NEWBY FRIENDS!!- READ THIS!! - VolumeII - Make $50,000 from ZERO. No HTML Knowledge!

Well the thing is you have to have a list thats compatible with dialers... lemme know what you need. Im here.

Yeah I understand why they have the 50 post max rule for OP's... self promotion, constant self administered bumping... still it sucks cuz I could have talked on that last thread for 10 years, and made a thousand more informative posts on it that were full of content!

We have still only touched the tip of the iceberg on this subject, as you well know being more advanced. But there is enough here for a newby to get started making money, and thus being able to finance their own growth and development process.

Anyway,

I have had 2 great threads sink like the titanic at about 5,000 views, because I get to teaching and forget that darn rule! They are really valuable threads too. Tryin to learn my lesson.

YUP! I sure do. Its nothing like hearing others success storeis then having one of your own. It makes it all so real. I love it

I must say John.... I'm quite honored that you participated in one my threads...
Am quite impressed that you have that personal touch....

And YES I love Og Mandino books.. "The greatest salesman in the world" and the "Rag Picker"....

Had a deep impact in my direct selling years....

Good thing you reminded me... gotto dust off those 10 SCROLLS....

"My dreams are worthless, my plans are dust, my goals are impossible. All are of no value unless they are followed by action. I will act now!!"
- Og Mandino

Hi John,

I, too, subscribed to offlineoncrack.com and could not get to the download. It returns a message: "You do not have permission to download"

Please advise.

Thanks.

John, this information you have given is great! Thank you so much not just for giving us this idea, but for also answering all of our questions and clarifying the things we don't understand! Not only that, but you've created THIS THREAD just so that you can keep answering our questions and inspiring us, big thanks for that as well!

No prob, its what I do!

I was going to ask you this in a PM, since it probably doesn't make much (if any) business sense to give away your ideas....but that is exactly what you have done here, so in step with that, I'll ask my question here instead so that others may benefit.

No problem. I dont mind giving away free info, because 90% will get excited but still never motivated to do anything. So the people who benefit really deserve it, and honestly the world is big, it doesnt really create as much competition as you might think, even if you sold 10,000 websites, theres a chance in the offline world that we would never cross paths or markets.

The only competition are the people who take stuff like this and crud up the WSO section with rehash, thats the only drawback to this kind of sharing. They take this kind of info, extrapolate it and turn out crummy wso's that arent based on experience.

However... doesnt bother me enough to want to stop sharing...

What I thought I would do is call service businesses and offer them a free 4 page website, hosted and maintained for $50 a month. I'm leaning this way because I think that it would be easier to sell the higher priced hosting with a free website (at least, at first).


It's the hosting income of this business model that really appeals to me, anyway. Please don't take this as sounding lazy, but the idea of a passive income is great. Perhaps residual, or recurring, income is a better term since I know that it still takes work, maintenance, etc, to keep it going.

Honestly what I have experienced since putting out the BOWER model is that most people dont know how to offer something for free without coming across as "shady", it takes practice.

Its different when they are sitting in a desk for 8 hours per day hammering hard... but most work from home people dont do that.

Some do, like Deidra Renae here, who makes a sale every single day like eating breakfast. She applies the disciplin.

I think offering it for free up front in your pitch... may require more direct training from what I have seen at WF, selling is easier for most people, although when it "clicks" how to give something away, it works like a charm.

What my readers have experienced is that it may actually be easier to charge something up front because they have trouble getting through the close and justifying why they need a credit card at the end if its free.

It has alot to do with "tone". Both the tone you set in the sales pitch and the tone you ask for the credit card with. "Conditioning".

So What I would do in your case is say that "For a limited time, we are waiving the design fees, usually $______ and offering to get you started for only %50 per month , all you have to pay is the first months hosting and you get the professional design for free....".

Unless you are really practiced at closing a free site. This would seem to work better for most people, and its easier for the customer to assimilate. I believe in residual income, in fact Im working on my own right now!

Its the only income that makes sense in the long term. We have to set up our own retirements as entreprenuers.

Customer service and maintenance on this wont be as overwhelming as you think. Even if you have a hundred customers, all pistons dont fire at once. On a daily basis it isnt much CS.

As far as Volume, if you could land a couple of customers per day, then in 30 days you would have a hundred customers, so thats worthwhile for sure. Even at a rate of one per day, which seems doable at $50.00 down and waiving the design fee.

