SERVICES!
Care to guess what the single most overlooked business opportunity on the Net happens to be?
SERVICES!
Selling your services online is a fantastic way to “leverage” your income-building potential -- all at a minimum cost.
By services, I don’t necessarily mean Net-related services like programming or Web design (although they can and should be included here). You could be...
• a landscape designer
• a cartoon artist
• an import/export specialist for Germany
• an investment specialist in Brazilian bonds
• an expert in Japanese netsuke
• an accountant with special knowledge of tax havens
• a copywriter
• a trainer (of just about anything!)
• an editor for medical articles
• someone who creates indexes for books
• a pharmaceutical expert
• a translator (Do you know two languages?)
• etc., etc.,... the possibilities are endless
And your clients could be “local” or “global” in nature. The narrowness of your “niche” service will determine whether your target group lives in the neighborhood or much further away -- on another continent, even!
The diversity of this world and the people in it, is amazing. Just about everyone has an expertise in something that he could sell. Heck, odds are he is already selling it as his primary income source... but he’s never thought seriously about generating customers by using the Web’s full potential.
Dubious? Don’t think this happens? Well, consider this...I found our current FileMaker Database programmer on the Web, but have never met him in person. He happens to live in Australia. Over the past few years, this Service Seller has made thousands of dollars through contract work with SiteSell.
Need another example? Read about Nadir’s financial site from Kazakhstan…http://www.sitesell.com/case-studies/services-nadir.html
This brings up the concept of the high lifetime value of every new client... one of the reasons that the Web has such a high Return on Investment (ROI). But more on this a bit below, I’m getting ahead of myself!
Back to our FileMaker programmer...How much of that income would he have earned if I hadn’t found him through the Internet?
That’s correct -- ZERO.
OK, now for a “local” example (in my own community of Hudson, Quebec)... Our Royal Canadian Legion Curling Club hosted a huge bonspiel for the top Legion teams (men’s) from across Canada. They wanted a bag-piper for the opening ceremony but none of the members knew anyone who played the instrument. So someone tried looking on the Net.
Bingo!But here’s the best part. This bag-piper lived in the neighboring community -just 10 miles (15 km) down the road! This is a perfect example of a local service seller using the reach of the Web to generate more income. As you’ll see, it’s every bit as easy, perhaps easier, for potential new clients to find and hire you through the Web than for global-type services such as copywriters, programmers, etc.
Global or local, here’s a certainty...Building a Theme-based Content Site that is related to your service is a smart and timely business move, especially now that more and more people are using the Net as their preferred source of information. And that is exactly what this Course will help you build...
... a site that your visitors will love due to its valuable info.AND...
... a site that Search Engines will love to spider, list and rank!
What do most service sellers do online to add new clients to their roster and build a successful online business?Either they...
• do the minimum by constructing a one-page resume-style Web site that simply outlines their credentials (“I’m here... call me if you are interested” passive approach that does nothing to answer the important “what’s-in-it-for-me” question for visitors)
Or...• put up a “circa 1997” brochure site that no one visits (no submission of properly optimized Web pages to the Search Engines + no attention to off-page Search Engine ranking criteria = no presence on Web searchers’ radar screens)
Or...These strategies simply do not get the job done effectively.
Instead, follow this pathway to profit... Start by thinking about how a prospective client goes about hiring a new service seller. It’s critical to get inside her mindset so that you can set up your strategies accordingly...
#1) She has to FIND you.Use effective marketing efforts online and offline to raise your profile. Achieve a good ranking in Search Engine search results (i.e., try to obtain a top 20 position on a search results page). This makes it easy for people to find and visit your site. By what you write, say, and do, encourage word-of-mouth referral -- create a buzz!
Don’t worry about the details right now. We’re talking “big picture” and business basics today. We’ll get into the nitty-gritty, the exact how-to, in the coming DAYS.
#2) She needs get to know you and TRUST you.
Build credibility by providing high-value content on your Web site. Show prospects that you have their best interests at heart and that you can adapt or customize your service to meet their individual needs. Foster an ongoing relationship through a free e-zine/newsletter that steadily increases their trust levels and cements a view that you are an “authority” in your field.
