How do I Combat? "Why do I need a website? How Will it Bring Me More Business?"

It would seem to me you'd know if their competitor(s) have websites. If they do, your answer is: to make sure you get the client/customer before these guys and then show your prospect their competitor's sites.

I would say in order to keep up with the times, online visility is more important than yellow page visibility. People search online for information. Thats why you NEED a website.

These are all 'phantom issues'.

They're not real.

SORT for prospects who don't have an issue with you not having a brick and mortar business...and who already value having a website.

You are going to have a tough enough time without having to convince everyone you encounter of the basic value of what you have to offer.

Ok so on the second front do you know anyone else in business you could hire a room from and use there address, could you use virtual office space or a mailing address to give the appearance of being a real world business. Secondly why not look at a pay per call vocie answering service they can take messages and you can call clients back when free. Remember perception is reality.

On the first point surely this is just selling, ask questions, listen for answers try and find there pain point and match your benefits to their needs.

With regards to fast food outlets offer incentives and coupons in exchange for email addresses. You can then highlight to the business owner that he can generate custom on quiet nights by doing a mail shot and getting instant results - something you can not do offline and there is the added benefit it doesn't cost.

I agree with Jason, if they don't understand the value of a website, and how their customers are going to find them - it's not worth it. It's an up hill battle every time, and finally IF and WHEN they do see the light, and are ready to build a website/market it online - they are the first to b*tch that the rate you quote them. Then you educate them on what goees into a website, blah blah blah and the vicious cycle continues.

There is a difference between a "Web Designer" and a "Marketer" that uses Web Design as a tool. Does a business need a "Website"? NO. Do they want results, that they can take to the bank? YES.

When and if you start looking at it like that, then you will start to understand that what you are thinking are objections right now, are not objections but ques to adjust the terms and language that you are speaking. You simply are not presenting what you have to offer with the right language.

So the question becomes what are you offering? Are you offering a website? Or a vehicle to extend the potential reach of a business?

Only fools sells websites.

So what exactly is a vehicle to extending the potential reach of a business? Glad you asked... A vehicle that extends potential reach is a collection of pages on the internet that answer a few core questions. Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How ( 5 W's and a H )

So to break that down. Who they are.. the back story of who owns it, who works there etc. What they do. This will describe their products and services. Where they do it, their address or the fact that they deliver or or whatever. When they do it, easy easy hours of operation. Why do they do it... this again plays into the back story, are they third generation, or was it a hobby. How they do it.. is it with Passion? they use of cutting edge technology etc.

These do not have to be on 5 separate pages, it is simply a KISS guide to the type of content that should be on the collection of pages.

So how does that translate to getting people into the store. Well it doesn't, and that is why people that sell "websites" are fools.

At this point right here is when you leave behind being a website builder and become a marketer. There are 2 things that you need to do. #1 build a mobile site in addition to the desktop site. #2 learn everything you can about Google Places and Bing Business, as well as Yahoo maps. More specifically learn how to implement them.

I will attack the recommendation for a mobile site first. There are basically 2 features that a mobile website has that a desktop site does not. the Push to talk feature, and the push to directions feature. 1 press and your clients phone is ringing. there is no copy and paste and yada yada. Instant results. Push to directions feature... well what needs to be said here? directions from where your clients customer is right now, to your clients door.

This DOES NOT have to frilly and complicated and all of that. Again in short form answer 5 W's and a H and ensure the Call and Directions feature are there. I suggest using NetObjects Masaic. There are more than a few reason why this; the fact that you can build it before you commit to it is awesome. Its pretty much drag and drop, and its a whole whopping $50.00 a year.

Now we get into the good stuff. Google Places and Bing Business - oh yeah Yahoo maps too. This is where the objection "I don't want to advertise to the whole world" gets answered. Take a moment and open a new tab in your browser. go to Google and type in "Italian Restaurant" So what do you see? A bar across the top of the listings page? All LOCAL listings right? A map to the right? All LOCAL listings right? Look at the search results... More local listings correct?

