Offline biz members, are you happy with your results?

I know there are several warriors on here that are in the offline biz. I'm just lost in the fact that I know basically 80% in how to do it, just lacking the vital 20%. Figured if I joined one of them, they would take me to the next step IF their learning material was good enough.

Why do you call auto-responders old hat? Many businesses do not have them. What do you consider a better idea?

Totally agree, I'm not going out to try to sell something. My mission is to first found out about their business and then look at the whole picture and to determine what would be BEST for them, not my wallet.

I really do think I can help offline businesses grow. And yes, I prefer the term Marketing Consultant too !

Vikuna2009+,

Globalpro's comment about Spam wasn't aimed at you, it was meant for lisarooi who has since disappeared.

You're getting a lot of good advice here. Mark's and Marcus' advice is gold! If you know 80% of what you need to know, you're already ahead of 50% of the offliners out there.

Lead generation method # 1 - Take what you know well, document your past success, build a simple website that has good content about the areas of your expertise, provide testimonials/examples of your success, SEO the site and business owners will find you!

Lead generation method # 2 - I've been doing the offline thing for six years. I belong to a local business network (less meetings/less intense/pressure than BNI) and it provides all the leads I can handle.

My take is that offline is either about 1) generating leads from search engines (example # 1 above) or 2) developing relationships with local business owners and letting word of mouth work for you (example # 2 above). They are both very legitimate ways do develop leads (I do both!). Which you choose should depend on your personality.

Mark

I think the above post was so wonderfully written and received. Thank you . Throughout this thread I think it became clear that you already had all the tools needed to start earning income through offline marketing. You only needed a little kick to get started. That's the wonderful part of this forum is that we all lean on each other for help.

Now that you've started taking action you need a method to continue. What's important here is your mindset and the goals that you've set for yourself. One of the most powerful weapons that you have is your pen/pencil and a sheet of paper.

Try using the below system

Step 1. Take 15 to 30 minutes out of your day and start writing your
dreams and goals down. Don't worry about how you're going to achieve any of those dreams and goals just write them down. Act like you're 12 years old again and everything is possible. Don't stop writing for at least 15 minutes but go as long as you need to get everything out.

Step 2. Look at your dreams/goals and number the top three. Then look at the top three and letter them for a-c as to which ones you want to get started on first.

Step 3. Now put a date to accomplish each goals/dream.

Step 4. Take inventory of yourself. Again just start writing on a fresh sheet of paper. Write down every skill that you have. Then take a look at your dreams/goals and write down every skill that you think you need. Again number the skills needed and letter a-c the importance of the skills. Then place a date on how long you're giving yourself to acquire those skills.

Step 5. Look at your strengths and determine what you can use to start making money right now. Build on your strengths.

Step 6. Write down who is in your circle of influence. Determine if anyone can use your services. Then ask around to see if they know anyone that can use your services.

Place your goals somewhere that you can continuously see them. Before you take any action ask yourself this, "if I had reached my goals is this how I would be acting?" For example, if one of your goals is to run a successful company does a company owner procrastinate when it comes to getting things done? If your answer is 'no' then start doing what you feel a successful company owner would do.

Don't be afraid to raise the bar and set your goals high. The successful people always stretch themselves. In order to do that you need to place high expectations on yourself. It is better to reach for the stars and land on the moon then reach for the tree tops and never achieve your potential.

OK...who made the announcment over at offlinebiz to come over & post free testimonial plugs for their program? Some just signing up today / first post just to make the plug....lol

Yes the "idea of the week" is my pet peeve in this niche. There are just so many people trying to sell you some unproven plan, something that just can't work for the ordinary person starting out or even straight out lying about their results.

I like methods that are proven to work and I've also found that the people who genuinely want to build a real income don't mind being told straight what it takes to get paying clients...even if it does take some genuine work.

The great irony is that once you've developed the skills you need to talk to business owners this whole business does get pretty easy.

Some people already have the skill, for most people it will take two to four weeks of actively talking to buisness owners and for some people it could take a few months.

The money is good enough whether you're the person who has the skills right out of the gate or the person who takes weeks or months to develop them.

Regardlesss of your lead generation method you will have to develop those skills if you want a stable business though.

That's really where you need to focus starting out...not on the newest idea you've read somewhere.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

Yes, mine are very very happy - one of the owners of a restaurant i work with believes he would be out of business if i hadn't helped him in the areas that i did.

This was a client i helped for free as he was financially struggling and i knew i could help his business. We agreed that he would pay my fee when he could afford it.

I wouldn't normally do the work for free but he was someone that was a friend and had a lot of business contacts.

Since then he has paid my fee in full, is on a monthly recurring service and has provided me with some great referrals.

I love this business.

RA