Can't seem to sell our social media services

[Jon L]

Thank you, man! This was extremely helpful.

Do you have any tips on what I can do on a first meeting with a client? Should I, say, move it towards the close or just let the customer vent or maybe even end the meeting with a free offer (maybe a social media checkup of some sort) ?

It all depends on the client and what they want. If they want to start now, then start now.

You need to be providing value at each step of the way. They are evaluating you on what you will be like to work with, and how effective you will be for them. So, offer them feedback based on their stated needs and goals. Do all of this for free during your meeting with them. Make them feel listened to, valued, understood, and that you can help them meet their goals in a way they couldn't without you.

At the end of the conversation, say, 'here's what I propose.' and then come up with an idea for a short term engagement. Define some goals that are achievable for you in that time frame and that would truly help the client out. The more you can tie it to increased profit, the more of a no-brainer it is for the owner.

Ideally, you'd have a form where you could fill in the blanks and then have them sign it at the end. Even if you don't feel comfortable with that, and email follow up summarizing what you're going to be doing along with price would also work. For me, I collect a deposit up front on a credit card. I use a credit card because everyone knows that a credit card charge can be contested if I don't perform. But, contesting a charge is a pain to do, and won't be done unless I perform remarkably poorly. Asking for a deposit puts skin in the game for them. You're investing a good amount of time up front and deserve at least a similar investment from the client. DON'T APOLOGIZE FOR CHARGING FOR YOUR SERVICES. you're a professional, and deserve to be paid as such. If you don't charge, the client will wonder why...they will think you're not worth much, and they won't put in as much time helping you succeed.

You're developing a long-term relationship with these people. Personally, I hate sales gimmicks that lock people into things, or force them to 'buy now' or whatever. I'm not an expert salesperson, so I won't say whether or not you should use them. I'm sure that opinions vary widely.

Another note about sales collateral like white papers, case studies and the like. This stuff is nice to have, but not necessary. Not a single one of my clients has even asked for a reference, much less asked for some sales collateral. Why? I sound like I know what I'm talking about, and I listen.

 

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[Primeperiwinkle]

I want to buy something from @Jon L now.

@broswoodwork is it just me or did we both actually sound interested in the OP’s product with no clear reply?

I need to know if I can say humph now or if I should wait..

 

[Jon L]

I want to buy something from @Jon L now.

@broswoodwork is it just me or did we both actually sound interested in the OP’s product with no clear reply?

I need to know if I can say humph now or if I should wait..

I have a custom software system I can sell you ... you just gotta tell me what you need it to do

 

[CareCPA]

I have a custom software system I can sell you ... you just gotta tell me what you need it to do

I need a Ferrari software on a Pinto budget...

 

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[broswoodwork]

I want to buy something from @Jon L now.

@broswoodwork is it just me or did we both actually sound interested in the OP’s product with no clear reply?

I need to know if I can say humph now or if I should wait..

I don't think we're going to get to peek behind the curtain... Something to do with facebook is my best guess.

 

[Jon L]

I need a Ferrari software on a Pinto budget...

OMG my favorite story for that. On upwork, there was a guy that wanted "Something like AirBNB" and his budget was $5000. Just to be an asshat, I sent a message to him that said, 'You do realize that AirBNB has raised 850 MILLION DOLLARS by this point, right?' He replied, 'you're a douche.' I smiled. I still felt it was worth it.

I met with a sort-of competitor of mine a while back. He has a video on his website entitled 'Off by a Zero' where he talks about the typical custom software customer and their price expectations. Its pretty accurate. People really don't understand what goes into developing software.

What I usually tell potential clients is that if you're trying to solve a $500,000 problem with only a few thousand dollars, you'll end up leaving a lot of money on the table. Sure, we can build a system that will get you part of the way there, but if you truly have a $500,000 problem, investing more money into it will allow us to come up with a solution that will solve a much larger portion of your problem, and will make you more money in the long run.

The thing with telling them that? Its the absolute truth, and they know it. I love dealing with clients this way. It makes things so much easier.

The converse is true, too. If they have a $5000 problem and they want software that will cost $50,000 to build, I tell them that they're crazy (well maybe not in those words), but I walk them through what it would take to build the software they want, and they quickly realize that its not worth it. Later, though, when they have a problem that custom software would be a better fit for, guess who they're going to call?

 

[Sadik]

For sure. So the last business I pitched to was a food truck. We went to his spot and the owner was busy cooking. He said he was willing to hear us out while he worked. I can't exactly remember what I opened up with, but I'm pretty sure we started with a little bit of conversation, then I went straight to his pain points. Asked him what were the biggest problems he was having with social media and he told me it was that he had no time (which is something other establishments have told us time and time again). He worked about 12 hours a day and his wife (who apparently is part of the business) apparently doesn't understand social media well.



So I honed in on that. I told him that with a team, he could focus 100% on his product and we would focus 100% on his advertising. Which, in all honesty, would be easy because: a. His business had just started, so the budget would be much lower b. His truck spot was actually very good, near the metro and right in front of a car wash which would be good for lunch breaks and c. He had never done anything in terms of advertising, ever, so anything would have been an improvement. I told him all of the above.