Did we type in your city name? NO. This here internet stuff is MAGIC. It knows where I am searching from, and provides results that are useful to me WOW! You can CONTROL the distance from your clients location this type of result will be seen. Be it 5 miles or 100 miles. THIS is the key to you driving traffic to your clients. And not just traffic, but potential traffic that is close in proximity that WILL walk into their door!

Start with looking at Catalyst eMarketing goto their website, and get lost ( as in read for hours ) engross yourself in learning how to make the listings, how to get citations, how THIS is your key to success.

Now we get into an important aspect of all of this. PROOF that what you are doing is working. I personally like using "Online Only Coupons" be it something the clients customer prints out at home, or simply shows them from their phone. I provide dollar sized coupon redemption forms that the client uses to track how many they get on a daily / weekly basis. I have included spaces so that they can keep track of the date, the time and the amount of discount. So they get a coupon, they write on it if they wish, they can now put it in the register to keep track. This fortifies PROOF that what you are doing is working.

WHO should you be targeting. To say the least there are many answers to this question. As already stated use a process of qualification or sorting to determine if you are spinning your wheels or not. As you gain experience in the process of sales, you will be able to determine this quickly.

I can tell you stay away from Pizza joints. I am not going to say that they are completely offline marketing oriented, but it takes a far deeper system than what I have laid out here to get that.

I personally look for niche / specialty industries with little competition. Vacuum repair, or shoe repair, or small fishing tackle stores. The reason being, as much as they are serving the community that they are located, they have a greater potential reach. Is there another store offering their service 25 miles away? If you live in a smaller community as I do, the answer is no. There are 3 vacuum repair places they all sell for the most part different brands, and their geographical reach is 30 miles to the north and 80+ miles to the West East and South. The above model works extremely well for these folks. You can easily draw new customers for your clients, that they have never reached before.

The same goes for that odd-ball Indian Restaurant as an example, may be the only one in forever miles. Again, you want to target at first the business' that you can most impact. and with that you need to understand that results = referals. If you can provide results for these folks, they will refer. And because the referral is coming from a small niched business, people that own and operate within a more crowded marketplace will take notice, when these smaller business start talking about the growth they have experienced using your services ( If they can do that for that small business, they start thinking, what you could do for them )

What is your worth? From a prospects point of view this is a big question that needs to be answered. A quick analogy that I use all the time; A restaurant's average bill is $50.00 we will assume the business is run right and there is something like 20% profit. so each NEW customer is worth $10.00 every time they come in. IF, at the very least you provide 2 NEW customer a week ( we know this based on the coupon proof ) you have brought in an extra $1040.00 in the first year using your service.

So if you were to charge $600 for developing the 3 point system and then charge $35 a month for hosting, you come real close to being at a break even point. As in it would cost you prospect nothing to use you.

As you gain the experience in providing results, your price can go up accordingly. The first system you develop, you may only get minimal results. The 5th site, you may no longer be bringing 2 customer a week, but 20 a week. your value goes to $10400.00 (in profit ) or $52,000 gross. As you have the ability to bring more business you have the ability to charge more.

Now the issue of you not having an "office". You do, you work from home. In todays world, that is more than acceptable. in fact, I think of it this way; The people that are tied to a brick and mortar are envious of your position. They think you have freedom, and an open schedule. you in their eyes are living the life. So just let go of that one. Use your home address and call that one done!

There is more, but I think this will work for now...

Hope that Helps!

Maybe stop selling websites & start selling advertising.

People that are scared of the web don't understand web talk, they understand advertising. So sell advertising (sales pitch) & use the website to generate traffic.

Keep in mind If you can't generate traffic with a website your reputation is on the line, especially in a small town.

Next!

You're not in the convincing business, or you shouldn't be. It's 2014, and if they don't have a website or see the value in it, they are not worth your time. They'll most likely be following the paths of Blockbuster, Borders, etc.

Don't waste another second with business owners like this. Work with people who see the value in what you offer. It's a much better (more fun) experience.

