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what do you ask in initial consultations?

by RimaNaj2011
10 replies
I just made an appointment with a chiropractor (it's in one hour)...what are some questions to ask? I'm going to do SEO and possibly Google Places. He doesn't have a web design so he would need that too.

I was thinking of questions like :

how long does each patient stay with you

how many new clients are you looking on taking each month

I've only sold web design which is easier, but what questions should I ask for SEO?
#consultations #initial
  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    Quick, check this out and see if you can personalize it.

    Talk about developing a steady stream of qualified inbound leads. That's what they really want.
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    • Profile picture of the author RimaNaj2011
      Originally Posted by Jason Kanigan View Post

      Quick, check this out and see if you can personalize it.

      Talk about developing a steady stream of qualified inbound leads. That's what they really want.
      Thanks so much. That helps me out...

      This was actually my first appointment from someone I didn't know (all my other work has been through friends and my own personal network)

      This guy was telling me about how backlinks work and how it's not possible to claim someone else's listing on page 1 of Google (???)...definitely not a client I want to work with. I might set him up for a web design but I'm not too sure about SEO.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    Interesting. Good for you for qualifying him Out if he's not a fit. That's an important skill and one often overlooked in the dash for cash. Personality fit is a huge issue. A micro-managing know-it-all who truly doesn't know is a scary client. And it's always up to Y-O-U as to whether to take someone on as a client or not.

    Also check out this thread.
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    • Profile picture of the author RimaNaj2011
      Thank you again. That thread is very helpful...

      One last question, the last thing he asked was roughly how much it would cost. I said a simple 5 page web design will be no less than $500 so that's starting price.

      SEO I told him that it's going to depend and I'll need to do some keyword research but it would be about $750 deposit and then between $400-$600 a month. He said that was really high and I told him it's for the 4 main local keywords (our city) which for the record is:

      CITY chiropractor
      chiropractor CITY
      chiropractor CITY STATE
      CITY physical therapy

      In total they have 100 searches a month and I know for sure I can get them all to #1. (I didn't guarantee that. All I guaranteed was page 1 listing in 3 months or he gets 50% of the deposit back. I didn't want to do this, but since I'm new and don't have testimonials, I think he got a little more comfortable with this).

      So anyways, with that and a conservative number of 5 new patients a month, I don't think my number is high. I even told him, "how much is one new patient worth to you? I bet it's a lot more than $600"

      And then he started going on and telling me that in healthcare, people don't find their doctors on the internet. They find it through insurance books and for 100 searches, he thinks he'll maybe get 1 new patient a month. For those with experience, is this true?

      I really don't want to lower my price because I think he's still getting a good value and ROI, but I wanted to ask what you guys thought here.
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      • Profile picture of the author RimaNaj2011
        bump ^^^^^^
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      • Profile picture of the author mrcghill
        Originally Posted by RimaNaj2011 View Post

        Thank you again. That thread is very helpful...

        One last question, the last thing he asked was roughly how much it would cost. I said a simple 5 page web design will be no less than $500 so that's starting price.

        SEO I told him that it's going to depend and I'll need to do some keyword research but it would be about $750 deposit and then between $400-$600 a month. He said that was really high and I told him it's for the 4 main local keywords (our city) which for the record is:

        CITY chiropractor
        chiropractor CITY
        chiropractor CITY STATE
        CITY physical therapy

        In total they have 100 searches a month and I know for sure I can get them all to #1. (I didn't guarantee that. All I guaranteed was page 1 listing in 3 months or he gets 50% of the deposit back. I didn't want to do this, but since I'm new and don't have testimonials, I think he got a little more comfortable with this).

        So anyways, with that and a conservative number of 5 new patients a month, I don't think my number is high. I even told him, "how much is one new patient worth to you? I bet it's a lot more than $600"

        And then he started going on and telling me that in healthcare, people don't find their doctors on the internet. They find it through insurance books and for 100 searches, he thinks he'll maybe get 1 new patient a month. For those with experience, is this true?

