Experienced Warriors Please Advise: Is it super hard to get customers or do I just suck at sales?

You have to think of it as a business because that is what you are. This time of season is hard on me right now too and I do a LOT of marketing... my average sales are usually GREAT. Keep your head up, something has to come through for you if you're putting the effort in.

How many calls a day are you making? Are you advertising at all? I never focus my conversation on one area unless I know its what they need. I will mention web design and internet marketing. Because to them internet marketing is just increasing their online presence.

Cold calling
Craigslist
Direct Mail
Social Media,
Your own SEO
Pay Per click

Combine those together and you will increase your sales. You also don't need to limit yourself to just your local area.

It seems impossible at times, especially in a sales rut. For you, you're just starting out, you just need to keep track of all your calls, how many you make, etc. Once you do that, you can put your law of averages to use.

Its not comparatively harder than any other business you start, its just that business itself takes perseverance, and it IS a business.

Major companies employ thousands of sales people and pay millions of dollars per month in advertising fees to secure customers. It does take effort, and investment, whether that be in work time, money...whatever. Customers are valuable and they never come easily.

Its just business period. Eventually you start getting the hang of it, but there is always a major push to break the ice.

Personally Im encouraging my daughter to learn web design. For the next 50 years as long as there is a good salesman around you can make alot of money in it. Its not always easy to sell, but it IS the most needed B2B service out there and there is alot of demand.

Turning up customers is something you develop at. The odds, and the challenge would be the same if you were setting roofing and siding appointments, or selling insurance, or whatever...

@iAmNameLess Thank you! I haven't tried advertising just yet. I do have an adwords coupon for $100 so I'm starting that tonight or tomorrow. I also haven't tried direct mail. I do need to track the calls.

@ John Durham Thank you! "Its not comparatively harder than any other business you start, its just that business itself takes perseverance, and it IS a business." Not sure why I thought this might be an "easier" business to start - maybe because of too many WSO's. I will keep in mind that, like you say, "Turning up customers is something you develop." I learn a lot from your forum

@Sue, Thank you. A customized solution focused on making them money. I have shyed away from making claims of making the business more money - only because I'm not totally clear on how to prove it through analytics and tracking. I can show more website visitors, higher ranking, people subscribing, etc... but I see that I need to learn how to "show them the money" and therefore, the value.
-Selling the appointment in my first goal - I may need a stronger benefit statement to secure the meeting.

James Kanigan posted a long reply to a thread on the telemarketing forum that you will find very helpful and inspiring. The tread is called "What Should I Really Expect? Selling Websites over the Phone. I need a closer. " It boils down to creating value in prospects minds. Hope this helps.

I have noticed my local area is wildly full of offline marketing companies - I hear that from the cold calls I make.

Sales people of ALL types have been and will always be there. Strangely you will find that the better you become at what you do the less you will notice them.


I've joined a local chamber and have gone to many mixers.

These can be tricky for new people, especially if you are in the "make friends mode".
Not saying to not be friendly and meet people but make it clear that you are there to find business and help others that connect with you find business.
IT has to be a mindset when you go in to find people than can use your services and also to find people that make for good 2 way referrals of business.

You actually should be popular as anyone who was tips on how to get other biz owners more customers will get asked lots of questions, just be mindful of time hogs who want to milk you for free info. If they are taking more than a reasonable amount of your time at the mixer then try to transition into setting an appointment or consultation
to see if they are serious or not.

One other thing that females, especially attractive ones need to be aware of it that many guys will feign interest in Real business in hopes of conduction monkey business.
Now on the other side of the coin I have also seen attractive females feign monkey business to try and obtain real business. So it goes both ways, just look out for it.

I've asked friends and family for referrals.

Not a bad idea but its very likely they dont know how to sell your program as they will only be pushing the product vs the benefit. If they really want to help you train them on how to pitch the benefits.

Example-if you need a website my niece can do it vs my niece helped a carpet company get 20% more sales every month with a kick ass website.

I've worked with 3 customers for free - for the experience and testimonials

Do you have their official testimonials ready to show at the drop of a hat. I would also get them to do a video testimonial as well and put that up on website and youtube optimized for specific search terms related to the thing you helped them with.

I haven't yet acquired a playing customer. I do focus my conversation so sometimes it's mobile marketing, sometimes local search, other times reputation management. But it's always focused.

