subject: How to Sell services to Local Business [print this page] How to Sell services to Local Business How to Sell services to Local Business
How to Sell in to Local Business:
By Matt Johnson
Hi everyone this is Matt Johnson. If you are like me Selling doesn't come natural... I'm a computer techie. It used to be that I would much rather hide behind my computer than face rejection in a sale. Selling in person used to scare the heck out of me.
I've learned that "It really isn't that hard". fortunately I have a brother who is a 25 year veteran in advertising sales. He has passed much knowledge on to me.(In bits and pieces) Selling still scares me a little, but it's much easier now that I have these tools and the "know how".
You may be trying to figure out how to approach local business for selling your products or services, or how to break the ice for a with a local business.
When I first heard that I would be selling my companies product a WEBSITE EXPANSION, I was excited for many reasons. This program gives HOPE to many business owners that are struggling with "How do I drive customers to my business? Especially in today's dismal economy?"
Old ways of advertising aren't working
Today we get in our cars, listen to XM or Satellite radio or simply plug in our I-Pod. we avoid hearing the commercials on regular radio stations.
We DVR (record TV shows) so we can fast forward through commercials.
Billboards just sit there hoping somebody will pass by (that's NOT watching the road) AND be interested in what's being offered. It's really more like wishful thinking! Although I do Like the ones that lights up on the highway.. But If I passed it 100 times this week I still couldn't tell you what the ad was for..
Newspaper? Today, most people look at news headlines on the internet. They read only the news that gets their attention.
Yellow pages: I got mine last week .. I chucked in the recycle bin..But I do save the bigger one as I target the larger ad clients. I know a /1/4 page ad is about 3k now a days (Thanks to my brother) So that might be a good prospect.
Customers are out there, and I know they need more clients visiting their business!
They need more prospects in the funnel. But, how do I get a business to understand that I can match their customers with them by putting their website in front of new customers that are already looking for their businesses products or services? The key there is "They are already looking for your services".
Excerpt from my web site explaining a Website Expansion:
"Think of a small fish hook, Your regular 5 - 20 page website can only be found by the few keywords that the customer searched for. With a Website Expansion added to your site, you are now able to increase your keyword reach across Google searches, by thousands and thousands of pages.Effectively casting a Much wider net to acquire prospects to your business.
If a basic 20 page website brought in 20 visitors a day, How many visitors would a 5000 page website bring in each day? 1000? 2000? More? They are peopleready to buy, who were already looking for what you offer, and now they just found YOU..Would thousands more targeted visitors help boost sales this week?
"Adding a Website Expansion is like owning 5000 commercial fisherman's netsHooking in customers as opposed to the gold fish net that you're using now.."
You're going to get a lot more fish!" AKA Customers to your doors!
--------------
My approach to local selling is simple and basic. Don't walk into a business looking like a sales person.
If you walk from your car with a computer bag over your shoulder, carrying a folder or portfolio in the other hand, the person you want to talk to immediately places "guards" at the door, and the owner disappears for sure...
These steps may not work for every business, but it has worked for me.
Also, DO NOT plan to present what you have to offer until YOU HAVE BEEN ASKED TO DO SO!
Walk into a commercial establishment, empty handed, look around a little until approached, and then say:
"I am doing a survey of businesses in this area and what I hear most is that business is down somewhat, are you experiencing the same thing?"
It doesn't matter if that person is a clerk or the owner because you have just made them feel important by asking them the question without concern for their status. Most likely the response you'll get is.. That business is off a little, or maybe even a lot.
Then you can ask:
"What are you doing to attract NEW customers to the business/store?, and are you the person that handles that?"
Now you will get to the owner!
If the owner / decision maker is not in, get contact information or a time that you can come back.
When you are talking to the owner and ask what mechanisms are being used to attract new customers, just listen.
I like to hear ALL of the ways that people generally market to the masses. I always ask:
"How is that working for you, or what is your typical response to that approach?"
