[Darrett]

Hey guys how you doing?!

I'm Darrett, and over the last few weeks you guys have helped me out a lot and I want to thank you for that.

I will be approaching businesses around once a week to find mobile website clients, because I work during the weekdays so it's hard to find a time. So I'm curious until I go approach businesses on Friday, what would be the best way to try and get my first clients?

Cold calling, direct mail, e-mail, flyers?

I sent out around 50 personalized e-mails with will's mobile video, and didn't get one reply back. So I'm not sure if e-mail is the best approach for me.

I would love to know if anyone here has had any success with these, as that would greatly help me out. I will be continuing to approach businesses as that is the most converting method, but I just want to know what alternative would be best for me after work on the weekdays.

Thanks guys, any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[WillR]

Darrett,

Did you track any part of the process?

What I mean is, to say you sent out 50 emails doesn't mean a whole lot because you have no idea what part of the process was not working for you.

For all you know they could have been dead email addresses and no one ever saw the emails. The other option is they saw the email but the subject line did not entice them to open the email. So you need to track your email opens to see if the emails are being opened in the first place. If they are not then you need to work on your subject line and/or the types of businesses you are approaching.

If you tracked your email opens and found a large number of people opened the emails but never clicked on the link inside, then you know it is the content of your email that needs some work.

If people opened the email, read the email, clicked through to the link and watched the video and did not leave their details, then it's likely they are just not interested in your services.

The problem is to say you sent out 50 emails (which is a very small sample anyway) and got no replies doesn't really mean anything unless you were tracking things.

I could send out an email to 1000 email addresses but if they are all dud email addresses then I won't get any replies.

Email marketing works, cold calling works, face to face works. It all works. Think about it for just a second. Do you ever receive any marketing type emails? Do you ever receive any marketing type phone calls? Of course you do. The reason for this is very simple... because they work. If they were not effective then people would not waste their time using them. Are they as effective as face to face? No, most of the times, not. But they do still work.

In terms of effectiveness, I would probably put them in this order...

1. Face to Face
2. Cold Calling
3. Direct Mail
4. Email Marketing

(Cold calling and direct mail are quite close so I would actually put them around the same number)

Having said that, don't get put off because you see email marketing at the bottom of that list. It's not to say it doesn't work. I have plenty of members using it very successfully and as we know, thousands of marketers are making a killing from email marketing. It's just not always as effective as the other methods because it has a tendency to be less personal.

[Hendley]

I suggest that you keep testing your method and try to track each part of the process and optimize accordingly. Very good tips given by Will above.

[peter_act]

Originally Posted by Darrett

Hey guys how you doing?!

I'm Darrett, and over the last few weeks you guys have helped me out a lot and I want to thank you for that.

I will be approaching businesses around once a week to find mobile website clients, because I work during the weekdays so it's hard to find a time. So I'm curious until I go approach businesses on Friday, what would be the best way to try and get my first clients?

Cold calling, direct mail, e-mail, flyers?

Thanks guys, any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Darrett, it's not the answer you want to hear, but Will is right - nothing beats face to face.
I usually have their present site on my smartphone (especially if it's got Flash), and also have a QR code with a dummy site I've made up for them. Show them the difference - usually works!

The QR code is especially impressive!

With emails I have not had a single reply - they are too easy for the recipient to immediately delete. (just like I do with incoming emails!)

[ltrain_riders]

I would create a business letter for each business you want to target and send it out as parcel mail. Few letters arrive with parcel stickers so it will likely be opened. Hand address the envelopes and use a personal return address instead of your business. Some people actually put Dice in their envelopes or something bulky in nature that grabs the recipients attention and peeks their curiosity into opening the letter to see what's inside. A few days after the letters are received, you can proceed with a cold call and see if they received your package. The cold call should not try to sell them anything, but only try to get them to meet you for a face to face.

[Darrett]

Will,

I sent your video that has their personalized name/url and the subject line as "Will, this is for you..."

However I did send it from my website e-mail, would it be better to send from my personal gmail account?

