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Would this work as foot in the door?

by SuzanneRe
16 replies
Have been trying to come up with a foot in the door service I can use in my sales funnel, but at the moment have drawn a blank.

The only thing I can come up with so far, is maybe offer to setup google analytics on their site for businesses, and charge a small fee. Which could then lead nicely in to upselling them a mobile friendly site etc.

In your opinion does this sound like a good idea, would businesses be willing to pay for this? If anyone offers this service already, other than adding it to the site/pages is their anything else I would need to do?
#door #foot #work
  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    Fact is, it takes as much effort to sell a small ticket item as it does a larger one.

    I've seen this strategy for years, the "foot in the door" thing, and wonder Why? Why would you want to spend your time and effort trying to make peanuts when you could be working on a much larger payday?

    I believe this is more a reflection on how the person feels about themselves and not knowing much about selling than anything about a product, service or target market.

    When I was selling large power generation equipment at the very beginning of my career, I didn't try for a "foot in the door". I never thought, "Well, maybe I'll sell them some $11 lubricants first, and then go for some $30,000 control panels, and then maybe we'll sell them a $1.2 million steam turbine genset." Power plants, first and only. Very large ticket items. And I was committed. What do you think we sold? The thing we were committed to.

    If you have a good product or service, and know how to deliver it well, there are plenty of people out there with big problems for you to solve. Go out and find them.

    Here's a "secret": you have to get known as the person to talk to for _________. And for that to happen, you have to persist in a market for at least 3-4 months. Consistency. But what do most people do? Hop from shiny object to shiny object. "Oh! This'll be the thing that works for me!" No, it won't. ANYTHING, as long as it genuinely solves a problem and is delivered well, will work for you--but you have to stick with it.
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    • Profile picture of the author jimbo13
      What he said.

      So you are tramping the streets of Congleton, or wherever you may be in Staffordshire, and walk into some dozy hairdresser and tell her you can install Google Analytics.

      What do you think her face would look like?

      It would be harder to explain that than explaining Mobile which from memory is what you are trying to sell.

      The very mobile that she is looking at 100 times a day even whilst giving Nora a blue rinse.

      Think of this.

      You want a foot in the door.

      Many feet are already in the doors of who you wish to get in front of.

      eg They will more than likely have an Accountant or Book Keeper, shop fitters, printers, product suppliers, EPOS system, window cleaner,whatever etc etc.

      Can you bundle your service in with one of theirs and let them offer it to their client base?

      That sort of thing.

      Right now I am looking at a Community A5 magazine.

      It has 36 pages inc cover and back and every page is stuffed with Ads.

      Domestic Appliance Repairs, Chiropractors, Jewellery Shops, Funeral Directors, Shoe Shops, Butchers etc etc. Hundreds of them.

      Moreover, this particular one has been going since 1958.

      So if you had it in your hands you could circle all of the Advertisers you think would benefit the best from your service and simply phone the publisher and ask them if they would be interested in introducing your service to them via Invoice or e-mail or however they contact them with some special offer.

      You could let them do all of the Invoicing, so you are hidden provider, and they could take a cut.

      For them it is free money.

      Does that make any sense to you?

      Dan

      PS: Book Keeper would be better than an Accountant for you as they are usually part time women who have a reasonably friendly relationship with their clients and are more accessible to you than an Accountant.
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  • Profile picture of the author tomit
    Hey!

    There are two great posts already here, but I just wanted to comment on your Google Analytics question. Do you really want to get payed for a 1 minute job that does't change that much for them? Maybe a better solution would be to ask the business if they were willing to let you install Google Analytics on their website free of charge. Tell them that you are doing research and as a thanks for letting you use the data, you'll go over the results and let them know what they can do to get more visitors. Of course do all that. After a month go to their shop, tell them what you've found out and give them a few pointers how to improve their ranking if they rank low on google, or tell them where they can fill out the Google+ page. Then you can show them that there were xxx number of visitors on their sites who used mobile devices and they are not optimized for that. Tell them that you provide that service etc.
    I just wanted to write that down if you are dead set on using the foot in door approach with Google Analytics. Jason wrote a great post and you should really give it some thought

    All the best,
    Tomi
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    • Profile picture of the author SuzanneRe
      Originally Posted by Jason Kanigan View Post

      Fact is, it takes as much effort to sell a small ticket item as it does a larger one.

      I've seen this strategy for years, the "foot in the door" thing, and wonder Why? Why would you want to spend your time and effort trying to make peanuts when you could be working on a much larger payday?

