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Best clients

by daveaball
11 replies
Hi guys just looking for some advice.
I am a web designer and will be looking for local businesses to start offering SEO services.
In your experiences which are the businesses that are actively looking for SEO in the UK.
I was thinking plumbers and builders.
I want to start in one nice and build up a portfolio and thats the reason I am asking, many thanks
#clients
  • Profile picture of the author John Regal
    To be honest, its really hard to market web design to clients. I`ve tried. you best bet is to give out free samples and examples of your work, design a website for a company that needs it and charge them monthly to keep it up. post in your local classified and have the clients come to you. Its so much easier and cost much less time chasing down businesses
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    • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
      Originally Posted by John Regal View Post

      To be honest, its really hard to market web design to clients. I`ve tried. you best bet is to give out free samples and examples of your work, design a website for a company that needs it and charge them monthly to keep it up. post in your local classified and have the clients come to you. Its so much easier and cost much less time chasing down businesses
      Are you just trolling? Your posts have been absolutely awful. Hard to market web design to clients? Are you kidding me? It's the easiest service to offer.

      To the OP... do yourself a favor, pick an industry that makes pretty decent money, doesn't have to be super high end.. the most important thing is that they get volume and are busy. If you get busy professionals that have money, they typically pay faster, leave you alone, and are more grateful for the work you've done and primed for an upsell after being shown initial value.
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      • Profile picture of the author John Regal
        Originally Posted by iAmNameLess View Post

        Are you just trolling? Your posts have been absolutely awful. Hard to market web design to clients? Are you kidding me? It's the easiest service to offer.

        To the OP... do yourself a favor, pick an industry that makes pretty decent money, doesn't have to be super high end.. the most important thing is that they get volume and are busy. If you get busy professionals that have money, they typically pay faster, leave you alone, and are more grateful for the work you've done and primed for an upsell after being shown initial value.
        No I was stating my opinion on the situation and my expereince with trying to deal with customers. Companies don`t except web design up front...its better to let the business come to you
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        • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
          Originally Posted by John Regal View Post

          No I was stating my opinion on the situation and my expereince with trying to deal with customers. Companies don`t except web design up front...its better to let the business come to you
          I just didn't know if you're trying to up your post count or something but a lot of what you're saying doesn't make any sense.
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          • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
            My favorite clients are owners of small businesses. (I can get them on the phone)
            They sell a limited set of products or services. (for concentrated keyword research)
            They are located in cities of less than 250,000 (less competition, easier placement on Google)

            They have heard of me. Or read one of my books (it doesn't matter which one)
            They currently advertise.
            They aren't a sinking ship.
            They have an average sale price of at least $500.

            I turn down people who don't fit nearly all those criteria. That's not a positioning statement, I really turn down about half.
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            "Be kind. For everyone you meet is fighting a great battle" Ian Maclaren
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            • Profile picture of the author daveaball
              Many thanks for your replies. They are much appreciated.
              I was thinking of targetting plumbers in the UK. I know they have a service to offer and also a lot of local competition.
              I live in Ireland and the UK is the larger market . Does living in a differant country make it less feasible to accomplish?
              Many thanks
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              • Profile picture of the author isaacsmithjones
                Originally Posted by daveaball View Post

                Many thanks for your replies. They are much appreciated.
                I was thinking of targetting plumbers in the UK. I know they have a service to offer and also a lot of local competition.
                I live in Ireland and the UK is the larger market . Does living in a differant country make it less feasible to accomplish?
                Many thanks
                As Claude said... A smaller population will generally mean less search engine competition. I'm not an SEO expert when it comes to the technical side, because I've been outsourcing my SEO for a few years. But one thing I do know is that you need to work out your target market.

                Use people who are already advertising - especially if they're doing it poorly. Don't worry about having a portfolio. A portfolio is a way of building credibility. But you can also build credibility by portraying your knowledge to the prospect.

                As for getting the price you deserve, it's not JUST about finding people who can afford it. It's also about SHOWING them what it's worth to them. I.e. if SEO is gonna send them £10k worth of business in the next year, then you can easily charge a good portion of that value.

                This thread is about the value-based selling I just explained.

                An extra nuance here is that you need to get the client to TELL YOU what your service is worth to them. I.e. if you can generate them 1000 clicks to their site, how many leads do THEY think it will generate... Then how many of those leads do THEY think will turn into business. Then quantify that business, and you have it - what the service is worth to them.
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            • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
              Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post


              I turn down people who don't fit nearly all those criteria. That's not a positioning statement, I really turn down about half.
              I believe you... I do the same thing, but when sales are lower than my forecasts I seem to throw out the discipline, sell to them, and 9 times out of 10 I always regret it.
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              • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
                Originally Posted by iAmNameLess View Post

                I believe you... I do the same thing, but when sales are lower than my forecasts I seem to throw out the discipline, sell to them, and 9 times out of 10 I always regret it.

                The chief reasons I turn down a client are;

                I know that they won't get the results I promise.
                They are in an industry that is completely foreign to me. Too much to learn.
                Their ticket price is too low to show a return.
                They give me a strong vibe that they will be hard to work with.
                I can't convince them that their expectations are unrealistic.
                They insist on negotiating price.
                They ask for a proposal or references. Now, I'm a commodity, and I don't want to sell that way.

                But I've done the same thing, take clients because the money feels good, and then dread ever day that I work on their project...or talk to them.
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                One Call Closing book https://www.amazon.com/One-Call-Clos...=1527788418&sr

                "Be kind. For everyone you meet is fighting a great battle" Ian Maclaren
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  • Profile picture of the author JulieWhite
    They might prefer someone local. Why not build up a portfolio from Ireland based projects first?
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  • Profile picture of the author Cassie416
    What you should do is have an online portfolio where you can present your material to the clients. Something they can check out quickly
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