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WOOT! Might Have Found My First Offline Client! Looking For Advice...

by DR's Fynest
25 replies
Hey there my fellow Warriors,

I am ecstatic.

I think I might have my first ever offline client - without even trying!

My girlfriend has a friend who owns a cozy little restaurant that he opened about 1.5 months ago. The business is gathering steam and it's becoming quite popular, with more and more people going to have lunch/dinner everyday.

I guess she happened to mention to him that I "do stuff on the internet." (lol)

He inquired about whether I knew how to build websites because he wants a website for the restaurant. When my girl told me this, my eyes literally lit up!

I know how to build websites with Wordpress. So I immediately started thinking about all the "rave" that is offline marketing and how profitable it is to build websites and offer further services to offline businesses.

What I need Help With:
1. How much should I charge for creating a website?
2. I was thinking of upselling him on creating a mobile version of the website as well for an extra fee. Or would it be better to do a "combo" deal of regular website AND mobile site for $xxx.xx
3. I was thinking of charging him a monthly fee for hosting. Something like $10-$25. What do you all think of this?
4. Would services such as getting him listed in Google Places be considered valuable upsells as well? How about creating a Facebook page?
5. I would like to offer him as many services as possible and see which ones he likes. What are some of the most sought after services that you successful offliners offer to your clients?

To tell you the truth, I am a bit nervous about taking such a responsibility. However, I figure this opportunity just happened to knock on my door and it would be incredibly stupid of me to let it go by due to first time jitters. Plus, I have the wonderful WF to help me through any obstacles I might encounter... Riiiiiight?

I figure if I get him happy enough, I could use this to catapult my offline marketing career. I could visit many other businesses with the confidence of having a happy customer (testimonial) AND would have a website under my "portfolio" that I could show to potential clients.

Am I on the right track with this type of thinking? Am I making this much more complicated than it has to be? (I do have a knack for overthinking things)

Any other advice and suggestions, even tools that I could use would be most welcome.

Oh yeah, what would be a fitting theme for a restaurant? I'm looking for something that looks clean and professional.
#advice #client #found #offline #woot
  • Profile picture of the author P1
    1. How much should I charge for creating a website?
    2. I was thinking of upselling him on creating a mobile version of the website as well for an extra fee. Or would it be better to do a "combo" deal of regular website AND mobile site for .xx
    3. I was thinking of charging him a monthly fee for hosting. Something like $10-$25. What do you all think of this?
    4. Would services such as getting him listed in Google Places be considered valuable upsells as well? How about creating a Facebook page?
    5. I would like to offer him as many services as possible and see which ones he likes. What are some of the most sought after services that you successful offliners offer to your clients?
    1. It depends on many many factors, is it fully custom? how many pages? is it optimized for SEO? are you going to create him a logo?

    2. I think the best is a combo deal since it's a restaurant there is always a good selling point with mobile sites: "People that are looking for your site with their mobile device can EASILY access your menu, directions, phone number etc".

    3. You should not go crazy with charging a lot on hosting IMO because they can get webhosting for 5 dollars on their own if anything make them sign up through affiliate link and get their hosting if you want to charge them a lot. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong on this)

    4. Facebook and Twitter are always good and have live interaction with the people that eat at his place or are interested in it, so yes social media is a big plus if you can sell him on it.

    5. SEO by far I believe because you can tell him "when someone types in Google: FOOD TYPE in AREA PLACE IS LOCATED" you want your site to come on first I'm sure they will love that idea.
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  • Profile picture of the author DR's Fynest
    Lots of good pointers there P1. Thanks.

    As for how many pages the site will be, I still haven't spoken to the owner. My girlfriend just told me about this about 2 hours ago. Once I speak with him I'll get a clear idea of what he's looking for and how big/small the site would need to be.

