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Local vs. Remote Business/Marketing Services

by Mark Singletary
9 replies
It seems (but maybe I'm wrong) that much of the advice given here is related to helping local businesses to get an online presence and/or do Internet marketing (amongst other kinds of marketing perhaps).

It also seems (but maybe I'm wrong) that much of the advice seems to be saying that remote services are harder, less likely to succeed, not worth the time, etc. It seems that many here discourage others from attempting remote work.

I've always been a little confused by this especially when:

1. There are many, supposedly/apparently successful, online marketing companies that have no local presence - it's all remote.

2. Much of the advice given in the marketing world in general is to find a niche and target market and focus your efforts on that. So for example if I was a dry cleaner for the last 20 years and have perfected my marketing and now want to share with other dry cleaners, I am severely limited by how many dry cleaners are within an hour or even two of where I live.

3. We want to help Doctor Joe to get more patients from his online marketing efforts (I realize that some here also do other traditional marketing) but we are contacting Doctor Joe not through online marketing but by making a cold phone call or speaking at the chamber meeting or walking in. If it (online marketing) wouldn't work for us to get to Doctor Joe then why do we think it would work for him in getting new patients?

4. Besides #2 above, this seems that it limits us geographically especially if we live in a small town. So we handle the one dry cleaner in town and now we expand to the one health club and then the one grocery store, etc. In a town of a few thousand people, there are real limitations.

5. Many, otherwise good marketers, have good reasons for not being able to (not the same as unwilling) to go door to door or to speak at the Rotary club or whatever. For example:
  • Some can use the computer but it's hard to get around because they are in a wheel chair or have other illness or disabilities.
  • Some live overseas and don't speak the local language.
  • Some can't get a job (for whatever legitimate reason) so they can't afford the gas, print business cards and brochures or other similar expenses but they do have hosting paid for 6 months.
  • Some have a job such as being an over the road truck driver and can work at night but are only at home a couple days a month.
What are your thoughts about offering local versus remote services? How would your approach differ if you were forced to do remote services due to one of the reasons above if you now focus solely on local services?

Thanks,
Mark
#business or marketing #local #remote #services
  • Profile picture of the author DABK
    Why do you need to meet them face-to-face?
    Why do you have to live in the same town?


    Originally Posted by Mark Singletary View Post

    It seems (but maybe I'm wrong) that much of the advice given here is related to helping local businesses to get an online presence and/or do Internet marketing (amongst other kinds of marketing perhaps).

    It also seems (but maybe I'm wrong) that much of the advice seems to be saying that remote services are harder, less likely to succeed, not worth the time, etc. It seems that many here discourage others from attempting remote work.

    I've always been a little confused by this especially when:

    1. There are many, supposedly/apparently successful, online marketing companies that have no local presence - it's all remote.

    2. Much of the advice given in the marketing world in general is to find a niche and target market and focus your efforts on that. So for example if I was a dry cleaner for the last 20 years and have perfected my marketing and now want to share with other dry cleaners, I am severely limited by how many dry cleaners are within an hour or even two of where I live.

    3. We want to help Doctor Joe to get more patients from his online marketing efforts (I realize that some here also do other traditional marketing) but we are contacting Doctor Joe not through online marketing but by making a cold phone call or speaking at the chamber meeting or walking in. If it (online marketing) wouldn't work for us to get to Doctor Joe then why do we think it would work for him in getting new patients?

    4. Besides #2 above, this seems that it limits us geographically especially if we live in a small town. So we handle the one dry cleaner in town and now we expand to the one health club and then the one grocery store, etc. In a town of a few thousand people, there are real limitations.

    5. Many, otherwise good marketers, have good reasons for not being able to (not the same as unwilling) to go door to door or to speak at the Rotary club or whatever. For example:
    • Some can use the computer but it's hard to get around because they are in a wheel chair or have other illness or disabilities.
    • Some live overseas and don't speak the local language.
    • Some can't get a job (for whatever legitimate reason) so they can't afford the gas, print business cards and brochures or other similar expenses but they do have hosting paid for 6 months.
    • Some have a job such as being an over the road truck driver and can work at night but are only at home a couple days a month.
    What are your thoughts about offering local versus remote services? How would your approach differ if you were forced to do remote services due to one of the reasons above if you now focus solely on local services?

    Thanks,
    Mark
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  • Profile picture of the author bob ross
    A big part of my business is remote selling. Like you mentioned above, it sucks if you only stay local and have to avoid conflicts of interest.
    Once you get a good grasp of what works for one particular industry, you can simply work on selling services for the same industries nation-wide.

    We call all day around the nation from 9am to 7pm six days per week.