It may be easier when you start to find ONE or TWO specific things to offer that are easy to sell like website and mobile websites. I say that because anyone that doenst have that is unlikely to want the more fancy stuff available. Once you work your way in they will want you for more stuff, its like magic. Over time more and more biz owners will know how valuable all the other stuff is and you become the goto all things new media.
Check out this nonaffl wso that has killer plr promtional material that may help you present yourself on a high level and is sure to impress. I bet you most of the established companies in town will not have collateral that looks this good.


Anyway, best to you.

It may be as simple as rewording what you are, or your services. Terms like SEO, SEM, Reputation Management, and etc have been hammered into these businesses so much you are probably getting deaf ear syndrome the second you mention anything they have already heard of, or have been sold.

Instead of "Reputation Management" - You are a "Corporate Protection Advocate", you do "Business Branding Syndication", or etc.

Instead of local listings you are a "Business Saturation Specialist". And you can become a "Local Listing Verification Specialist" and just want to verify that their listing information is correct so they are not LOSING business. Then let them know the 28 things they are doing wrong and missing, then be as technical as possible telling them how to optimize and complete their page. Most times they will not mess with, and ask you to do it. Do it reeeeeaaally cheap while finding a site that charge $499 for it so they know what a great guy you are. This is not your money maker, this is your in to get them to pay "something", impress them, then upsell.

Went a bit off topic, but I think you get the point. By just switching (Creatively making up titles) has more than tripled our conversions.

Oh ... instead of SEO, why not be a Google Ranking Technician :-)

Amy5, give us an update on your status of this.

I think this is becoming a common question.

We have our own offline business selling headsets to telemarketers and businesses and we get called about 10 times a week and people at the front desk at least a few times a week.

The problem with all them is that they are offering nebulous things that have no substance. Its all SEO mumbo jumbo.

That's why we started selling mobile websites with QR Codes as a first time offering as they get that touchy feely experience with their smartphone and can see something tangible.

We then upsell to refurbish their main websites and start doing content creation.

Quentin

Amy5 - like a few people said - it's a business. While this forum can give you a lot of great information and ideas on ways to get clients and services to offer those clients, it can be very frustrating and confusing. I would guess a good portion of the people giving sage advice aren't really running a full-time business - many are selling a WSO or just trying to sound impressive. So many times what you hear here is not the full picture or even real.

A lot of what you need to learn you will learn by running your business. After awhile you will find that there are a handful of people who regularly post on this board who know what they are talking about because they are living and breathing this stuff - those are the people to pay attention to.

You just need to keep doing what you are doing and do what feels right to you. The main thing is not give up - assuming this is what you really want to do. One thing that doesn't get talked about much on this board is how hard it can be to make this work.

But once you start doing it and get some clients you will see what works. If you cold call enough, you will get clients. There is plenty of work out there. As long as you are yourself, honest and do good work for your clients you will get enough work.

1. Practice at public speaking. Take a class or join Toastmasters if you have to.

2. Create a presentation showing the potential of SEO & your other services for a small business. Do the research and get real facts. Have someone on Elance do a research project on the cheap if you have to.

3. Call every Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce in your area and ask to speak at an upcoming meeting. This will be easy because they're always short on speakers for meetings. Come up with a catchy name for your speech such as "Small Businesses Largest Hidden Profit Center" that will get people to turn out and very curious.

4. Make your presentation at the meetings, keeping in mind that you cannot directly sell. Just show the potential and benefits, in terms of real dollars, of what they're missing out on and some good case studies.

5. Get there early and stay late to meet & greet everyone and exchange business cards. Many people will call you and ask for an appointment or offer to buy you lunch. Follow up with all the rest who don't call or email you within a few days.

This is a HUGE HUGE HUGELY effective method of selling that I've been using in various sales jobs as far back as the late 90s and now I use it to promote my sales training business. My speech is "The Largest Hidden Cost In Business" and i talk about how the requirement of cold calling is the biggest reason why salespeople quit, and I cite real numbers ($25k/employee on average, and the study from the University of North Carolina showing that 80% of business owners and executives will never buy from a cold call). At that point it's easy to have people booking me to come in for a day and teach 'Never Cold Call Again.'

Don't get lured into the idea that cold calling works just because it gets you a few appointments here and there when there are MUCH more efficient, effective, and leveraged lead-generation methods like this one.

Once you have enough cash coming in you can start doing free luncheon seminars at restaurants. I used to do them at a local Mexican restaurant that had a private room and had a limited menu for the attendees with everything under $10 to keep it on the cheap.