offline business questions...

One thing that worked well for me when I did this (about a year ago) was to have a nice-looking webpage ready to go on my first contact with the prospective client.

If you have a bit of experience its very easy to get a nice attractive Wordpress GSL-licensed theme all done up with the name of your prospective business, some Lorem Ipsum text and a few relevant graphics from iStockPhoto in a few minutes. You put a password on the site so that it's private and only viewable when logged in, and when you're talking with your prospect you either log them in yourself manually, or you leave all the info needed (URL, login, password) to login and see the website when it's convenient for them.

It depends a lot on the person themselves of course, but I found that doing this little bit of work up front turned into lots of good will and appreciation on the part of the business owner, *especially* if you take a little extra time to investigate their business and add a bit of text that will be special to them, such as putting their slogan in a secondary headline or something

Just something to think about...

Thanks a lot guys, all this info is very helpful!!! One thing I want to ask is, when sending out letters, is it necessary to know the name of the owner or is it ok to just use the name of the business?

I agree with the principles that Washoutinc referred to: join groups, chambers, etc and network.

I do get a very good response from this.

However, before you do that develop your own website setting out what you can do for your customers. Let your website explain how you're different and let your website demonstrate your skills.

Then create some good business cards to give out at those mixers. Business cards that (obviously!) contain your website address and make it clear what you do.

Then give out those business cards to people you meet, but don't talk to them about what YOU do - ask them about THEIR business. Get to know THEM.

Then the next morning when they're going through all the business cards they collected the night before they're FAR more likely to remember you, because you showed an interest in them and their business.

Also the next morning, follow up with a 'nice to have met you' email to all the people you met, referring to something you talked about. And make sure your signature contains links to your website.

This works well for me, anyway.

Cheers,

Martin.

This is from David Preston...

I don't remember which thread... lol but should help you out


Here's A Stupidly Simple Way To Generate "Emergency" Cash NOW!

This is very easy to do and can generate at least $1,000-$1,500 within the next few days!

First, you need to find some local business owners who need what you're about to offer them here. No, you won't be pounding
the pavement or cold calling anyone....they will be calling YOU.

You can use a couple of methods to find these clients.

1. You can simply go to the phone book and look up businesses in your local area. Write down any business that you want. You will
use that list to check the internet in a minute or two, so keep it handy.

2. OR you get an in depth "drill down" listing from GoLeads which will give you tons of information on all businesses in ANY geographic area. Cost is about $15 for unlimited access. :-)

Once you have your list, about 20-25 is all you need to start. Look them up on the internet to see if they have a website. For this particular deal you want them to have a website. (If they don't have a site yet, we can deal with that later.)

Once you have a few of the websites, visit them. Here's what you're looking for: Any business site that does not have a capture
mechanism installed on their FRONT page.

In other words, they need to have an autoresponder opt in form on their front page. If they don't....you're in for some quick cash.

When you have about 10-15 "prospects" send them this letter:

************************************************** *
Mr./Ms. ___________

My name is ______________ and I am a local e-commerce business consultant.

I know your time is valuable, as is mine so I'll get right to the point. If I could show you an unused asset that you ALREADY
have that could make you thousands of dollars, would you be willing to speak with me for 15 minutes?

This free consultation can save you as much as 50% off your entire monthly advertising budget AND bring you brand new customers at the same time! The best part is that you already have it, so the cost to implement this marketing weapon is minimal.

Please call me at *** *** **** at your earliest convenience to schedule a free "no strings" consultation. I promise you, it will be worth your time.

Toronto Internet Marketing Expert,
David Preston
909 998 8898

************************************************** ***
That's it! Believe me when I say that your phone will ring off the hook. DO NOT mass mail that letter! You really only need to mail
25-30 per week and you'll be busy.

Now that you have the clients calling you, the next step is to set a consultation appointment and meet them. The unused asset they have is of course their website which has no list building capabilities.

The "money is in the list" applies to ALL businesses, not just online marketers. By building a proper list they can cut their
advertising dollars at least in half. Just send a customer blast about an upcoming sale instead of paying $4,000 for a half page ad.

You follow me here? All you have to do is set up an autoresponder opt in form on their existing site! That's it.

I have coaching students who are making $250-$500 a deal with just this method. It's very easy to generate 4, 5 or even 6 deals
per week this way. Heck, it only takes about 20-30 minutes to put the form on their site and that's if you're slow!

I usually visit their site, right click and select "view source" and save it in notepad. Then I open the notepad in an html editor and install the form. (I use Trellian pagebuilder, which is free and allows me to preview the finished site.) Once I'm done I save it as, "theirsitename.html" send it to their programmer and they can swap it. (I charge $50 if I have to load it.)

You can use your autoresponder account or let them get an aweber account with your affiliate link of course. If you use your account then you control their list. In either case this usually leads to "who is going to write the emails" which is another monetization chapter for later....

Just so you know, almost half of all the sites I look at fall into the category of no capture system. It may be more or less where you
live, but it's a rampant problem.... everywhere. Why? Because they simply don't understand e-commerce.

By the way, GoLeads will also give you the name of the business owner, number of employees, etc. Do your first one the hard way if you have to, but it's worth the $15 to be able to put their name on the letter.

Response rates will triple if you use their name and this little trick.

Stamp "CONFIDENTIAL" in red block letters on the front of the envelope. This will make them put your letter in the "open later"
pile instead of straight into the trash. It's a simple but effective strategy especially if you use their name. You can get a confidential stamp at Staples for $5. I've used the same one for years.