    The restaurant has its own logo so I would use that on the website.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mreese601@gmail.com
    For as building a website do a google search for building a webpage and see what others are charging to built one and then are you going to maintain the website for him? If so make sure you factor those pricing in. I would charge anywhere from 500- to 1500 depends on how many pages he wants and what all service that he want's.
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  • Profile picture of the author areevez
    GREAT JOB! MAKE SURE YOU UPSELL SMS MARKETING!!!!! THIS IS HUGE FOR RESTAURANTS AND HE WILL LOVE THE IDEA!!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author CaliChristian
    I would definitely sell him a social media package that would include Yelp! optimization, twitter and FB optimization.
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  • Profile picture of the author Julie McElroy
    Congrats!! I hope to learn from this as well. I am in the same boat as you as far as experience and questions with OFFline marketing. I mainly focus on writing content, but it seems since I know how to create WP sites AND I know SEO, why not? I think I will have the same jitters you do, so I am hoping people here will chime in. There are SO many WSO's on offline and I can't seem to find one that suite me. So, I come here for advice!
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  • Profile picture of the author DR's Fynest
    Wow, thanks for all the great advice Warriors!

    Areevez, I'm not even sure myself what SMS marketing is. All I've done in internet marketing is some affiliate marketing via Adsense and Amazon Affiliates.

    This whole offline marketing is 110% new to me. I just figured since the opportunity so willingly presented itself, I just couldn't let it pass.

    Julie, I know exactly what you mean about the countless offline WSOs.

    I don't really want to spend more than necessary, but if there is an offline WSO that is a must read, please feel free to share it.
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    • Profile picture of the author areevez
      Originally Posted by DR's Fynest View Post

      Wow, thanks for all the great advice Warriors!

      Areevez, I'm not even sure myself what SMS marketing is. All I've done in internet marketing is some affiliate marketing via Adsense and Amazon Affiliates.

      This whole offline marketing is 110% new to me. I just figured since the opportunity so willingly presented itself, I just couldn't let it pass.

      Julie, I know exactly what you mean about the countless offline WSOs.

      I don't really want to spend more than necessary, but if there is an offline WSO that is a must read, please feel free to share it.
      Text message marketing, google SMS marketing and you will see a bunch of platforms to use. Its pretty inexpensive and you can charge him 250+ per month for it. The restuaraunt will be able to send special deals to his vip text list of customers for quick spikes in sales.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bruce NewMedia
    At least to start with, I would arrange a meeting with the owner...perhaps you could use your GF to help set it up.

    At that meeting interview him about his new business, how it's going, what he has advertised in so far, what his goals are for the business, type of customer he values most, budget he may be working with? etc. Without all this info, and a chance to build rapport with him, you're really groping in the dark.

    Also do a little pre-meeting research and have printed out some searches you've done for likely kw phrases his business could potentially rank for.

    The biggest goal of a meeting is to nail down rapport and a beginning relationship with the business owner/manager. If out of that, he likes you and feels you're trustworthy then you can make recommendations, which he's much more likely to follow.
    It does sound like a promising lead, so I wish you luck!
    _____
    Bruce
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    • Profile picture of the author sjohn
      Congrats on your first potential client. Well Done.
      Hope it works out well.
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    • Profile picture of the author Joshua D Boxer
      First things first I would really take Bruce's advice for pre-meeting preparation, and building rapport with the Restaurant owner.

      Originally Posted by brucerby View Post

      At least to start with, I would arrange a meeting with the owner...perhaps you could use your GF to help set it up.

      At that meeting interview him about his new business, how it's going, what he has advertised in so far, what his goals are for the business, type of customer he values most, budget he may be working with? etc. Without all this info, and a chance to build rapport with him, you're really groping in the dark.

      Also do a little pre-meeting research and have printed out some searches you've done for likely kw phrases his business could potentially rank for.

      The biggest goal of a meeting is to nail down rapport and a beginning relationship with the business owner/manager. If out of that, he likes you and feels you're trustworthy then you can make recommendations, which he's much more likely to follow.
      It does sound like a promising lead, so I wish you luck!
      _____
      Bruce
      The one thing I would add to this is, as Bruce says ask for his budget, but I would not leave without one. If you leave without a budget you don't have a guide to work with. Don't waste your time pitching someone if they don't have a budget to work with. Trust me, you will waste a lot of time if you do. This guy is perusing you, so now its time to find out how serious he is. Then once you know how much he is willing to spend, you can go back and put together a proposal that will fit with what he is looking for.