Remember in your Offline audio series, you talked about how many entrepreneurs are "idealistic" and have ideas of lifestyles they would like to live. You also mentioned a friend of yours who ended his job as a retail vice president in order to do website design for the free time and low stress it afforded him. Well, to me it seems like the recurring hosting fees are what would make the difference between having your income support your lifestyle instead of having your lifestyle support your income.

Indeed. I have a few grand that comes in every month regardless of what I do currently, so I can attest. Also, its growing so Im with you. We are on the same page. Don is still doing web design by the way and has built up quite a lifestyle from it. Still as casual as ever. He's into video now actually.

I'm not sure how I would get the leads to call. Probably start out with the yellow pages and then use some type of "scraper" or buy a list once I made some money to be more efficient.

I know that the pitch is something that has to be worked on over a period of time and "tweaked," but here is the one I'm thinking on so far: "Hi, do you have a website I can go on? No. "Well, I'm calling from XYZ, we're a website design and hosting company and we are giving away a free 4 page website to a (plumber, electrician, etc.) in your area. We host and fully maintain it for only 50 dollars a month. The reason we are doing this is we're new to your area and want to build up a portfolio we can show to clients before we start charging full price, the site we're giving you normally sells for $399, so this is a great offer. Your hosting and maintenance fee doesn't begin until next month, so there's no money today....would you like to have this website?


When they say yes, I'll gather info like business name, phone, email, address (if applicable), etc, and tell them that I will register a domain name for their business and that I will email them the link to the completed site along with their hosting invoice in a few days. I plan on using a software like this: Electronic Billing, Online Time Based & Automated Recurring Billing Software. Automated Credit Card, ACH and Paypal Payments. - BillingOrchard to send them the invoice. This way, they just enter their CC or Check info and the billing will be taken care of.

A: I would go with the basic Offline on Crack Pitch which you can find here for free on the WF under "The Great Telemarketing Report" somewhere.

B: After you tell them how great your websites are then tell them its only $50 to start and that for a limited time you are waiving the usual design fees. This way you can create urgency if they are sheepish and say "Well sure I could call you back but by then we will be back to charging for the design. I'd love to get you in this week while we are running this special offer".

C: I would collect their billing for this on the phone, because you lose over 50% if you delay billing them. Strike while the iron is hot. Unless you can get their cc info right there and just post date billing, but you want to get cc info while you have them on the phone and not put that off till the iron has cooled down.

Even with the Bower Model. This is the same, only you are collecting the first months payment on the spot. You may also give a price comparison that some sites charge hundreds in design fees and also hundreds per month for the same service.

D: We have a great lead list creation software at TMF, but on the other hand, the phone book works too. For maximum efficiency dont wear yourself out creating a list. Get a decent one going and give your energy to the actual "calling" at first. You will get further. It has to do with momentum. Sure there are other principles involved theoretically, but thats the big one.

Build value, then the fifty bucks seems like a no brainer.

Do you think this script is adequate for closing over the phone? I'd like to be able to do it all over the phone, since eventually I will be contacting places too far to be able to meet in person.

I think you should use a standard "Do you folks have a website, or are you thinking about one" greeting to qualify and find interest or "not". Make the prospecting part easy.

Then if there is interest, proceed to "selling" via "questionnaire" ie; "selling with questions..." like the bower method describes.

Then at the close, go into. "Okay great now as far as billing..." and hit them with the benefit. All this time they thought this was going to cost, and went along with you anyway...but now they see that the design fees are being waived and the close packs twice the punch".

I'm thinking the site will have a home page, contact page, and two articles pertaining to the industry (to make the client look informed and knowledgeable). Like for plumbers, there could be a general article about the plumbing system in a home and one on why you should go through a professional for repairs. Something along those lines.

I plan on using Wordpress themes since I'm not that experienced in site design yet and they seem like a fast, efficient way to go.

OK, so.....what do you think of all this? Am I on the right track?

This part sounds great.

My goal is to make 1 or 2 sales a day on average (2 or 3 would be great, but I want to stay realistic), with an eventual total client-list of 100. How possible does this sound with my pricing/approach?

VERY POSSIBLE! In fact you could even take a "crude" approach and accomplish this with enough work. However with the advice given here it should smooth the process out some.

Also, with the recurring hosting billing, do you email them an invoice each month telling them you charged their CC or bank acct., or can you tell them initially that it will be a monthly debit and leave it at that. It seems like if you email them "reminders" each month that you're charging them, it will give them more reason to consider shopping around for a better deal. It might be legally required though, so I don't know.

They will get a receipt from their credit card company each month, thats enough reminders. $49.99 is better for them to see on it than $50.00 BTW, sets off less alarms.

