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AndyTalks with Fox about Selling Websites & AdWords Services

Marketing, social media, advertising

Andy Black

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Selling Websites & AdWords Services (2 hours!)

I catch up with @Fox who I've not spoken to for a few months.

We both sell services to businesses.

Fox sells websites (as described in his thread here), and has just started coaching others to do the same (as described in his marketplace ad here).

I sell AdWords as a service, and also sell landing pages, graphic design, and other related products/services. (I do NOT have a coaching programme.)

It's interesting how we see things similarly, and differently.


This recorded chat is two hours long and we're not going to edit it down to make it shorter because we're both busy working on (and in!) our businesses.

Treat this as listening to a couple of guys shooting the breeze. Play it in the background as you're doing chores, going for a walk, or having a beer.

Hopefully you'll pick up some tips or ideas.



> Click here to access the recording <


What were your takeaways?

What will you do differently going forward?




(For other recordings click HERE.)

 
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Thiago Machado

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Thanks Andy for this. I need to work on my sound quality for sure, sounds a little rough.

Great talk, guys!

@Fox,

I did an interview on Skype for my university thesis.
I used a headphone that comes with a mic (apple).
Worked like a charm.
 
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FastNAwesome

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What were your takeaways?

What will you do differently going forward?

The call is full of valuable info about advertising, sales, networking...down to some very concrete advice on web pages and ads. Below I'll note just a few takeaways I had.

- Don't solve problems you don't have and might never have


@Andy Black thanks for this one. It's possibly the biggest obstacle.

- Deer hunting vs rice farming?

Here, I'd maybe suggest - farming for meat and milk:)

@Fox mentions it would be good if there was a tool to provide "web design score". I don't know of such tool ,but I know one great one for page speed and user experience - and it has score too:) https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/

- 1:24:00 This will make sales much easier for you, and get you much better clients

- Sell them what they want, give them what they need:)



What will I do differently going forward?

Dealing with obstacles as they come, not spend precious time contemplating them.
 

12Nick12

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Thanks for taking the time out to share some knowledge. I really liked the talk, guys! If you're interested in or already are selling services to businesses, I highly recommend you give it a listen.

Here are my takeaways:

Show Don't Tell:
It's a lot easier to explain the value you can provide by literally showing business owners where they are missing out on opportunities. It's as simple as sharing screens on Skype.

Andy approaches it like this:
1.) Ask what keywords a potential client is interested in
2.) Show them the search volume for those keywords
3.) Have them search those keywords (What will they see? Their competitors ads, of course! That's gonna create some serious fear of missing out.)
4.) Have them look at the ads (Are they relevant? Probably not.)
5.) Have them look at the landing pages (Are they relevant? You guessed it...probably not.)
6.) Explain how easy it will be to beat their competitors and start taking advantage of all that search volume (relevancy, relevancy, relevancy!)

It's much easier sell after actually showing potential clients exactly how they can generate more leads and gain an upper hand on their competition.

Don't Sell the Unsellable:
The sales process shouldn't drag on. Explain the value you that you can provide, answer their questions, and ask them to fill out their invoice when their ready to get going. If they're not ready to work with you, tell them to contact you if things change. This shouldn't last weeks. If someone doesn't see the value in what you provide, move on to the next guy who can't wait for your help. If somebody is concerned with the price before you even explain what you do, that's a clear indication that they're not value focused.

Let Them Name Their Price:
Fox mentioned that with some jobs he likes to ask what budget businesses have for web design work. He was going to price a job at $3-$4k, but he was told that the business had a budget of $5-$6k. He earned and a few extra thousand for asking one simple question.

Master the Silence:
Andy mentioned that silence is essential when it comes to sales. A lot of people will name their price, get nervous, and then start offering a discount or try justifying their price. JUST SHUT UP! You put in all the work to get to the point of naming your price. Let the client tell you what they think, don't ruin it for yourself.

A Website is Just Like a Brick and Mortar Store:
Wouldn't you be a little confused if you walked in to a B&M store and the sales person greeted you with, "So yeah, my grandpa opened this store 78 years ago. Pretty cool, huh?" Dude, I'm just trying to buy shoes, why are you telling me about your grandpa? People do the same thing with websites. It's a journey. Greet the visitor, show them you're credible, share a few more details, and lead them to a sale.

Make Your Landing Pages and Ads Targeted:
If you're using paid search to generate leads, then you know what your visitors are searching for. If someone was searching for an emergency plumber, your ad headline could say "Emergency Plumber in X City", and your landing page headline could say "Looking For An Emergency Plumber In X City?". So many advertisers aren't clear about exactly what they offer or where their business is located. Give the people what they are searching for, dammit!

Get Your Foot in the Door:
If you do great work for a business, it can get you referrals, but it can also get you more work from that same business. For example, Andy was handling AdWords for a business and they asked if he could also handle graphic design work for them too. Don't feel like you need to sell all of your skills right away, get to work for a business and see where that takes you.