      (by the way, if you like the restaurant a trade for free meals there whenever you want is as good as money. Especially since you could invite your future prospects there for meetings, and they would see that you are getting free meals. You just explain that you get it for free cause you do their marketing, and your prospect is sold)

      I usually will make three different plans, (silver, gold, and platinum for example) and have one below his budget, one at or around his budget, and the biggest one above his budget. I will also make the biggest one not that much more than the one at his budget, so it seems like its only a bit more for a lot more value. They seem to buy it more that way in my experience. You also make three packages for your monthly retainer too.

      Don't worry about what you don't know how to do yet. You can outsource most of the work on this very forum in the Warriors For Hire section. Which I do regularly, we might as well keep it in the family right

      Now for your secific questions:

      Originally Posted by DR's Fynest View Post


      What I need Help With:
      1. How much should I charge for creating a website?
      2. I was thinking of upselling him on creating a mobile version of the website as well for an extra fee. Or would it be better to do a "combo" deal of regular website AND mobile site for .xx
      3. I was thinking of charging him a monthly fee for hosting. Something like $10-$25. What do you all think of this?
      4. Would services such as getting him listed in Google Places be considered valuable upsells as well? How about creating a Facebook page?
      5. I would like to offer him as many services as possible and see which ones he likes. What are some of the most sought after services that you successful offliners offer to your clients?
      1. I have charged every where from $500 to $6000 for a website design and creation, and as P1 said, it will depend on many different factors. But I would guess with a restaurant you would want:
      - Home page (little bit about the restaurant, how long they have been in biz, hours of operation and stuff like that, and some pics)
      - Menu page (have pdf or pic of menu on this page)
      - Contact/Reservations page (contact info, maybe click to call button from Google voice for mobile, and of course Google maps for directions)
      - Maybe a special offers page (for daily, weekly, or monthly offers)

      So basically a 4 page site or so. You can get a warrior to make that for you or adapt an already existing theme in to that for about $100 (I would have this done on Wordpress for SEO reasons)

      So let's add to it to be conservative, and say it will cost you $200 to get made for you, well anything over that $200 is profit buddy

      I did this recently where I had a warrior make a site for me (actually it was two of them for different parts) and it cost me $167 in total. I charged my client $1500. That's over $1300 profit for just relaying messages and uploading a wordpress theme for him.

      Of course you could just do it all yourself, but for me personally, $200 is worth saving the hours it would take me to do this myself. I could be doing much more important things like getting more clients.

      2. Yes, for sure upsell the mobile version, but the way I do it is add that to the largest package. (remember if he says he does not want everything in one package, you can always sell him a smaller one and just charge a separate fee for that one service) (Also there are plugins for wordpress that do this automatically, so you just have to upload it and its done. No work to do really for mobile wordpress sites the plugins do it all)

      3. I personally don't charge for hosting the first year. It is only an extra $100 or $200 per year, and I want to be making more than that per month. It's a great value adder too, cause you explain how he will not have to worry about hosting, or updating, or making sure everything is online, and whatever else you can think of.

      The local business owners don't want to have to do anything. They just want more clients for their business. So you have to offer them something that will not take time away from their day. And if you explain how hosting is important and needs to be checked on, and that you will do that as part of your service...well you get the picture (hint --> benefit)

      4. As you say, facebook fan page, google places listing, twitter profile, sms marketing, ppc ads, groupon offer mangment, etc... are all great upsells. So what I would do, is find out all the ones that you can currently do, and the ones you can currently find outsourcing for, and make your packages out of them. Then once you have him on one of these packages, get some results for him (very important if you want him to keep paying you) and then you can upsell him on other services you learn to do or find outsourcing for in the future.

      5. As I say in answer 4 I offer all the services that I can do or find outsourcing for to my clients. I just make sure I can make money on them and then I sell them.