    My tips for anyone interested in selling remotely:

    1. Position yourself as an expert in "X" marketing for "X" industry and target that specific industry. You do not want to be an "I can do every marketing under the sun" type outfit. The beauty of selling remotely is that you can position yourself for whatever you want that particular day because you're non-local. If you want to call dentists and be the dental SEO expert one day and call chiropractors and be the chiropractor SEO expert another day, so be it. Can't do that locally!

    2. You will need to work on scripts for prospecting and followup. Selling remotely requires a lot of follow up and you'll need a good plan of action on how to get their interest, how to deliver information and proposals, and how to close them.

    3. Solicit testimonials. With only one or two testimonials you'll be able to leverage them greatly when you prospect others remotely. If you've got a bunch of kitchen remodelers in different states saying how awesome your lead generation program is, you'll be able to scoop up business in other states (or non-competing areas) easily. You can make a good living just staying within one or two industries and just hopping around the nation.

    4. Explore any prospecting avenues at your disposal. Email, direct mail, cold calling, voice broadcasting, facebook, are all powerful prospecting tools.

    5. Sell unique services. Don't try and sell generic web design or SEO. Sell services or packages that aren't generic. Whatever your service is, put together an irresistible offer for them to try it out or hook them with something that they'll likely want more information on. Then work them into your funnel.
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    • Profile picture of the author internetmarketer1
      Originally Posted by bob ross View Post

      A big part of my business is remote selling. Like you mentioned above, it sucks if you only stay local and have to avoid conflicts of interest.
      Once you get a good grasp of what works for one particular industry, you can simply work on selling services for the same industries nation-wide.

      We call all day around the nation from 9am to 7pm six days per week.

      My tips for anyone interested in selling remotely:

      1. Position yourself as an expert in "X" marketing for "X" industry and target that specific industry. You do not want to be an "I can do every marketing under the sun" type outfit. The beauty of selling remotely is that you can position yourself for whatever you want that particular day because you're non-local. If you want to call dentists and be the dental SEO expert one day and call chiropractors and be the chiropractor SEO expert another day, so be it. Can't do that locally!

      2. You will need to work on scripts for prospecting and followup. Selling remotely requires a lot of follow up and you'll need a good plan of action on how to get their interest, how to deliver information and proposals, and how to close them.

      3. Solicit testimonials. With only one or two testimonials you'll be able to leverage them greatly when you prospect others remotely. If you've got a bunch of kitchen remodelers in different states saying how awesome your lead generation program is, you'll be able to scoop up business in other states (or non-competing areas) easily. You can make a good living just staying within one or two industries and just hopping around the nation.

      4. Explore any prospecting avenues at your disposal. Email, direct mail, cold calling, voice broadcasting, facebook, are all powerful prospecting tools.

      5. Sell unique services. Don't try and sell generic web design or SEO. Sell services or packages that aren't generic. Whatever your service is, put together an irresistible offer for them to try it out or hook them with something that they'll likely want more information on. Then work them into your funnel.
      I agree completely on the SEO "expert" one day and the dental expert the next day. Being remote is not only easy, but it's going to save you a lot of stress as well. It can prevent you from missing out on hitting up clients who are probably just waiting to buy what you have to sell to them.

      And yes, following up is the key. Sometimes, you may find it could take around 3 days of constant talking to the business owner before you both hit it and you gain that trust from them. The longer you talk with them, the more they'll see how much you care about them.

      Yup, just a single testimonial from that first client can make the biggest change to your business, it can make a whirlwind of difference to how much you could earn.

      I would highly recommend getting referrals as well once you get that first business up and running.

      Agreed as well on the SEO thing. Don't be the person who goes on selling what others sell. Create what I call a true valuable "offer" where you package things for them, and even if it's just SEO you're selling, position your "offer" so you are over delivering to them and giving them a quality service.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mark Singletary
    I'm intrigued by the __ marketing expert of the day idea. Would you have x number of separate websites about your services? A plumber one, a chiropractor one, a massage therapist one, etc?

    Also not sure how I missed it but I just saw this thread http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...rely-home.html which has some good ideas for remote services too.

    Mark
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  • Profile picture of the author internetmarketer1
    You COULD try creating a site specifically niche related. I feel like that could be a good investment depending on your skills and experience.

    I don't think though that it makes a difference, but a website that is dedicated to that niche could really be a deal breaker for some businesses who want to have a marketer who is niche specific to their industry.
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    • Profile picture of the author Mark Singletary
      Originally Posted by internetmarketer1 View Post

      You COULD try creating a site specifically niche related. I feel like that could be a good investment depending on your skills and experience.

      I don't think though that it makes a difference, but a website that is dedicated to that niche could really be a deal breaker for some businesses who want to have a marketer who is niche specific to their industry.
      Deal breaker or deal maker? Your point is that massage therapists want to hear from massage therapist marketing experts, right? I agree to a certain extent. However the world is full of successful generalists. For example, programs like Duct Tape Marketing, Book Yourself Solid, and Guerilla Marketing are all in one systems that have helped a lot of people in a lot of different types of markets.

