midasman09

I received LOTS of "Good Free Info" on this Forum in 2011 and I'd like to give something back to start the New Year;

I noticed threads on "How To Sell in Small Towns". I live in "rural" Oregon where the pop of small towns goes from 800 to 20,000.

To sell Mobile Sites here's what I do;

1) Create a "Mobile Town Directory" Site - I create the site on a Mobile Site I make for the Town - for ex: I noticed a post on another thread where someone was asking the same question about selling in "small" towns. He is in "Council Bluffs Iowa".

So....I checked my Domain Checker (www.BustaName.com) and found that www.CouncilBluffsMobile.com is available this morn (Jan 2, 2012)

2) I Google and find 1 or 2 local businesses that have regular websites...and make a 1-Page Sample site using Quentin's Program.
(Note: If there are NO "regular" websites in the town...I create 1 or 2, ONE Page Mobile Sites for existing businesses (Usually a family restaurant and Pizza Place) ....based on me visiting the biznesses and taking a few photos and picking up their Menus (Although, I've only found ONE small town where there were NO biznesses that had a regular website)

So....I'd set up a Sample Mobile Site called...
www.CouncilBluffsMobile.com and Googling "restaurants in council bluffs, ia" brings up www.BoxerBBQ.com in the #1 spot and below that is www.PizzaKing1101.com
(NOTE: If CouncilBluffsMobile.com is taken, I try CouncilBluffsMobi.com
If that's taken I try "CouncilBluffsMobiDirectory.com"

So....I make a 1 page site for EACH and....I give each site a SUB-Domain on my Hostgator Server (www.BoxerBBQ.CouncilBluffsMobile.com and www.PizzaKing1101.CouncilBluffsMobile.com)

3a) I then plunk the "Mobile Site" I just created (www.BoxerBBQ(dot)CouncilBluffsMobile(dot)com)....i nto a "Simulator" (I use Quentin's) and make a copy using "SnagIt". I then "Crop" the SnagIt image so ONLY the Mobile Phone is in the image and make a PDF of the image.

3b) I then plunk their "Regular Site" into the Simulator and make a copy with SnagIt and a PDF of it.

I then PRINT OUT THE 2 IMAGES onto a sheet...the "regular site" above the newly created Mobile Site.

ASIDE: I remembered the Ad for some product (I forgot the product but remember the Ad)...."This is your Brain!....This is your Brain on "X"!
Note: I might offend someone here BUT....the following tickles my "funny Bone" every time I see it on a certain Blog;
It's a simulated Ad for Viagra;
"This is your "PeePee"!....This is your PeePee on Drugs!" (No pictures, just the words.

So...I walk into each business....find the owner and show him my Sample Sheet with the 2 Mobile Sites, and say; "Mr Owner...this is what your website looks like on a Mobile Phone! (Pointing to the Top image) This is your website when It's been made, "Mobile-Ready" (pointing to bottom image)

4) I then show him the front page of my "Town Mobile Site Directory" and explain that I'm ONLY putting ONE business of each Category into the site and HE can be the ONLY "X" (In the case of the above Sample, Boxer BBQ)....I'd say that HE can be the ONLY "BBQ" restaurant in the Category of "BBQ Restaurant". Same with "Pizza King 1101"....they'd be the ONLY Pizza Place in the "Pizza" category.

NOTE: Offering an EXCLUSIVE in their Categories provides "Motivation" and appeals to their "Competitve" spirit. This also provides me with "Sales Power"! If they don't want to participate...I tell them I'm sorry BUT, I've GOT to go see their competitor. It's MY JOB to FILL the Categories in the Mobile Site Directory!

5) Now....whether or not these first 2 biz owners choose to join or not...I USE THEIR SAMPLE MOBILE SITES TO PROVIDE EXAMPLES TO OTHER PROSPECTS!

