First off, Congratulations Offliners!!!!

The folks at Dex are reacting to what we are doing. But, with that, they are starting to bring their 'A' game.

Last year the Dex folks rolled out a new performance based model here in Phoenix, which they call "Dex Guaranteed Actions". As of right now, I think they are also in Minneapolis, MN and Seattle, WA.

But watch out everyone else, as they prove this model they will eventually be rolling this out everywhere else.

This means that WE all need to start pushing real results and not just placement on Google and the other search engines.

We need to KILL the content, we need to NAIL the client experience and we need to OWN social media.

As this market evolves, we will need to also or go the way of the typewriter (as a useless side note, the last typewriter factory in the world shut down this year in India... RIP typewriter)

Also, get ready for Dex's new sales force. They are going to have a new training system for their people and also give them slick iPads to wow the clients.

I'm going to talk to a few of my MOST trusted clients and see if they wont contact me if the Dex folks ever want to make a sales call. I want to see if I can sit in as the IT guy for the company and get some inside info. (sneaky, sneaky)

The bottom line is Dex has been getting its @ss kicked by us offliners and they are looking to move the company into positive revenue growth by Q3 or Q4 of 2012.

I considered approaching Dex for a Joint-Venture partnership then realized that would probably just end up being confusing as F...lol

~Dexx

Oh clients...always wanting faster results.

I always tell my salesforce that they need to "manage expectations". That's the phrase. There are LOTS of ways to get calls going immediately, like PPC and media buying (target locally).

Mobile adwords might be good, but you didn't say what market he's in, so it's hard to say if that demographic that he services uses there telephone. If it's a plumber, more then likely. If it's a plumber in the middle of a town with 5,000 people... probably not.

Also, you could give ATT interactive a try (used to be Ingenio). I've used them with varying success for different clients.

Hi Adam, I sense that you really want to keep this client, and who wouldn't?

But, I think it's a great time to evaluate what you give this client that Dex cannot. Can you go head to head with Dex on promising that number of calls? If so, go for it!

Is Dex charging the same amount for their campaign as you? I would be willing to bet that they are charging much more. It is a level of positioning for them. They have successfully positioned themselves as superior to you and your client is buying into it. He is buying into it because you are buying into it also!

This is gut check time. Time to outmaneuver this large company. You are working on his Google Places page...is that what they are going to be doing also? What are they offering?

Is there a fixed contract?

How can their service fit into the overall marketing strategy of the company?

Do they only offer a few services or can they help your client dominate the market like you can?

Are they gonna take him to the top with a concrete strategy to exceed his sales goals?

Are they gonna help him build a killer referral system that will multiply his earnings?

Will they unleash the power of social media so that his company gains a loyal following of happy fans who gladly tell their friends?

Will Dex help him develop and deploy a Direct Mail campaign?

Is Dex going to help him crush Craigslist and wring out customers for free?

Is Dex going to optimize his email marketing by developing offers and writing the next six months worth of messages to load into his autoresponder?

Will Dex run a PPC campaign that will cause him to need to buy a new building????

Can Dex help him build a killer sales funnel that will sweep new clients to him with their wallets out?

Is Dex going to help him test/track all his offers real time and then spread those through his marketing plan?

Is Dex going to produce videos for him that will make his competitors weep and wish they had never entered into the fight??

Is Dex going to write a monthly press release and get it circulated through the major media outlets and establish his business?

Can Dex roll out an AWESOME, INTEGRATED, CONSISTENT, sales & marketing plan that will make his business the one that OWNS YOUR CITY?!?!?!

Yes, you can do much more for this business than make his phone ring a few more times per month. That is easy. Heck, you are going to make his phone melt off the wall and kill his receptionist. So, if he want's to take the big risk and go with those "other guys" I guess it's his loss.

In the end you can't feel too attached to this customer. He will feel your NEED to have him as your client, and that will cause him to use Dex. Reposition yourself as having much, much more value to his business than Dex.

Get fired up brother, the one with the most passion wins!

That said, upsell him a bigger package and get him to spend that Dex money with you. Then you can market his company in several ways at once.

Hope that helps...go kick ass.

[DELETED]

This could be good news. More traffic and more phone calls are not a unique selling proposition and does not separate Dex from you or you from Dex.

We can offer much more than that, but we will have think laterally at other aspects or marketing.

Make it affordable and easy to buy services from you and doing that (offering different marketing services) actually means less competition, not more.

That will make an obvious separation between the Dex of the world and us. You probably have more to fear from Patch.com than you do from Dex. But even then, if you are a fixture in your town, it does not matter.

For instance, I would bet that one of the papers or trade mags in your town is dying to have good content for businesspeople to read on marketing. Why not be the one who supplies the content.

Also (and I am biased toward this point) start a Blog Talk Radio show and interview business owners in your city. If you play it right, that can make you a local celeb among people in the know.

So, in short, there is plenty that we can do in our cities, but we have to think outside of the box or even go as far as to make a new box. Dex and Patch employees are following a formula and will not do that. This is your advantage that we are guerrillas.

CT

Thank you for all the answers. I really appreciate it. I am only doing this guy's Google Places for $250/mo, but this is telling me 2 things -- he wants results NOW and he wants to spend MORE money.

A Las Vegas mechanic is probably the most competitive industry in this city next to casinos and strip clubs.

I think I am going to go for mobile AdWords and do lead generation for him for now.

Once again, thank you to all that have contributed, a lot of good information here.