      I'm still interested in any ideas about how to do this rotating thing without 2, 5, 7 or more websites, sets of brochures, etc. There really is no limit because you wouldn't have to do only one niche a day especially if it was all remote.

      Mark
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      • Profile picture of the author DABK
        One website.
        One case study that shows you make $n+x money for a message therapist for the same $ he was paying to get $n. If $x is large enough, your credibility good, massage therapists ought to be interested.

        One case study that shows you make $n+x money for a roofer for the same $ he was paying to get $n. If $x is large enough, your credibility good, roofers ought to be interested.

        One case study that shows you make $n+x money for a independent insurance agency for the same $ he was paying to get $n. If $x is large enough, your credibility good, insurance agents ought to be interested.

        It helps if you're perceived as an expert. But what's an expert? Someone who can deliver. If you can show you can deliver in 7 niches, you're an expert in 7 niches.

        Besides, they don't need to know who on your team is the expert. Or that you are The team. They need to know that your company has produced results they're willing to pay for for other outfits / people like themselves.



        Originally Posted by Mark Singletary View Post

        I'm still interested in any ideas about how to do this rotating thing without 2, 5, 7 or more websites, sets of brochures, etc. There really is no limit because you wouldn't have to do only one niche a day especially if it was all remote.

        Mark
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  • Profile picture of the author Laubster
    Jason Kannigan has put up some incredible threads about working remotely and how he gets major business w/out ever meeting face to face. Highly recommend you find them.
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  • Profile picture of the author vndnbrgj
    Originally Posted by Mark Singletary View Post

    It seems (but maybe I'm wrong) that much of the advice given here is related to helping local businesses to get an online presence and/or do Internet marketing (amongst other kinds of marketing perhaps).

    It also seems (but maybe I'm wrong) that much of the advice seems to be saying that remote services are harder, less likely to succeed, not worth the time, etc. It seems that many here discourage others from attempting remote work.

    Local doesn't always mean next door. Local can also mean small businesses, that operate in a local area. It doesn't have to be located by your or your business. Local also deals with local marketing, by marketing that business in it's local area through Google + Local, Targeted PPC, SEO, etc.

    I've always been a little confused by this especially when:

    1. There are many, supposedly/apparently successful, online marketing companies that have no local presence - it's all remote.

    You can do remote and help local businesses at the same time. Or, you can do one or the other. It depends on the individual and their business plan.

    2. Much of the advice given in the marketing world in general is to find a niche and target market and focus your efforts on that. So for example if I was a dry cleaner for the last 20 years and have perfected my marketing and now want to share with other dry cleaners, I am severely limited by how many dry cleaners are within an hour or even two of where I live.

    Correct, you would be severely limited. There is nothing stopping you from going nationwide and possibly global. In fact, I would recommend going nationwide, and not going around the dry cleaner's main business.

    3. We want to help Doctor Joe to get more patients from his online marketing efforts (I realize that some here also do other traditional marketing) but we are contacting Doctor Joe not through online marketing but by making a cold phone call or speaking at the chamber meeting or walking in. If it (online marketing) wouldn't work for us to get to Doctor Joe then why do we think it would work for him in getting new patients?

    That is an interesting question, and one I'm not sure I can help a whole lot with. I use the same marketing principles that I sell to a business, to attract businesses. On the other hand, what I offer is unique, due to my USP. So, a business wouldn't exactly know what they were looking for, but realize they needed my help when we would chat. If that makes sense.

    4. Besides #2 above, this seems that it limits us geographically especially if we live in a small town. So we handle the one dry cleaner in town and now we expand to the one health club and then the one grocery store, etc. In a town of a few thousand people, there are real limitations.

    You can go that model, or you can branch via niche and referrals. For example, I was working with a chiropractor locally, one in the south, and one on the west coast. I connected with all of them via LinkedIn. I was also contacted by businesses throughout the country. From Maine, to Florida, to Texas, to California and everywhere in between. I work locally, with local businesses, but don't limit myself.

    5. Many, otherwise good marketers, have good reasons for not being able to (not the same as unwilling) to go door to door or to speak at the Rotary club or whatever. For example:
    • Some can use the computer but it's hard to get around because they are in a wheel chair or have other illness or disabilities.
    • Some live overseas and don't speak the local language.
    • Some can't get a job (for whatever legitimate reason) so they can't afford the gas, print business cards and brochures or other similar expenses but they do have hosting paid for 6 months.
    • Some have a job such as being an over the road truck driver and can work at night but are only at home a couple days a month.
    What are your thoughts about offering local versus remote services? How would your approach differ if you were forced to do remote services due to one of the reasons above if you now focus solely on local services?

    Thanks,
    Mark
    Hope I was able to clarify something for you Mark
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