First Day Getting Clients, I failed (New Plan in the Works)

Hey Grey,

I just wanted to say that even though you didn't get to talk to any prospects I don't think you failed at all. The fact that you actually took action and pounded some pavement in my eyes is a huge success. And because of that I know you will do fine in your business.

Keep it going!

Thanks Mogul! I will say this though. Approaching that first building was one heck of a plateau to get over. I was soooo nervous. I feel better about approaching now. It's not as bad as our mind can play it out to be.

Taking action is great, but cold calling on busy professionals like that is not likely to be effective.

How about calling them and asking if you can send a FREE report.

You write a 10-page report, something like, "The 7 Biggest Marketing Mistakes Chiropractors Make That Cost Them Thousands: Which Ones Are You Making?

You give them some valuable info that demonstrates your expertise and that you are different than the guys interrupting their busy day.

At the end of the report, you have a call-to-action: a FREE, no-obligation "Chiropractor Marketing Audit" (not the greatest name, but call it something other than a free consultation).

Guarantee the appointment: "If you don't learn at least one new marketing technique that you can implement immediately in your practice, or you just plain feel I've wasted your time, I will write a check for $50 payable to your favorite charity in your name."

Boldness and action is the beginning of a great business.

Do you have a local chamber of commerce in the area? Cut down your cold calling and target the local business organizations and propose that you give them a free talk.

I realized that talking to 1 person is just as good as talking to 30 at a time. you spend the same amount of effort.

Funny thing is that when people are in a room together, they tend to do crazy things like ask you for a one on one appointment. So try and get all the chiropractors in one room instead. Talk to an event organizer and offer to talk in their event free. And such ideas.

You are bold enough to do this. And good luck.

In my opinion...cold calling is the best way to make money.

There are 2 reasons why most people cant make this work...
1. They HATE doing it...and if you do not enjoy it...it will not work!!!!!
2. They try to sell their services over the phone. HUGE MISTAKE. You should be selling one thing...That you will put more money in their pocket...and thats it. Then schedule a meeting and go over "the basics" about how you will make them more money without going into to much technical stuff. Business owners dont care about seo or texting plans..they care about their customers and money.
Keep that in mind when meeting with them.

And I want to give you major kudos to be taking action at 18 years old. Thats totally awesome! And to have your goal of getting out of the grocery store is a very good goal to have. Just keep at it and you will be out of there in no time.

Are you by chance approved with any CPA networks..because you sound very pro-active and I can give you some methods I use (or have used) that could make you some money...

Let me know..

If you have local BNI groups, that might be helpful. You can visit several in your area to find out which is a fit. Each group will only permit one of each type of company (ie. web designer), and they will usually have a chiropractor, finance/banker, insurance, mortgage broker, etc. Contact the president of each chapter to let them know you'll be attending their meeting. At each meeting you get to briefly explain who you are and what you do. Don't try to sell anything at first: just build up some trust and see if the system is for you. A fledgling BNI chapter may be the only place you can fit in, but after a group hits 20 members it can become very effective in providing leads.

One word about terminology: right now you have "prospects", which you may convert to "clients" later.

You certainly have not failed at all! Hardly anybody wants to do what you did, which is prospecting in person. It's not easy. By phone is more effective because you can reach more people in less time. The "free report" method is a good one, and I would suggest offering that as a second attempt...first try qualifying prospects to see if they have any urgent need for your services. The core of your call script might sound something like:

"My name is _______, and I'm a web designer here in (town). You and I have never met, but (organization type, eg. doctors) typically ask for my help because they are:

* frustrated with the technical troubles of trying to create their own website

* concerned that prospective clients are not able to find them online, and are going to other (org type eg. doctors) instead

* upset that their phone line is tied up by people asking repetitious frequently-asked-questions that could be answered easily by a website.

But I don't know if you're experiencing any of these issues...?"

and let the prospect speak. Your goal is to talk 30% of the time, and have the prospect talking 70%. This means you have to ask good questions. Find out at least one thing that is urgently wrong with their world that you can help out with, and set the appointment to visit them in person to continue the discussion in more detail. Don't try to do anything else over the phone other than try to uncover a little "pain" and set the appointment.

If they fish for price over the phone, you can either answer with a typical range, or say that there's no way for you to give them a realistic price without meeting and finding out exactly what their concerns and needs are. You want to side-step the "tire kickers" who want to reduce everything to a commodity and get it at the cheapest price.

Hope this helps!

Buddy , don't even worry about the failures... im on this hump also just starting out and i have realized from all the messages in this forum is that its not acting like your selling to the businesses.... get on the phone and call them up and tell them how you can make them more revenue ( check out the scripts) don't even tell them what you are offering.
Just get that appointment from advising them you got some ideas you want to introduce them too. What also worked is because i'm new they wanted to see my previous work so i'm going to start giving 1 month free. In that month get them to print up enough marketing material change all marketing to include your stuff and pump it out so they will be hooked and used to the idea.
now the 1 month free for the first few businesses i would look into getting some type of SMS service that will allow you a free first 30 days.
Lots of info out here....
but just make sure you not selling to them but helping them make more money.

RPG very good advice. I was a little shady on the means of the report, thanks for clearing that up as well.

I had to chime in and agree that what you described is no where near failure. It is great that you got out there and went to every business on your list. You are off to a wonderful start, and this thread has some good advice to help you out next time. I especially like the idea of speaking to a group.

Glad to hear your making such a big step at 18! I would NEVER have been able to do this when I was that young. I just wanted to chime in like many others here and reiterate the fact that 1 day is NOT a failure. The key to success is consistancy. Whatever method of lead generation you choose - stick with it for 30 days. That way you can gauge how well it actually works. It's my experience that new clients come in groups. I can go a week without any sales but the next week I'll get 3 or 4 different orders.

Also, fine a way to get your clients on a RECURRING billing cycle. Residual income is the key to wealth in this industry. Stay focused and positive. Best of luck to you!

I agree with most other posters, you didn't FAIL. Just taking the first step is very often the hardest step. I took that first step yesterday to set an appt. today. Of course, Murphy's Law kicked in and the meeting got cancelled but I'm still pressing forward.

This is a very small niche and there are only three local businesses that I can approach. I'll give my first prospect till the end of today to "call back" like they said. If not, on to the next!

Keep at it!

Very well done!!! As so many have said, you most certainly did not fail. You succeeded at getting out and doing something. Only a small percentage of the people ever do that.

I would suggest these things:

Join all the small business networking events in your area, I have found many more prospects at these than the bigger Chamber of Commerce meeting. And attend every event. Build some relationships and then offer a couple people you like a free trial period to really show how much you can do for them. If you do a good job, they will tell others and there you go.

I did this once with something for a chiropractor and gave a full month free all out service. He was thrilled signed a contract with for my fee and even threw in free treatments. :-) He told so many other chiro's that for a while I had more to do than I really wanted.

See if your can speak at business meeting for chiro's or any other group you want to work with.

The main thing is keep it up and persist.

Good luck and I'm looking forward to reading more about your success in future posts.

:-)

Congrats, Grey38 for taking the first steps. This thread is invaluable, as so many people are unselfishly sharing their expertise and experience (we could make a WSO out of it!). I was thrown out of my first cold call and told that if I ever came back, he'd shoot me! You're doing better than me! Keep it up, document, journalize and measure your results.

Steve