it!!
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    • Profile picture of the author SeanyG
      Originally Posted by wilder1047 View Post

      Don't be one-dimensional. That's the old way of doing business - especially since the name of the game is to come up with the solution - and then outsource it!!
      Well said thanks!
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  • Profile picture of the author laustinseo
    I think it is good to be an expert in one area as opposed to little bits, but basic knowledge in areas that are closely related are very important
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  • Profile picture of the author Cherrelle
    I think it is worth making the distinction between being an expert in an aspect of internet marketing and being an expert in a business niche.

    You could either be an expert in an aspect of IM for businesses such as email marketing, mobile marketing and so forth. People have done very well form this approach however, the only issue is that it would be harder to find your clients to begin with as they will all presint with "nneds" and you will either turn away those who dont fit your exact customer profile or you accept the work which isnt really being a specilist.

    The second approach which i think is more beneficial to start with is focusing on a niche within business. This can either be a niche by industry such as working with restaurants, musician or so on or a broader niche of medium size businesses looking to increase their customer spend or frequency.

    Either way the most important thing to do is to start. You will find your path as you go along but start with one focus now and you can always grow and expand.

    You dont need to see the whole staircase to take the fist step

    Cherrelle
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    • Profile picture of the author thriftgirl62
      Originally Posted by Chris Cho View Post

      Traffic + Conversion = $$$
      Educate them about it.

      I don't claim to be an expert at a lot of stuff but i built a team of experts around me. Web designers, web developers, link builders, article writers, project managers, seo specialists. I wouldn't want invest my time to become an "expert web designer" when i can just hire an expert. I only started selling websites to get my foot in the door and to cross sell. =)
      Originally Posted by SeanyG View Post

      This was one of the approaches I've been considering.

      There are 2 things that make me hesitate with becoming a "small business marketing" expert:

      1) Small businesses don't have much money to spend and will nickel and dime you. Medium sized businesses spend more and are easier to work with.

      2) If I'm offering everything online marketing for businesses, how am I different than all of the other agencies?

      Any advice for these two points?
      Originally Posted by Dr Dan View Post

      I personally go after 1 industry and become the expert to that group. Then I become the go-to guy for that niche.

      I also offer just 1 main service and occasionally will do additional services that I can easily do myself our outtask to someone simple.

      Sometimes I just split the commission and refer it out to someone else since I am too busy to take on new clients as well.
      Originally Posted by wilder1047 View Post

      Well, I don't think it's a good idea to take advice from your web design guy since you guys are in two very different niches.

      You're an internet marketer - you're out to make the business more money, web designers are out to make a pretty looking site and getting paid, that's that. Once you get to speaking with business owners and hear the prices they're charged by these companies and the site isn't optimized to convert ANYTHING. Sorry, but I hate the way these web companies gauge people.

      Don't be one-dimensional. That's the old way of doing business - especially since the name of the game is to come up with the solution - and then outsource it!!
      I've highlighted the main points because the difference between mediocrity and excellence is about people and doing what you love. Even if you could do everything well enough to get by, you would not be happy and your bank account would suffer.

      It really boils down to WHAT YOU WANT regardless of money because no matter WHAT you do, money is the RESULT that follows two things: happiness and excellence - in that order. It seems like everyone is gravitating towards what they do the best because doing the best job is what everyone wants the most - even more than money.

      It doesn't matter how much money you get paid to do something, that won't last if you're not the best at doing what you're getting paid for. But there's that little business voice inside that doesn't want to turn away business either. Doing what you truly want is what makes you happy, right?

      BUT you know you can't do everything. Or, can you? "Nothing is impossible or unrealistic" and "you can do anything you set mind to" will make you crazy because it's true, with one exception. If unreasonable creeps in and takes over, then it's over. Nothing overcomes unreasonable except death or walking away smiling because it happened instead of crying because it's over. That's the mindset that makes the difference.

      Does anyone believe "rich people never give up" and just keep trying and trying and trying, vowing never to quit no matter what? The missing part of the equation is knowing when to "give up" and move on to something else. People who always get everything they want, don't want anything unreasonable. They learn how to compromise and make changes and still get what they want.

      "how am I different than all of the other agencies" is called finding your purple goldfish or the Marketing Lagniappe which most people don't even know about. http://www.cez1.net/img/hearse.jpg and http://www.ez-1.net/goats Those might be a little extreme but I've got something even more extreme - but first I want to know what you think.
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      When you make at least $100+ per month, we split the profit 80/20 and YOU get the 80% Until then, you keep 100% and I'll help you drive traffic, get backlinks and put the domain in your name too!
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      • Profile picture of the author SeanyG
        Originally Posted by thriftgirl62 View Post

        It really boils down to WHAT YOU WANT regardless of money because no matter WHAT you do, money is the RESULT that follows two things: happiness and excellence - in that order. It seems like everyone is gravitating towards what they do the best because doing the best job is what everyone wants the most - even more than money.
        You're spot on with this.

