$10 Offline Trick: Get Clients

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It's a Friday night. I'll keep this quick.

I run a few different businesses. One of them is a local web design and development agency. We're usually never stuck for clients, but we encountered a slight drought in early December. I decided to implement an idea I'd stored up for such an occasion. The idea not only worked, we're booked solid for 3 months.

What I did: I opened up all of the local buy & sell Facebook groups in the area and posted a brief ad with a picture, offering an instant PayPal payment of £10 to anyone who referred to us a new web design client. This was on a Saturday morning. Come Monday morning: over 3 months' worth of work.

Give it a try yourself. Can't hurt, right? I offered £10, but I see no reason why $10 wouldn't do the trick. You never see this kind of offer (at least not in my own local groups) and £10 to some people is nothing to be sniffed at; especially when they have an uncle who's been talking of getting a website, or a brother who needs one for his used car lot. You get the picture.

I'm off to watch a movie!

Tom
#offline marketing #$10 #clients #offline #trick
  • how many clients did you get? and how much you charge them?
  • Interesting. Did you wait for a contract to be signed? For money to be exchanged? Or did you take the risk that the person wouldn't become a customer? My web design business is currently struggling to find clients, and this isn't something I have tried yet.
    • [1] reply
    • Payments were sent upon contracts being signed. In one case, it took us a week to secure the contract; all others were secured in days. We're not a big agency and our products amount to fairly simple packages with predefined contents, where you see exactly what you'll be getting. In other words: easy for a client to make a decision. If you're struggling, give it a bash. I'm assuming this would work year-round, but especially so around the holidays. To better your chances, just up the amount offered. To extend it, perhaps introduce a permanent referral program; you can always outsource design. I'm considering this myself.

      Tom
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • What would happen if I go for 200$? This is what I usually give to my affiliate, upon sale.
    • [1] reply
    • You'd be throwing money away.

      To the average person (not an internet marketer), $200 is a huge amount. 90% of the referrals we received were of this variety:

      - My mum sells cakes on her FB. I'll get her to have a site.
      - Brother owns a used car lot. He'll have one if it's cheap.
      - Can I refer my wife? She needs that eCommerce package.

      By all means up the amount (even I was surprised at £10) but not so much as $200.

      Tom
  • Not bad Tom! A great method. I am going to expose my ignorance now, I am not very familiar with facebook advertizing strategies, how do you run a single ad? I thought you had to set up a campaign that runs daily?
  • This sounds awesome, Tom!

    How did your ads ask for the leads? Did you ask people to send you contact information for the referral, or just to encourage the person they wanted to refer to contact you?

    Did you have your ad link to your website, and did your website have a portfolio of sample sites or of past projects?

    Lastly, I was thinking about trying this with SEO or Facebook Ads. Do you think that enough people would be familiar with what these methods are to go ahead and make the referrals?

    Thanks Tom!
    • [1] reply
    • I'll be doing this, too. Sure, people will understand. Right now you've caught me literally feeling my way in this method myself. I'll be playing around with it and will likely update here. I'd suggest you trying the free route first (groups) and getting your referral page and ad copy honed. When they're optimized, evolve the process either by growing your local presence on FB (and elsewhere) or with FB Ads. That what I'll be doing.

      Tom
      • [ 2 ] Thanks
      • [1] reply
  • My Facebook-fu is weak and I am trying to understand what you did. Can you explain what you mean when you say you opened the local buy and sell Facebook groups? Thanks.
    • [1] reply

    • Just search on Facebook "buy & sell [your city]", "for sale [your city]", "for sale & exchange [your city]" and similar terms. Then when results show up, click on the "groups" tab, join them and once you'r accepted you can start on posting your ad, or your website´s link.
  • It's an interesting idea. I would think offering a larger amount of money would do much better or at least get some go getters. This idea could probably help those that are needing to start some sort of sales staff, and bridge the gap between staying at their current plateua or hitting the next level.

    I guess you can also boost your post, or use ads for that strategy too, almost like you're recruiting for an affiliate program.
  • I would like an outline of exactly what you did here. I hope I don't come off rash but I am really interested in how this worked for you and the structure you used. A lot of us are going to read this and wing it, but if you could give us a little more structure that winging it could be made a little more managable.
    • [1] reply
    • Also would help if you mentioned the price point.
      • [1] reply
  • I'll try to fill in the blanks, folks!

    (Had I known there would be so much interest, I would have given my usual in-depth tutorial. Need any other info, fire away below.)

    The Step-by-Steps Used.

    1. Using the Facebook search bar, typing phrases such as location buy & sell groups and buy & sell groups in location, join and bookmark all of your local buy and sell groups

    2. On your website, create a refer a friend page.

    In my case: Refer a friend. When they purchase any of these packages, once contracts are signed, once deposits are paid, receive an instant payment of £10 direct to your PayPal. Ask your friend to mention you in their email by giving us your name and email address; we'll then be in touch (no need, though, since most people emailed first, telling us their friend would be in touch). Obviously our ad copy was better, but that's basically what was written.

