Everyone I'm offering clients already has clients. Should I just endure?

[MRiabov]

Hey,

I've been doing a web design agency - like a specialized skill of sorts.

So far, I have signed 2 people up for a free job - although I didn't get them results yet, because after I've designed them a website neither of them has started transferring them to their domains.

I was cold calling electricians, and quite a few said that "there is not enough electricians in Ireland, and the work is plenty, so we don't really need marketing". Now I am calling architects, and I get "oh, clients... we have so much jobs, we are booked to about Christmas... Maybe reach out to us in November".

Now I can't say over the phone "hey, I've just completed a job for a client, and we've got him 20% more clients that resulted in +$XXXX of revenue", because, well, I didn't do one yet.

Is this just an Irish thing where people rely so much on referrals from friends and family? Should I just endure and finally get my third "first client" to whom I'll get exceptional results (which I will)?

Should I purge cold calling for until my first results and try other methods like posting on Facebook/linkedIn? Suggestions?

 

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[MRiabov]

To note: I don't have network, as I am a Ukrainian in Ireland, and I'm going away from the country in 3 working days or so. And I'm not returning anytime soon, so network, as good of an option it would be, is not an option...

More cold calling, and cold emailing, then, what else...

 

[Johnny boy]

how many did you call?

I can scrape a list of 10000 companies on google in an industry and location and then send ringless voicemails to ones without websites and say "you don't have a website???? wtf????? call me back let's build you one for F*cks sake". and send that out to 1000 companies for like less than $15.

Smarter not harder.

 

[Johnny boy]

apify
search google business scraper
use ringless voicemail service

 

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[Spenny]

@farahead, see Johnny's method above for your web design

 

[Bence Ur]

I was cold calling electricians, and quite a few said that "there is not enough electricians in Ireland, so we don't really need marketing"

And it's a fallacy, they always need marketing in order to charge higher rates. With proper marketing they could charge higher rates. If they don't even have a website it means that they have zero marketing.

 

[The-J]

Hit em up again in 3 months

 

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[MRiabov]

And it's a fallacy, they always need marketing in order to charge higher rates. With proper marketing they could charge higher rates. If they don't even have a website it means that they have zero marketing.

Yeah, I thought about that one. The thing is, "they have no marketing", but they are still booked up for months in advance. Moreover, they can't even find staff to work with, because, again, there is not enough electricians.,,,

Hit em up again in 3 months

Good advice, but I don't know if I have 3 months runway...

I need a first client that I can deliver amazing bloody results, and I can win trust then

I hope what @Johnny boy suggested is legal anyway, and if it is... well, then I'll need to assemble copy and dictate it..

 

[MRiabov]

how many did you call?

I can scrape a list of 10000 companies on google in an industry and location and then send ringless voicemails to ones without websites and say "you don't have a website???? wtf????? call me back let's build you one for F*cks sake". and send that out to 1000 companies for like less than $15.

Smarter not harder.

How many... about 45... for 2 9-5 days...

9-5 because after they stop responding...

I know what you are offering is sound, but I also know that until you get at least some results non-scaled way until you go scaled is a crazy-in-a-bad-way strategy. I've learned my lessons...

Oh, btw, good advice for anyone cold calling - for pretty much any "niche" that you pick there exists a list of registered companies... Mine is riai.ie - it's a list of architect companies in Ireland. Get this kind of a list and you'll have an unlimited supply of perfectly qualified leads.

 

[Bence Ur]

Yeah, I thought about that one. The thing is, "they have no marketing", but they are still booked up for months in advance.

So they have zero marketing and very low rates. They must increase their rates and invest in marketing. If they are booked up for months in advance it means that their rates are too low.

But these clients are hard to convinced, start with those who value and understand marketing. Their rates are too low so they can't afford your services.

 

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[The-J]

Good advice, but I don't know if I have 3 months runway...

I don't think you realize how big of a problem that is.

You're thinking so short term that you're going to stay stuck in a rat race going from client to client, business to business, and you're not going to actually go through the act-assess-adjust loop. You're just going to act, then adjust based on incomplete data. You're going to keep trying new things hoping something else satisfies you... all because you're in the scarcity mode of "I need cash now".