Thanks for reply

[Darrett]

peter_act you are right! It definitely has to be the best converting method, but I only have one weekday (Friday) to do that so I just want to try out other methods during the week. Also I am a beginner at this and I did notice it was pretty difficult to get a manager/owner to see their dummy site I showed them as they didn't really care to look at my phone. Is there a better way of presenting it? Probably doubtful, just curious.

ltrain_riders thanks for the advice, i will put that into practice and let you know the results!

[beeswarn]

Originally Posted by Darrett

ltrain_riders thanks for the advice, i will put that into practice and let you know the results!

You've got to be kidding, after all we've tried to teach you.

[ltrain_riders]

Originally Posted by beeswarn

You've got to be kidding, after all we've tried to teach you.

It's his best bet. E-mailing won't nearly be as effective because everyday we are being solicited to buy or try something. Sending a personalized business "package" shows he put forth time and effort to get somebody's business. There are ways to find out the business owner or person in charge so you can direct the package to them. Then you can follow up with a phone call. Calling AFTER you've mailed them is much better than cold calling because you can call to find out if they received your package and if they have any questions, if they haven't contacted you after reading your mail. The trick is to warm these people up into becoming a client. Very few are going to write you a check after reading an email or receiving a phone call out of the blue.

1) Send them the mail to get them aware of you.
2) Call them to follow-up and peek their interest.
3) Meet in person to seal the deal.

[Darrett]

Originally Posted by beeswarn

You've got to be kidding, after all we've tried to teach you.

beeswarn I don't understand your point? I have taken all the advice you have given me and am putting it into practice, on Fridays I will be approaching businesses as that is my day off of work that I'm available to do that. However the rest of the week after work I would love to use an alternative method that can still possibly get me clients.

[WillR]

Originally Posted by Darrett

Will,

I sent your video that has their personalized name/url and the subject line as "Will, this is for you..."

However I did send it from my website e-mail, would it be better to send from my personal gmail account?

Thanks for reply

Darrett,

This is what marketing is all about. You need to test things yourself because they are going to work differently in each and every market.

[rayalleninc]

Originally Posted by Darrett

Will,

I sent your video that has their personalized name/url and the subject line as "Will, this is for you..."

However I did send it from my website e-mail, would it be better to send from my personal gmail account?

Thanks for reply

Darrett,

What are you trying to promote? Affiliate stuff? or MLM?

[Darrett]

Originally Posted by rayalleninc

Darrett,

What are you trying to promote? Affiliate stuff? or MLM?

Hey Ray, I'm trying to promote my service creating mobile websites for businesses, then possibly later upsell on SMS marketing

[ish]

I've been experimenting with contacting owners on their business facebook/twitter pages and the response has been way better than email.

For one thing they actually see your message, unlike email where it's most likely in the spam box or deleted without opening.

I just make a mock up screenshot of their site with a short message, and I've got quite a few good responses so far...now I just need to close them now!

Hope that helps.

[mrtrance]

Originally Posted by ish

I've been experimenting with contacting owners on their business facebook/twitter pages and the response has been way better than email.

For one thing they actually see your message, unlike email where it's most likely in the spam box or deleted without opening.

I just make a mock up screenshot of their site with a short message, and I've got quite a few good responses so far...now I just need to close them now!

Hope that helps.

Do you contact them by private message or post on their public wall? Wouldn't it be considered spamming if you posted on their wall?

[ish]

Do you contact them by private message or post on their public wall? Wouldn't it be considered spamming if you posted on their wall?

No I don't think so...no owner so far has gotten angry at me for posting on their page...

Some facebook pages wont let you post on their wall, in that case send them a private message with your mobile site mock up screenshot.

[patking76]

I post on peoples pages all the time and do get some response from it. If they don't want posting on their pages then they can turn it off. However, I don't over do it. Make sure that you offer something of value to them dont just post an ad for your services on there page

[mrtrance]

Any example of the sort of message you guys post on their wall to get them to call or contact you? Do you leave a phone# in your message or email? Any suggestions?

[Robert X]

Will, This may sound a bit rookie but,, how do I track and know if someone opens an email?

Robert X

[WillR]

Originally Posted by Robert X

Will, This may sound a bit rookie but,, how do I track and know if someone opens an email?

Robert X

There are a lot of services out there, one of the easier and free ones to use is SpyPig - Free Email Tracking System - Find out if your email has been read!