Ive noticed people asking questions on the 100K and 200K threads about marketing online services to offline companies. Now, add that thread about the lawsuit, and it is time for a quick ethicla tutorial. I know this works, because I have been in outside sales, both b2b and b2c (direct selling door to door). Some methods are outdated, others are rarely used because salesmen arent up for trying new things...which is stupid.
1st. No need to cold call on the phone. I noticed in the lawsuit thread that part of the suit came bacause the company wasnt registered as a phone solicitor. With the new do not call list, outbound calling isnt a good idea. Plus, it is annoying and the closing ratio is very low - the lowest of any form of sales.
The way around this is to get the prospective business or consumer to call you. Then you are free and clear. How do you do this? It is very simple, almost too simple.
FLYER DISTRIBUTION
My number one method for gaining new sales was with the distribution of flyers. All you do is create some flyers, make some copies, and go business to business handing them out. How is this different from cold calling? You are not there to sell anything.
You arent there to sell anything on a sales call? Corect! You are there to give valuable information to some one who might benefit from your service.
Simply take the flyer, walk into the business and hand the flyer to some one who looks important and introduce yourself. Then, Say "Here is some information that could help the business owner increase his sales in a slumping economy." Then turn around and walk out. Dont say another word.
See the difference in trying to sell a cold business and just giving information. Which would you prefer to have done to you? You just did a couple of things for that business owner that no other salesperson has done. First, you respected his time. Second, you gave him valuable info (if your flyer is done correctly) and let him make a decision as to whether he was interested or not.
At this point, you stand out to the business owner, even if he wasnt there. Your flyer has contact details as well as your web address, so he is going to most likely going to look into your offer. If he is interested, he will call you, giving you the upper hand to close the sale.
You can hand out alot of flyers in an hour, or you can hire some teenager to do it. Spend a couple hoours one day a week, and you will ewnd up with more business than you can handle.
Another option is to revisit the areas you distributed your flyers to (horible sentence structure). Go back to the businesses that didnt respond and see if you can speak with the business owner. Just ask him if he got your information. This time, it is ok to speak :updown: If not, give him another flyer and give him a 30 second sales pitch. Then say " My contact information is on the flyer if you want to get in touch with me." Then leave. Again, you didnt try to sell him.
Look, people want what they cant have. If the business owner wants to be sold on the spot and you leave, he will crave your services - probably call you by the end of the day.
I'm telling you - distributre the flyers and resist the urge to make a sales presentation. If you are trying to get a local money store to use you as an affiliate, or if you are selling your web design services, this is a great way to get a lot of business. Did I mention the huge rate of referrals you will get? You will make a huge impact if you try this method out.
I hope this helps. I might be new to AM, but I know a few things about offline marketing. Now, if I could just figure out how to make those sites in the 100k thread or the shoemaker post, my life would be great!
1st. No need to cold call on the phone. I noticed in the lawsuit thread that part of the suit came bacause the company wasnt registered as a phone solicitor. With the new do not call list, outbound calling isnt a good idea. Plus, it is annoying and the closing ratio is very low - the lowest of any form of sales.
The way around this is to get the prospective business or consumer to call you. Then you are free and clear. How do you do this? It is very simple, almost too simple.
FLYER DISTRIBUTION
My number one method for gaining new sales was with the distribution of flyers. All you do is create some flyers, make some copies, and go business to business handing them out. How is this different from cold calling? You are not there to sell anything.
You arent there to sell anything on a sales call? Corect! You are there to give valuable information to some one who might benefit from your service.
Simply take the flyer, walk into the business and hand the flyer to some one who looks important and introduce yourself. Then, Say "Here is some information that could help the business owner increase his sales in a slumping economy." Then turn around and walk out. Dont say another word.
See the difference in trying to sell a cold business and just giving information. Which would you prefer to have done to you? You just did a couple of things for that business owner that no other salesperson has done. First, you respected his time. Second, you gave him valuable info (if your flyer is done correctly) and let him make a decision as to whether he was interested or not.
At this point, you stand out to the business owner, even if he wasnt there. Your flyer has contact details as well as your web address, so he is going to most likely going to look into your offer. If he is interested, he will call you, giving you the upper hand to close the sale.
You can hand out alot of flyers in an hour, or you can hire some teenager to do it. Spend a couple hoours one day a week, and you will ewnd up with more business than you can handle.
Another option is to revisit the areas you distributed your flyers to (horible sentence structure). Go back to the businesses that didnt respond and see if you can speak with the business owner. Just ask him if he got your information. This time, it is ok to speak :updown: If not, give him another flyer and give him a 30 second sales pitch. Then say " My contact information is on the flyer if you want to get in touch with me." Then leave. Again, you didnt try to sell him.
Look, people want what they cant have. If the business owner wants to be sold on the spot and you leave, he will crave your services - probably call you by the end of the day.
I'm telling you - distributre the flyers and resist the urge to make a sales presentation. If you are trying to get a local money store to use you as an affiliate, or if you are selling your web design services, this is a great way to get a lot of business. Did I mention the huge rate of referrals you will get? You will make a huge impact if you try this method out.
I hope this helps. I might be new to AM, but I know a few things about offline marketing. Now, if I could just figure out how to make those sites in the 100k thread or the shoemaker post, my life would be great!