Let sleeping dogs lay as much as possible. Dont wake up the Giants when you can avoid it.

What's the average "loss rate" or "drop-off rate" for clients? That is, how frequently do they end the hosting agreement or even get rid of the website all together?

I'd say 20% per year is about average or less if you are really being highly responsive and working them.

Also, you said that you only do a "couple" of updates a day with even 50 clients. How long does each update take on avg.? With 50-100 clients, how much time per day do you estimate is spent on average doing updates?

Not much. Even a couple of updates per day is high balling. Maintenance should t take an hour a day on most days, after the initial design is up.

Do you try to change the theme, content for each site, or can you use the same them/articles for each one? I'd be worried about one electrician suing another for "stealing his site" if he saw that the other electrician had the same site...then both getting mad at me. Maybe have several "electrician" sites for one city, then use them again, only in another town where there is no competition from the first town. The reason I ask is it seems like there are only so many ways you can write a plumbing, electrical, etc. article before quality starts to suffer. This way, everyone would get as good a website as another. Any thoughts on this?

Yes. If a client has a problem with their content, tell them to send you some unique content. If they have a USP use it. You may want to take , not a ton of time, but spend "some" quality time on customizing their content as much as possble even though you have a basic outline. If they dont like it, it falls on them for not giving you more unique stuff to work with. If they say "Well I do more than just...." then say okay, please describe those services and I will add them.

Some exceptions will compain about templates, but they are rare exceptions. We succeed on rules, not exceptions, so fix them, drop them or dont worry about them. Keep moving forward.

This wont be a huge prob at all, only "theoretically".... Just be clear in asking for their usp, give them the company colors they want, and tell them that if they want any changes please let you know. Stick the ball in their court. Still try to be unique as much as possible. Doesnt take much time, especially if you are using temples, just customize the content a little. If their company has no unique qualities to advertise then thats on them to tell you whats unique.

Also, where can you find the laws on how your pitch has to be worded? Can I say "I'm giving away a site to a plumber in you area." and then call the next guy down the road and say the same thing? Do I have to disclose the hosting fee before I ask if they want the site, or can I do it after they say "yes"? These types of technical things.

You are fine. As long as you cover all fees in your ptich. There is no law against saying design is free if it IS, and then charging for hosting at the end and stating that you are doing it. You are fine. Just write the pitch and hit everyone with the exact same script. Dial a hundred numbers per day and you should be good.

Well, I think that's it! John, I hope this long post didn't make you regret starting this Q&A thread. Thanks so much for answering all of my questions and the inspiration you give everyone here!

No regrets at all.

I think your plan is fine with some tweaking.

A: Go with the softsell prospecting approach. Let go of anyone who offers resistance and move on.

B: Find a person who is interested even though they think there is going to be a cost.

C: Then tell them the design is free (WOW).

D: Close them on the first months hosting fees.

You got it.

The truth is that with the deal you are offering, almost any pitch could work for you, but judging from the Bower method results at WF (which are mostly due to people giving up before they are well practiced) I would tweak it just a bit, and sell value THEN surprise them with the free part once you have an interested prospect, to put them over the edge.

I think a couple sales per day is very doable. I would expect 1 sale per 100 dials personally. Thats how call center workers get 5 sales per day, by running through 5-600 numbers. Also "momentum" has alot to do with it, so keep it flowing in your call sessions.

Hope this helps.

Ps. If this seems to contradict anything I have said in the past its because I tend to answer based on the vibes I get from the question. All things are relative. Also because I grow as a teacher the more I understand the mindset of the people here which is a constant growth thing.

Some truths are true for one group, based on their set of variables, experiences... and not true for another based on the same.

For instance, a home worker has a different set of variables than someone under constant supervision in an office. That is a disadvantage in some ways that they must overcome.

After having managed both virtual call centers and physical ones... Im understanding that you teach home workers differently, because they have elements involved, such as a non controlled environment, to deal with, also their own personal will is more of an issue than it is with an office employee.

Also they dont have peers to listen to all day. ie; I can tell you something is possible in a call center, even though it seems impossible, and you have to believe me because you see others doing it.

I could tell you to keep going and it will "click" and you will believe me... But thats not the case with a homeworker, they have to see fast results or doubts set in and they change paths.

Yes, you can give websites away for free, but I cant begin tell you the opportunity for doubt that you will have along the way to getting there. Even though thousands of people do it, its much harder to "get" certain things working alone.

The easier route here might be to just "sell" and take a route that seems more logical to the mind, even more: offer a killer deal.