Johnny boy has been in his business for over 5 years. His first year he made something like $25k. That's like minimum wage or something. In 5 years he became a franchise. In another 5 years he might be the #1 lawn care company in the entire United F*cking States. But he only made $25k his first year. That probably wasn't even enough to pay his bills. What if he stopped and said "I can't make money in this business, I only made $25k in a year! I make more at my job!"

This isn't really a "reality" problem. It's a mindset problem.

To note: I don't have network, as I am a Ukrainian in Ireland, and I'm going away from the country in 3 working days or so. And I'm not returning anytime soon, so network, as good of an option it would be, is not an option...

Then stop marketing to finicky Irish people and start marketing to greedy risk-tolerant Americans.

Plus, don't let your tenuous situation frighten you. As long as you have a phone with Internet access and a way to take payment, you can sell stuff. I've taken sales calls in hotel rooms, and that's always a great convo starter. I remember doing one in a coffee shop.

You think with scarcity because you're basically a refugee with nothing. That's normal. But since being rich isn't normal, and you want to be rich, you'll have to think abnormally. You have to think with abundance. Long-term vision. Sal's thread: read it and read it again.

GOLD! - MINDSET - How To Go From a Scarcity To an Abundance Mindset. This changed my life.

This is an important topic that I see, but I don't see often enough. I know I haven't been on the forum much lately, but I feel I need to post this. This was life changing for me and can be life changing for you. Most of you may know me as The Paint Brush Cover guy that was on Shark Tank. I...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

 

[ChrisStanton]

Seems like your offer just doesnt communicate enough value.

”Oh you are booked? That’s even better. What would your revenue look like if you could increase your prices by just 5% for each job?“

Explain how a professional looking website can position them as the TOP experts (status) and how doing so will allow them to do the same work but charge more money (more profits).

Some people are motivated by status, other by profits.

You just have to figure out how to communicate the value of it to them because currently they dont see it.

 

[Johnny boy]

Johnny boy has been in his business for over 5 years. His first year he made something like $25k. That's like minimum wage or something. In 5 years he became a franchise. In another 5 years he might be the #1 lawn care company in the entire United F*cking States. But he only made $25k his first year. That probably wasn't even enough to pay his bills. What if he stopped and said "I can't make money in this business, I only made $25k in a year! I make more at my job!"

It’s always just math.

I was as excited then as I am now

I’ll never forget one day in particular

I had just quit my job selling cars, I hired some guys, they were working on a job cleaning up some guys property. I was like 21 years old and it was summertime.

I went to the lake. I sat there and went for a swim. I was alone and it was like the middle of the day on a Tuesday.

I thought “wow…I’m making money right now. I’m swimming in a lake on a Tuesday and making money”

I felt so happy and like I had crossed over into a new way of thinking and a new life.

Then it just became about the math. Okay I make X per crew per day. If I want Y then I need Z number of customers and workers. Just math. If I want 5 million dollars of profit per year in personal income…guess how many customers I need? 8 thousand people that need their lawn mowed regularly. That isn’t crazy. And once they sign up, they stay. So I just have to build up a bit each year until then. It’s not as wild as it seems.

 

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[Johnny boy]

I've been doing a web design agency - like a specialized skill of sorts.

So far, I have signed 2 people up for a free job - although I didn't get them results yet, because after I've designed them a website neither of them has started transferring them to their domains.

I was cold calling electricians, and quite a few said that "there is not enough electricians in Ireland, and the work is plenty, so we don't really need marketing". Now I am calling architects, and I get "oh, clients... we have so much jobs, we are booked to about Christmas... Maybe reach out to us in November".

Now I can't say over the phone "hey, I've just completed a job for a client, and we've got him 20% more clients that resulted in +$XXXX of revenue", because, well, I didn't do one yet.

Is this just an Irish thing where people rely so much on referrals from friends and family? Should I just endure and finally get my third "first client" to whom I'll get exceptional results (which I will)?

Should I purge cold calling for until my first results and try other methods like posting on Facebook/linkedIn? Suggestions?

promise them 33% more profit

What’s the secret?

Charge more

$100 revenue - $70 cost = $30 profit.

1/3 more profit is $40

$40 profit + $70 cost is $110 needed revenue.