        What I really enjoy is working with people. So Ideally I do strategy and act as an account manager with clients and then get my team of expert service providers to do the actual work - link building, site building, social media, content writing etc.

        This is possible. It may take a while to find the right niches that are willing to pay enough of a premium to cover the service providers AND my fee on top. But its NOT UNREASONABLE!
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        • Profile picture of the author thriftgirl62
          Originally Posted by SeanyG View Post

          You're spot on with this.

          What I really enjoy is working with people. So Ideally I do strategy and act as an account manager with clients and then get my team of expert service providers to do the actual work - link building, site building, social media, content writing etc.

          This is possible. It may take a while to find the right niches that are willing to pay enough of a premium to cover the service providers AND my fee on top. But its NOT UNREASONABLE!
          Managing Teams and Talent is what you "really enjoy" and what I "don't really like" that much because I'm not as good with people as you obviously are. That's exactly why the answer is surrounding yourself with a "team of experts" so you "wouldn't invest my time" in learning or doing something unnecessary. Anything you are not the resident expert in doing is unnecessary when you have experts on board. The best part is exactly what everyone wants - work less and earn more because what experts do is second nature - it's not even work - it's just what getting paid for what you do is called.

          Everyone was happy paying $5 figures for websites back then because they believed they were getting something so valuable cost didn't matter so they waited and waited and now they are pissed off about paying and waiting for nothing. Google has been try to turn that ship around since 2003-04and still millions of FREE websites are left ignored by these companies that don't even like the web and claim they don't need or want it.

          Okay, rant over but finding people wiling to pay for experts has never been the problem. The problem is finding the right people who want to become better, well-known experts willing to work together consistently putting the client's interest first and let word travel. Making sure someone else spends the same time doing their work as everyone else is trying equalize people with money and that doesn't work.

          For example [you will like this one!]
          Originally Posted by True Story, Details sketchy

          remember the IBM story where nobody could fix the errors on their server so they called an expert and paid him to travel from New York to California. He walks in looks at something, checks something else, scratches his head looking for something. Finally he says I can't do this anymore and pressed a button and five minutes later everything worked.

          The owner is happy, everyone can go back to work now. He looks at the expert ready to pay his expenses and decides to be generous and add a $500 tip. The expert says oh, no I don't charge extra for travel. It's all included in my bill and the owner looks at the bill and says, $10,000 for 15 minutes of work?

          The expert says, "No actually you got 10 minutes free. It only took me 5 minutes so I tried to stay busy longer so you would get a better deal. I could have told you what button to push on the phone but I pride myself on personally taking care of all my customers no matter how small or large the job is. The bill is the same either way since I don't penalize people for where they choose to locate their business. [okay, I made that last part up!]
          The time is takes is immaterial when nobody else knows what button to push.

          For the past 2 years I've been trying to get people to partner up and work together and see what happens. . . go with the flow and don't worry about anything . . .money will take care of itself. Everyone liked the idea but nobody wanted to do anything without knowing how much money they would make and how long would it take to see a profit. When there was no answer, they disappeared and went back to making $XXXX.XX in 60 days.

          I thought I was being unreasonable so I decided to make a "get rich or die trying" guarantee - double your money by December which amounted to $250 each. That would have worked but now I'm glad someone reported my post and it was deleted. Even though people are people and everyone can get what they want, everyone doesn't want the same thing - what you and I want doesn't matter to someone else unless they want the same thing.

          I think someone smarter than me could see that and reported the post because they knew what I didn't have to find out the hard way. The RIGHT people are the most important part of everything or nothing works. Back to the drawing board. Head down, ass up for another 6 months.

          Finally on July 8th I was ready, Freddy. Fred? Are you out there? He's one of the good ones who stay too busy for new ventures. I think they call that focus and we all could do more of that if we weren't so busy trying to do everything for nothing. Now that I've done everything I can by myself, the Partner site [in my signature] is ready except for one minor detail. It's UGLY and could use one of those designers that "make a pretty looking site" because that is what they do best. How ironic is that?
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          I retired in 2005 at 43 and now I give away websites like these for FREE [hosting excluded]

          When you make at least $100+ per month, we split the profit 80/20 and YOU get the 80% Until then, you keep 100% and I'll help you drive traffic, get backlinks and put the domain in your name too!
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        • Profile picture of the author thriftgirl62
          If unreasonable creeps in and takes over, then it's over. Nothing overcomes unreasonable except death or walking away smiling because it happened instead of crying because it's over. That's the mindset that makes the difference.