        I really don't want to lower my price because I think he's still getting a good value and ROI, but I wanted to ask what you guys thought here.
        I would just pass on this potential client. He sounds like he will be difficult down the road.
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  • Profile picture of the author PhilaPM
    First I think your quote is high. For local search terms like city chiropractor it's pretty easy to get ranked #1. Also most people don't take into consideration that the #1 spot on the 1st page of google gets about 50% of the searches. So now at best that's 50 visitors a month looking at is website. How many people will actually call or set an appoinment? Possibly a couple. How much does a chiropractor make for each office visit? Most I know it's about $30-50 per visit. So at best 1 client might be worth $200/month if they go every week. Most people can't probably afford that now so say maybe once or twice a month. I think your quote was probably twice as much as you should of quoted.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    Ask your prospect:

    * how many new clients per month do they think they'll get from your stream of inbound leads

    * how much a new client is worth to them, on average.

    Have the multiply the two together.

    Do not talk about websites. Don't talk about your solution. If you do you'll just cubbyhole yourself--the prospect will say to themselves, "I know all about websites, and this is a web designer--that's a commodity and I know how much that is worth."

    Take that total new revenue figure and ask them how much they believe the investment would be to get them to that point.

    This figure will almost always be more than what you would charge.

    But the secret is to get them to provide these figures.

    If they say it, it's true. If you say it, you have to defend it.
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    • Profile picture of the author RimaNaj2011
      Originally Posted by PhilaPM View Post

      First I think your quote is high. For local search terms like city chiropractor it's pretty easy to get ranked #1. Also most people don't take into consideration that the #1 spot on the 1st page of google gets about 50% of the searches. So now at best that's 50 visitors a month looking at is website. How many people will actually call or set an appoinment? Possibly a couple. How much does a chiropractor make for each office visit? Most I know it's about $30-50 per visit. So at best 1 client might be worth $200/month if they go every week. Most people can't probably afford that now so say maybe once or twice a month. I think your quote was probably twice as much as you should of quoted.
      Well I could probably rank it in a week to first page but that doesn't mean I'm going to charge him $100 a month or something low.

      I'm not sure how much each visit is, but I can't really think it's $30-$50. That's extremely low in my opinion.

      EDIT-I just googled real quick and it seems that their visits really are that cheap. I had no idea. For some reason I thought it was like doctor appointments ($200+ a visit)...maybe a price range of 200-250 is more suitable.

      Originally Posted by Jason Kanigan View Post

      Ask your prospect:

      * how many new clients per month do they think they'll get from your stream of inbound leads

      * how much a new client is worth to them, on average.

      Have the multiply the two together.

      Do not talk about websites. Don't talk about your solution. If you do you'll just cubbyhole yourself--the prospect will say to themselves, "I know all about websites, and this is a web designer--that's a commodity and I know how much that is worth."

      Take that total new revenue figure and ask them how much they believe the investment would be to get them to that point.

      This figure will almost always be more than what you would charge.

      But the secret is to get them to provide these figures.

      If they say it, it's true. If you say it, you have to defend it.
      Well I told him there's 100 searches and he said he think he would get 1-2 new patients.

      He never answered me when I asked how much each new patient is worth to him.

      I see what you're saying about them giving you the figures. It reminds me of when I did sales at a retail electronics store. You could say the same thing as the customer but if the words come out of their mouths, they tend to believe and trust it more.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    He never answered you about how much each new patient is worth?

    You let him off the hook!

    You can say, "If you don't feel comfortable sharing this with me, just think of the number. Now multiply it by the (1 or 2X)...is that a significant total?"

    If the answer is, "Not really," then they can qualify Out.

    If it's, "Of course!" then you can continue talking.

    "Humor me. Just think of the total," if they resist doing this little math problem. With a smile. Be Tough! Don't let them slink away.
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