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I have a client with a unique problem....

by John Durham
24 replies
I finally found the holy grail.

I happened upon a new client the other day with a unique product that they produce on a small scale...

There are 100 keywords lined up that all say "medium" competition with exact match domains available.... and some of them have 50,000-300,000 searches.

In this industry, the broad terms and the longtails are really the same value almost... but its unbelievable that the people in the industry dont seems to have any real internet marketers...

In ten years I have never ONCE seen a market so ripe... But they dont want to let loose because they cant provide the production to do more than a handful of customers per week.

So I talked them into at least buying some of the exact match domains... Im too ethical to steal their market but Its like searching for a hidden treasure all your life then seeing it and not being able to touch it. This is the first time I have ever come across such a thing ...

Has anyone else ever had this dilemma...they have a perfect market thats mind blowing but cant take off because it would be too much business... ?

I have heard the excuse before, but never believed it until now...

They have already cornered as much as they can take on and havent even broke the ground yet.

Wish I could say what it is but cant.

If I was an affiliate of a similar product and had no ethics.... I could make more than .... Well thats just not a possibility.

This person needs a factory.

In fact their current websites optimization totally sucks and still gets blown away with orders to where they have to put up a sold out sign every week next to each product.

Its amazing.

I DID land the deal, as their "web guy"... but they cant do anything they say till they get the investor, and it does appear to be a true dilemma.

Im thinking my first project might be to do a web campaign for getting them an investor, anyone ever done that?
#client #problem #unique
  • Profile picture of the author linebelowdigital
    Have you considered Alibaba to find a company that can mass produce this product? I had a great experience using an overseas manufacturer for some fitness products a couple of years ago.
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    • Profile picture of the author John Durham
      Originally Posted by linebelowdigital View Post

      Have you considered Alibaba to find a company that can mass produce this product? I had a great experience using an overseas manufacturer for some fitness products a couple of years ago.

      Hmmm.... Yes Im familiar with Alibaba and have done alot of business on it. Good thought, thats why I asked... Great seed there...

      Thats worth some pondering. Thanks.
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  • Profile picture of the author WilliamBlah
    If they are unwilling to compensate for the extra demand, they should increase the price until they reach a level where that are only just not sold out.
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  • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
    They need to find a way to scale this. They need to find a way to mass produce this product so you can help them unleash their potential.

    Also how much money do they need? Why not partner with them and become an investor?
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  • Profile picture of the author ryanmckinney
    Have you considered "consulting" with potential investors? Letting them know the potential? Get them that dayum factory, broker the deal, retire .. lol
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  • Profile picture of the author Alfred Shelver
    John I have heard of this fantastic site to get investors, as I do not know the product or the investment amount I will just give you the site and you can see if it suitable for your client. Kickstarter you never have to pay the money back, but this mainly for creative projects, but there is a design side that also has a lot of products on it.

    PS John you are one of my favorite warriors ...... Your 35 page ebook on how to land offline clients over the phone was really one of the best ebooks I have ever read.
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  • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
    John, any chance I could pay you for what some of the keywords are and the niche? LOL.
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  • Profile picture of the author viper217
    Consider investing some of your own capital/expertise for a future share in success.

    Possibly looking for outsourcing under licence and you then get a % of future sales to help them upscale production (quality control is difficult if outsourcing)

    You could always get a lockin contract for a term period for all their WEb marketing SEO etc.

    Have you taken the figures and projected what the profit margins may be for the manufacturer, sometimes this is what they (or you) need to see before they will stump up development cash to increase production.

    Hat off to you, and all the best.
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    • Profile picture of the author John Durham
      I wouldnt recommend investors for starting an offline business, but to start a factory...you cant do that with $25.00

      Lot of great advice here. Thanks guys! And gals!

      Originally Posted by viper217 View Post

      Consider investing some of your own capital/expertise for a future share in success.

      Possibly looking for outsourcing under licence and you then get a % of future sales to help them upscale production (quality control is difficult if outsourcing)

      You could always get a lockin contract for a term period for all their WEb marketing SEO etc.