For ex: I go into a Mexican restaurant....show the owner the first page of the "Town Mobile Directory".....then show him the 2 Mobile Sites I've made and what their sites looked like on a Mobile Phone BEFORE...and what they look like now. I then show my prices and invite him to be the ONLY "Mexican" restaurant in his category.

I collect a Deposit and tell him I'll collect the balance when I return with his Mobile Site.

NOTE: When I show other prospects the 2 Sites I've made (Let's assume they did NOT want to participate) I do NOT mention that they chose NOT to participate (It's NONE of the prospect's bizness and....if I choose to include some biznesses in MY Directory for Freebies...I can! It's MY bizness!)

So....when I've blanked out with the first 2 biznesses...after I've sold a few Categories...I return to the first 2 and give them ONE MORE CHANCE to join. And, even if this doesn't get them to join....I then go to their competition!

So....after I've filled most of the categories in the "Restaurant" category, I then go to "Service" businesses (plumbers, roofers, pest control etc)... "Professional" businesses (accountants, insurance offices, travel agencies, etc....then "Retail" (clothing, shoes, hardware, bicycle, New Cars, Used Cars)...then "Medical/Dental".

My method is based on 2 "Basic Psychological Premises";

1) "NOBODY wants to be FIRST!" If I were to show an "empty" website, I'd have a hard time persuading the FIRST biz owner to join. BUT, when I show 2 biznesses ALREADY PARTICIPATING (whether they paid or not)...potential clients think, "Hey! If these 2 are in, they've "tested the temperature of the water"...so I can jump in without "getting Burned"!

2) "The GREED Factor" - whenever I've created a program that has a "Limited" number of participants or...only ONE in each category....I appeal to their Competitiveness and...."Stimulate Their GREED Glands!"

So....thanks for reading and I hope you have a GREAT New Year.

Don Alm in "small town America"

HypeText

Similar to the "Diner Placemats Advertising" of Yesteryear! lol

I am curious, what sort of Price Point do you hit these Businesses with?

We follow a similar strategy with a twist as we are in a Large Metropolitan area...

Every city has "Districts, such as an "Entertainment district" or a "Restaurant District".

Each of these districts generally have a "Business Owners Association". Most of these "Associations" do very little to promote their members.

We approach the Associations with a Mock Up of a Mobile site for the Association and offer Design and hosting for Free in exchange for their "Blessing" to approach their members. sort of an Instant endorsement.

We then approach each member of the Association and let them know that we are working with the Association, dropping the name of our contact, and offer them a "Special Discount" only available to members of the Association.

We create Bundles of Services designed specifically for their Business Model and find they are MUCH more receptive because we are working with the "Association" and are offering them a deal.

We then will create a Mobile strategy for them that might include a Mobile website, SMS Marketing, and QR Codes...Some we will offer a Daily Deal Program that we are authorized to sell.

Their Mobile Website is then linked to the listing they have on the Associations Mobile site.

The approach & reception from business owners is MUCH easier...and the upsell is a piece of cake

bonn

absolutely perfect. --- This is great advice for all marketers and sales people starting their own mobile site business.

Ill be referencing this thread alot around this forum and around the web. Thanks for the blow by blow.

Im sending you a PM.

Pierre!

Absolutely Gold Mr. Alm!

Another great mind boggling post.

Happy New Year to you, and thanks for your great ideas.

Patrick

Aurora Bourke

Thanks for sharing this valuable info
My intention has been to set up this type of system and you have just made the entire process so clear. Now I will be able to do it without unnecessary complications. Once again Thanks...you have made my day

YellowGreenMedia

About that "Town Mobile Site Directory" do you drive any traffic to that directory or is it just SEO?

SmileKenya

Excellent! This information is very crucial for mobile marketers. Those on the way to build mobile website business should too consider it. It will for sure give them a smooth sail. I guess a majority of us were in dire need of such information but had not come across it. Thanks very much.

