Social Media for Local Client

10 replies
Hi everyone,
Before I ask my question I do want to say that I have searched high and low for the answer or rather guidance on this. I'm not lazy and try to search first. I also hope that putting this in the offline forum is ok since I'm an offliner doing work for a local client. Anyway, my question is this: One of the services I offer is I help local businesses with social media setup and management. But mostly it is for restaurants, shops, salons, electricians etc. I don't charge much and know that is a fault I have. However, I was approached by someone to help with her social media for an expo that she does a few times a year in different small cities in the northeast. She wants to get momentum going and get a following then have someone in the office take over down the road. I'm not sure how to go about giving her an estimate on this. I've looked at pricing (that I could find) from other companies and most are charging thousands for this type of event marketing. While I don't want to give away my services, I also don't want to scare someone off either. I tried to feel her out a little. This is not her full time job. It's a side job but it sounds like she wants to put a lot into it. Her website though is a "powered by yahoo" template website so I know she doesn't spend much there. But she does spend a lot in print advertising which in her words is crap and doesn't get her much business.

Any guidance is really appreciated.

Jennifer
#client #local #media #social
  • Profile picture of the author Peter Lessard
    Hi Jennifer

    I have been at this full time for over 15 years now so have gone through all these phases.
    As time passes and you see the value that you bring to clients you will get over charging more.
    Perhaps some examples of what has happened to me and how I handle things now can help you.

    In my first year of running my own company, even though I was experienced at working for large corporations as a software developer and analyst I was shy about what to charge as I had not proven myself to me yet.

    I took on an architect who thought advertising was beneath his profession but he could not pay his bills and had kids. 18 months later I had helped him obtain so much work he was buying a new 600k home, had employees and was turning down work. He gave me a hard time about a $200 charge and did not return my call lol

    At the same time I had taken on a foundation repair company with each job bringing them 5ok+ each. Same story, they were going on yachting vacations in the Caribbean in their off months when I was done, yet my invoices for a few hundred bucks would go unanswered. Before I took them on they were just surviving. Believe me that really motivates you to charge what you are worth.

    Now I am know what I am worth and with a track record I can ask upfront for what is fair.
    This will happen for you too :-)

    You will learn that how much you charge is not as important to being accepted or rejected as who the customer is (are they nuts) and the potential benefits of what you are offering for that specific project.

    You need to change your dialogue with them to make them decide what it is worth and educate them and also to quickly find out if they are way off base in their expectations. You will see that many clients are not very professional clients. What I mean by that is that they think something might be a good idea but really have no thought out what the actual profits could be and what a reasonable fee for this profits is. They may be totally out to lunch. I run into people all the time that want to build a million dollar business on the shoulders of the internet but think $1500 is too much for their online marketing!

    I see many consultants wasting weeks of their time with someone they think is a prospect but actually is not. This happens for simple fear of asking them what their budget and state of mind regarding marketing is.

    Example of something that just happened to me recently.

    I placed an ad on a local classified detailing my offer.
    I blatantly said do NOT contact me if you do not have the ability to cut a 10k check if we decide to work together. I spelled out in great detail how I get partnership offers weekly but I already have more than enough investments at this time. This guy contacts me, his credentials seem fine. He has been in business for some time and this is a new start up he is doing and he asks to set an appointment for the following Thursday. Tuesday I follow by email as I always do 48 hours prior to meeting to make sure we are still going ahead. Even though it did NOT seem necessary to spell it out again I add my usual paragraph of something along these lines. It was more polite but this gives you the idea. "I know we are both extremely busy so just to make sure we are on the same page and not wasting each others time I want to remind you that as stated in the ad you replied to, I am only taking on clients at this time that can provide an initial retainer of 10k to prove they are serious, no exceptions."

    I get a response of "I was hoping you would work for us for future commissions.... we do not have a marketing budget at this time.... lets talk again soon"

    Pre-qualify! Ask her what is her budget. Why does she want to do social media? Exactly what financial impact would doing it properly have on her business? You will be surprised what answers you will get. Every week I run into someone that on one hand thinks they would be rich if they did social media correctly but on the other hand would not be willing to spend more than $100 per month :-)

    Good luck, hope this helps a bit. Less of an answer and more of a suggestion on process I guess.
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    • Profile picture of the author DPMJennifer
      Wow that helped more than I can even begin to tell you! I am absolutely taking all of your guidance and using it. I'm going to call her back now and ask more questions. Thank you for taking the time to explain so much to me. The knowledge in this forum is just beyond amazing.
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    • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
      Originally Posted by plessard View Post

      Every week I run into someone that on one hand thinks they would be rich if they did social media correctly but on the other hand would not be willing to spend more than $100 per month :-)
      Loved your whole reply but just wanted to highlight this. It's this mentality that social media and internet marketing is cheap/free while bringing in massive profits that causes this.

      People seem to forget all the work and money that goes into it. Hell many of the large internet companies didn't show a profit for years yet were touted as successes even then. It's hard for the average person to understand that a large company could simply not make a profit for years and stay in business. So when they hear about these internet businesses they assume wrongly that it is a magic bullet to profit with little to no cost.

      Lay people simply don't get it. And your reply sums up why those who do should spend time finding the right prospects vs. wasting their time chasing people who can't or are not willing to pay properly for the service. If (and it's a big if on this board) you can deliver you should charge a fair price. And that price should go up over time as you get more clients.
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  • Profile picture of the author Peter Lessard
    Thanks Aaron I agree that lay people do not get it.

    Also for those new to this my response may seem like a little bit of a rant so I thought it important to also mention that to this day I am still very careful not to be rude or dismissive of those that simply have bad information about the costs associated with internet marketing.

    We can blame them if we want to be simple about it but I do believe that we as an industry also have a responsibility to put forth credible information as to the true costs and potential benefits of social media and online marketing in general.

    Can you imagine what a bricks and mortar business owner thinks if they stumble on some of the posts in this forum or some of the mailing lists for marketing products? Who can blame them for believing you can make $12,500 daily with only 10 minutes work at a cost of $7 ;-)
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    • Profile picture of the author DPMJennifer
      I want to thank everyone for all of the advice and guidance again. I called the potential client back asked more questions, I breathed real deep and shut my eyes and told her it would cost $1500 to administer her contest in the first month and get her started then it would be $500 per month after to manage her Facebook page by posting 2 x per week. She said, that sounds wonderful.

      I'm sure that is still a low price but my first inclination was to only charge $500 for the contest and $150 per month after that because I wanted the business.

      So thank you.
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      • Profile picture of the author ronr
        Good job! That's the way to do it.

        Originally Posted by DPMJennifer View Post

        I want to thank everyone for all of the advice and guidance again. I called the potential client back asked more questions, I breathed real deep and shut my eyes and told her it would cost $1500 to administer her contest in the first month and get her started then it would be $500 per month after to manage her Facebook page by posting 2 x per week. She said, that sounds wonderful.

        I'm sure that is still a low price but my first inclination was to only charge $500 for the contest and $150 per month after that because I wanted the business.

        So thank you.
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  • Profile picture of the author Peter Lessard
    Very well done, congratulations and good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author vizz2010
    congrats Jennifer
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  • Profile picture of the author bizgrower
    Good job, Jennifer. Hope it goes well.

    This will be a good project to track how long it takes
    to get grounded in your client's world and set things up and
    execute properly.

    Dan
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    "If you think you're the smartest person in the room, then you're probably in the wrong room."

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    • Profile picture of the author 9999
      Great job Jennifer! Thanks for taking the time to write this post!
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