The bower formula works, but not many homeworkers will ever come even CLOSE to working it as hard as a telemarketer, even though I tried to relay the importance of the work ethic involved.... The opportunity is there, no doubt.

Thats not to look down upon those who have never experienced an 8 hour day of just SLAMMING it...., its just a fact of nature.

So, we grow in our teaching... and miles to go before they sleep.

hey John

thanks for the reply i want to ask you another question
in the first thread it was mentioned the idea that you give a free web page and charge some $ every month for maintenance, can you share some thoughts on this ? how much to charge? should you securte them for 6 months? 1 year? I am thinking about offering this method by making advertisments and stick them around the city wheres a lot of traffic and if someone calls to tell them you know what i also offer 3 page website for 150 or just give them the free page, still thinkig so what do you think about my questins

thanks

This is a great system. I started last month and got 1 client. My sales are low because of the lack of time dedicated to calling. I work 50 to 70 hours a week. So I usually get in 4 to 5 cold calls during my lunch break.

I know people are calling up to 200 businesses a day. But with my measly 5 calls a day, at this rate, I fear I will not get more than 1 to 2 clients a month. I'm at a lost of how to do better.

I tried calling businesses in the evening once I was off work. But the businesses that are open in the evening are open for a reason, they are BUSY. So I stopped trying the evening hours. I could never get past the gatekeeper.

What can I do to improve my business. Any specific niches that sell well at certain times of day? Right now, all I can do is to keep trying.

Thanks.

That still doesn't provide the authenticity I want. When a potential client asks where the survey figures came from, I don't want to say, "oh from the folks in the parking lot at the Valero down the street."


Plus, I have to believe there is an equally effective method that doesn't involve me standing in front of a gas station for days.

Hello John, thanks for this brilliant idee. I've been working on my own site where I can offer those sites. I only have a few struggles/questions.

I live in the Netherlands, so a business wants a .NL domain. The thing is, Homestead.com doesn't offer .NL domain names. How can I fix this?

A question that was asked already:
Secondly, how do you tell (show) the client all of the templates they can choose from? Do you have them setup on your web site?

You charge 200$ and a monthly fee right? In the Netherlands some webdesign business are charging 25 euro's a month without starting costs. What can I do about that? I think I will charge 30 euro's a month without starting costs.

Another question. Do you create the text for the website yourself or do you let the business owner come up with that?

Thanks.

Usually when you buy a domain or hosting there are options available that offer you a chance to also purchase email addresses with them. Particularly with Homestead I think you can add an extra email address or 5 for like a $2.00 One time fee per address, when you build a new site.

Wow. Thats EXACTLY the line we used! Exactly "Hey You like steaks right..."?

Lol. Amazing.

I have a special memory because I had been struggling that year... Gotta share it now. It was the day before Halloween, I forget what year it was maybe 97 or 98... well lets see, my daughter is 22 and she was about 7 so, yeah thats about right.

Anyway, I will never forget the first day I sold my truck completely out... my last sale I was leaned up against the side of my truck and my daughter was sitting on the edge of truck bed... and I talked till I was blue in the face, I had 2 boxes left and I sold them to this ole man in his driveway at a volume discount. I told him that I got a special bonus if I sold out my truck and I only had two boxes left , so he was lucky to get a special deal.

So We get back in the truck and drive down the road ( We were working FAAAR out of town that day in kentucky, and we lived in Nashville TN...) and I stopped down the road and had my daughter get out...she said "what are we doing"? I said "We have to jump up and down and celebrate! You know what we just did? We sold Daddy's truck out! And she said "We did"? YEAH!! And we jumped up and down and yelled YAAA! We sold oour truck today YAAAY!!!".

Will never forget that. That day I had a pocket full of much needed "Cash" because thats what most pay, we stopped and had dinner on the way home and put quarters in vending machines buying all kinds of little things that you get in those plastic bubbles...necklaces...slime....all that cool stuff, and we just had a good ole time that day!

Thanks for the memory! Good to know someone else who had that experience.

Wow John, you got large Gonads.

I am trying to equate which is the most dreaded, hated sales job of all between telephone sales and door-to-door sales.

With so many staying away from this type of sales, it is wide open and you and others like you are diving head first, plunging in this type sales.

You are in telemarketing forums and have teaching materials in phone sales, claimed your stake in this , a most dreaded form of marketing for most, the most hostile marketing environment for most salesman.

Old School still works, if worked correctly, I suppose.


The 13th Warrior

I may get in there and look some more, but I think I have picked it clean Marvin! lol