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What can be achieved with a monthly budget of $3k to sell SAAS?

by ekalaivan
7 replies
Hi,

My client has a monthly budget of $3,000. He sells cloud software (like Freshbooks, Madmimi, etc.) and provides ongoing consulting to small businesses.

I suggested he consider authoring a book; do joint ventures with his accountant, attorney, architect; online ads; and direct mail. What else would you suggest?
#$3k #achieved #budget #monthly #monthly budget #saas #sell
  • Profile picture of the author jbsuccess
    If he has 3k liquid to spend monthly, I would have him hire an outside sales Rep for 2k/month draw + commission... A talented b2b sales guy can explode a businesses revenue very quickly
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  • Profile picture of the author gfrankwick
    Originally Posted by ekalaivan View Post

    Hi,

    My client has a monthly budget of $3,000. He sells cloud software (like Freshbooks, Madmimi, etc.) and provides ongoing consulting to small businesses.

    I suggested he consider authoring a book; do joint ventures with his accountant, attorney, architect; online ads; and direct mail. What else would you suggest?
    Honestly I would start by developing an SEO website targeted to directly what he sells. Make sure you include a blog and offer 3-4 articles per month.

    I would also highly suggest Facebook advertising as it provides excellent results for minimal spend. For instance, last week I did an ad for a client of mine who provides snow plowing services. In 12 hours during a snowstorm I was able to reach almost 6,000 different individuals almost 6 times each, or almost 36,000 impressions. The spend for this? Under $20!

    Each business is different though, start small and once you can show results add to the offerings.
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    -Tony Gaskins

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    • Profile picture of the author BacklinksPlus
      Originally Posted by gfrankwick View Post

      Honestly I would start by developing an SEO website targeted to directly what he sells. Make sure you include a blog and offer 3-4 articles per month.

      I would also highly suggest Facebook advertising as it provides excellent results for minimal spend. For instance, last week I did an ad for a client of mine who provides snow plowing services. In 12 hours during a snowstorm I was able to reach almost 6,000 different individuals almost 6 times each, or almost 36,000 impressions. The spend for this? Under $20!

      Each business is different though, start small and once you can show results add to the offerings.
      And your conversion rate?
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    • Profile picture of the author KMalo
      How much money did your client make from that advert?

      How many new customers did he win?

      Originally Posted by gfrankwick View Post

      Honestly I would start by developing an SEO website targeted to directly what he sells. Make sure you include a blog and offer 3-4 articles per month.

      I would also highly suggest Facebook advertising as it provides excellent results for minimal spend. For instance, last week I did an ad for a client of mine who provides snow plowing services. In 12 hours during a snowstorm I was able to reach almost 6,000 different individuals almost 6 times each, or almost 36,000 impressions. The spend for this? Under $20!

      Each business is different though, start small and once you can show results add to the offerings.
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      • Profile picture of the author gfrankwick
        Keep in mind I was going strictly towards impressions on that campaign. The snow plowing industry is a little different in this area as people tend to stick with the same guy over and over again.

        Anyways at the end of the day he ended up with 3 new customers out of it. You can say that the conversion rate was low, end of the day he came out well ahead of what he spent. And that does not include the calls he received since then or during the add.

        Unfortunately he was not very good about asking where they heard about the business.
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        "If you don't build your dreams, someone will hire you to help build theirs."

        -Tony Gaskins

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  • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
    Here are my thoughts.

    Without knowing more on what the service is it is hard to know rather it is best sold in person or online. But a rule of thumb is that the more expensive and complicated it is the more it should be sold by a person vs. a page. But that does not exclude using online to get leads.

    Based on the fact he also is a consultant I would suggest the following
    1. Write Books (yes books not just one) to show he is an expert. Claude has experience in doing this personally and may be able to offer specific advice.
    2. Create an offer for a free book or etc and promote that online, offline, or both to get warm leads.
    If the SAAS is best sold in person I would do the following
    1. If he sells well from a stage I would have him create event (free or paid) to get himself in front of the right people. Claude's book on selling advertising talks a bit about this idea but for advertising. Amazon.com: Selling Local Advertising: The Best...Amazon.com: Selling Local Advertising: The Best...
    2. Hire one or more Sales People. His time is too valuable to be the only one selling. So get them out there hitting the phones or pavement.
    3. Use online PPC advertising and an offer (#2 in the last section) to get leads for the sales people.
    4. Create a system to get referrals.
    If the SAAS is best sold online I would
    1. Create a PPC ad campaign leading into sales pages and test and tweak to maximize ROI
    2. Remember to use Yahoo, Bing, Google, and Facebook for PPC start on the one that makes the most sense based on the prospect profile.
    3. Once you are getting good traffic and sales from the PPC start and SEO campaign to get organic leads.


    What I said above you likely knew and heard before. Marketing isn't rocket science. But good marketing is like a fine painting. Anyone can paint but it takes a master to create a true masterpiece. And you become a master by practicing your craft.
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    Aaron Doud - Sales & Success
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  • Profile picture of the author Climb Online
    Ads in trade specific magazines, the CTA could be to call a recorded message and or offer strong lead magnate in exchange for contact info. Basically set up automated sales
    funnels that will do the heavy lifting.
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    "It is your choice of message that targets the customer, not your choice of media. There are rare exceptions, of course. But not many."
    - Roy H. Williams

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