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Heh... here we go, this is stuff everyone already knows, but maybe it would be nice for some of you to hear.

Top 3 things you're doing that is not making you money or getting you clients

3. Waiting for customers to come to you.
Lets face it, you decide you want to do web design, seo, mobile marketing, or something else, if you're waiting for them to come to you, you're going to be waiting for a while. Nobody knows or even knows that they may need those services if you don't get on the ball and show them!

2. Procrastinating
So many of you are waiting to have enough money to maybe print up business cards... maybe you are waiting until you get a dedicated phone line for your venture, maybe you're waiting for this and that, and 2012 phenomenons. Why wait? It is better to execute now than it is to plan on executing without ever doing it! You want some clients? Get them now, don't wait until next week.

1. EXCUSES!
Stop making excuses. It doesn't matter if you don't have a website, it doesn't matter if you don't have sales experience. You don't need to have all your ducks in a row in order to put things into action. Some of you are thinking that you don't have enough sales experience. Some of you say cold calling doesn't work(because you don't really do it). Some of you have an old beat up vehicle and you think that is going to look bad in front of clients. Point is, you don't need to have everything perfect, you don't need to be the best in order get clients.

BONUS reason.
You're spending too much time trying to learn everything there is about everything. You just need to know enough to make you valuable in whatever service you provide. Sometimes you don't even need to know how to do things, you just need to know about it and you can make money and build up your client base!


Avoiding doing these things... I think 90% of you are failing or not having the results you want because you are doing these things too much.... making excuses, procrastinating..waiting for customers to come to you..trying to learn everything under the sun.

Spend some time calling, emailing, marketing, and just getting yourself out there. I assure you, doing that will give you more results than sitting around here, trolling post after post, and waiting for people to contact you. Get out there and do something!

Anyway, nothing new in this post... I just felt like some people need motivation and maybe will open their eyes instead of wondering why they aren't succeeding.
#top #ways
  • Profile picture of the author xlfutur1
    Amen. Getting out to show people what you know and can do is by far the best use of time, but probably the hardest activity for most people. Ultimately it comes down to solving a business owner's problems and adding value to what they are already doing. If you can save them money, time, or get them more customers, a good percentage will be more often than not at least hear what you've got to say. Referrals are still the best though.
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  • Profile picture of the author mrcouchpotato
    As usual, you're 100% right.

    Three weeks ago I didn't even know what SMS Marketing was. Today I put myself out there visiting local businesses selling the service like I'm some sort of expert. I don't have a website for it and I don't have business cards either. I do have some flyers and marketing materials that I created based on information I read here and statistics I've found on the internet.

    I started with cold calls and discovered that it wasn't for me. But instead of getting discouraged and giving up, I just found another way. I hit the pavement and visited the owners face to face.

    Now I'll admit that I haven't made a sale yet but it was just my first day. I did, however, get an education and I know I'll improve in time and my first sale is out there waiting for me to grab it.

    With our other business (wedding and event videography) dropping in sales because of the economy and the general public not purchasing videos like they used to, I had to do something.

    My wife and kids (along with the dream of owning a Ferrari) are definitely my motivators.

    So like IAmNameLess said, stop the excuses and get out there. And remember....your first million dollars is the most difficult. The millions after that are easy. Someday I'll let you know if that's true or not...lol.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bruce NewMedia
    Originally Posted by iAmNameLess View Post

    You're spending too much time trying to learn everything there is about everything. You just need to know enough to make you valuable in whatever service you provide. ....
    This is a big reason careers don't get launched in Offline, right there.

    So many think they need to know lots about everything, and be completely confident they can answer every possible prospect question. ...and if you do wait to be at that stage of readiness, you'll wait forever.

    I know a woman who's husband has been getting ready, to get going, in some type of Offline consulting business since.....2009, he is still preparing. Doesn't want to be caught off guard, or look foolish. Of course, he's just excuse-making now, but she says he's serious, just not ready yet.

    I predict by the time he's really ready, Offline will be so different, he will have to get ready all over again!
    _____
    Bruce
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    • Profile picture of the author EdmundDantes
      Originally Posted by brucerby View Post


      So many think they need to know lots about everything, and be completely confident they can answer every possible prospect question. ...and if you do wait to be at that stage of readiness, you'll wait forever.

      ...

      I predict by the time he's really ready, Offline will be so different, he will have to get ready all over again!
      This is so True! The key is to stay proactive. No problems with learning along the way. No Small Business knows everything there is to know their first time out of the gate. It's the ability to adapt and adjust to the different variables of adversity that make a business owner strive. That is experience. Gaining lots of that is priceless!!!

      Imagine how many times that you have made a mistake and told yourself, I am not going to make that one again. How valuable was that?

      Experience = Learning from your mistakes

      I read an article once that said, if you are too afraid to fail than you will never succeed. Or as the Great One Wayne Gretzky once said.