I have a video to share with you that will break the whole "fortune is in the follow up". I know most in this part of the forum will hate this, but I do it in my business and ya know what? So much less stress. I don't follow up with prospects.

Why?

I am not chasing anyone for business.

There are MORE THAN ENOUGH business owners out there that see the value we offer, go after them, not the ones that are going to be a pain.

Offline marketing is all about positioning, master that and you can write your own check. BTW -- you will piss people off. F them.

Watch this video, at 10:30 and on....

Watched the video, entertaining but mainly hype!

It's up to you to make them see the value of a website or what ever service you offer! When they give you objections it's because they want you to give them reasons why they should buy from you! You have to get creative and give them many reasons why they need what you are selling. Close them! Or move on!

I believe you have to give your best pitch and effort to close any deal! And you will know when it's time to move on. But I don't agree with just looking for lay-downs! That is for lazy, non closers! In My Opinion! I know that there was more to it but that was the general message.

There are small businesses that are not worth talking to at all. They probably don't even have business cards! So start with a better lead!

*how do I know this? I have done it for real not just talk about it!

Thanks for your input its very helpful. I would also like to know if you had some suggestions for emailing prospective clients without sounding like im being too overwhelming and sounding like a complete salesman.

I know I have to address a potential problem, offer a solution to the problem, qualify myself, and leave contact info.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

You should not be trying to sell websites if simple questions like this threw you side-ways and you didn't already know the value. They'll have just clocked you're full of it. Another hustler trying to sell them something they don't need (in their eyes).

Either do some research and planning yourself on your target's market and build a strong, solid and insightful argument for why they need a website beforehand, e.g., their customers are online in X of numbers and there is a gap there for them to easily take advantage of and you can help them and explain how, or scrap the idea if there isn't and take 5-10 of the main offline marketing areas, go to keyword planner and spend a week analysing the market until you can spot opportunities you can service based on a strong argument. This will get you highly focused on a particular market with a particular need, and then you can create a compelling service around that.

If you think just getting a few bullets points to regurgitate to prospects who'll need a very strong argument if they are idiotic enough not to know about how the internet can help them, you're in trouble.

Even those first 30 minutes of the video will give you all you need to do to do some great research and zero on on hot markets. Selling websites with the framing you're using like Savidge pointed out, is a very big distance from a hot market.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=JidRdPJJqPs

Your competitors' websites are open 24/7. Every time they open their email they have a new customer who has contacted them by email. They return the call and make that sale. Wouldn't that be nice if that was you instead? I assume you feel you do a better job than your competitors?

Rick

Alright, like others said, it's best to not have to fight with people who seem set against a website. Better approach prospects who are more open to the idea. And, like others said, do research, research, research! Theory alone and the experiences of others won't help you if you don't have the drive to make it yourself, but a strong theoretical foundation will inform you all throughout your business life.

Good luck!

In every room of prospects or 'potentials' there are four types of people:

1. A group ready to buy your service, TODAY
2. A group wanting your service, but they just don't know if you're the guy/team to do it for them
3. A group that know they need it EVENTUALLY, but won't get it, or doesn't care about it enough.
4. A group that will NEVER, EVER buy your product or service

When you are pitching/closing and going to appointments, you need to ONLY pitch groups 1 & 2.

Group 3 & 4 are a waste of your time and just move on.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't prepare rebuttals and overcome objections, but it sounds like you're pitching everyone with a heartbeat, which is a waste of your time unfortunately.

It is not your job to convince someone they need something. It is easier to find a market for what you can provide and let them know that you are the best person to get it from.

The mistake here is the common misconception that you're being paid for output.

You're not being paid to do a website. You're being paid to help a company generate more sales.

Do you understand that difference?

Nice related post here by Romeo:

http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...r-clients.html

Unfortunately, a role in just web development can only take you so far... now and days, web developers have to create within their business model, a complete understanding of marketing to really sell the idea..

In my opinion, the more knowledge you have, the more value you can present to the client.

The more value you present? well.. Value = $$$$

Food for thought!

Does it mention anything about that singing needing heavy manipulation of pitch? Because that would be impressive.