          Does anyone believe "rich people never give up" and just keep trying and trying and trying, vowing never to quit no matter what? The missing part of the equation is knowing when to "give up" and move on to something else.
          .
          Originally Posted by SeanyG View Post

          This is possible. It may take a while to find the right niches that are willing to pay enough of a premium to cover the service providers AND my fee on top. But its NOT UNREASONABLE! :)
          I THINK it happened again! I always forget these forums are threads that belong to the "OP" which I think is "Original Poster" or something like that [this is where I get accused of pretending to be dumb to get attention] Nobody knows everything you do which is why communication threatens those with hidden agendas. [now I' m paranoid and lost touch with reality] http://instantvideowebpages.com/play/bush

          I wasn't referring to you, the "OP" when I went on about knowing when to give up when unreasonable kicks impossible to the curb. The top 2 unreasonable things in the World are some HUSBANDS and BOSSES. That's good if you thought I was referring to you because you came back strong and didn't even think about listening to a crock when you know better.
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          I retired in 2005 at 43 and now I give away websites like these for FREE [hosting excluded]

          When you make at least $100+ per month, we split the profit 80/20 and YOU get the 80% Until then, you keep 100% and I'll help you drive traffic, get backlinks and put the domain in your name too!
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    • Profile picture of the author SeanyG
      Originally Posted by Cherrelle View Post

      Either way the most important thing to do is to start. You will find your path as you go along but start with one focus now and you can always grow and expand.

      You dont need to see the whole staircase to take the fist step
      Take action!
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  • Profile picture of the author badlimey
    Do what you do best and trade for the rest (outsource). Just make sure you know who you are outsourcing and that they do it to your exact instructions. I have been providing Internet Marketing Consulting since 1996 and for the past two years SEO.

    I don't even have a website just squeeze pages and video. It works, just fine. Good luck in your venture.
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    Barrie Featherstone
    US Army Retired
    "Still Serving"

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  • Profile picture of the author redbearing
    In my opinion, it's better to be an expert in looking for customers who are willing to spend money for the services that you're offering. When you can do that, you can build a team of experts who will handle the work for you.

    That way, you don't have to limit your service to something that you're good at.
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    • Profile picture of the author SeanyG
      Originally Posted by redbearing View Post

      In my opinion, it's better to be an expert in looking for customers who are willing to spend money for the services that you're offering. When you can do that, you can build a team of experts who will handle the work for you.

      That way, you don't have to limit your service to something that you're good at.
      This is an awesome way to put it!

      Become an expert in finding customers that are willing to spend money for the services you're offering and you can outsource the rest.
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Rivers
    Hey SeanyG,

    If you're mostly focusing on doing the networking lead generation strategy, then you are sorta forced to be the "I can do everything marketing guy."

    However, if you're focusing on attracting high quality prospects to you, then you have more options. Here's what helped me when I got started:

    When I first got going, I started by building 2 funnels into my offline business for prospects to get to me (I'm currently working on adding more funnels).

    Funnel 1 was for internet marketing prospects. (I have sub niches, but I'm giving you a overview)
    Funnel 2 was for "help your business get more leads, customers and profits"

    This means I have lead gen websites for both and all other supporting marketing and business information for both.

    My main pitch for funnel 1 is a broad approach of using the internet to attract more leads, customers and get more profits. This only attracts a customer who wants to use the internet to grow their business.

    When I do my initial business interview, I can discover their needs, wants, fears and goals and build a online marketing strategy to match.

    The same goes for funnel 2, but it's more of a generic grow your business angle. The prospect then lets me know what they want during my business questionaire interview.

    Personally, in my immediate future I can see myself building a marketing funnel for every service that I am offering. Heck, if I'm offering the service, then I better be advertising it.

    By the way, when I say funnels, I'm talking about marketing funnels. So, for example: I take out a ad in my local chamber of commerce publication for my video creation service that directs the prospect to my landing page on my website for that service and they can see samples of my work and place an order or contact me for more info.

    This approach allows my marketing to present me as the go-to guy for that specific service, but I'm not married to a specific service. I just change my ad and move on to the next foot-in-the door service offering.

    Hope this helps,

    Chris Rivers
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  • Profile picture of the author FormerWageSlave
    All those things are just tools in your toolbox. Bundle 'em up, give it a name and now be the expert in that one thing, usually getting more revenue for your clients. That's your USP. All the other things should be applied as needed.

    And the added benefit is now you're not selling commodities.
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    grrr...

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  • Profile picture of the author isGabes
    I think if you can be an expert in one thing AND make money from it, then stick to that. But I personally find I need to know a range of things as the industry is constantly changing and all clients needs are different. Also, if you know a range of things, then if one blows up or Google kills it, you are not f*ed.
    -Gabe
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