      Have you taken the figures and projected what the profit margins may be for the manufacturer, sometimes this is what they (or you) need to see before they will stump up development cash to increase production.

      Hat off to you, and all the best.
      We are just now getting into this... I just offered to do some web work personally, but they do need investors... I havent talked to them about production costs and projections or anything at this point... Good input though.

      I am just blown away at what they keyword research revealed...they already rank okay but they could really explode with this, and it would blow their doors off at this point.

      They already get 8,000 searches per month just for their company name...and cant fulfill all of that... producing physical products is harder than online.

      That is with them designing their own website, not being web designers or seo people.

      Just for the record , I dont have a million dollars to invest, and Im sure it would take something like that.

      I say that judging from a little knowledge I accumulated having a friend who owned a manufacturing plant for years. Who I will surely be talking to.

      In any event we are just begining our discussions at this point though the relationship is off to a great start.

      Originally Posted by Cathy Shelver View Post


      PS John you are one of my favorite warriors ...... Your 35 page ebook on how to land offline clients over the phone was really one of the best ebooks I have ever read.
      I love you too Cathy! Thanks for being so sincere and authentic! I appreciate that you liked the book!
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  • Profile picture of the author danielkanuck
    Originally Posted by John Durham View Post

    Has anyone else ever had this dilemma...they have a perfect market thats mind blowing but cant take off because it would be too much business... ?
    You sure you don't want to switch industries. From what you say, seems like you could retire quite quickly via this niche. But i respect your ethics. Just askin...
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  • Profile picture of the author seanpearse
    i've heard worse dilemnas to be in!!! best of luck either way mate!..
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  • Profile picture of the author RentItNow
    I would talk to your local economic development commission, John. They will have the connections others may not have including an 'in' with the city to give them a break on the manufacturing facility. I know in my area, they are bending over backwards to attract manufacturing because of our large out of work workforce (and empty buildings).

    I've recently seen a few markets like this where they are providing a really cool product on a low scale to the wrong customer and if they changed their customer would not be able to handle the flow. Very typical actually. I'm really noticing this more and more the deeper I get into larger local markets.

    The other option is maybe they can form a strategic partnership with a similar industry that would not be a competitor. Difficult to do but it can work.
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    • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
      Howdy John, been a while.

      Here's a possibility...

      Google for local Angel Investors.

      There are groups in every major community
      who have investors wanting to invest in businesses.

      Something I did 2 weeks ago was I went to a business broker
      who sells million $ plus businesses to...

      first put a start up manufacturing plan to him to find faults

      and secondly to tap into his contacts.

      He as well as other business brokers have a list of cashed
      up business owners wanting to invest.

      You know how to make pitches...this would be an advanced pitch
      you could provide for your client and get a finders fee.

      These cashed up business owners are semi retired, know manufacturing
      and still have a sharp business mind.

      They want to see a business succeed...sometimes more than the money
      coming back.

      They have great industry contacts that can be tapped into.

      The broker I went and saw gave me valuable contacts without even asking.

      Best,
      Ewen
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      • Profile picture of the author Edwards WOrld
        Originally Posted by ewenmack View Post

        Howdy John, been a while.

        Here's a possibility...

        Google for local Angel Investors.

        There are groups in every major community
        who have investors wanting to invest in businesses.

        Something I did 2 weeks ago was I went to a business broker
        who sells million $ plus businesses to...

        first put a start up manufacturing plan to him to find faults

        and secondly to tap into his contacts.

        He as well as other business brokers have a list of cashed
        up business owners wanting to invest.

        You know how to make pitches...this would be an advanced pitch
        you could provide for your client and get a finders fee.

        These cashed up business owners are semi retired, know manufacturing
        and still have a sharp business mind.

        They want to see a business succeed...sometimes more than the money
        coming back.

        They have great industry contacts that can be tapped into.

        The broker I went and saw gave me valuable contacts without even asking.

        Best,
        Ewen
        Explain this process..