That’s a price increase of only 10%

“But I wouldn’t have enough customers”

‘That’s where I come in pal, let’s make you rich’

I can almost guarantee you need to improve a lot of things about how you’re reaching out to these people, what you’re offering, what you’re saying, etc.

 

[MRiabov]

promise them 33% more profit

What’s the secret?

Charge more

$100 revenue - $70 cost = $30 profit.

1/3 more profit is $40

$40 profit + $70 cost is $110 needed revenue.

That’s a price increase of only 10%

“But I wouldn’t have enough customers”

‘That’s where I come in pal, let’s make you rich’

I can almost guarantee you need to improve a lot of things about how you’re reaching out to these people, what you’re offering, what you’re saying, etc.

How to Increase Profits as an Architect

Hey, I'm Ferdinand, a marketer who specializes in helping architects boost their income. In this video, I'll share a simple premise that can potentially change your business and life. By increasing your client base by just 20%, you can either expand your team to handle more projects or charge...

www.loom.com

BRO-marketing 101, I swear (the videos I record, that is)

The first thing that @Fox would advise, and he advises it a lot - is to get the first client, to show that it is possible to get results to someone... To build trust. Because right now, even though someone may need my services, imagine a guy comes out of nothing promises you 33% more profits and when you ask "right. So have you done it to anyone else?" he's like "oh sorry, I need to get my first client..."

 

[MRiabov]

I don't know if these guys even need more marketing tbh...

As far as I understand, most architects are B2B - working with residential builders. Will websites, even those which are ranked properly actually get them more clients? Well, I'll try.

 

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[Johnny boy]

Okay best of luck bud

 

[Jrjohnny]

I don’t know if this is legal but can’t you just get fake testimonies?

Another thing you can do is find starting up companies as those are the ones who want the most growth and or customers.

 

[RicardoGrande]

I was cold calling electricians, and quite a few said that "there is not enough electricians in Ireland, and the work is plenty, so we don't really need marketing". Now I am calling architects, and I get "oh, clients... we have so much jobs, we are booked to about Christmas... Maybe reach out to us in November".

Completely normal esp with trades or anything reasonably important. Something I noticed early on and like 20+ other FWS students I've been in groups with or kept up with. I've personally had 50+ convos with local commercial business owners that all repeated the same thing. If it wasn't supply-chain issues, it was that they didn't have enough employees and would give anything if I could help them find more but until then they didn't really care about the site. Even if they do appear open, midway through the first contact or getting them booked for a sales call they seem to have the thought "y'know what I"m doing pretty decent right now" then go ghost.

how many did you call?

I can scrape a list of 10000 companies on google in an industry and location and then send ringless voicemails to ones without websites and say "you don't have a website???? wtf????? call me back let's build you one for F*cks sake". and send that out to 1000 companies for like less than $15.

Smarter not harder.

^ Do this.
I'd been dragging my feet on doing this and instead doing the slomo route of digging up local biz with decent revenue and bad sites and made over 3,000 cold calls 400+ personalized cold e-mails only to barely scrape with what feels like 20 jobs out of it among 100 ghostings. Volume and rolling the dice like Hormozi says, don't be me and waste 2 years of your life. It'll maybe be just 4 hours of effort pulling and curating the list, 30 minutes to write and record your VM and let the traffic roll in. This way you're not making endless fruitless calls or having a guy whose site was hacked and actively delivering malware cursing you out for "trying to sell him something" and slamming the phone on you for trying to help.

There's no easy answer besides run the numbers and do your best to observe, decide, and act as you go.

 

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[StrikingViper69]

They told you their problem, help them with that. They don’t need clients, they need more electricians to work for them. Why not try and help with that?

 

[Johnny boy]

They told you their problem, help them with that. They don’t need clients, they need more electricians to work for them. Why not try and help with that?

“Perfect we actually have a consulting branch that deals with your pain point exactly! I can book you a free call where we’ll give you a trial consulting package and work on fixing that problem”

 

[MRiabov]

They told you their problem, help them with that. They don’t need clients, they need more electricians to work for them. Why not try and help with that?

yep, and I've actually act-assess-adjusted about this yesterday. I realized that if there is not enough electricians in Ireland we may get them from somewhere. I'll try creating an HR chain where I'll get people from Poland/Ukraine/Slovakia/etc and get them to work with electricians in.

Wrote this before read what yall wrote here.

