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Which Service to Offer Local Businesses?

by redhill
13 replies
Hello,

I hope this post finds everyone well.

I am seeking to offer a business building service to local businesses. When I say local, I mean that the businesses I am targeting will be smaller businesses and not larger corporations...as I am looking to offer a service that I can offer to businesses that will be out of my area (and be done entirely remotely.)

The thing is that I am getting overwhelmed with all of the information right now and am really looking to start with ONE lead-off service and not offer a suite of services.

Whatever that service is, I want it to be something that truly provides a ROI (dimes for dollars value) to the end client so that staying with me will be a "no brainer." I want their increased profit to dwarf the $500 a month.

So, not being good at SEO, can anyone provide any insight into a list of all my options? I know there is mobile, sms, video, etc, etc.

Right now I'm really seeking a consolidated list of services I can provide that meet this criteria.

I have been buying and selling rare books online for 10+ years and have a strong understanding of online marketing in general as well as the ability to write decent copy.

Any insight sincerely appreciated as I look to get started immediately.

Thanks in advance!
#businesses #local #offer #service
  • Profile picture of the author SashaLee
    Hi redhill,

    Have you any success stories? Have you ever actually done what you're proposing to sell to hard-working business owners?

    Best,

    Sasha.
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    • Profile picture of the author Joshua Lowenthal
      One great recommendation I can add to your list if you don't already know is mobile friendly websites.

      A LOT of businesses ALL OVER either don't have a website or their's looks hideous on a cell phone's small screen and resolution.

      I can't teach you in one post, but I can say the information is out there, and there are even WSOs to teach you the ins and outs and give you some great resources. I can't just link you but they are out there.

      Give it a shot.
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  • Profile picture of the author jamesie
    i think you need to tool up with as much to offer as possible and roll it out by sitting down with individual bsiness owners and tailoring what they need as opposed to deciding what you want to sell them
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  • Profile picture of the author paul nicholls
    I've been building simple wordpress sites for local business's since the start of last year and it's going well

    My clients love my sites and I don't charge a stupid amount either

    My strategy is building a residual income because every client which i get i give them free hosting for so many months and then after that i charge them around $10 - $15 per month

    That income is paid to me every month and i am slowly building a nice extra income stream with a residual income

    This is what i would recommend you to start doing, it's very profitable and good fun at the same time

    My focus is online but this offline work i do is just an extra

    I'm building 100 sites so that's 100 clients paying me $10 - $15 per month = $1500 per month on auto-pilot

    Paul
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    • Profile picture of the author Rainbow_Warrior
      Originally Posted by paul nicholls View Post

      I've been building simple wordpress sites for local business's since the start of last year and it's going well

      My clients love my sites and I don't charge a stupid amount either

      My strategy is building a residual income because every client which i get i give them free hosting for so many months and then after that i charge them around $10 - $15 per month

      That income is paid to me every month and i am slowly building a nice extra income stream with a residual income

      This is what i would recommend you to start doing, it's very profitable and good fun at the same time

      My focus is online but this offline work i do is just an extra

      I'm building 100 sites so that's 100 clients paying me $10 - $15 per month = $1500 per month on auto-pilot

      Paul
      Hi Paul

      What's the ballpark figure you're charging for building the sites?
      Also, how are you acquiring clients?

      Thanks

      Adrian
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  • Profile picture of the author DaniMc
    I think perhaps you are looking at it backwards.

    Rather than look for a product to sell, so you can go see if anyone wants it, why don't you get in touch with the local business community and find out what they NEED, and then sell them that?

    If you are going to be in this game, you have to get to know people. That means going to networking events as much as possible at first. Tell them you are starting your new business and you'd like some advice. Ask them the types of things they could use help with. You might be surprised.

    As soon as you hear a need that you can fill, create a product and begin selling it. Small business folks are very nice if you are just honest with them. They remember what it was like trying to get started. If you ask for help, they will help you.
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    Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
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  • Profile picture of the author redhill
    Thanks to everyone for their responses and insight.

    In further developing this plan, what I would like to do is set up a lead capture page in a specific industry and in a specific region (ideally promoting it to the first page in Google for relevant keywords)...and then lease those leads / that site to a business owner in that area (not necessarily local to me.)

    Does anyone have experience with this strategy or know of any information that might document it? Is this still a viable strategy and/or one that can effectively implemented?

    I know that Traffic Geyser used to promote this idea...

    This is my specific goal and it is a very important venture for me so any further insight would be sincerely appreciated!
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  • Profile picture of the author adeptbob
    We shy away from doing one off work, and focus primarily on monthly packages.


    There are occasions though when we do offer a one off service for $250-$500.

    We normally include compete on site seo optimization, google analytics and webmaster setup, business directory submissions, and implementation of the google authorship tag. We also clean up the sales copy and implement a primary call to action.

    Most of this can be done within a couple hours, or outsourced for less then $75.

    We go over topics like this in our wso that is in my sig.
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  • Profile picture of the author AndrewCavanagh
    What are you REALLY good at.

    Start by providing a service doing that.

    The reality is that it really doesn't matter what service you
    provide.

    If you're helping a business make significantly more profits
    than they're paying you in fees then you're providing a valuable
    service.

    So it's best just to start providing a service you're comfortable with.

    This is your business...build it so it suits you.

    Kindest regards,
    Andrew Cavanagh
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  • Profile picture of the author RedShifted
    I think website redesigns are the easiest place to start. And a lot of small businesses have terrible websites, lets face it.

    What you can do is send free personalized reports that "grade" their current site. Like print out their site, then mark it up with a red pen, walk in to their office, and go over all the things that are wrong/need to be changed.

    Or alternatively, you can send emails and just type out your recommendations.

    If you are good at this, you will definitely get responses.

    You can also do before/after photos of a different website and list out why you made the changes in 1 sentence, + how it increased conversions. You can use something like this as an ad too and post it on craigslist.

    Anything that focuses on the "cheese" or results, is the way to go.
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  • Profile picture of the author bawls
    yep, lot of nice local niche WP themes and just make a nice generic site to many niches with back up w/ backupbuddy or wptwin ....and give them away if they buy a domain and hosting space...the old hostgator commission trick but it works well, $4200 a month if you can give two away a day.
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  • Profile picture of the author zoro
    What do all local businesses want and need? .... LEADS! That's what they're all interested in. Find and sell them customer leads and you'll be laughing all the way to the bank, and so will your clients.
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    • Profile picture of the author bawls
      Originally Posted by zoro View Post

      What do all local businesses want and need? .... LEADS! That's what they're all interested in. Find and sell them customer leads and you'll be laughing all the way to the bank, and so will your clients.
      Preach it brother, because its the gospel.
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