      Good luck buddy,

      Joshua
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  • Profile picture of the author bkat52
    Like Bruce said make sure to go prepared. Have a list of questions about what he wants on his site. Just do a google search for web design questionnaire or something like that and you should get some pretty thorough lists of questions to ask. My preference is to charge for hosting and you can always point out the reason it's $25 is because you handle all the updates and maintenance to his site. Although this is going to depend on how hands-on your client wants to be with his site. Most don't seem to want to fool with it (thanks John Durham for this). And lastly I think the SMS is a HUGE sell for restaurants. Look it up here on WF, learn about it, and pitch it to him. Remember it's important to sound like you know what you're talking about. Most business owners don't have a clue, so you will sound like a genius. As far as what to charge maybe check the warriors for hire section here and see what the going rates are. If he comes back and says you're too expensive maybe offer a payment plan or offer to lower your price in exchange for a good testimonial. Best of luck to you.
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    • Profile picture of the author IMguy123
      Originally Posted by bkat52 View Post

      ... My preference is to charge for hosting and you can always point out the reason it's $25 is because you handle all the updates and maintenance to his site. Although this is going to depend on how hands-on your client wants to be with his site. Most don't seem to want to fool with it (thanks John Durham for this)....
      Are you sure $25/mo is enough if you say that you also do updates and maintenance? Updates could means alot of varied service that could add up to well over a few hours per month.
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      • Profile picture of the author bkat52
        Originally Posted by IMguy123 View Post

        Are you sure $25/mo is enough if you say that you also do updates and maintenance? Updates could means alot of varied service that could add up to well over a few hours per month.
        No I'm not sure. You can charge whatever you feel the client will require. If he is needy, charge more.

        Or specify 25 per month for hosting and 1 content update per month. If he wants design changes you charge him per job or an hourly rate. Just food for thought. I'm not an expert
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    • Profile picture of the author Julie McElroy
      Originally Posted by bkat52 View Post

      Like Bruce said make sure to go prepared. Have a list of questions about what he wants on his site. Just do a google search for web design questionnaire or something like that and you should get some pretty thorough lists of questions to ask.
      Good advice! I found a great link with checklists and things any website owner should look at. 45 Incredibly Useful Web Design Checklists and Questionnaires - Smashing Magazine
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  • Profile picture of the author rotten72
    Originally Posted by rotten72 View Post

    Don't SELL them anything! Teach them. When people understand what's involved and the amount of work you will need to do, it makes things easier for you in the following ways:
    1. They will set their own expectations and understand why they aren't on pg1 of Google tomorrow.
    2. They won't flip out when you tell them how much it is going to cost.
    3. You will be able to build recurring income because they will understand that it is not a one time deal.

    A few tips:
    1. If they try to negotiate price, thank them for their time and run. They will be nothing but a pain in your ass.
    2. Follow up! This will help build trust with them.
    3. Take your time to explain everything. I usually spend 3 hours with a prospect if they are serious and show them everything! This makes you the OBVIOUS expert.
    Also put together a list of service packages. As far as price goes you will need to determine what works for you. You don't want to be working for peanuts!
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  • Profile picture of the author Mark_Austin
    Congratulations on getting your first client. The price for the website will depend on what is involved. I think you shoud sit down with them and find out what it is they want, what their goals are, what marketing they are currently doing and what is working for them and what is not.

    You can then offer them solutions and ideas that are tailored to their businesses goals.

    I have quite a few restaurants as clients and setting up Facebook fan pages which offer a discount coupon is proving very popular. We usually offer this as an upsell to our mobile websites.

    Good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author Greg Stack
    Congrats!
    Here's a collection of my random thoughts. Hope this helps.
    Before you approach pricing, I would suggest determining what your ultimate goal is here.

    If you are serious about getting into this as an ongoing business, this guy is worth gold. So I would work with him to get his business, and cut him some deals and let him know, in return, provided he is pleased, you would appreciate a testimonial for your site, and some referrals. AND, AND many cities have local restaurant associations, so, once you take care of him, he might be able to get you in with the association.

    I would heavily prepare before setting up your first meeting. First, determine how many local monthly searches are performed for his keywords (for example: pizza in Cincinnati, Italian restaurants in Cincinnati, etc.) Print that report as this shows the potential market he/she can reach if your SEO services are purchased. Also show and discuss Google Places and its importance. He wants to be in the "7 Box" and you can get him there, but that takes some work and time. That is a service that you should charge for. Not just setting it up, but the work it will take to get him and keep him there. If you are not familiar with GP, he can run promotions on his GP page.

