How To Break Into Offline Consulting Without Cold Calling Or Any Face-To-Face Contact

Wow, that sounds like a salesletter or something!

If they're local small businesses, won't they want to meet in person? Or have you had success doing everything by phone & email?

Chris

Great tip! This actually does work. This can work even if you live in a small city like me. I did this a few times. I contacted about 75 small businesses via craigslist in a weeks time and got 3 clients. They wanted a website and a small social network presence. I outsourced the website and did the social network side myself. I ended up making a nice chunk that week!

why do businesses offline have to meet you face to face? Ar ethey immune to doing bizz through the Net or phone? Honest question. Why does it have to be local and face to face?

Hi Chris,

Thanks for your tips.

If your experience shows that these types of clients are often comfortable with just a phone call, that would really inspire me.

I'm looking for a way to split my time between two different cities. They're in the same time zone but an uncomfortably long day's journey apart. I've been losing sleep over the question of how to be a consultant in both towns at once.

With consultations by phone, I could be either place and keep the clients happy. (I think I can get an assistant in each town to handle routine, low-level inquiries while I'm traveling.)

How many clients have you signed up this way? I think its good theory, but not in practise.

I have found that people / company advertising on CL are desperate for work, its the last chance saloon for business.

They don't react well to being pitched too, in fact most got no money! Thats why they are advertising on there in the first place.

Of course your MMV , thats my experiance anyways.

I've done what Chris suggested as well as Tim Castleman and have landed clients 1 hour away and others up to 13 hours away. And I have never met them face to face. So it does work.

You have given me something to think about, thank you. I have always avoided the offline systems because I live in a rural area - and the major industries within 50 kms of me would be forestry and dairy farming. But the idea of using Craigslist and other similar advertising venues, to target companies that don't appear to have a website is a really good idea - even using the phone and snail mail I would not be limited to my geographical area

Thank you so much for this little gem
Lisa

Guys, let me tell you how easy this is...

This thread was a reminder for me. Currently, I'm structuring deals in the $10k up-front and $2k monthly arena for online/offline marketing, but I'm an "action taker" type of guy and just thought I'd run by Craigslist to see.

Second listing for today was someone looking for a web design. I picked up the phone and called him. He said he had $500 for the project. I already have a designer on staff so no biggie and the content I can get for $25 for all of it. Conversation literally took 10 minutes. He's calling me back with domain name and 50% of the money for me to get started.

It's that simple.

MONEY favors the action-takers

Why not just call them in the first place if you have to call anyway, close them on the phone, and get 10 times the volume of sales?

I know sales letters sell here and there, even a blind squirrel gets a nut ONCE in awhile, no doubt, but you cant build a predictable system with them from my experience.

Legit question here, Im seriosuly interested this is not condescending sarcasm. Is there a way to do this so that its not just a hit and miss thing, getting a sale every once in awhile?

Could you make projections off of this and control the numbers?

Thanks.

Chris,

I am wondering how many responses you got in the first week with this method. I am curious as how many you closed out of all of your leads. Thanks

Rick

John, as a fellow copywriter (like Chris) let me assure you that sales letters are not hit or miss. They are incredibly predictable with proper testing and will produce a response rate that rivals anything else.

The key to making this predictable is automation. A simple program that can find specific posts based on keyphrases and then email those ads would be perfect.

Once you have a list of people to contact a well copywritten email can produce very reliable results... not to mention it wouldn't require the time of making all the phone calls.

So I guess its just determining what numbers you need and consistently putting that out...once you determine the predictable response rate then.

Thanks James. You have solid advice, so I will take your word. I may try some of this later.

Great thread.

Seems to me if poster is looking for web design (which he could easily find on the net-about a million of them) you should be able to respond to them. I think the spam act is about e-mailing unsolicited info, hence the opt-in and double opt-in method used to build ones list.

************************************************** *************
This advice is a violation of Craigslist's TOS. Almost every single CL ad, whether it's a service or a for sale ad, says this at the bottom:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Craigslist
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests.