 

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[MRiabov]

promise them 33% more profit

What’s the secret?

Charge more

$100 revenue - $70 cost = $30 profit.

1/3 more profit is $40

$40 profit + $70 cost is $110 needed revenue.

That’s a price increase of only 10%

“But I wouldn’t have enough customers”

‘That’s where I come in pal, let’s make you rich’

I can almost guarantee you need to improve a lot of things about how you’re reaching out to these people, what you’re offering, what you’re saying, etc.

You know, it makes sense, but I remembered The 'Squeeze' Principle from TGGRR - and decided against it. It's where producers rise prices not based on (perceived) value of the service, but from their own wishes and desires.

Will look into sending mass voice messages right now... God bless...

 

[MRiabov]

Running the apify search right now. Thanks @Johnny boy your advice is gold,

Completely normal esp with trades or anything reasonably important. Something I noticed early on and like 20+ other FWS students I've been in groups with or kept up with. I've personally had 50+ convos with local commercial business owners that all repeated the same thing. If it wasn't supply-chain issues, it was that they didn't have enough employees and would give anything if I could help them find more but until then they didn't really care about the site. Even if they do appear open, midway through the first contact or getting them booked for a sales call they seem to have the thought "y'know what I"m doing pretty decent right now" then go ghost.



^ Do this.
I'd been dragging my feet on doing this and instead doing the slomo route of digging up local biz with decent revenue and bad sites and made over 3,000 cold calls 400+ personalized cold e-mails only to barely scrape with what feels like 20 jobs out of it among 100 ghostings. Volume and rolling the dice like Hormozi says, don't be me and waste 2 years of your life. It'll maybe be just 4 hours of effort pulling and curating the list, 30 minutes to write and record your VM and let the traffic roll in. This way you're not making endless fruitless calls or having a guy whose site was hacked and actively delivering malware cursing you out for "trying to sell him something" and slamming the phone on you for trying to help.

There's no easy answer besides run the numbers and do your best to observe, decide, and act as you go.

This. What?? This is so unexpected to me. Everyone told me "go high-conversion only, this is the only way"...

2 years 20 jobs? Dear god. 3000 cold calls, 400+ personalized cold emails with that little results?

@Fox how is this possible? Your methods sounded like they worked. Of course, you were going on higher firms - big housing or other really big clients.

ooh my god, will I learn a lot in this life...

 

[MakeItHappen]

I don’t know if this is legal but can’t you just get fake testimonies?

Another thing you can do is find starting up companies as those are the ones who want the most growth and or customers.

Even if it would be legal it is highly unethical...

 

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[Johnny boy]

I was cold calling electricians, and quite a few said that "there is not enough electricians in Ireland, and the work is plenty, so we don't really need marketing". Now I am calling architects, and I get "oh, clients... we have so much jobs, we are booked to about Christmas... Maybe reach out to us in November".

Now send out mass messages that say

“Are YOU a fully booked electrician that wishes they were making MORE money WITHOUT spending more time working? I work directly with electricians that used to have that exact problem and that’s EXACTLY what we fix. Oh, and there’s no commitment, no money upfront, just a free consultation. Call me back”

Bro they’re literally telling you their problem. Trying to sell them leads or increased lead gen when they’re booked is just hoping they have a problem so you can solve it, it’s about solving the problem they do have.

And if they aren’t fully booked they’ll feel like a loser and probably call you back anyways “hell, I’m not even fully booked but I want more money”.

And they always want more money.

If not, they wouldn’t be working still….

 

[Fox]

I don't think you realize how big of a problem that is.

You're thinking so short term that you're going to stay stuck in a rat race going from client to client, business to business, and you're not going to actually go through the act-assess-adjust loop. You're just going to act, then adjust based on incomplete data. You're going to keep trying new things hoping something else satisfies you... all because you're in the scarcity mode of "I need cash now".

Johnny boy has been in his business for over 5 years. His first year he made something like $25k. That's like minimum wage or something. In 5 years he became a franchise. In another 5 years he might be the #1 lawn care company in the entire United F*cking States. But he only made $25k his first year. That probably wasn't even enough to pay his bills. What if he stopped and said "I can't make money in this business, I only made $25k in a year! I make more at my job!"

