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Considering hiring a company to help me setup my site with "CRM" for $4000

by Bkelly301
22 replies
Marketing is my weakest area in IM. I am pretty tech-savvy in that I've managed to build a website that generates about $500 to $1000 per month for me.

I make good content according to my followers, but my "marketing strategy" is pretty armature. I make videos on YouTube, and then I post links back to my site. I also share my posts on Reddit sometimes. I also have an email list on aWeber of about 600 people, to which I have an auto-responder sequence of about 10 emails that it sends to them. AWeber has resulted in zero sales for me though. All of my sales come from people simply finding my site, and then deciding to either buy my ebook, my course, or both. Other then that, I don't do any other marketing nor do I really know how to.

I found a company called "WPlaunchify" through a Facebook group, and I had a 2 hour conversation on the phone with the guy from that company. He told me that his expertise is in helping websites like mine implement "CRM" - customer relationship management. He does this by implementing automation tools via WooCommerce and essentially holding my hand throughout a complete "remodeling" of the way my site is setup (with regards to how I am selling what I am selling).

I spent 2 hours asking questions and having him explain a bunch of things to me. It was a very good sales pitch, and I'm strongly considering it,

I liked the guy, and I do trust that his service will definitely benefit my site in a positive way. However, $4000 is a pretty hefty bill for me. I understand that with risk comes potential reward though.

This will be the biggest investment that I have ever made into IM so far. In fact, this will be the first service of this nature that I ever paid for.

Have you guys ever used anything like this? What was your experience?

Thanks!
#company #crm #hiring #setup #site
  • Profile picture of the author IGotMine
    IMO you would see a much better ROI investing in targeted advertising.
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    • Profile picture of the author GordonJ
      Originally Posted by IGotMine View Post

      IMO you would see a much better ROI investing in targeted advertising.
      My bad if wrong.

      But one would expect a guy selling TRAFFIC to have that opinion, wouldn't they?

      GordonJ
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  • Profile picture of the author GordonJ
    Originally Posted by Bkelly301 View Post

    Marketing is my weakest area in IM. I am pretty tech-savvy in that I've managed to build a website that generates about $500 to $1000 per month for me.

    I make good content according to my followers, but my "marketing strategy" is pretty armature. I make videos on YouTube, and then I post links back to my site. I also share my posts on Reddit sometimes. I also have an email list on aWeber of about 600 people, to which I have an auto-responder sequence of about 10 emails that it sends to them. AWeber has resulted in zero sales for me though. All of my sales come from people simply finding my site, and then deciding to either buy my ebook, my course, or both. Other then that, I don't do any other marketing nor do I really know how to.

    I found a company called "WPlaunchify" through a Facebook group, and I had a 2 hour conversation on the phone with the guy from that company. He told me that his expertise is in helping websites like mine implement "CRM" - customer relationship management. He does this by implementing automation tools via WooCommerce and essentially holding my hand throughout a complete "remodeling" of the way my site is setup (with regards to how I am selling what I am selling).

    I spent 2 hours asking questions and having him explain a bunch of things to me. It was a very good sales pitch, and I'm strongly considering it,

    I liked the guy, and I do trust that his service will definitely benefit my site in a positive way. However, $4000 is a pretty hefty bill for me. I understand that with risk comes potential reward though.

    This will be the biggest investment that I have ever made into IM so far. In fact, this will be the first service of this nature that I ever paid for.

    Have you guys ever used anything like this? What was your experience?

    Thanks!
    How many satisfied customers did he offer to refer you too? Suggest you talk to as many as you can before making the investment.

    If you understand their process, what you are getting for your money, timelines, and if you have done your homework on this company, it doesn't seem like that big of an out of pocket expense to get those kind of results, but er on the side of caution, and invest AFTER you have talked to other customers.

    GordonJ
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    • Profile picture of the author OptedIn
      Originally Posted by GordonJ View Post

      How many satisfied customers did he offer to refer you too? Suggest you talk to as many as you can before making the investment.
      And make sure they're not 'friends and family.' A very common ploy.
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      • Profile picture of the author GordonJ
        Originally Posted by OptedIn View Post

        And make sure they're not 'friends and family.' A very common ploy.
        Good point. Today, so many testimonials are either paid for, traded and swapped and are just FAKE good news.