      I believe this is more a reflection on how the person feels about themselves and not knowing much about selling than anything about a product, service or target market.

      When I was selling large power generation equipment at the very beginning of my career, I didn't try for a "foot in the door". I never thought, "Well, maybe I'll sell them some $11 lubricants first, and then go for some $30,000 control panels, and then maybe we'll sell them a $1.2 million steam turbine genset." Power plants, first and only. Very large ticket items. And I was committed. What do you think we sold? The thing we were committed to.

      If you have a good product or service, and know how to deliver it well, there are plenty of people out there with big problems for you to solve. Go out and find them.

      Here's a "secret": you have to get known as the person to talk to for _________. And for that to happen, you have to persist in a market for at least 3-4 months. Consistency. But what do most people do? Hop from shiny object to shiny object. "Oh! This'll be the thing that works for me!" No, it won't. ANYTHING, as long as it genuinely solves a problem and is delivered well, will work for you--but you have to stick with it.
      Originally Posted by jimbo13 View Post

      What he said.

      So you are tramping the streets of Congleton, or wherever you may be in Staffordshire, and walk into some dozy hairdresser and tell her you can install Google Analytics.

      What do you think her face would look like?

      It would be harder to explain that than explaining Mobile which from memory is what you are trying to sell.

      The very mobile that she is looking at 100 times a day even whilst giving Nora a blue rinse.

      Think of this.

      You want a foot in the door.

      Many feet are already in the doors of who you wish to get in front of.

      eg They will more than likely have an Accountant or Book Keeper, shop fitters, printers, product suppliers, EPOS system, window cleaner,whatever etc etc.

      Can you bundle your service in with one of theirs and let them offer it to their client base?

      That sort of thing.

      Right now I am looking at a Community A5 magazine.

      It has 36 pages inc cover and back and every page is stuffed with Ads.

      Domestic Appliance Repairs, Chiropractors, Jewellery Shops, Funeral Directors, Shoe Shops, Butchers etc etc. Hundreds of them.

      Moreover, this particular one has been going since 1958.

      So if you had it in your hands you could circle all of the Advertisers you think would benefit the best from your service and simply phone the publisher and ask them if they would be interested in introducing your service to them via Invoice or e-mail or however they contact them with some special offer.

      You could let them do all of the Invoicing, so you are hidden provider, and they could take a cut.

      For them it is free money.

      Does that make any sense to you?

      Dan

      PS: Book Keeper would be better than an Accountant for you as they are usually part time women who have a reasonably friendly relationship with their clients and are more accessible to you than an Accountant.
      Originally Posted by tomit View Post

      Hey!

      There are two great posts already here, but I just wanted to comment on your Google Analytics question. Do you really want to get payed for a 1 minute job that does't change that much for them? Maybe a better solution would be to ask the business if they were willing to let you install Google Analytics on their website free of charge. Tell them that you are doing research and as a thanks for letting you use the data, you'll go over the results and let them know what they can do to get more visitors. Of course do all that. After a month go to their shop, tell them what you've found out and give them a few pointers how to improve their ranking if they rank low on google, or tell them where they can fill out the Google+ page. Then you can show them that there were xxx number of visitors on their sites who used mobile devices and they are not optimized for that. Tell them that you provide that service etc.
      I just wanted to write that down if you are dead set on using the foot in door approach with Google Analytics. Jason wrote a great post and you should really give it some thought

      All the best,
      Tomi
      Wow, thank you guys for your responses, they are great.

      I would be happier just going for the mobile website straight off to be honest. However after a webinar I saw talking about a sales funnel being the way to grow your business. I thought I might have been doing it wrong, going straight for my main service.

      Your help is much appreciated.
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      • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
        Originally Posted by SuzanneRe View Post

        Wow, thank you guys for your responses, they are great.

        I would be happier just going for the mobile website straight off to be honest. However after a webinar I saw talking about a sales funnel being the way to grow your business. I thought I might have been doing it wrong, going straight for my main service.

        Your help is much appreciated.
        Think about it this way:

        When you walk into a car dealership, do they begin by saying, "Why don't you try us out first? Buy some windshield wiper fluid. There's no risk with that, is there? OK and after you're happy with that, how about getting an oil change for your current vehicle here? Finally, if you're really happy with what we do, then maybe you'll consider buying a vehicle from us, right?"

        Of course not. They go straight for the vehicle sale. Bam.

        You have 24 hours in the day, same as people who are making more money than you and the same as those who are making less than you. What will you use that time for?
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  • Profile picture of the author watsonovedades
    google analytics does not seem very good service go put yout foot on the door
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  • Profile picture of the author JCorp
    There's different strategies for everything...