        -Ed
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        • Profile picture of the author deepestblue
          If possible, maybe take another meeting with them and show them with graphs the seriousness of the situation and how wide-open the market is. Could try to convince them to go forward with expansion before someone else finds the niche and exploits it.
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          • Profile picture of the author RentItNow
            Originally Posted by deepestblue View Post

            If possible, maybe take another meeting with them and show them with graphs the seriousness of the situation and how wide-open the market is. Could try to convince them to go forward with expansion before someone else finds the niche and exploits it.
            One thing I have noticed myself about this strategy is some businesses just dont care. It's not their pain and will not likely pay attention. I found this mostly when I did business analysis (finding inefficiencies and recommending systems that solved it). The "if it ain't broke, dont fix it" mentality is strong in most businesses.

            Maybe focus more on their pain. Really talk to them and see what it is. In a 5 minute conversation with them, they will certainly hint at what it is. Just listen for it.
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            I have no agenda but to help those in the same situation. This I feel will pay the bills.
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        • Profile picture of the author J smith
          Could they partner up with some other business in this same industry that are not doing as good, for a % of the profit. Say if a company B can make 10 widgets a week, but are only able to sell 5, your company could partner up with them and help them sell the other 5, for a percentage of profits.

          Obviously this depends on logistics and the product in question. But if they can do this then they'd be able to both more more profit, and utilize the extra leads your marketing will produce. This way they would be able to grab a bigger share of the market while they search for way to increase their own production.
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        • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
          Originally Posted by Edwards WOrld View Post

          Explain this process..

          -Ed
          Are you referring to angel investors or seeking investors through business brokers?

          Best,
          Ewen
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    • Profile picture of the author ShayB
      Without knowing the specifics of what it is, I'm just going to toss my ideas out there and see if maybe it'll help.

      If it's something that can be manufactured by individual without heavy equipment or the need for sterile conditions (or some other specialized conditions), you might consider doing some outsourcing. Perhaps hire people that work out of their homes on a paid per piece contract.

      Depending on the product and the niche, is there any way that you could turn this from an employee situation to a business opportunity situation? For example, people could buy kits/equipment for $xxx or $xxxx with some type of contract that they will not be in competition but they will be an independent contractor for the person with the business. Perhaps assign a territory.

      Perhaps franchising is a possibility, with the business opportunity aspect. Franchising fees and ongoing fees could provide income for your client, but they would not have to do all of the manufacturing. I suggest this because they already have the name recognition if they are getting that many searches per month. That would be a huge selling point for a new franchise.

      It seems to me that your client has three options:

      1. Do nothing and stay at the same level that they are now.

      2. Try to find investors and expand.

      3. Turn this into either a franchise or a very limited business opportunity with a 4-5 figure investment required in order to participate. your client would still benefit from the franchise fees and other fees, but they would not have the production issues, necessarily.

      If they wanted to keep production limited to their own people, they could use the franchise fees to fund the factory and then be a supplier to the franchise owners.

      All of these suggestions will take work to flesh out, and I can't give better advice without knowing specifics - and I know you can't give those, and that's okay - but hopefully this will help get your gears turning.
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      • Profile picture of the author John Durham
        [QUOTE=ShayRockhold;5096340

        3. Turn this into either a franchise or a very limited business opportunity with a 4-5 figure investment required in order to participate. your client would still benefit from the franchise fees and other fees, but they would not have the production issues, necessarily.
        [/QUOTE]


        Whoa, thats brilliant.
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        • Profile picture of the author ShayB
          Originally Posted by John Durham View Post

          Whoa, thats brilliant.


          I'd be happy to talk with you more about this. I'm actually working on doing this with one of my business models.
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          "Fate protects fools, little children, and ships called Enterprise." ~Commander Riker
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  • Profile picture of the author John Durham
    Wow, what great advice. It just dawned on me that you alls advice is going to help more than just myself. Cant wait to really ponder some of these answers with a pen and paper and put some thought to it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Charles Harper
    I think that in this case, there are lots of Smart People, but I would consult the people at Theme Zoom. It seems to be that they are some of the smartest guys in the room when it comes to this kind of opportunity.

    Theme Zoom -- Home of The Krakken?

    CT
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