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How to be the FIRST company to approach a client about web design or online marketing

by Matthew North
6 replies
One of the toughest hurdles when offering online marketing service is dealing with competitors.

Almost everyone you speak to on the phone already has an existing relationship with a web designer or someone who knows a lot about online marketing that can handle it for them.

Of course, there are ways around this, and not everyone is satisfied with their current levels of service, but for the vast majority of cases you'll hear "we have it handled already" by the person on the phone - and that person is telling you the truth.

After a long time of hearing this I decided to be the FIRST person they'll like to speak to on the phone about online marketing. It's a slightly sneaky method but it's working well so far. it can also be rejiggged for selling other services too such as insurance and other products.

How it works is this: In most countries there's a business register which contains a unifed list of all the registered companies. And with some registers, there's an application programming interface (API) that lets the end user (which is you) interact with the said data.

Now what we do with the API is that it allows to query the database for new business registrations on a daily basis.. I hope you know where I'm going with this. Each query each day will return a list of brand new companies that likely have not yet engaged with someone in the online marketing world and NEED a website right now. Depending on the registry you use, you can also query it to retrieve changes to other sets of data, such as changing company directors and presidents, new office locations etc. These are all trigger events that can cause someone to buy something, such as renewing or comparing insurance products, installing new IT hardware etc.

Of course, not every register allows this data to be retrieved as some won't have API access. But if you can see the principle behind this there's no reason you couldn't come up with a custom solution with a bit of determination..
#approach #client #company #design #marketing #online #web
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  • Profile picture of the author animal44
    Except most startups are underfunded...

    There's a better way.

    There's a clue in your own post...

    See if you can find it...
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  • Profile picture of the author max5ty
    Originally Posted by Matthew North View Post

    One of the toughest hurdles when offering online marketing service is dealing with competitors.

    Almost everyone you speak to on the phone already has an existing relationship with a web designer or someone who knows a lot about online marketing that can handle it for them.

    Of course, there are ways around this, and not everyone is satisfied with their current levels of service, but for the vast majority of cases you'll hear "we have it handled already" by the person on the phone - and that person is telling you the truth.

    After a long time of hearing this I decided to be the FIRST person they'll like to speak to on the phone about online marketing. It's a slightly sneaky method but it's working well so far. it can also be rejiggged for selling other services too such as insurance and other products.

    How it works is this: In most countries there's a business register which contains a unifed list of all the registered companies. And with some registers, there's an application programming interface (API) that lets the end user (which is you) interact with the said data.

    Now what we do with the API is that it allows to query the database for new business registrations on a daily basis.. I hope you know where I'm going with this. Each query each day will return a list of brand new companies that likely have not yet engaged with someone in the online marketing world and NEED a website right now. Depending on the registry you use, you can also query it to retrieve changes to other sets of data, such as changing company directors and presidents, new office locations etc. These are all trigger events that can cause someone to buy something, such as renewing or comparing insurance products, installing new IT hardware etc.

    Of course, not every register allows this data to be retrieved as some won't have API access. But if you can see the principle behind this there's no reason you couldn't come up with a custom solution with a bit of determination..
    Instead of asking if they have a website or need one...you can think outside of the box...

    "Can I send you 100 new itchy to buy customers next month?"

    Or, "There's a ton of customers looking for __________ (electrician, plumber, hairstylist, etc.), would you be interested in handling them?"

    Most websites are useless and get no results. They're just an online brochure.

    Once they say they're interested in leads, show them how to do a funnel that gets new leads.

    We all went through the "everyone needs a website" phase. Now we're into the "websites don't work unless you use this trick" method.

    Business owners are begging for customers. If you're good at generating leads, they'll love you and you'll generate good income for yourself.
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    • Profile picture of the author Matthew North
      Originally Posted by max5ty View Post

      Instead of asking if they have a website or need one...you can think outside of the box...

      "Can I send you 100 new itchy to buy customers next month?"

      Or, "There's a ton of customers looking for __________ (electrician, plumber, hairstylist, etc.), would you be interested in handling them?"

      Most websites are useless and get no results. They're just an online brochure.

      Once they say they're interested in leads, show them how to do a funnel that gets new leads.

      We all went through the "everyone needs a website" phase. Now we're into the "websites don't work unless you use this trick" method.

      Business owners are begging for customers. If you're good at generating leads, they'll love you and you'll generate good income for yourself.
      This is why I don't sell websites, SEO, or SEM anymore.. I sell leads, and more specifically highly qualified opportunities for companies to sell a product or service. I use these business registers to generate qualified leads for other companies to sell their services to.

      And thinking outside the box even further... they don't even want the thing that generates the result, they just want.. the result
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      • Profile picture of the author savidge4
        Originally Posted by Matthew North View Post

        And thinking outside the box even further... they don't even want the thing that generates the result, they just want.. the result
        As true as this statement is, is troubling. I take a kinda 3rd approach in all of this. I do build websites for clients. I do produce results for clients. But most importantly, without me in the middle of all of it, I provide a Business asset... The machine that produces the results.

        Getting the client into the mindset of "Asset" opens up the sales option on our end ( service providers ).

        The thing WE need to be looking at is "Life of customer". I kinda like 3 and 5 year customers... I have many that have been longer, as in 20 years... I kinda like steady income LOL

        Results is the path of least resistance.. its what business owners want to hear. Maybe not as high on the list, but "Asset" is another thing they want to hear.
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        • Profile picture of the author Matthew North
          Originally Posted by savidge4 View Post

          As true as this statement is, is troubling. I take a kinda 3rd approach in all of this. I do build websites for clients. I do produce results for clients. But most importantly, without me in the middle of all of it, I provide a Business asset... The machine that produces the results.

          Getting the client into the mindset of "Asset" opens up the sales option on our end ( service providers ).

          The thing WE need to be looking at is "Life of customer". I kinda like 3 and 5 year customers... I have many that have been longer, as in 20 years... I kinda like steady income LOL

          Results is the path of least resistance.. its what business owners want to hear. Maybe not as high on the list, but "Asset" is another thing they want to hear.
          Framing these services as an asset is a smart idea, and it's true. It takes real skill to differentiate your products that way, so good on you. I focus on dollar for dollar value, CLTV and more metrics because it's just how I think and tend to attract clients who have the same mindset.

          Selling opportunities though has its own challenges.
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          you cant hold no groove if you ain't got no pocket.

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  • Profile picture of the author Mary Annabelle
    With time, they'll be the one contacting you if you are good at what you do. Do not stop doing what you do or feel discouraged. Yes, it's tough at first but in time you'll smile
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