    You can do the foot in the door technique by offering something small, and then using the upsell technique to upsell them into something bigger/greater.

    Or you can bypass that and have just 1 (or 2 or 3 or more) larger offers with no "foot in the door" small offer...

    But I believe the sales methods are going to be a little different.... you just have to strategize more on how to do it effectively.

    All methods work, you just have to test and experiment for yourself.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
      Originally Posted by JCorp View Post

      There's different strategies for everything...

      You can do the foot in the door technique by offering something small, and then using the upsell technique to upsell them into something bigger/greater.

      Or you can bypass that and have just 1 (or 2 or 3 or more) larger offers with no "foot in the door" small offer...

      But I believe the sales methods are going to be a little different.... you just have to strategize more on how to do it effectively.

      All methods work, you just have to test and experiment for yourself.
      What did you say in your post, other than "You can do this...or you can do that"?? Where's the value? What strategies do you recommend?

      Most of the attraction to the myth of the Foot In The Door technique comes from the seller's head trash. People new to selling--and many never move beyond this point--believe that everyone thinks the same way they do. THEY DON'T. The buying beliefs that you have are not the same as the buying beliefs your prospects have.

      So if your buying beliefs include:

      * risk needs to be understood and carefully controlled

      * starting at a low level for a trial is a good idea

      * shopping around is OK

      then frankly you are going to have trouble selling. The salesperson in this case has unsupportive buying habits. They are going to allow the prospect to shop around, demand a low trial starter, and fear risk because they empathize too much with that prospect.

      And if you believe everyone else has these beliefs, you're incorrect. I don't, for example.

      I believe:

      * finding an expert I who's a good personality fit and getting them on the case ASAP is a great idea

      * paying a little more for the right person and expertise is totally fair

      * strategic value equations like "Spend $A and get $20A" are what rules, not niggling details like what exact keyword to use

      * getting a decision made, and work begun on the problem, is my goal.

      I DON'T want my prospects to "shop around". If I qualified them right, I'm the best person to help them--so they shouldn't be talking to anyone else. I don't want a Chicken Little, toe-tester client--I want someone who's committed. I cannot help toe-testers. I want someone who's decisive and tells it like it is for a client, not a vacuous talker who never gets anything done.


      Now if you want to run around making little sales, getting paid low amounts, and having to constantly rush to make your revenue target, go ahead. But I think it's just plain stupid. Especially when it takes the same effort to sell a high price thing as a low price thing.

      In my experience, the Foot In The Door salespeople never catch up on all those big sales at the end of the line that they imagined would follow. Why? Because they attracted the wrong people to work with in the first place.
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  • Profile picture of the author SteveSki
    You may also want to read the thread at: http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...shame-you.html
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  • Profile picture of the author Rus Sells
    Lots of different points of view here and all are valid but I think it really depends on how one approaches things.

    I'll use roofing as an example. I advertise roof leak repairs for clients with the explicit purpose to flip that repair when possible into a roof replacement contract.

    Here the foot in the door is the leak repair and while not all repair calls for leaks are going to turn into a replacement job the value take away here is that the company now has a new customer that they can re-market to, ask for referrals, introduce additional services, and of course the profit from doing the repair!

    Now if you're offering some sort of service as a foot in the door without a strategy in place to move them along then I have to agree with what Jason said. It's a waste of time, why not in this case just concentrate on new roof installs.

    So if you have a "foot in the door" offer make sure you have the next logical offering.

    Using your question as an example, if you offer to set up Google analytics, then the next step might be what?
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    • Profile picture of the author DABK
      Since you'd rather sell them mobile sites, why not use that as your foot in the door? Then sell them text marketing. Then sell them on pay per click. Then on SEO. Or any other variation of services you can / like to offer that are sufficiently related so that they appeal to the same person.

      The trick is that the foot in the door has to have value to them. How do you sort out the ones that will be interested in Google analytics from those who will not? (It would make your life a lot easier if you only approached those who are interested. Just because they have a website doesn't mean they want it.)

      And once you have those who're interested in analytics, you need to sort them into those who're interested and those who're interested in it and want some kind of marketing. There will be a number who'll want it because it's free, but have no intention of doing anything else.
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    • Profile picture of the author joe golfer
      Originally Posted by Rus Sells View Post

      Lots of different points of view here and all are valid but I think it really depends on how one approaches things.

      I'll use roofing as an example. I advertise roof leak repairs for clients with the explicit purpose to flip that repair when possible into a roof replacement contract.