Keep this in mind. People sort their mail while standing over the trash can. You do it, so you know it's true. You have to have
something that stands out and says, "This might be important, I'll look at it later."

*NOTE*
Change their cash register and credit card terminal receipt to read, "For Preferred Customer Discounts Sign Up At: (their
website) There is a toll free number on the side of every register and terminal for support. Just call them and they will walk you through changing it. It only takes about 10 minutes.

This strategy is awesome because it does two major jobs when it comes to marketing.

1. It captures all their current customers because everybody reads their receipt, and everybody wants to be a preferred customer to get discounts. It also captures all walk in traffic that actually BUY something. Which leads us to:

2. A list of nothing but BUYERS of their product. No tirekickers or browsers, buyers only! You may need to clarify to them exactly why that's so powerful.
Now you've made a client for life and there are tons of other methods to help them, and generate a great living for you as well.

I've just shared a tested, proven method to generate some serious emergency money FAST! Just copy and paste the direct
mail letter and get to work.

You can do this.

I told you it was stupidly simple, and it works because it really is helping them, and that's what it's all about.

Make it a great marketing day,

David


Cool stuff...

I'd start by buying the Web Design Business Kit. Not only is it a book on building a web design business, from how to approach clients, how to make the pitch, etc... but also a workbook of contracts and forms you'll need to manage the process right.

Sopunding like a broken record but my approach was always walk in, speak to the owner OR decision maker (not always the same!) and say "Hi, I'm Arthur, I'd like to show you how to save money next month and probably show you where you will find new cash customers. Is now OK or should I come back this afternoon or tomorrow morning.?"

This is such an effective and simple approach - and I am really, really pee'd off that I can no longer do face to face!

Here is the simple truth...

There is no ONE best way to contact business owners, nor really is there a bad way to contact them.

Choose what you believe will work best for you, and sick with that method until you are very comfortable with the process that you have chosen.

Believing that the approach that you are using is a must, regardless of what method works great for someone else.

Its this confidence that will show up when you are talking with clients.

REMEMBER DON'T SELL WEBSITES ~!

You are providing methods to increase sales and profits.

When you buy a car you're not buying nuts and bolts; but a complete system designed to assist you to get where you are going, so you can provide for your family, and enjoy the little things of life that you can only find with quality, affordable and reliable transportation.

Mark Riddle

Thanks for all the great advice people!!!

Hey Pro 11

Here's a perfectly free resource that you can access from home-- Your public library. Get a library card, plug into Texas's library system online and access Reference USAs database. You can select an industry, a particular business, all the relevant contact info.

The database also provides nearby competitors and surrounding businesses. Just a wealth of information. Hope this helps.

Dee

One good, free way to contact offline business owners is via local niche professional associations as these usually have regular email contact with members and you can often get them to email a little ad about your services for nothing, so long as you keep it low key.

so if you were targeting physiotherapists, or dentists for eg, you would look up online to find the national or state association and then look for the regional groups, most will have a email contact.

The email the contact person and let them know you are offering web design for small businesses in the local area and would it be OK if they included your details in their next email, a lot will be fine with this.

The only thing is to keep it low key and don't be pushy, just write a few sentences saying you provide personalised web design for small business at reasonable rates and include your phone, website details with a sample set up. its a simple free way to get your name out there in front of busy professionals. or even offer to do a short presentation at their next meeting, again keep it short and sweet for busy service providers.

The Directory Assistance Plus gives a limited number of contacts including owners name. To automate and get a bunch of leads is expensive. my list came back as $2000. I narrowed it to 31 names and it was $200. Not worth the price for DM. But, if you have an assistant, they could do it manually and get a bunch for free.

this worked for me: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...es-letter.html

The smartest thing you'll ever do: OfflineBiz.com You'll learn more, and get more help with your projects than you could ever imagine.

Pete

Man this is great help and information. I trying to find a few customers as well in the Houston, TX area.

IMHO the answer to this question is all about relationship.

The first relationship is to yourself. Do you believe in your own ability to genuinely provide value to another person, to get them benefits and advantages they did not have before they met you?

If yes then you have no excuse to allow good people out in the "work-a-day" world to suffer while you know how to help. (soppy but I like it)

Thats the personal motivation part, which is extremely important. Next is the skills.

Do you have what it takes to go on craigslist or anywhere else and ask for a service and a price you need? If Yes move to the next square...

You are now fully qualified to ask a business owner if they want help marketing their business.

There are 2 ways to do this and my personal suggestion is to do one before the other but I know of many people having great success doing it the other way.

Way #1 is to talk to individual local businesses.

Way #2 is to gather interested businesses in group meetings, charge a seat price and teach the group a bunch of stuff and offer services at the end of the presentation.

What do you say to a local business owner? How about DO YOU WANT HELP WITH YOUR MARKETING....

That line is not the best ever, because the best ever has to be invented by you.

However, it is a damned good door opener and if you say it right people usually ask what ya got.

If you can remember that the entire reason you are doing offline consulting is to help them market better, and that this starts with a magical autoresponder to collect their customers into a list,.. you are rockin the house.

almost everything after the autoresponder set up is all just pointing different kinds of traffic at the "funnel" or list generator. This list generator also happens to be their business website,.. but hey, lets keep our priorities straight, LIST FIRST!

So, Now, you should be at the point where you just have to ask if they want help,.. help them set up an autoresponder and then get creative in how to get traffic to the funnel.

P34c3 0uT!