    I usually explain it similarly to this: "What happens Joe, is the average person will see an ad in print, or even on TV that may interest them. But, instead of taking action by going to the advertiser's business, they will perform a search online to look for reviews or better deals at competitors' websites. If you show up on the first page and in Google Places you are positioned to capture these customers." Ok, well trust me, it flows much better in person, but you get the idea and they do to because, in most cases, this is what they do to.

    As stated previously, on your first meeting, get together briefly, make this guy your friend, and just have a normal convo as to what he may have in mind and gather info. And, really, you don't want to SELL as much as find out what his needs and goals are for his restaurant. And, for any business, they don't buy SEO services, or SMS, etc. What they want to buy are solutions that will increase their bottom line. Just like us. As ZZ says, people don't buy a 1/4" drill bit because they want a 1/4" drill bit. They buy a 1/4" drill bit because they want a 1/4" hole.

    I would assemble the primary services to offer (both one-time, and ongoing) along with pricing; Ala carte, then packages that make sense. But I wouldn't necessarily get into this on the first meeting.

    He will probably want to see some samples:
    Pull some images from these sites:
    Free Wordpress themes, templates » Archive for Restaurant, Cafe themes
    10 creative Wordpress themes for restaurants, cafes and food | WP-Mojo
    MyCuisine - Restaurant Theme by ElegantThemes - Free Download Revolution and Studiopress Wordpress Themes
    Free Wordpress themes » Blog Archive » Free Wordpress Theme – Restaurant

    Mobile marketing is strong with restaurants. QR codes can be used in conjunction with encouraging reviews by clients among many other things, limited only be creativity. SMS broadcasts are also outstanding.

    Let me know if you have additional questions. A couple of words of advice:
    1) See if your GF has more friends like this!
    2) Follow-up quickly. You don't want the pain of calling to set-up a time, only to find out he's taken action and already found someone else.
    3) Avoid calling prior to, and during peak hours.

    Go get it!!
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  • Profile picture of the author aaronco
    Hello guys...I think an answer to this question would help me and DR's Fynest.
    I too am getting into selling websites to businesses. I am new at this as well...

    I use wordpress for myself...however I have had my wordpress site hacked more than once... I am a little nervous about using wordpress for clients. Should I be hesitant using wordpress for clients?

    The last thing I want to do is charge $1,500 for a website using wordpress and then have their website hacked 2 months later...

    Is there anyway to be 100% sure that a wordpress site will not be hacked? Can we buy extra security for a wordpress site?...

    Thanks for any help...

    Regards,

    Aaron
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    • Profile picture of the author P1
      Originally Posted by aaronco View Post

      Hello guys...I think an answer to this question would help me and DR's Fynest.
      I too am getting into selling websites to businesses. I am new at this as well...

      I use wordpress for myself...however I have had my wordpress site hacked more than once... I am a little nervous about using wordpress for clients. Should I be hesitant using wordpress for clients?

      The last thing I want to do is charge $1,500 for a website using wordpress and then have their website hacked 2 months later...

      Is there anyway to be 100% sure that a wordpress site will not be hacked? Can we buy extra security for a wordpress site?...

      Thanks for any help...

      Regards,

      Aaron
      Wordpress blogs are usually hacked through the plugins that are installed on it and not updating to the current WP asap (I'm sure you do that though)

      There are some tools that supposely protect the blog but I can't think of the names off the top of my head right now.
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  • Profile picture of the author aaronco
    Thanks P1...appreciate the help. I will have to look those tools up that you are talking about..I'm sure there has to be a way to safe guard wordpress sites.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mary Wilhite
    Woo! great start,best of luck,you could build a website for him using Qr codes.aslo try sms marketing.thanks.
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  • Profile picture of the author jerry25
    Yes, good idea. I am just getting into the sms marketing and by far, restaurants are the best clients. It is fun and the owners/managers seem to like this type of advertising.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Durham
    I agree with Bruce above... sit down with the guy.

    You sell him by asking him intelligent questions about his wants and needs, and making suggestions to help him get what he wants. Let him sell himself half the way, all you have to do is relax and be confident in the conversation. Confidence comes from knowing that you are there to help him with his dreams and goals and that the point is to "together" decide what to do... Unless you are selling him based on the premise of a "pre-packaged" deal, which it appears is not the case.
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