      "You will miss 100% of the shots that you don't take"

      Words to live by
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  • Profile picture of the author Adrian John
    You are 100% right about these things, we all do them at a certain time.I've done that too many times, they i had to take action, then again on the excuses, then back to take action .Now i'm full speed on taking action but not being locally it's very hard to get some clients.Cold calling may work but only for setting appointments.I wish i knew a way to close over the phone I would be all over it.
    Taking action and stick with one method will get sales eventually, i'm 100% sure
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    • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
      Originally Posted by brucerby View Post

      This is a big reason careers don't get launched in Offline, right there.

      So many think they need to know lots about everything, and be completely confident they can answer every possible prospect question. ...and if you do wait to be at that stage of readiness, you'll wait forever.

      I know a woman who's husband has been getting ready, to get going, in some type of Offline consulting business since.....2009, he is still preparing. Doesn't want to be caught off guard, or look foolish. Of course, he's just excuse-making now, but she says he's serious, just not ready yet.

      I predict by the time he's really ready, Offline will be so different, he will have to get ready all over again!
      _____
      Bruce
      Great post... thats horrible and it makes me mad, lol. I'm all for being well prepared, really I am.. I'm thankful that now, I know how to control the conversation, and get them to ask only the questions I want them to ask. Forget about knowing every possible answer, if you can think on your feet, and you can learn to control conversation, you don't need to get everything ready and perfect!

      Originally Posted by banditu View Post

      You are 100% right about these things, we all do them at a certain time.I've done that too many times, they i had to take action, then again on the excuses, then back to take action .Now i'm full speed on taking action but not being locally it's very hard to get some clients.Cold calling may work but only for setting appointments.I wish i knew a way to close over the phone I would be all over it.
      Taking action and stick with one method will get sales eventually, i'm 100% sure
      I don't think you're full speed on action with a major excuse right there! Cold calling DOES work... it only works for setting appointments, if that is all you're using it for. I don't want to disrespect anyone here that does that, but there is no way I'm going to spend much time on the phone just for an appointment. I close most clients over the phone. I did a LOT of cold calling in March, enough to stay busy for a while and be swamped. I STILL am receiving calls from people I had conversations with, starting to ask more questions, and deciding they want to go through with it. If I make 1,000 calls in a week, that is at least 10 sales... and at least 5 more in the next couple months from flip floppers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Moneyerr
    As a famous saying "Procrastination is the thief of time". I read this sentence in a typing tutor which i used to practice during my studies. It is absolutely true. We should not waste our time in finding excuses to satisfy ourselves for our failure. We should always think about the plans and solutions to make things better. Winners have always plans and looser have always excuses. These are really very good tips. Thanks for the post.
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  • Profile picture of the author jsherloc
    Really good stuff iamNameLess! I completely agree that "over-preparation"/procrastination is the downfall of many in this line of work.

    Saying that though, my advice to people getting started in offline consulting/local seo/etc is to truly figure out exactly HOW you want your business to operate ahead of time. When figuring this out, I feel that you really need to cater to your own strengths and then leverage others' strengths when necessary.

    When I started out I was running around town meeting with people showing them EVERYTHING about what we do, in an attempt to "educate". Months and many meetings later, burned out, and with only one client for a small residual sum....I knew I needed help. Many of my prospects were simply taking my proposals and trying to do the work themselves, price shopping around town, expecting a lot of work BEFORE any payments, etc.

    So, you shouldn't procrastinate, but you should know what you are personally comfortable with and capable of doing...and fill in the "weak spots" with others strengths and try to leverage promotional materials if at all possible. Figure out ways to get your message out there ie (you need to work with us because you don't exist on the internet), that require the least amount of effort on your behalf.

    It is tough to try and get into this field, get your business stuff in order, go out every day and try and get clients,then when you get clients, you need to be touching bases with them regularly answering their questions, then you need to make sure you are actually getting the work you promised done (yourself or outsourcing), etc.

    If you are a one man show starting out, it is going to be a difficult first few months, but the payoff is worth it. But yeah, in my opinion the key here "leverage". We aren't all great salesmen, offline business networkers, secretaries, data entry experts, web designers, social media experts, app coders, mobile sms experts, php coders, etc.

    Personally, I feel like I am a pretty good networker, but I USUALLY HATE IT. I just do, and some people genuinely enjoy it. So i found someone that enjoys it and I pay them whenever they bring me work.

    My motto I thought of the other day is: "Networking Is Cool, But Working On The Net Is Cooler."

    I'd encourage others to "just do it", but also be thinking about exactly what type of business or job they are creating for themselves. You can quickly find that you'd be financially, emotionally, and mentally better off stocking shelves down the street fulltime, rather than convincing businesses to use your services and pay you appropriately. Not saying this to discourage people, but we all know here that it is not as easy as the "Offline Marketing Billionaire Riches" WSOs would lead you to believe.

    - Jim
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  • Profile picture of the author danielkanuck
    Reason number 4: Giving up after your first initial attempts.

    I've failed so many time with this internet marketing stuff that i've just gave up and said that i'd rather work as an IT Technician for the rest of my life. But working for someone isn't something that captures my heart.

    Because i've failed so many times, on my subsequent attempt... i knew where to go, what websites to visit, and how to get prospects to respond to me. This would have never happened if i gave up for good.

    Now my goal is to retire young and sit on my butt all day.
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