Yes, you will also start your own theme-related e-zine. Delivering great content to subscribers is so important, especially if you want to sell your services online...
• It builds trust.
• It develops a sense of “owing” in your subscribers.
#3) She sees that YOU and YOUR SERVICE fulfill a wish or fix a problem.
Show your potential clients through the content on your Web site and in your ezine that you can provide the solution that they are seeking. Your service will solve their problems, answer a dream, enrich their lives, and/or improve their businesses. You are the dependable expert that they want and need!
Women now represent over 50% of all surfers. And they control approximately 80% of all shopping dollars. To reinforce this in your mind, we’ll use the feminine pronoun to talk about visitors/clients. To keep things simple and even, we’ll use the masculine pronoun when referring to service sellers.
Once you achieve this essential foundation of trust, the remainder of the pathway is open and positive... your prospect picks up the phone to call you or contacts you via a form on your Web site. After a satisfactory exchange where you “close the deal,” she hires you over other competitors.
CONTENT
TRAFFIC
PRESELL
MONETIZE
The content on your Web site has helped to convert her from being a prospect to being a client by developing the trust she needed to contact you! A profitable WIN-WIN situation for both of you!
From there, the key to long-term success is a simple matter of OVERdelivering your services. Do not just “please” your client -- absolutely “delight” her. Turn her into a raving fan and a valuable lifetime customer. A solid base of repeat clients means a solid base of recurring income and no acquisition costs -- the ideal business outcome!
Each new customer has a potential worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars over the lifetime of a business relationship with you, depending upon the nature of your service (even tens of thousands, as you saw earlier with our FileMaker programmer).
It’s important to recognize this lifetime value when you are deciding on your marketing strategies to attract new clients. You can allocate more resources, knowing that your potential Return on Investment (ROI) is high.
OK. That’s the “30-thousand foot-view” of the pathway to online profit. Now it’s time to examine each stepping stone along that pathway... starting with “Business Basics.” I will only briefly highlight the essential points here because they will all be covered in context and with more depth throughout DAYS 2-10 of the Course.
Some of the most successful companies such as Apple Computers and HewlettPackard were started in a garage and built using a shoe-string budget. This is encouraging proof that you don’t need a lot of money to grow a successful business.
A successful business is a profitable business.Generating profit is a straightforward and very do-able process...
• Identify a great niche service and its target group.
In order to generate income, enough people must need and/or value your service and feel strongly that they will personally profit from the way you deliver it versus your competitors’ approach.
You also need to know whether your marketing efforts should be focused locally or globally (depending upon the narrowness or broadness and the nature of your niche).
For example, a general tax accountant may attract traffic only from his local area. The majority of his clients like the peace of mind afforded by being able to drop off important documents to the office or they prefer to discuss delicate financial matters face-to-face.
Contrast this with an international tax accountant who specializes in tax sheltered investments for the wealthy. His clients could come from anywhere in the world and communication could all be done by e-mail, fax, or courier.
ACTION STEPS1) Your service -- write down in point form exactly What, How, Why, and Where you offer (or plan to) your service. Note your range of flexibility -- how and where you can adapt your service to particular needs. Describe your strengths (i.e., the reasons why you are better than the competition) and pinpoint your weaknesses (i.e., what you are planning to improve).
Give your outline to a family member or a friend who knows your business to see if you have forgotten anything and/or to check that the presentation is as objective as possible.
2) Your client -- develop a profile of your ideal client...• Baby boomer? Senior citizen? Teens?
• Family? Single? Partners?
• Money concerns? Stressed for time?
• Trend-setter? Conservative? Do-It-Yourselfer?
• City-dweller? Rural home-owner?
• Neighborhood? Region? Nation? Continent?
Make your sketch as comprehensive as you can. If your service has more than one kind of client, do a profile for each major type. As well, ask yourself who should not be your prospect -- this technique is helpful to keep you focused on your ideal client.
3) Now combine the two thumbnail sketches (You, and Your Client). This is your service business! Use this detailed snapshot when developing content for your Web site. It will help you keep focused on your target group and its needs, which is critical for achieving a high Conversion Rate.