Magnum1

Thanks to Don for all the great contributions he makes to this forum. Great information and very often with a different twist than you will read anywhere else!

athanne

Thanks very much. With such knowledge one can get involved with building mobile websites steadily and hence making good income.

IWelcomesocialmedia

Excellent idea... Thanks!

lint631

I think someone else asked this but how do you get traffic to the site?

WPMobileSalesPro - Mobile Web Sales Tool

rlhurst

http://www.warriorforum.com/mobile-m...-question.html

PH1

I love the idea, however.....
I think what rlhurst and YellowGreenMedia are asking is how does the directory site get traffic?
If you are selling a page on a mobile directory site, surely the merchant wants to know how much traffic the directory site is getting and that amount of traffic determines whether the merchant considers buying a page a good investment.
Or am I missing something?

YellowGreenMedia

No that is my question to... where does the traffic come from, cus i see everybody jumping on the mobile directories but i haven't seen anyone answer this question... Business owners will like to know this to

Learn How To Setup Your Own Six Figure Lead Generation Business.

WillR

I agree. It's all good and well to get businesses into a directory but if nothing comes of it then they won't be paying you for very long.

.

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rlhurst

Just speaking for myself, here's what I have in the works at the moment..
I have a hotel on board to let me place table tents in each room and on their counter that leads to a "restaurant directory". I also have recently got permission from an rv park owner (in that same town) to do the same.

I had created the directory first, complete with types of food, plus had a couple of restaurants listed that I had done for free (to get this rolling, and to get the other restaurants motivated (hopefully) to get on board. Now, with those restaurants already listed (2) I did a short 30 sec video of them welcoming the visitors to town and offering them a discount if they bring in their phone and show the video. (I put this on so the owners would know how effective, and what kind of traffic the directory is generating)

My next plan of action is to make up a flyer and visit the rest of the restaurants with my phone in hand. I will show them the directory on my phone, give them the information flyer, and go from there. I'm planning on pricing it fairly reasonably... probably $19 per month. If they balk at that.. .70 cents or whatever it is a day, I'll remind them that the directory will be in EVERY room for EVERY guest, EVERY day to access. All they'd have to do is have 1 couple come in for a meal a month to pay for it (basically).

I was also thinking of having a month or so period where they could sign up for that rate, and get locked in as long as they pay every month. If they get out, and want back in some time later, the price rises maybe $10 more per month. (I don't want them getting out in the Winter and then want back in right before the tourist season). Plus, if they do want back in, I'm thinking of asking for a year's payment at a time... still thinking about this.

Now, this is a big experiment for me...... and a lot of work. But, it's a great learning process, and getting me in front of biz owners, giving me experience in the face to face.

One more thing I forgot to mention..... I did a site for a self guided tour of local sites and donated that to the society that just had a paper pamphlet for that. Of course, I'm putting a link at the bottom to the restaurant directory, so when they get hungry during their tour, they will have places to go. Another place of exposure for the restaurant owners.

So, bottom line.... about the question of driving traffic.. Those are the places I'm informing the restaurant owners that the traffic will come from.

I also have a regular site called... "town,state,restaurants" which has a redirect to the mobile restaurant directory.

All that said, this is a big experiment for me. But, I'm gaining a ton of experience... creating sites, facing owners, getting exposure, etc. I'll keep you all informed on how the next process goes (of actually signing these restaurant owners up)

YellowGreenMedia

But that is my question lol, the most important thing you seem to forget is the traffic, wouldn't it be wise to experiment without real clients first? just to see if you're able to drive traffic to those directories. fill them op with free places and see if you can get mobile traffic. Mobile internet is not regular internet. There is almost no SEO or site you can get traffic from.

Your mobile directory has to compete will the normal directories out there because of the fact that there is no real mobile SEO, i don't wanna put your experiment down or anything, but my advice would be make sure you have some traffic first before you start offering spots.