        Give a few minutes research into the testimonials too, all part of doing your homework, unless you just want to send Dan Lok, et al, your thousands and take a leap of faith, and end up falling like Tom Petty, in a free spin.


        GordonJ
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      • Profile picture of the author Mark Singletary
        Originally Posted by OptedIn View Post

        And make sure they're not 'friends and family.' A very common ploy.
        Surely you jest!

        Mark
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        • Profile picture of the author OptedIn
          Originally Posted by Mark Singletary View Post

          Surely you jest!

          Mark
          Not in the least. You'll pardon my cynicism, but I've seen it done, more than once.
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          "He not busy being born, is busy dying." - Bob Dylan • "I vibe with the light-dark point. Heavy." - Words that Bob Dylan wishes he had written.

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  • Profile picture of the author Oziboomer
    Originally Posted by Bkelly301 View Post

    I found a company called "WPlaunchify" through a Facebook group, and I had a 2 hour conversation on the phone with the guy from that company. He told me that his expertise is in helping websites like mine implement "CRM" - customer relationship management. He does this by implementing automation tools via WooCommerce and essentially holding my hand throughout a complete "remodeling" of the way my site is setup (with regards to how I am selling what I am selling)
    Maybe look at the way they have "modelled" their website/websites and note how shallow the content is.

    Do a bit of digging and you might find out whether they would be particularly good at helping you with implementing things that you could pretty well do yourself.

    I suspect you pay the fee and then they recommend you sign up for infusionsoft or another CRM where you pay monthly recurring where they get a trailing commission on.

    You might want to try out something like Active Campaign yourself for a little while and save the $4K when all you are likely to get is what you have already got but just running through a different system which you will be paying more for.

    There is plenty of very straightforward help and support with AC and you can integrate with plenty of apps. It is pretty easy stuff and don't know that you'd want to pay someone when you say
    I am pretty tech-savvy in that I've managed to build a website that generates about $500 to $1000 per month for me.
    .

    Try out a free account (most of the CRMs have a trial) see if you can implement what you want to do and then decide.

    Best regards,

    Ozi
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    You're paying $4000 for someone to activate a WooCommerce Wordpress plugin?

    Damn, I'm in the wrong niche.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    I liked the guy, and I do trust that his service will definitely benefit my site in a positive way. However, $4000 is a pretty hefty bill for me. I understand that with risk comes potential reward though.

    That domain was registered last October - not a long track record. I would want some references to contact.


    With risk comes potential loss, too...


    Have you compared the sales pitch with the cost of hiring someone to rebuild your site using WooCommerce tools...and skip the hand holding?


    Your site, your money, your decision. Good luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bkelly301
    Hey thanks for the replies everyone!

    This is only my first person/company that I've found so far. I have decided not to go with them for many of the reasons stated above. I haven't found any reviews on his company, and I am getting the feeling that they may be pretty new at this. I'm searching for someone with a proven track record. And yes, I could probably implement a lot of these tools myself. I just have to educate myself more on this whole CRM thing...which is a new concept to me.

    Thanks for the feedback and replies!
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  • Profile picture of the author Walt SEO
    I don't know man... Do you even need CRM right now? Hit me up if you want a CRO audit. Because to me, it sounds like you might need advice on your sales funnel, customer retention and customer lifetime value and improving the cycle of those.

    customer retention managament is a big one.
    customer relationship management is... a... uh.. hate to say it but way overblown in it's importance and i wouldn't ever bother until you hit 20 employees.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
      Originally Posted by Walt SEO View Post

      I don't know man... Do you even need CRM right now? Hit me up if you want a CRO audit. Because to me, it sounds like you might need advice on your sales funnel, customer retention and customer lifetime value and improving the cycle of those.

      customer retention managament is a big one.
      customer relationship management is... a... uh.. hate to say it but way overblown in it's importance and i wouldn't ever bother until you hit 20 employees.
      Agreed...first thing I thought. I think it's over-systemizing for where you're at right now.

      I'd get into a position where the $4K wasn't that big of an investment relative to the revenue the site's producing: at least $10K a month. At that point you'll be running enough volume to justify the increase in systems complexity.

      The items Walt brought up (funnel, retention, LTV, faster sales cycle) are all senior in importance to a CRM.
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  • Profile picture of the author Maxxx333
    Originally Posted by Bkelly301 View Post

    Marketing is my weakest area in IM. I am pretty tech-savvy in that I've managed to build a website that generates about $500 to $1000 per month for me.