They usually tell me sales responses are pretty low,.. Once I hear the very low response ratio, I like to ask:
"Why do you spend so much money advertising to people that aren't interested? Why not just advertise to and where those people that are looking for what your business offers? NOW YOU HAVE THEIR ATTENTION. I am usually asked: "How do you know who is interested?"
Congratulations, you have just been invited to present! Tell the owner
"it will take about 10 -15 minutes to explain, so is now a good time or should we set an appointment?"
You might want to make sure that ALL the people that will be making the buying decision are going to be present. Don't get over anxious and make a wasted presentation when you hold all the cards.
Now you can go get your things from your vehicle (Don't RUN) or if you made an appointment bring them in at the time of your appointment. It's Showtime!
Try to use the type of business you are visiting as an example. If I am in a Pool Supply store, I would say:
"Do you think someone that is having trouble with their car, or is in need of supplies for their kid's school project, or other things, has any interest in the Pool Supplies you have on sale?"
I can market your business to people who are looking for Pool Supplies, or back yard amenities, or pool designs because I know when they are SEARCHING, READING ARTICLES, TRYING TO FIND INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR PRODUCTS OR SERVICES. And because your search is almost exactly what they typed they will click on your site.
I like to say Remember you were found ORGANICALY too. That means you didn't have to pay Google for the click, you showed up in the regular search section. Not the advertisements. and your customers who visit have already expressed an interest in what your business has to offer.
NOTE: If this is a scheduled appointment I always do a few keyword searches to show Google PPC Costs.. Then I use my calculator, or theirs so they can get an Idea how valuable ($$$) Organic clicks are. SpyFu works great for this.
Here is an example of Pay Per Click costs that helps show the true monetary value of a Website Expansion, and how your Company will save money with a Website Expansion.
PPC vs. Regular Search Traffic.
Example site facts:
My newly expanded example site is 7 days old. ( As of today Aug 18 2010)
We are already averaging 25 hits per day (some days more some days less)
Here are some results from Google that show Pay Per Click costs and average hits per key word when using PPC.
With this chart we can easily estimate what it would cost us to get traffic with Pay Per Click.
As you can see, for my site to receive 25 visitors per day, I need to spend $3.73 per each click in Google
"But remember my 7 day old site that I did a Website Expansion on
is already getting 25 hits per day And Free!!"
25 hits with PPC would cost me $93.25 per day. {$3.73 X 25 visits or $93.25}
I will be expected to pay Google over $34,000 every year for these results using PPC Ad words just to maintain 25 visitors per day.- What if the key word phrase cost more?
let's do a simple check. I will list out current PPC prices for a few other business. You do the calculation for how much it would cost per day to get 25 clicks! or per year.
Carpet Cleaners, Dentists, Plumbers. would cost a lot more per click, but not with a Website Expansion. They would save money! So would your business.
Okay, now their interest is peaked, you will be asked: "How much does it cost?"
My average Website Expansion usually sells in the 5 - 9k range depending on the size run..
So you can easily see how valuable a Web expansion is for a business especially if they have already been ineffectively advertising in Yellow page type publications or if they are spending at least $20 a day in PPC Where once they stop paying.. "the ads stop, the leads dry up. Not so with a Website Expansion your advertising efforts continue to bring leads 24 hrs a day 7 days a week. You take nights off, It still working for you.. Take weekends offThey're still there working for you, because the pages are on your site advertising and this goes on day after day month after month, and you no longer have to pay for costly leads that dry up the moment you stop paying for them.
(By the way $20 a day in PPC is $7300 year in PPC!) We are just re-allocating $$ you are already spending.
NOW GET YOUR ORDER SHEETS OUT AND START WRITING! Assume the sale is made until the prospect tells you otherwise.
Obviously I can't cover all the scenarios on how to sell, but I can say these methods have worked pretty well for me,
Aside from the satisfaction of matching my customers with a service I know will work for them, I end up being viewed as a trusted credible business advisor. and that's really how we want our customers to think of us. Wouldn't you agree?