He seemed very enthusiastic and was very fascinated by the concept of targeted ads. We had our statement of work with us and we gave it to him. He told us he'd check with his wife and all seemed good.

Fast forward about five days later and I made a follow up call. Asked him if he had looked it over and what were his thoughts. The first thing he told me was the pricing. He told me he wanted nothing more but to do it and that he was checking with his wife on how they could budget the cost. We charged $1000 for two months, and while on the call I offered him we would cut down the price to $700, and left him with that. Again, he told me he would check with his wife.

So I was planning on doing one last follow up call and this time if he still wasn't bought in, I'd offer a free two or three weeks and then he'd get to decide if he got any value from it. That was the last sales pitch itself.

It's worthy to note, that the constant answers I get from business owners on their problems are almost always time and price. The time saving part is a pain point we can hone in, easily. In terms of price, however, I feel like we could convey our services in a better way so that they don't feel it's a risky investment.

So that's the general breakdown. We're going to have a reunion tomorrow with a yoga club owner and I'm planning on giving them a free gift as a way for them to think it over. Let's see how that goes

Hi Doug,

This was not a problem at your end. The guy just didn't have the money. When in a service business, never go after clients who have no money. They might want and need your services, but you will have to work for peanuts or they just won't hire you.

If I was in your situation, here's what I would do.

I would look at the different local businesses in the places I am targeting and try to determine the most profitable ones. Theoretically you might think the ones who are not doing well need your services the most, but they can't pay you. I would look at the most successful businesses who have money to pay and make a list and reach out to them in every way I can.

When reaching out, I would brand myself as their niche marketing expert. Meaning, for example if I am reaching out to an accountant, I would brand myself as having created a social media product specially for accountants. So this isn't just social media services I am selling, this is "Social media services for accountants". I would research into how I can pull statistics, facts to support my claim. Meaning, I would say find out the most popular facebook groups for accountants, or really any such platform and pick numbers from them to impress my potential client. Meaning, for example I would say something like, "Did you know that 7 out of 10 people who hired an accountant first googled this this this terms.... blah blah blah". Basically my point is make the offering so niche for the specific business (whom you have previously researched and know that they make good money), that it hooks them in and makes you different from everybody else who is just selling social media services.

A second thing I would then do is pitch one potential client versus other. So continuing our accountant example, if you reached out to ten people and maybe you got to speak to two people, I would drop the name of each at the other one. Basically to establish authority for you and validation since it's highly likely they know each other's names.

Just a couple things that came to mind... Hope it helps. And all the best with your next pitch!

 

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[Chip01]

When prospecting (I hope you prospect), do you ask any qualifying questions?

Do you have a meeting strategy that you can try, test and tweak until you get the right one?

Are you actually solving the prospects problem? Or are you just offering a solution that they might not have a problem for?

How are you reaching out to prospects?

Website etc isn’t important in my honest opinion. I have one and it’s pointless, to be brutally honest. Although setting up a landing page isn’t a bad idea but you must direct traffic to that page. Try using your own digital marketing strategies (that you would use for your clients) to direct an audience to your landing page

I set my prices based on how much more the client is looking to make. For example (to make the maths easy), say the business currently has £10k (A) revenue per month and is looking to make £30k (C) per month, i’d set them a realistic immediate (short term) goal of £20k (B) which is an increase of £10k (this is called ABC selling). From this, i’d charge 10% of the difference between A and B - so in this case £1000/month.

Hope this helps and good luck

 

[StrikingViper69]

I have another question. If the customer asks for the pricing on the first meeting, should I be straight up and tell them the price? Or should I do something before that to soften the blow?

"Sure, I'd love to tell you the price. We have a range of options depending on what you want. In order to give you a price that is relevant, do you mind if I ask you a few questions so that I can better understand your situation?"

or something to that effect.

 

[ChrisV]

No Portfolio/Experience: This one is the most frustrating one because it's a Catch-22. Without experience we can't get hired, but if we don't get hired we won't ever get experience.

do free work to build a portfolio

 

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[Xeon]

Hope you guys are doing well.

I'm stressed out. It's been about three months since I started our social media management agency (where I live this stuff still hasn't even begun to poke its head. In other words, we could easily stand out on that niche). However, I'm running into a lot of trouble. That trouble can be summarized in one sentence:

We can't get the close.

This can be broken down into three parts:

1. Pricing Complaints: Despite the fact that what we're doing is basically a full time job, especially considering we're also creating all of their ads and content and offering weekly analytics. I know the customer is always right and we've tried to set lower prices but still, our leads flake.

2. No Portfolio/Experience: This one is the most frustrating one because it's a Catch-22. Without experience we can't get hired, but if we don't get hired we won't ever get experience.

3. Ignorance on the Subject: Our leads just apparently don't seem to grasp how much social media can change their business. This one is 100% on us. We have never tried to sell anything to anyone ever. We're just babies in terms of the sales world, so on the positive side, our reunions with potential clients have been a HUGE wake up call. People just don't care about statistics or numbers, they care about getting their problems solved... Yet, we just can't convey it in a way that the customer thoroughly understands and gets excited by it.