    I make good content according to my followers, but my "marketing strategy" is pretty armature. I make videos on YouTube, and then I post links back to my site. I also share my posts on Reddit sometimes. I also have an email list on aWeber of about 600 people, to which I have an auto-responder sequence of about 10 emails that it sends to them. AWeber has resulted in zero sales for me though. All of my sales come from people simply finding my site, and then deciding to either buy my ebook, my course, or both. Other then that, I don't do any other marketing nor do I really know how to.

    I found a company called "WPlaunchify" through a Facebook group, and I had a 2 hour conversation on the phone with the guy from that company. He told me that his expertise is in helping websites like mine implement "CRM" - customer relationship management. He does this by implementing automation tools via WooCommerce and essentially holding my hand throughout a complete "remodeling" of the way my site is setup (with regards to how I am selling what I am selling).

    I spent 2 hours asking questions and having him explain a bunch of things to me. It was a very good sales pitch, and I'm strongly considering it,

    I liked the guy, and I do trust that his service will definitely benefit my site in a positive way. However, $4000 is a pretty hefty bill for me. I understand that with risk comes potential reward though.

    This will be the biggest investment that I have ever made into IM so far. In fact, this will be the first service of this nature that I ever paid for.

    Have you guys ever used anything like this? What was your experience?

    Thanks!
    Hello mate, you have to know where you are going to, but also try to see what are all the up and down of this, then decide if yes or not you could do it depending to whether or not you got the budget to make this working!
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  • Profile picture of the author Bkelly301
    Ya I really was just in search of someone to help me "market" my site, which currently makes some income and has some traffic. In my search, I posted in a Facebook group, and that's how I was connected with this company. I wasn't sure that "CRM" was exactly what I needed, but after hearing your replies here, I'm glad that I decided not to go with this guy.
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  • Profile picture of the author dezpair
    Dude 4,000 dollars for a woocommerce setup is outragous, and I'm a web designer by trade; anyone with point and click skills can get you running for 24 bucks a year domain and hosting; get you security for FREE, and the entire setup takes 3-5 hours of time. Hell if I had you as a prospect I'd do it for 1/8th of the price. Though you're on your own listing products.
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  • Profile picture of the author bestAd
    $4000 is too high for what he is offering.

    If he is offering to build out a sales funnel for you and setup your marketing then that is a fair price. Which is what you actually need.

    What is the price of your ebook, courses and other products you sell?
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  • Profile picture of the author rkanuru
    My two cents is look at a company called infusionsoft. Their website is www.infusionsoft.com. FYI, I have no affiliation or financial arrangement with them. I have gotten some of my clients onto it and they loved it. I think you will get better results for a cheaper upfront cost. Let me know if you have any questions.
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  • Profile picture of the author provenbusinessmodels
    I recommend to keep writing as many articles as possible to get even enough traffic.

    (Use that money as well to grow your content base.)

    For example,If you have 100 articles right now with 6K,it means that 200 articles can possibly bring in 12K visitors and possibly double the number of sales you get.

    I wish you good luck and much success!
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  • Profile picture of the author rodneybrooksjr
    I hope I am understanding this right. WooCommerce is a shopping chart. If you are selling more then 20 products, it will help. I use to use it but In order to have some of the same features like eBay and Amazon, you had to buy extra plugins. If I was you, I would invest your money in advertising.
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  • Profile picture of the author Brian Pekarek
    As a co-founder of a CRM, I am not sure why he is charging $4,000 for a CRM & small addons to grow your business. CRM can help you manage your contacts/clients so you can upsell them in the future. You can find an affordable solution and it is always recommended.

    As for your achievement of making $500-$1000 per month, great job! I would focus on SEO as that is how we have always bootstrapped our startups and have grown them.

    Content is great, but you need reputable links going back to your good content for it rank for valuable money making keywords. That takes time, outreach, and sometimes money.
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  • Profile picture of the author rkanuru
    It might be me, but 4K seems kinda of high to just hold your hand. It is not the price but the vagueness around what that price will give. For a website of your size for that price I would think you should get a lot more. For example, a complete strategy plan with implementation, CRM software recommendations and implementation schedule, and actual implementation. The metrics and the KPIs should be identified as well. The other thing is how many hours does this afford you or is it a flat fee. If a flat fee read the scope section of your contract to ensure all are on the same page. Just my two cents.
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