Ron White is Right: "You Can't Fix Stupid"
There are a lot of posts on this forum exclaiming what a great business offline marketing is, and I agree. It's a fantastic business. That said, it isn't as easy as you would think based on the number of "I made $XXXX in XX days!" threads. There are some huge paydays in this line of work, but you still have to talk to a lot of idiots before speaking to someone who "gets it."
Case in point, I met with a used car dealer last week. I briefly explained what I offered as a consultant for local businesses, and asked if he'd like to schedule an appointment so that we could discuss his marketing plan.
He agreed to meet this afternoon, but wanted me to call in the a.m. for a specific time. Before thanking him for his time I let him know that I'd be emailing a video explaining some of the services I offered, and asked for the best email address to reach him at. He gave me his business card, we shook hands, and I thanked him and left.
Once I got back to my office I put together a short 1.5 minute video explaining how local search worked, and showing him the first 30 listings on Google Places. His car lot was not listed on the first 3 pages, and in fact, he doesn't even have a Google Places listing! This isn't a new business. He's been around for over 5 years, has a beautiful website that no one knows about, and his car lot is in the least visited part of town. I also explained that I worked exclusively with one business per category at a time. There are about 18 or 19 used car dealerships in my little town.
So I email the video to him, using the address from his business card. The email bounces back to me because I haven't been added to the approved senders list.
This guy is in sales, and he has an email address that no one can use!
So I go to the contact form on his website and use it to send a link to his personalized video , thanking him again for his time and letting him know that I'm looking forward to our meeting.
I call today (as requested) to set up a specific time and he tells me that he talked to his wife and they decided that they don't need to do any additional marketing right now.
"Did you look at the video I sent you?"
"I saw the email, but I didn't look at the video yet."
"Well, Kenny, do me a favor and look at the video. I'm going to give you a call on Wednesday. If, after watching the video, you still think that you don't need my services that'll be fine. Okay?"
"Yeah, all right."
"Thanks Kenny. I'll talk to you Wednesday."
It never fails to amaze me how often people are successful in spite of themselves. Kenny represents the majority of the people I talk to on a daily basis. The old saying about having to get 9 "nos" before getting 1 "yes" has proven to be right on the money, at least lately.
What are your stories?
Will
Case in point, I met with a used car dealer last week. I briefly explained what I offered as a consultant for local businesses, and asked if he'd like to schedule an appointment so that we could discuss his marketing plan.
He agreed to meet this afternoon, but wanted me to call in the a.m. for a specific time. Before thanking him for his time I let him know that I'd be emailing a video explaining some of the services I offered, and asked for the best email address to reach him at. He gave me his business card, we shook hands, and I thanked him and left.
Once I got back to my office I put together a short 1.5 minute video explaining how local search worked, and showing him the first 30 listings on Google Places. His car lot was not listed on the first 3 pages, and in fact, he doesn't even have a Google Places listing! This isn't a new business. He's been around for over 5 years, has a beautiful website that no one knows about, and his car lot is in the least visited part of town. I also explained that I worked exclusively with one business per category at a time. There are about 18 or 19 used car dealerships in my little town.
So I email the video to him, using the address from his business card. The email bounces back to me because I haven't been added to the approved senders list.
This guy is in sales, and he has an email address that no one can use!
So I go to the contact form on his website and use it to send a link to his personalized video , thanking him again for his time and letting him know that I'm looking forward to our meeting.
I call today (as requested) to set up a specific time and he tells me that he talked to his wife and they decided that they don't need to do any additional marketing right now.
"Did you look at the video I sent you?"
"I saw the email, but I didn't look at the video yet."
"Well, Kenny, do me a favor and look at the video. I'm going to give you a call on Wednesday. If, after watching the video, you still think that you don't need my services that'll be fine. Okay?"
"Yeah, all right."
"Thanks Kenny. I'll talk to you Wednesday."
It never fails to amaze me how often people are successful in spite of themselves. Kenny represents the majority of the people I talk to on a daily basis. The old saying about having to get 9 "nos" before getting 1 "yes" has proven to be right on the money, at least lately.
What are your stories?
Will
The bartender says: "We don't serve faster-than-light particles here."
...A tachyon enters a bar.