The Dropping In Strategy

Old school. Good for you.

Of all the things you could do this is probably the fastest way to get paying clients if you do a lot of it.

It does help if you experiment with your approach.

Some people let the staff come to them and then just start asking questions and treat the staff as if they were the owner.

Eventually when you start asking more and more questions about the business it will be obvious to them you should speak to the owner.

And if you've been friendly and polite they'll probably be more than happy to introduce you.

Different kinds of businesses suit different styles.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

I'm surprised that works for you. We get drop ins and I hate them.

This could be a USA thing though. Or just me.

I used to have a service business (in a strip mall) in the 90s and I hated "drop ins" too. They always came at the worst time, and I was always fairly polite but no matter what they were selling I always said no, I just didn't have the time to deal with them at the moment ever.

I would have much rather responded to a well written direct response letter that was personalized, and had good solid information in it. But that's just me I guess. I guess it depends on the business, but I doubt many business owners are sitting around waiting for someone to drop in and talk with them about SEO, or whatever.

Guys. Hit the streets! Hands down, this is THE best approach if you aren't too aggressive and have the right approach.

Example: I visited 18 businesses yesterday. The business owner was available to speak with me for a couple of minutes in 12 of them. I picked up 16 business cards with the owners name, email and phone number. Three of them were very interested in what I had to say.

I have one scheduled appointment next week that will probably generate a minimum $495 and up to a $997 per month income. (Golf Retail).

In every case, my message was simple. "We help local business owners to implement an effective online marketing strategy. We have monthly plans as low as $29.95 per month. How's your online marketing strategy going currently?"

LET THEM TALK!

They may share with you for 30 seconds, they may talk for 10 minutes. Either way, if you'll LISTEN, you'll pick up on what their needs are ACCORDING TO THEM, not according to you.

I leave them a postcard (gives much more detail than a business card and directs them to my team's site) and leave without trying to make any sale whatsoever. The next day, I drop a personal letter in the mail to that contact and thank them for their time.

In the letter, I DO NOT TRY TO SELL THEM ANYTHING. They already have my postcard and the link to my site.

Two weeks later, if I don't hear from them, THEN and only then do I send out a "Sales Pitch" letter as a follow up.

So what's my point? You can sit behind a laptop and try all of these newfangled approaches that keep you hidden from public view, or you can come to terms with the fact that business owners in general are only going to work with people they meet, like and could see themselves working with. Get out there and meet people. If you are scared Sh*@less, don't worry; we all are at first, even seasoned marketers.

Don't go with the attitude that I've got to get an account. Go out for one week with one hundred hard copy marketing pieces, i.e. Postcard, Business Card, 8 1/2 X 11 handout, etc. that you can leave with them, but go out there with the attitude that "I'm going to go and meet business owners and introduce myself and give them a one sentence introduction of what I do, ask them a pointed question and see where it leads. Let it come to you. Don't force it.

If you end the week and you've dropped in on 100 business owners and you don't have any accounts, some would argue that you've gained nothing. I would beg to differ.

I would suggest that your confidence level will soar and you will figure out what it is that makes the typical business owner tick and what it is they're looking for. Tailor your offers to their needs if the opportunity arises. If not, move on to the next one.

Don't EVER let yourself go even one week without hitting the streets, at least once per week. If you are locked in a room behind a computer screen, you are lying to yourself and not fully committed to the potential of a REAL Offline Business.

Yes this strategy definitely works if you present yourself accordingly.
Dress the part, talk the talk, have papers ready with brochures, business cards, and why your service or product is valuable to their business- and htere is no reason why you cant get the deal. Ive done this many times successfully.

OMG! Don't let others on this forum see that your having success with actually going into places of business without an appointment and actually having some SUCCESS!

You keep going and multiply your efforts instead of just adding to them, that's what face 2 face sales does.

Some folks just think of it from their perspective and it seems that if they wouldn't like being called on in their place of business without an appointment, that is how every business owner must feel. Rubbish! That is a preconceived notion based on narrow minded thinking.

The next preconceived notion will be that its not OK or possible to actually close the deal and ask for a check on the first visit.