      Here the foot in the door is the leak repair and while not all repair calls for leaks are going to turn into a replacement job the value take away here is that the company now has a new customer that they can re-market to, ask for referrals, introduce additional services, and of course the profit from doing the repair!

      Now if you're offering some sort of service as a foot in the door without a strategy in place to move them along then I have to agree with what Jason said. It's a waste of time, why not in this case just concentrate on new roof installs.

      So if you have a "foot in the door" offer make sure you have the next logical offering.

      Using your question as an example, if you offer to set up Google analytics, then the next step might be what?
      Agreed. I work with some contractors who use this technique almost exclusively. Works a charm with many things related to home repair.
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      • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
        Suzanne, ask yourself what your tripwire and core offer
        problems they fix.

        Picture the most skeptical and crazy busy person in front of you.

        Would the first words out of your mouth
        grab and hold his attention?

        First think through what his situation is.

        First talk about it.

        Then create a bridge between the situation and the fix.

        His situation you talk about he has to know all too well
        otherwise he won't listen and shut you down.

        Going through this process enables you to always come up with better
        offers because they match what a buyer wants.

        Best,
        Ewen
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        • Profile picture of the author midasman09
          Banned
          While I was working at my day job (General Electric in Chgo) right after college, I found I HATED having my income "controlled" by others so....I did lots of research on the "Home Alarm" biz and finally took the plunge and opened a bank account with $500.

          I got some biz cards and letterheads and....figured my "foot in the door" would be a "Well Known" person as my "Testimonial" client so....I chose W.Clement Stone (Insurance Co owner and Founder of Success Mag)

          Now....how was little ol' me ever going to get an appointment with HIM?

          Well....as I was doing research on who he was I noticed he always had a Big Stogie in his mouth and after asking around at various Cigar Shops I found THE SHOP where Mr Stone gets his cigars.

          And...as "luck" would have it, the shop owner told me he was about to place an order for Mr Stone. So....I asked if I could include a decanter of 25 Gars and, I'd pay the shop owner double for the decanter provided he would hold off from letting Mr Stone know his Cigar prder was in...for 1 day.

          So....a week or so later the shop owner calls me on a Friday morn...tells me Mr Stone's order (and mine) is in and he would hold off on phoning Mr Stone until Monday.

          Yippee! So....I got my decanter and at 9am Sat morn I went to Mr Stone's mansion on the lake front....knocked on the door and a couple of minutes later a maid opens the door and I hand he the decanter and tell her; "Give these to Mr Stone and tell him these are for 10 minutes of his time!"

          She takes the decanter and....CLOSES THE DOOR! I thought, "Well, that didn't go too good!" I started to turn around and go to my car when I hear someone shouting inside; "Hey! Young man! Open the door and come up here!"

          I opened the door and at the top of the staircase stood a man in a silk robe and slippers and....holding my decanter.

          I went up the stairs to his study and spent the next hour answering questions about what motivated me and where I had learned this "Sales Technique" (which he thought was astounding)

          He then asked me to go around his estate and tell him what he needed. I did, and he BOUGHT! He also asked me to come to his next insurance Sales Meeting (which I did) and.....he also gave me the Names of some of his well-to-do friends (Leonard Florsheim (Florsheim Shoes) Jerry Wexler (Zillionaire developer).... William Wood Prince.....George Swift (Swift & Co) ....Charles Walgreen 3rd(Grandson of founder)....and many more.

          Thus....my "foot-in-the-door" was having a VERY Influential customer giving me referrals to his rich buddies.

          Thanks for letting me remember a KEY part of my "entroopeneering" career.

          Don Alm....still Entroopeneering
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  • Profile picture of the author kevinenrique
    The foot in the door is a great idea.. What you are using as the foot is what I don't agree with.
    My foot in the door is a $2,000 website, and then I upsell them SEO, PPC, email marketing etc.
    The good thing about this is that once you sell a high ticket item to a business you know they are more than likely to have the cash (and very often the need) to buy other services from you.
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    • Profile picture of the author Rus Sells
      This is very true and I'd ad that the higher the dollar amount your first sales is with a client sets the tone of what you can charge later for other services.

      Originally Posted by kevinenrique View Post

      The foot in the door is a great idea.. What you are using as the foot is what I don't agree with.
      My foot in the door is a $2,000 website, and then I upsell them SEO, PPC, email marketing etc.
      The good thing about this is that once you sell a high ticket item to a business you know they are more than likely to have the cash (and very often the need) to buy other services from you.
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