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Business Owners Really Don't Like Free Services?

by VincentFrog
5 replies
Hey guys I have a quick question for you all. I own an online marketing agency and I am currently trying to get local small businesses. So far me and my partner have been emailing and calling each business that we come across, and we have contacted hundreds, but still no takers on our services. We also do have a few testimonials from our current client's explaining how great our services are and how much we helped them, but potential client's are still not interested.

My partner and I have just started offering 2 weeks of our social media marketing services for free, with no commitment!!! Basically this is just something that we are testing because we believe that if we give them a sneak peak of what they can receive, then maybe the business will sign up for our services if they are satisfied. This however is not the case at all... We have contacted tons of businesses offering these 2 weeks of services with no commitment and no contract, and we still have gotten very few hits. Maybe about 2-3 of the 400+ businesses that we contacted are somewhat interested and may not even lead to a sale in the long run.

Are there any suggestions as to why business owners will not even take something for free with no commitment? I mean why not take the chance and receive a free page if that's the case? It literally baffles me how naive some of these business owners are. I was just wondering if you guys had any input on this subject?

Thanks in advance everyone!
#business #free #owners #services
  • Profile picture of the author Rus Sells
    This is because in the more traditional business world free usually means crap. It's not like the IM world where the opposite is often preached.

    Start asking for the money and you'll find the people who are serious about their business.
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    • Profile picture of the author sandalwood
      Originally Posted by Rus Sells View Post

      This is because in the more traditional business world free usually means crap. It's not like the IM world where the opposite is often preached.

      Start asking for the money and you'll find the people who are serious about their business.
      Rus,

      If we were in a church auditorium, I would have yelled BINGO to your response. So true my friend, so true. Can't tell how many freebies our agency has been offered over the last 4 years...

      Tom
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      • Profile picture of the author QWE
        Closing a deal is an art. There is a fine line between coming across as gimmicky versus offering a real value. Why not offer something for a small fee as a loss leader? It becomes easier to convert later once they see you can truly deliver. Think about over delivering as well. Create that mini wow effect.
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        • Profile picture of the author Rus Sells
          As a matter of fact, I'm about to release a perfect loss leader product. But hell you can still charge under 100 bucks a month for it and then have your foot in the door to sell your other services.

          Originally Posted by QWE View Post

          Closing a deal is an art. There is a fine line between coming across as gimmicky versus offering a real value. Why not offer something for a small fee as a loss leader? It becomes easier to convert later once they see you can truly deliver. Think about over delivering as well. Create that mini wow effect.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ashley C
    Vincent, my guess would be that business owners are not seeing the value in what you're offering. If you don't communicate this to them, you're not going to sell successfully, whatever your prices are.

    When contacting potential clients, you need to put across the value in what you're offering. Copywriting and sales scripts can be tough to get right, but it's mainly about focusing on the potential clients and how your services are going to make THEM more money. That is what they care about.

    Offering your services for free isn't helping. In fact, it makes it worse as the services will seriously lack value in the eyes of local business owners if there is no price on it. You should also consider that they may find it suspicious, or desperate. And keep in mind that freebie takers are more often not going to buy from you, ever.

    There are other factors to consider:

    - Make sure it's clear that your testimonials are authentic, i.e. include the names of the people and businesses that provided them.

    - If you can, include some sort of portfolio or even case studies. This is really important. Proof of how you have helped other businesses will go a very long way.

    - Are you contacting the right people? Focus on businesses that clearly already pay for some form of advertising and marketing, as this proves they are willing to invest in services to grow and make more money. Too many businesses won't even take basic risks to grow their businesses, so try to avoid them.

    - Are any of the potential clients you contact visiting your website? Make sure you keep up with the levels of traffic you're getting. If visitors are coming and going, you probably need alterations to your online presence. If people aren't even visiting, then it's your e-mails and calls that need to be worked on for now.

    On that note; focus more on calls and meet-ups rather than e-mails. E-mail conversions tend to be exceptionally low when you're advertising to end clients.

    In the past, I've made just about all the typical mistakes that result in little to no clients. Competition is fierce, so it's important you cover all bases.
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