The snapshot will also help you narrow your niche, if needed. Use it to discover more profitable angles to your service. The ideal is to offer a service that is relatively high in demand with few suppliers (i.e., your competition). Try to adapt or change your present service to meet that goal as closely as feasible.
• Be passionate about what you do.It won’t feel like you are working!
• Offer superior quality service to your clients.
Provide outstanding service every time. “Wow” your customer with your fast turn-around, or low pricing, or free trial, or unexpected extras, or generous guarantee, etc. Quality and high satisfaction guarantee repeat customers. And they generate word-of-mouth referrals... the most targeted and least expensive way to develop leads, produce contracts, and increase profits.
I can’t overemphasize this point enough. When I encounter someone who OVERdelivers (ex., our Australian FileMaker programmer), I'm “his” forever! However, on the flip side, start charging me too much for too little... and I start shopping for a better service.
“Low pricing” could, but does not have to, mean “inexpensive” – that’s part of how you plan to position yourself. Actually, our FileMaker programmer has a high $-per-hour rate. But he turns out an amazing amount of great code for that rate. So I am happy, because I get great value.
No matter how you plan to position your pricing, the value has to be there. Otherwise, you’re just a scam artist... or selling art in a gallery on Rodeo Drive!
• Make every moment and dollar count!
Identify and focus on attaining your “Most Wanted Response” (MWR) (i.e., what you most want your visitor to do). For example, visiting your site, or subscribing to your newsletter, or reading an ad, you “most want” your visitor to contact you. Everything you do must in some way help to attain that MWR. Strive to get the best possible traffic-building and lead-converting results for every dollar... and for every hour you spend on your business.
Time is money. So don’t count your hours as zero cost simply because it does not cost you “out of pocket.” Assign your time a value as well.
However, maximizing profits does not imply that you must only minimize expenses. After all, if you spend no money or time on a business... you have no business!
ACTION STEPSWhether your service business is a small home-based operation with a work force of 1 (you!) or a company with 5-10 employees, you are constantly in “multitasking” mode. Follow these simple but effective guidelines...
• Touch it once and move to the next step.• Make lists, but stick to “The 6 Most Important Things.”
• Plan how long each task will take.
• Assign time slots for accomplishing each task.
• Focus on the difficult/important projects first.
• Throw stuff away that clutters your computer/office
I’ve further reduced this to my 4 D’s, which appear on a yellow stickie on my computer. Every call on my time must be handled by one of the four D’s...
2) Manage your business and money effectively.
Focus on your bottom line, manage your cash flow and collect payments that are due. If you lack these skills, get training through books or business courses. Or purchase inexpensive accounting software programs such as Quick Books to keep track of your records.
http://www.quickbooks.com/Get the right message to the right people via the right media and tactics so they will respond and hire you for the contract, with the highest ROIs (Return on Investments) possible.
i) Build your own Theme-Based Content Site. This is the highest ROI technique for any service seller, yet most don’t dream of doing it. This course will put you five steps ahead of your competition.
A Theme-Based Content Site is a site that is loaded with high info-value Keyword-Focused Content Pages. These pages rank well with the Search Engines and will pull in more targeted traffic and get more prospects to contact you for further details about your service and/or hire you for the job (i.e., increase your Conversion Rate). Your profits grow geometrically when you concentrate on maximizing both traffic and Conversion Rates. And this Service Sellers Masters Course will show you exactly how to do it all!
ii) Develop a powerful “Valuable PREselling Proposition” (VPP). Create an eye-catching short statement that sums up in a few words what sets you apart from the competition. For example, Mike’s Pizza restaurant has this VPP... “Delivery in 30 minutes or it’s free.” The message is simple, clear and “hot.” Weave your VPP into the fabric of your business.
iii) Match marketing strategies to your target group and your business. Remember our earlier example about the two tax accountants, one local and one global in nature?
The local bean counter should place ads (which include his Web site’s URL) on local community bulletin boards, in the local newspaper, etc. -- great locations for the general tax accountant to market his services.