As someone who used to be pretty infatuated with social media (especially Instagram) and have shopped around for the same type of services you're selling, I totally agree with your 1. and 2. points.
In the end, I figured such services aren't worth it. Here's why from my point of view, and maybe it can help you to come up with ideas to remove the objections and get the close:

Pricing : The thing with social media, especially nowadays where organic reach is dead (especially for new accounts trying to grow from 0 followers), is "iffy". So what even if you can help me reach 5K in 2 weeks? Will it help me get sales? Because small companies.....simply have no cash to burn every month paying for social media management services. Most social media management agencies are charging like $599 - $2,999 / month. There has to be some sort of ROI for the client.

 

[Thiago Machado]

@DougRMR

Having been in a similar situation before here are my two cents.

1. You need to have some sort of proof.

Like everyone else said: think about it from the customer's shoes...

Right now, this is your offer:

"Hey, give me $1000 per month for this service. I don't have any examples yet, but if you hire me now, in 3 months time we'll start seeing some traction that'll explode your sales!"

Now, be honest: would you buy that?

I don't think so...

Here's what I would do to get experience and samples.

1. Read this

2. Find a company that looks like a good fit

50% of the game is your skills.

The other 50% are the people you serve.

If your clients suck, they won't let you do your best work.

That's why you need to find good clients.

I know it's for small businesses, but ideally they have a website, have more than 5 employees, and you see they are posting regularly or doing things that look like they're trying to grow.

Also, be careful, you're getting cheapskates and people who don't value your services simply because they're small businesses.

They usually don't have money to invest and they need to see results yesterday (It's what I like to call "panic marketing")

They need results NOW!

They don't have time for testing and optimization.

They need customers in the door ASAP.

There's a lot of pressure working with people like this, so I try to stay away from them. This is usually a sign of a small business with no money to spend and who have no clue what good marketing is.

Honestly, you don't want a client whom you have to teach them what you do.

If you need to do that then they're most likely not a good fit.

It's an uphill battle having to explain to them the benefit of what you do and "change their minds."

Focus your energy on people who know what you do and need your help.

3. Don't ask if they need help - give them the solution for free.

Here's what I would do:

• Create an audit of their social media presence
• Craft a strategy of how they can improve it.
• Give them a piece of the solution

For example:

Let's say your targeting accountants.

1. Take a screenshot of their page.
2. Take a screenshot of an awesome looking accountant page

Can you spot the difference?

How's the content?

How are the visuals?

How's the engagement?

3. In this case, the potential client probably posts poor quality content (both written and visual)

4. Go to Quora and look up "accountant" or entrepreneurship communities and look up topics related to that

5. Go to Google and look up things that are related to their client's problems. For example: tax - problems.

6. Start researching and reading all the problems people have that an accountant could solve.

7. This is the baseline of your content! Content is nothing more than authentic solutions to peoples problems.

8. Go to canva.com or graphicriver.net and find a social media template.

9. Create an awesome social media graphic and write copy that addresses their customer's potential customer's problems.

10. Take your written audit, social media graphic + copy and put it in a Google drive folder.

11. Grab their email address and send them an email of what you've done.

12. This doesn't have to be fancy and you don't need any "scripts of templates" to pull this off. Just be human and say something like:

Subj: I wrote this up for you...

Hey (name),

Insert something positive.

I was on your Instagram page and noticed a couple of things that could help you x,y,z.

Rather than just tell you about it, I went ahead and researched the content your perfect customers are looking for and made a custom graphic that you can use too.

You can access both of them here (link)

The graphic is easy to edit, but if you need any help, feel free to reach out and I'll shoot a quick video on how you can do that.

Anyways, let me know what you think, if this sounds interesting, "I'd love to get on a quick call and see if there are any problems you have in this area of your business that I can help you with"

Cheers,

---

Now, why do I advise doing this?

Because 99% of people don't.

And why don't people do this?

Because it's hard work.

Everybody goes into the market and does mass cold calling and cold emails.

The problem is that literally everybody does this.

Because of this, you're just noise to whoever is listening. They've heard the same pitch 10x today.

Focus on quality, not quantity

It takes longer, but you'll get more responses (as a matter of fact, you'll actually get a response to begin with).

2. Poor salesmanship is usually a symptom of a poor offer

Now, I might get some criticism for this one...

However, this has been proven to me over and over again.

Quick question: if someone in the Sahara desert is thirsty, do you think it takes a lot of convincing to sell them a water bottle?

I don't think so...

What I do know is that it takes a lot of "sales tricks" to sell something when it's commoditized and the offer isn't clear.

However, if you can get clear on what your pitch is, the problem you solve, and the solution you deliver - then selling becomes easy.

There's no amount of "closing techniques" that can fix a bad offer.

---

Anyways, just my two cents on what I've found worked for me in the past.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask away.

Best of luck!