    3. Open up the buy and sell groups in browser tabs. Use an eye-catching image to promote the offer, ad copy to explain the deal (see 2), and a link to your promotional page. I believe I posted in around 16 to 18 groups.

    The majority of messages came to my Facebook inbox. I believe the mention of instant PayPal payment (with the caveat mentioned above), coupled with the fact that no one else is doing this, lead to the success. That and Christmas approaching. And, if you think about it, this makes perfect sense. If you have a friend who's been talking of getting a website for months, why not cash in and get a quick, no-hassle tenner? Can't hurt, right?

    There you have it, folks.

    The agency I own runs pretty much without my input these days. What I'll be doing in the new year, though, is exploring the local affiliate approach and taking this basic model and seeing how far it can be evolved. (And, no, this isn't leading to a WSO LOL). I hope it works out for you. Any further questions, fire them my way.

    Tom
    • [ 6 ] Thanks
  • What price point were you offering the sites for?
  • Hi Tom. Awesome idea!

    A few questions if you don't mind.

    1. Did you just direct link to your page that offers your web packages? Or an opt in form?

    2. Are you selling like a 5 page site for $500, a 10 page site with seo for $1000, and a site with commerce for $2000? Something like that?

    This seems simple enough to do.

    Thanks!
    • [1] reply
    • Glad you like it.

      I linked to a straight-forward lander. As I evolve the method, I may go the opt-in route; no idea as yet.

      Our packages are along those lines, yes. We stick to small local businesses and web design is really just a tool to get them in the door, if you will. The money is in recurring services: marketing and management.

      Tom
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Great idea! Most people in the world don't realize that you can make money referring people online & if they can make a quick $10 for helping you out, it's a total win-win
  • Thanks for answering my questions above, Tom. It's much appreciated.

    Have you tried this outside of your locale? What do you think would happen?
    • [1] reply
    • I have. But not for web design.

      I do a great deal of offline marketing, using online-offline hybrid models. I'm reluctant to explain too much in public because around 60% of the models can become saturated. What I can say is this: the majority of marketers leave this massive workforce underutilized. There are many ways, if you think out of the box, that the simple system outlined above can explode your earnings when combined with traditional online models.

      Tom
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  • Creativity pays. Sometimes offering $200 simply overwhelms people and makes the website itself extremely expensive for start ups to consider going for. $10 seems about right, and shows you aren't overcharging to giveaway a portion of it.
    • [1] reply
    • I think you're right. Still playing around with this myself, but it certainly feels right. Our prices are not huge because I'm more concerned with backend products and services. You get the client in the door with a web design, basically. That's how I do it, anyway. I make very little profit after paying the designer, but it's the extra (and ongoing) services where I make the money and I can offer these without much expenditure (hosting, marketing, etc).

      Tom
  • Hi,

    This is my first post and I'd just like to say thank you, I've bookmarked 15 groups in my area and will be trying this out tonight or tomorrow and will let you know how i get on

    thanks again!
    • [1] reply
    • Hey stuballs,

      Thanks a lot!

      I think I'm lucky in my area; I didn't receive this problem. I can tell you what I do outside of this particular method, though. Before posting, just contact the admins and ask permission. More often than not, they love the respect you show them and, as long as your post is a decent one, they tend to approve it and not delete.

      Tom
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Thinking about posting this on craigslist too - what section do you think would work well? Gigs? Community?
    • [1] reply
    • I like the way you think. It's been too long since I used CL, so I'm probably not the best one to give you advice here. If I ever extend the system, though, I'll try to remember this post and report back. It seems like a cracking idea to me.

      Tom
  • May be a little of topic, but what kind of back end services do you off? I'm thinking SEO of course but what else if you don't mind me asking?
    • [1] reply
    • If you can think of it, we offer it. Seriously. Everything from installations to online and offline marketing. And no I don't mind you asking at all! If you check out other web design agencies (in my experience NYC agencies are pretty good), you can get all the ideas you need about add-on services. As I believe I said before: get clients in the door, then lock them in. You're looking for monthly, recurring income from them. Can't get it every time, but you have to try.

      Tom
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
      • [1] reply
  • Hi I'm back, created everything I need including referral link to my website only problem is the pages I've bookedmarked in my area for buy and sale all have post approval settings on so they just get denied by the admins, has anyone else faced this issue? Have did you work around it and still achieve the same conversion rate?
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • I do not how people in USA type when they research for a job. But based on that, you can search for groups containing keywords related to Job offers, and since you are local you will be gettting approvals .
  • A great method. I am going to expose my ignorance now, I am not very familiar with facebook advertizing strategies, how do you run a single ad?
    • [1] reply
    • We all have to learn. I often say the same thing when my programmer is trying to explain something to me. "Pretend like I'm an idiot." To which he responds, "No problem, Tom." Swine! lol

      Head on over to Facebook groups (the type mentioned in the OP). All you're doing is making a regular FB post but putting it in a group. It's free, it's allowed, your posts will stick, and should anyone comment them, they'll rise to the top again (prime real estate.)

