SEO Agency - Sales Methods

[twentytwo]

I'd love to hear from people out there that actually run their own SEO agencies.

I'm in the process of building an SEO company. There's a lot to take care of, so there might be a few more threads that I'll be opening up soon. One of the major things that I want to get right is sales.

I'm going to go down the path of hiring a telemarketing firm to do lead generation / appointment setting. I think this might be an effective way to make some early sales.

What's your best methods for making sales? Do you have any experience with telemarketing?

[n_touch]

Honestly the best way for you to get clients is to be found. Imagine you go ahead and hire a telemarketer and you set a bunch of leads and are not even in the search engines high enough for you to be found by potential clients. If someone is looking for an SEO company, I think that they would much rather choose the company that they found, then came looking for them. There are many ways to be found, and with many niches. If you are getting ready to start your own SEO company I suggest the first thing that you work on is your own SERP.

[Jim Gillum]

People that spend time on the net tend to forget that business was at one time conducted off line..
That still works and is quite effective.....

A company with adequate funding can generate business much quicker than waiting for a search engine....

A targeted list of prospects a few demographics and the show starts.....

I have used many forms of marketing.....but never telemarketing....
Best to you.....

[jhoanna]

I am no SEO agency/company owner, but my previous company made me help their sales department in getting leads. Frankly and sadly, telemarketing doesn't work the way they're supposed to when it comes to offering SEO services. Unless, your list of prospects are friends and family members. These days, you have to be creative! You have to do mostly online.

* When you search for, let's say, "seo services" (or any other keywords) in Google, do you notice the paid ads? Check their descriptions, it can give you some ideas on how to make yours if or when you decide to do paid ads posting in the future. Promos, special offers, discounts and other freebies still works, all you have to do is construct a more striking and clear line for your ad.

* Before hiring a telemarketing firm to do leads generation / appointment setting, think very very hard. Please, I've seen this before and it's not good. There are several telemarketing firms that, instead of helping, can really mess things up. It would be nicer if you have a friend or know someone from the firm you're about to hire. Mix ups and misunderstandings frequently occur, especially if the firm you've hired is all but a bunch of id**ts.

* IMO (in your niche), buying leads isn't really worth the money. You have to work hard for your leads.

* If you want to go offline to get leads, FYI, trade shows still works! You just have to be well informed about the places, how to set up, and the right person/people to send to trade shows.

[HTMLBasicTutor]

If a telemarker calls me, I hang up on them.

If you spam my email address, I dump it without reading especially from my sites that specifically say on the contact page NOT to bother sending these type of emails.

For the offline side,
Don't send a sales person that doesn't know what the heck they are talking about to call on people. Nothing more annoying than some sales person trying to sell you something that you know more about than they do.

Don't make promises you can't keep. This includes your sales people. It just looks bad when you don't keep your promises and ruins the chance of future work.

On the positive side:
Know your stuff before walking in the door or calling someone.

Find out who in the operation you need to talk to that can make the kind of decisions you need made.

Do some actual research on the prospect. More than just looking at their website. Know their industry.

[picnicmaster]

I think you might be better aiming for a personal approach. Customers like to know that they are dealing with someone who knows their stuff and can be trusted too.

[sundancerz]

I've never interrupted someones time with spam email or a unsolicited phone calls telling them what they need. That just isn't how one succeeds in business.
However I love that my competition does it.

[enterscope]

Yeah I'd say if you plan on running an SEO company your website better be optimized and promoted enough to grab your leads for you. Otherwise, your clients will catch on. That's like having a fence company that has a rusted, worn down fence around the business.

[fluffythewondercat]

I hope your SEO company's services consist of more than just xrumer/senuke.

fLufF
--

[J from Michigan]

I've been getting phone solicited a lot, lately.

When I tell them that I'm already on page one, they don't believe me.
I literally have been making these jokers manually search my keywords... to prove it to THEM.

Let's get real... who's selling who?!?

[Mara-SEO]

Optimize your website first, show people that you are good at it.
Adwords and Email campaign can help a lot when you're starting a business.
Contact other start up business and offer them a service...

[twentytwo]

Originally Posted by Jim Gillum

A company with adequate funding can generate business much quicker than waiting for a search engine....

This is the reason why the thread was created. I'm planning my SEO campaign to get up there in Google for my business - but as we all know, that takes time, and a lot of time if targeting SEO keywords. Hence the need to use other sales methods.

I'm trying AdWords, but the clicks are so damn expensive. I have a good understanding of creating high quality campaigns - yet just to test out whether the campaign can yield a positive ROI will cost a fortune.

Telemarketing / Lead generation, eh not a big fan. But I see it as a viable way to get the show started.

Thought about advertising in my local paper as well. Has anyone tried that?

Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat

I hope your SEO company's services consist of more than just xrumer/senuke.
--

The premise is quite simple, I'm offering people quality SEO. Xrumer I'm not a fan of as I consider it spam. SEnuke if used the right way, can reduce the time it takes to do things that would be other manually.

I don't use either of them though.

[ribbun]

The best way to enter in Internet Marketing is Internet Marketing it self. Do some good job for your Sites's SEO....As people who are landing to your site...Would check how good you are at SEO....And the best way to proof them is to do good SEO to your own site itself....Hope you get it.

[Net_2011]

Having an SEO agency in order to prove your worth you need first to rank your own company and make it visible in search engines and this is actually the biggest challenge we have encountered because as we all know millions are climbing for the top ranking. Making your company rank in the top rankings can prove that your credible of handling clients and therefore lots of doors can open to you but of course be sure that your website can showcase the totality of your agency. It is important that you have rankings on search engines before going to hire a telemarketing firm.

__________________________
Prove your worth and be seen!
[fake signature was here]

[sundancerz]

I see a lot of people say to do the SEO thing to your site..in other words if you can rank your SEO site you should be able to rank theirs. I too think the same way...How ever I had quite a banter going on with someone at a different forum that disagrees with that.
Personally I think it's like hiring a mechanic that can't get his own car to run or purchasing hi PR links from a company that has no PR.
here's the link if your interested in reading banter. Here halfway down the page where you see my ugly mug is where it starts.

[KHovde]

I do think that trade shows are one of the best ways of increasing sales leads since they do allow you to meet a wide variety of people who would be interested in what your company has to offer.

Trade shows are excellent to promote your business offline, but when it comes to your website, social media is a great and inexpensive way to get the word out.

Best of luck to you!

[twentytwo]

Originally Posted by KHovde

I do think that trade shows are one of the best ways of increasing sales leads

I actually have come across the power of this over the last half year and have seen the power of investing in trade shows. If you have the money - which can go up to $10k per trade show, then I would suggest taking a look at the potential of trade shows.

This could be a very good way to build yourself as the SEO authority!