This isn't really a "reality" problem. It's a mindset problem.



Then stop marketing to finicky Irish people and start marketing to greedy risk-tolerant Americans.

Plus, don't let your tenuous situation frighten you. As long as you have a phone with Internet access and a way to take payment, you can sell stuff. I've taken sales calls in hotel rooms, and that's always a great convo starter. I remember doing one in a coffee shop.

You think with scarcity because you're basically a refugee with nothing. That's normal. But since being rich isn't normal, and you want to be rich, you'll have to think abnormally. You have to think with abundance. Long-term vision. Sal's thread: read it and read it again.

GOLD! - MINDSET - How To Go From a Scarcity To an Abundance Mindset. This changed my life.

This is an important topic that I see, but I don't see often enough. I know I haven't been on the forum much lately, but I feel I need to post this. This was life changing for me and can be life changing for you. Most of you may know me as The Paint Brush Cover guy that was on Shark Tank. I...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

Massively underrated comment.

No business owes you a single penny. You got to get good enough where people want to work with you.

So far, I have signed 2 people up for a free job - although I didn't get them results yet, because after I've designed them a website neither of them has started transferring them to their domains.

I was cold calling electricians, and quite a few said that "there is not enough electricians in Ireland, and the work is plenty, so we don't really need marketing". Now I am calling architects, and I get "oh, clients... we have so much jobs, we are booked to about Christmas... Maybe reach out to us in November".

Okay - so you did two websites with no results and they aren't even online.
So, you basically have zero to show. This means cold emailing businesses at this stage is unlikely to work.

What is better here (than cold emailing) is to use some kind of advantage to get a decent first project and actual results.
You are Ukrainian - maybe use that network and ask if anyone knows a decent business in need of real online help.

You want one solid project - that is online and that you can show the value of what you can do to help a business.

And... skip Irish businesses. They generally think small, don't have big problems to solve, and pay terribly.

Go right to someone in the UK, USA, or Canada. Join some online Ukrainian groups and work your way in.

 

[Fox]

2 years 20 jobs? Dear god. 3000 cold calls, 400+ personalized cold emails with that little results?

@Fox how is this possible? Your methods sounded like they worked. Of course, you were going on higher firms - big housing or other really big clients.

ooh my god, will I learn a lot in this life...

Some student don't make it work.

When I check in as to why it usually turns out that they just take the same action 2000 times and don't change anything.

Or they didn't do anything at all.

2 years...
- You could also read 10 of the best copywriting books
- Take 5 more courses on high converting websites
- Do what it takes to get a few solid case studies
- And be easily getting to 5-10k months (ideally going way higher and moving on to other business models)

Wed design is pretty straight forward stuff. You get some business results, you learn to sell based off that.

Also as far as the program goes you could also post up anything and get feedback.
Call recordings, emails sent, replies from clients - Im in the group daily and help anyone who is active.

My program (or anything ) is what people make it. I really do try my best but not 100% of people get there.

Honestly this frustrates me a lot. Cause I teach it all the time...

Don't just do the same thing over and over. If it isn't working after a few hundred tries there is obviously an issue.

@RicardoGrande if you starting posting actual in-depth details as to where you are stuck on this forum or in the program group then these issues would be fixed in no time.

If you look for other people who didn't make it work - you will find them.

If you look for people who have actually gotten results with this - you will find them. (like 4 people already in this thread at least)

It is clear where your focus is on, and it isn't helping you at all.

 

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[Jon L]

Listen to your potential clients. They're telling you that their market doesn't want marketing help. That means they're the wrong group of people. Doing more of the same will get you nowhere. Convincing people that don't have a vision for what their company could become with marketing help is way too much work.

Far better to find a different group of people that can see the value in marketing help without you needing to explain it to them. When you do, you'll still have to refine your pitch a bit, but you won't be trying to swim upstream.

I'd look for an industry where a lot of companies already have good websites. Then, find companies that have recently changed hands, or ones that have crappy websites, or decent websites that haven't been updated in some time.

In short: Position your business so that it has the greatest chance for success. Right industry, right target audience, right message. Don't sell to losers.

 

[Jrjohnny]

Even if it would be legal it is highly unethical...

Sure it’s unethical but probably like 75% of companies have fake reviews and testimonies. I was just throwing it out there.