Good luck with your project and let us know how it turned out

Dave

Learn How To Setup Your Own Six Figure Lead Generation Business.

rlhurst

The traffic is coming from the hotel rooms (hopefully ). I am not competing cause there are no other directories that out of town guests have access to. Just laying out the plan of action. Not claiming it's perfect or will work, but I'm gaining a lot of experience with it.

512 Designs

I mentioned this in a previous post similar to this one. The biggest competitor to your site will be the GPS unit sitting in their cars.

Mike

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JBlz

I am not sure if it will work, but the tactic I thought about trying was to ask the business for permission to put their info on my local business directory for free. It's no cost, just a listing. Whether the business owner replies with a yes or no, I would still get the owner's information.Then I could follow up at a later date and try to upsell to a mobile site plus advertisement on the directory. Would that help get my foot in the door, and get them to know me?

rlhurst

Mike, not sure if your post was directed at me...but the GPS unit will not provide the full menu, personalized video greeting from the owner offering the discount........ pics of the restaurant/food, etc.

The main traffic as I see it is going to come from the guests in the rooms scanning the qr code or entering the url to access the directory. Same for the folks at the RV park, and the ones using the guided tour site.

Again, this has not been attempted before so it's all new territory for me, and the town. But, it's not costing me much, except for time.... and I'm learning a lot as I go. And getting experience. Could flop, could fly..... we'll see.

512 Designs

No, it wasn't directed at you or your service. It was a general statement for anyone creating these mobile directories. If you know that a GPS unit will be your competition, you must provide more of an incentive for a visitor to use your site instead of a GPS.

Since you're adding more value (easy access from hotel room, video greeting and guided tour), then you're going above and beyond what a GPS system will do which works out great in your favor.

Please keep us posted on your results.

Mike

Let Me Show You How You Can Turn Your
Existing PLR CONTENT Into CASH MONEY
In Dozens Of Different Ways!
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cicolino

Thanks for this Post

Mister Natural

Great post OP

I'm very interested in working the mobile market but the price points to get the conversions kind of cooled my wheels.
I live in a moderate sized town with quite a few company closings and layoffs so,,,,
things are a little slow and money can be tight for those that work in a blue collar environment.

Which brings me to my theory,,,,
Instead of "simply" selling the businesses a mobile site, that sits there and waits for
visitors,,, to look at the menu,,, let the phones reach out and actually PULL customers in.

Now I know they do this in the UK where the mobile phone plays a much bigger role in the lives of the Brits, as they use their phones for everything, to buy groceries, to ride a bus, to pay for drinks, to play lotteries, gamble, you name it.
In that regard they are WAY beyond the usa.

So to increase your income,,,,
How hard would it be to set up the business owner with the ability to Push messages to his clientele?

If you had the ability to set this up as a constant advertising medium you could command a much higher monthly rate and the business owner would see much more traffic because he would be sending out Text's messages like:

LIVE MUSIC TONIGHT the ROLLING STONES!
BUY A DRINK GET A DRINK FREE
TONIGHT BIKINI CONTESTS
WET T-SHIRT CONTEST
TOPLESS WAITRESS NIGHT!

I'm sure that would pull in the customers, and for a premium monthly fee as you build his client list, and operate the Pushing of messages for the business,,,, you should be able to command a much higher monthly rate.

So ,,,, how difficult is this to set up in the USA?

If you're going to go mobile,,,,, GO MOBILE ALL THE WAY!

r2pro

It sounds like a good way to see it...

I live in Europe in a country where people really like to use (and show) their phones (probably too much...).

But there are some experiences that show the potential of it to bring business...

Recently i read about a health insurance company in Spain that decided to create a mobile version: 3 months late, 20% all all the calls of potential clients were entering from the mobile site...

Thanks

4webmaster

Great info, here is a suggestion, you can use telnic org for the directory because it list for mobile and desktop devices automaticly.

https://stevesuard.com

johndev

I think I can now go with these effective ideas.