Don't Be Afraid to Help for Free:
Andy will give some business owners AdWords advice free of charge. He looks at this way, if he gives them advice, they will either come back to him for help because it's too hard or they will continue to work on their own. If they come back to him for help, he'll be able to land them as a client. If they continue to work on their own, at least that's one more person that can refer other people who need AdWords help to him.

Sell the Process, Not the Results:
If you sell marketing or web design services, you have to remember that a lot of factors are out of your control. You can create the greatest AdWords campaign or website that the world has ever seen, but that doesn't necessarily transfer into results. Your client's sales team could suck, their offer may not be good enough, search volume may not be high enough, etc. Don't let it discourage you. If you sell web design services, create the best websites you possibly can. If you sell AdWords services, look at what you can improve upon each week to further optimize the campaigns. Eventually, you'll start seeing great results or you'll realize that the business just isn't right for AdWords.
 
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Andy Black

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Thanks for taking the time out to share some knowledge. I really liked the talk, guys! If you're interested in or already are selling services to businesses, I highly recommend you give it a listen.

Here are my takeaways:

Show don't tell:
It's a lot easier to explain the value you can provide by literally showing business owners where they are missing out on opportunities. It's as simple as sharing screens on Skype.

Andy approaches it like this:
1.) Ask what keywords a potential client is interested in
2.) Show them the search volume for those keywords
3.) Have them search those keywords (What will they see? Their competitors ads, of course! That's gonna create some serious fear of missing out.)
4.) Have them look at the ads (Are they relevant? Probably not.)
5.) Have them look at the landing pages (Are they relevant? You guessed it...probably not.)
6.) Explain how easy it will be to beat their competitors and start taking advantage of all that search volume (relevancy, relevancy, relevancy!)

It's much easier sell after actually showing potential clients exactly how they can generate more leads and gain an upper hand on their competition.

Don't Sell the Unsellable:
The sales process shouldn't drag on. Explain the value you that you can provide, answer their questions, and ask them to fill out their invoice when their ready to get going. If they're not ready to work with you, tell them to contact you if things change. This shouldn't last weeks. If someone doesn't see the value in what you provide, move on to the next guy who can't wait for your help. If somebody is concerned with the price before you even explain what you do, that's a clear indication that they're not value focused.

Let Them Name Their Price:
Fox mentioned that with some jobs he likes to ask what budget businesses have for web design work. He was going to price a job at $3-$4k, but he was told that the business had a budget of $5-$6k. He earned and a few extra thousand for asking one simple question.

Master the Silence:
Andy mentioned that silence is essential when it comes to sales. A lot of people will name their price, get nervous, and then start offering a discount or try justifying their price. JUST SHUT UP! You put in all the work to get to the point of naming your price. Let the client tell you what they think, don't ruin it for yourself.

A Website is Just Like a Brick and Mortar Store:
Wouldn't you be a little confused if you walked in to a B&M store and the sales person greeted you with, "So yeah, my grandpa opened this store 78 years ago. Pretty cool, huh?" Dude, I'm just trying to buy shoes, why are you telling me about your grandpa? People do the same thing with websites. It's a journey. Greet the visitor, show them you're credible, share a few more details, and lead them to a sale.

Make Your Landing Pages and Ads Targeted:
If you're using paid search to generate leads, then you know what your visitors are searching for. If someone was searching for an emergency plumber, your ad headline could say "Emergency Plumber in X City", and your landing page headline could say "Looking For An Emergency Plumber In X City?". So many advertisers aren't clear about exactly what they offer or where their business is located. Give the people what they are searching for, dammit!

Get Your Foot in the Door:
If you do great work for a business, it can get you referrals, but it can also get you more work from that same business. For example, Andy was handling AdWords for a business and they asked if he could also handle graphic design work for them, too. Don't feel like you need to sell all of your skills right away, get to work for a business and see where that takes you.

Don't Be Afraid to Help for Free:
Andy will give some business owners AdWords advice free of charge. He looks at this way, if he gives them advice, they will either come back to him for help because it's too hard or they will continue to work on their own. If they come back to him for help, he'll be able to land them as a client. If they continue to work on their own, at least that's one more person that can refer other people who need AdWords help to him.

Sell the Process, Not the Results:
If you sell marketing or web design services, you have to remember that a lot of factors are out of your control. You can create the greatest AdWords campaign or website that the world has ever seen, but that doesn't necessarily transfer into results. Your client's sales team could suck, their offer may not be good enough, search volume may not be high enough, etc. Don't let it discourage you. If you sell a web design services, create the best websites you possibly can. If you sell AdWords services, look at what you can improve upon each week to further optimize the campaigns. Eventually, you'll start seeing great results or you'll realize that the business just isn't right for AdWords.
Thank for the writeup! Rep++

I'm almost tempted to listen to it myself now!
 

KushShah9492

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Haven't gone through the conversation yet, but I'm definitely taking notes on the takeaways on the thread.
 

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