The other more specialized accountant would be better served placing his ads (with URL) in well-known financial investment e-zines or magazines that have a broad circulation base, and through Pay-Per-Click Search Engines. The two, however, benefit from some common techniques, too -- all covered in the coming DAYS.
As well, both accountants will profit from offering a free opt-in newsletter off their Web sites. A good benefit-focused newsletter/e-zine builds a familiar and credible relationship with subscribers. (Don’t worry about these details right now. I’ll walk you through everything later in the course.)
A service seller’s “sale” cycle (introduction --> trust foundation --> contact --> contract) is generally longer than a Netrepreneur who is selling his own product.And the Conversion Rate (the % of visitors who become clients) will be lower than if you were just selling a $20 e-book. But as we saw earlier, the “Return on Investment” is much higher when you consider the value of a lifetime client. So you can “afford” to budget more for marketing costs.
iv) PREsell! Don’t sell. Use great, and related, content that is of value to your visitor/potential client on your site, in your newsletters, and in your ads. It is the most effective way to build credibility, trust and an “open-to-hire” attitude in your visitors’ mindsets.
“PREselling” is such a critically important concept that it deserves its own special spotlight. It will be the focus of the second part of DAY 1.
v) Guarantee your work. There is nothing more powerful than a simple statement or stamp that says “All Work Guaranteed.” Live up to your promise. vi) Provide verifiable testimonials that include full names, cities and contact information. An effective testimonial outlines a specific benefit, something that is relevant to your target group. It is “believable” – you can clean up gross typos/spelling mistakes but don’t turn a testimonial into a polished piece. It is proof that someone else has used your service and you more than lived up to her expectations.
vii) Be super accessible. Place your contact information (toll-free phone number, a contact form, fax number, mailing address -- whichever way you want people to contact you) -- in highly visible locations.
Publishing your e-mail address is an invitation to spammers to come calling. I no longer recommend that you make your e-mail address public. Instead, put a contact form on your Web site.
Form Build It!, part of the Site Build It! system, allows you to customize forms on your site so your clients can contact you easily. You select an e-mail address to receive the information.
We’ve gone one step farther in combating SPAM. Site Build It! (SBI!) clients have the protection of Spam ‘n Virus Blast It!. This powerful software will save you hours of checking and trashing unwanted e-mail.
These are but two features of Site Build It!’s 50+ modules. See how it compares to the competition…
On your site, for example, place contact info at the bottom of every content page and, if you like, build a special bio page as well (i.e., some interesting background details about you, including a photo or two). Include a link to your contact form in your newsletter. Add your phone number and URL to your sig file.
As you can see... “easy and fast” should be the operative words for how people can reach you.
• Make all traffic count... have a second income stream.
Some visitors who land on your site may be overly cautious, or they may just be doing some preliminary research, or they may be a little short on funds at this time, or whatever. There are many legitimate reasons why not all visitors followthrough and contact you about your service.
Use this traffic to your advantage by PREselling related products (or noncompeting services) for merchants you represent through their affiliate programs.ACTION STEP
Research and join affiliate programs of merchants who offer quality products that are related to your service and offer fair commissions.
For example, let’s say that you are a dog trainer. A visitor who has a 3-month old puppy arrives on your site. She is just “shopping around” and wants to have identified the “perfect” trainer by the time her puppy is 5 months old. She doesn’t need your service now but she is very interested in the puppy books and grooming products that you are recommending. She clicks through to your merchants’ sites and buys! Two commissions equals additional income.
It makes good business sense to diversify your income where you can. The more legs you have to stand on, the more stable you will be. If one income source takes a dip for any reason, additional income streams can keep your overall income steady.
• Continue doing what is profitable. Stop what is not.The beauty of the Net is that everything you do is completely trackable, totally measurable.
Monitor and track your business constantly, especially the more abstract aspects like... knowing where your traffic is coming from, the satisfaction level of your clients, the new trends in your field, the effectiveness of your newsletter, ads, etc., etc. Concentrate on actions that contribute positively to your bottom line and drop the ones that do not.
In other words... stay on top of your business so that you can take advantage of new opportunities and avoid any pitfalls.Time for a philosophical perspective...