      Tom
  • Just for curiosity I used this in my country and it worked I got 3 responses. I guess I have to improve the text ads. But I see potential using this as this don't be replicated by other members of the groups where we post the adverts.

    Even got one response from one joblessness girl who says she is a good salesperson and I am now preparing printed material to give it to her to promote my business.

    EDITED:I've not made any website yet because I just wanted to know if I got responses, just to test it. But it works.

    -Anthony
    • [1] reply
    • This is great news, Anthony. I like how you quickly responded with promotional content, too. I outsource promotion in a similar way, but I've yet to run it in an affiliate situation. Next year should be interesting. We've got a few new methods to try out; this being one of them. I hope it continues to be successful for you!

      Tom
  • Very useful offline marketing method, if the need for it arises, I'll be sure to give it a try.
    Thanks for this thread.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Hey Tom,

    I was wondering, what is the average number of members that are in these groups?

    so far I've only encountered between 3k-20k per group, but I live in a small area in scotland so that's probably why... apart from the local buy & sell pages what do you recon would be good to post to as well? I've pretty much went through all mine, should I branch out to another town/city?

    Thanks in advance you've been awesomely helpful
    • [1] reply
    • It varies location to location. Thing is, you really don't need that many at all. Tell you why: so much buying and selling goes on, it'll make your head spin. Seriously. Got an iPhone lying around gathering dust? Throw it up on one of these groups. If it doesn't sell in 12 hours, I'll eat my hat. Screw it - I'll eat my cat!

      I have to be careful how much I expand on your second question. We cover the related free traffic systems on Get Rich Methods. What I can say is this: Target the geographic location related to your business. The last thing you want to do is hammer these groups behind a non-geographic platform. It won't work.

      Anyway - I wish you all the best, buddy!

      Tom
  • Did you get anyone annoyed at your ads or did you get kicked out of any groups from this campaign?
    • [1] reply
    • Not a one. But that's an understandable concern. I use groups for 11 different methods (this being the latest) and I can honestly say I've never had a single problem. The local buy & sell groups receive all kind of local ads: everything from folks selling video consoles to hairdressers promoting holiday discounts and whatnot. A nice chap earlier asked about whether he should do this in other areas. I advised against it. I think that would be the only time where you'd run into troubles. This particular system, through my own testing, works for local sites posting to their local groups.

      Tom
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
      • [1] reply

  • Hi Tom,
    Were you saying the prices in the post or on the website where you did the customers/affiliates go through?
    I mean the web design prices.
    Or did they need to contact you back to become your affiliates?
    Regards
    Andrea
  • terrific idea, thanks for posting. Might work better in the U.S. with a $20 bill. 10 pounds is over $15 U.S. conversion. $20 is lunch for two, and that is believable for most folks.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • So has anyone else tried this?

      Any results?
  • Thanks for the tip Tom...appreciate it. I have a couple offline niches I'm involved in and will see where this goes
  • I'm back! Apologies for the late reply, folks. The holidays kept yours truly pretty busy.

    Andrea: we list our prices on the main website. Most affiliates had a chat with me via email and I showed them our site and talked them through any questions they had. Keep it nice and simple, since these aren't professional marketers.

    Any other questions, fire away.

    Tom
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
  • This is a great idea. Most importantly it is an idea to seed our imagination on other
    ways to implement such methods.

    Could it work I LinkedIn too? hmmm.....
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • Fabulous idea, I wonder if it would work for selling Alloy Wheels....
  • Thanks, guys.

    WhiteRhino : I've yet to try it elsewhere. So I'm honestly not sure. The beauty here is hiring totally green affiliates and keeping everything nice and simple. That's why I like the FB groups. You basically just have a bunch of regular folks (moms, usually) who love the idea of some quick cash.

    BookkeepingNuT : I don't see why not. I'm a total idiot when it comes to vehicles (and, of course, prices) but I imagine they're fairly high-ticket. I bet you could easily incentivize it with a nice referral figure. I'd give it a bash! It's free and only takes an hour at most to setup.

    Tom
    • [1] reply
    • Just curious, how's the fulfillment to all those sites going for you? How long does it take you for each site?
      • [1] reply
  • I am trying this method out with not much success. The problem I'm having is that I cant post on groups pages using my business page. I have to use my personal account with a link to my site. Do you think this looks less professional and could be one reason as to why I'm getting no leads? Did Anyone else find this problem ??

    Jay
    • [1] reply
    • Your profile account is your business page - or it should be. You brand it and operate it just like you would a group or a page. If this isn't the case with yourself, then, yes, it may be hindering conversions. I would take remove any non-business posts and brand it. It isn't always necessary, of course, but it will help.

      There are various ways to do this, though. Another way, for instance, is to simply share the ad posted on your page to the groups.

      Tom
      • [1] reply
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    $10 Offline Trick: Get Clients

    It's a Friday night. I'll keep this quick. I run a few different businesses. One of them is a local web design and development agency. We're usually never stuck for clients, but we encountered a slight drought in early December. I decided to implement an idea I'd stored up for such an occasion. The idea not only worked, we're booked solid for 3 months.