I don't understand why people are scared of talking to people there just human beings not some kind of super breed that you should fear. You're doing them a favor if they don't want it sod them and focus on trying to help someone else.

I'm your typical newbie:
* purchased several offline consulting WSOs
* I've been procrastinating for months about getting into online consulting,
* no experience in selling,
* no previous clients = no track record,
* who would want to hire me???

Then the "Rubber hit the Road!"

At a visit to my optometrist (last week) when asked what I was doing, I replied, "I help small businesses to get new clients and grow their bottom line using the internet." (sic)
She asked how much I charged, I spluttered "$250 a month..."
The optometrist immediately asked if I could come in the next day to talk to her staff about helping them....!! (Yikes, gulp!)

Stunned, I bought time, by booking a "free consultation" for next Thursday.

My question now, is what do I offer to do..????

They have a very clean, informative website, is registered on 411.ca
But, no local listing, no call to action, no email capture, no seo, etc.

I have much theory (WSOs) but no practical experience...
Help!
Please share any suggestions on how to "confirm" this first client.

Much appreciated.
Donna

First - Congratulations Donna - You are now a marketing consultant

Second - take a deep breath and remember that, like your optometrist, you can not possibly recommend what they need without diagnosing their situation by getting to know them, their business, style interests and a whole lot more about what it was they wanted. And that's why you are doing a free consultation: to understand their individual situation and what they want before you make any recommendations.

Just about all you should do during this consultation is ask questions and listen to what they say.

Typically everything they want will be worth way more than you could deliver for $250/month, so you have to be willing to say "I can certainly do all that, but it would be worth more than the basic fee I mentioned earlier. Would that be a problem or would you rather we work out a package that suits you and costs less?" You might need to practise saying this before the meeting.

(You will be surprised at how many will say "Oh I was expecting it would cost more than that...)

Then stop talking and listen to what they say. Most consultants fail because they are so busy talking (about themselves and what they could do) they don't hear the real outcome their prospective client wants to achieve.

Try to avoid getting into any discussions about exactly how you will deliver the outcomes. (You don't ask your optometrist which specific tools or tests they are going to use when they check your eyesight do you?)

Once you have clarified exactly what outcome they want to achieve - and you either know how to do it or how to get it done by someone else - and you have a general feel for their budget, remember it is quite all right to say something like:

"I just need to clarify the cost of a couple of tools or licences or resources I will need to be able to do that properly for you before I can give you a final figure. How soon did you want to start on this project? When would you want me to get back to you with the details?"

Then go straight home and work out all the detailed costings so you can get back to them with a firm quote as soon as possible (24 hours). (Or even better give them a choice of three different options at different price points.)

This not only delivers their desired outcomes at a fee you can be confident was well thought out and fair to both you and them, but reassures them you are customising what you offer specially for them, not selling them a one size fits all package whether that's what they need or not.

Good luck and I hope that helps.

Great idea. I have used Craig's list to make money, but this seems like a really good idea.

Yup, craigslist works.... I added a twist....I contact web site designers and ask if they need help with SEO. (Web designers HATE doing SEO -- most don't do it at all!)

They're glad to hand it to someone.

Try this: Go to CL and search for a local web designer and LOOk at their wesite portfolio. I betcha they got next to zero SEO, title tags, ect.

Most of the websites I've seen place the title tag as "HOME" on the main page.

Unreal.

Great thread... many good ideas...

Another way to locate businesses without a website is to purchase a commercial call list that includes email addresses and targets only businesses with no website. This way you can access a couple thousand businesses without websites all from the same concentrated list.

A huge thank you to Kerrie for her encouraging words and for so graciously sharing her expertise.

Kerrie's explicit words of direction have helped frame the direction of my upcoming consultation, and now, I no longer have as many butterlies in my stomach!

I'll report back on the outcome...

The WF members truly rock!
Cheers.
Donna

Cool thread thanks for sharing! I always love learning new ideas to get clients.