Newbie with questions
I've been lurking here for quite some time but I realize the best thing for me to do is jump in and start participating to get the most out of the forum. I started my business two months ago. I decided to go into what I call the diamond plate industry niche so builders, electricians, plumbers etc. I have been extremely surprised to find out, at least in my area, how many of these contractors do not have a website and the ones that do, the websites are awful.
The main service I offer is designing websites/mobile sites. I also offer social media set up/management, directory submission/management, rep management. But I feel the first most important service these businesses need is web design since most of them don't have one with everything else following.
I have dropped of info to some businesses but one of the problems with this type of niche is many of them do not have a store front. So I started doing direct mail. I have spent a ton both having a good letter written (I don't feel I can write good copy) and on postage. I have had no interest at all. The only 2 clients I have gotten has been through Craigslist so as you can imagine that wasn't great. One was great and was willing to pay what I asked without hesitation and the other thought $800 was too much for a full website, opt-in etc. So I had to do a rock bottom price.
OK, I know I'm going to get asked why I haven't done prospecting by phone (I no longer call it cold calling after watching Jason Kanigan's videos this week). Honestly I was terrified of the phone like so many others are. I have no confidence so it's really hard. I have changed my outlook on that a bit since watching Jason's videos though and reading many of his posts. I am great when I am in front of people, still very nervous but they don't know it and I am very engaging. I'm not tooting my own horn, only saying what I have been told. People have said I own the room when I walk in. So why on earth I have such a hard time both calling and talking to people out of the blue is so beyond me, I want to bang my head on my desk.
Anyway, I am going to start calling and I am going to go out and actually track people down as weird and stalkerish as that may sound lol. But here is what I have found within this niche so far. The few people that I have gotten to talk to say "I already have enough business" or "I rely on word of mouth" or "I don't need to market my business, it's doing really well already". I have friends who work for these same kind of businesses say those same things to me. "Oh he already does enough business, he doesn't need a website." How do I get beyond that? It completely boggles my mind that someone wouldn't want to grow their business or solidify their future by having a waiting list of clients to choose.
I'm also still trying to find the best way to start the conversation when I start calling. Would it be better for me to go the interview method and create a local directory or review site for these types of businesses, interview them for an article/review and lead them into my services that way? The thing is I know once I can actually start engaging people that they will have confidence in me. But getting my foot in the door when they already think they don't need these services seems to be the hardest part.
One last thing, I do know that it's a numbers game as well. I know that I have to contact a ton of people and so far I haven't. I realize that. I'm just trying to figure out the best way to go about it with this particular niche, if it's any different than other ones.
Thank you in advance for any advice. I really do appreciate it.
Jennifer
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