Pre-Qualifying + Winning New Clients - #BrightonSEO April 2014

@Tony_DWM #BrightonSEO
The Business Side of
Web Marketing:
Your Mindset, Pre-Qualifying
& Winning New Clients
An extension to: http://bit.ly/1dNfKjL

“Being a consultant or agency is
about much more than just
doing the job.. you need sales
expertise to land the client
in the first place” - @Bright_local

First, a bit about me..
13+ years selling IT solutions to biz’s
Began web marketing & SEO in spare time
Fell-out with boss, left & started own biz
Family to support &
bills to pay.. WTF?!
#BrightonSEO@Tony_DWM

Anger & frustration
Asked for feedback
Lessons learnt..
Growing Pains..

The opportunity
UK internet traffic expected to
increase by 37% in 2015
UK web economy expected to
reach value of £221bn by 2016

That’s all well & good,BUT..
Do you receive training in
sales, account management
or pre-qualifying clients?
70% of you say “No”
Do you / your co use a
sales process for winning
new clients?
60% of you don’t or
don’t know
Today we’ll address those..
..more on our BrightonSEO survey later

..’cos we’re ALL feeling client / SEO tension

So we thought we’d run a little survey...
>>>>>>

The BrightonSEO “Pre-qualifying &
Winning New Clients” Survey
A “first of its kind” research project
Dozens of social shares = 134 Survey Responses
To everyonewho completed it and shared it...
THANK YOU!

Do you / your co use personas to
pre-qualify? 73% No / don’t know
Do respondents have a
process for pre-qualifying
clients that doesn’t
include personas?
Do you / your co have a process for
pre-qualifying? 59.1% Yes
YET..

Pre-qualifying Your Clients – Creating Target Personas
Self-Employed, SMBs & Corporates have different needs:
What are their needs & challenges?
Are they local, national, both?
Who’s their target market?
Are they internet-savvy or techno-phobic?
Purchasing process - single contact or committee?
You work in niche industry? Trends & SWOT analysis
Read http://bit.ly/1pcEqUu & http://bit.ly/1a0Pxwe
Are you a wandering generality or a
meaningful specific?

Your highest priorities for finding best-fit clients?
#1 Budget - 66
#2 Realistic Expectations - 64
#3 Project Success Potential - 54
#4 Contact Relationship - 52
#5 Open to Change – 46
#10 Knowledge of Web Marketing - 16 !

Key Takeaway #1
“Realistic Expectations” 2nd yet
“ Web Marketing Knowledge” last?!

Key Takeaway #2
“Contact Relationship” – long-term
partnerships require care / nurturing

Key Takeaway #3
“Clients Business Model” - off the
scale @37. BUT do offline business
problems exist? Be wary..

Key Takeaway #4
“Clients Available Resources” – off
the scale @29, BUT feedback & input
from them is mandatory!
So what are your biggest challenges? >>>

Your biggest challenges when pre-qualifying?
#1 Client’s lack of situation u/standing – 52%
#2 Client’s “quote first, then discuss” – 46%
#3 Confirming client’s budget – 44%
#4 Limited web marking knowledge – 40%
#5 Confirming goals & objectives – 34%
#6 Lack of honesty / openness – 30%
#7 Client’s seriousness – 26%
Lets work on addressing them >>>

Key Takeaway #1
“Quote first, then discuss” &
“Confirming budgets” - clients aren’t
revealing them..

Key Takeaway #2
“Quote first, then discuss” –
is service value now perceived by
clients as a commodity?

Key Takeaway #3
“Lack of client honesty / openness” –
are we not taking the hint?

Overcoming your top 7 biggest challenges
#1 > Client’s lack of current situation understanding (52%)
It’s your job to ask the right questions & look “under their bonnet”
Their existing online profile
The difficulty of the work involved
The potential profitability for your company
Whether they match your ideal persona
Whether you can work with them
So investigate:

#1 > Client’s lack of current situation understanding - P2
Great questions to ask potential clients (h/t @staceycav)
>>>> http://bit.ly/QBFjdP
Perform a website marketing & SEO audit
Check G Analytics & WMT via “review” access - mandatory
Do they have any penalties?
Do your due diligence..

#2 > Client’s “quote first, then discuss” approach (46%)
Ask “How will you select a partner?” & listen
Are you “cannon fodder” against competitors?
“cost” / “cheap ” main priority? Discuss expectations
Say “Our policy is to discuss your needs 1st, then propose”
Playing hard-ball sets you apart from the competition
If they won’t discuss their requirements, needs, goals
or objectives - walk away (you heard that right..)

#3 > Confirming the client’s budget (44%)
“What is your budget?” If they ask “why?”:
“To confirm your expectations are realistic”
“To work out a financially viable game-plan”
“To confirm your goals are achievable”
Can they pay? Check www.companycheck.co.uk
Do their payment terms align with yours?
Could the deal damage your business?
The fastest way to biz bankruptcy?
Cash-flow problems & freebies..

#4 > Client’s limited web marketing knowledge (40%)
Current knowledge? Clueless, beginner, moderate, advanced?
Will they listen to advice or 2nd guess every move?
Conversions & results are what count
It’s about their audience & becoming an authority
“Search” has changed – explain how
Proof of success - “we helped x achieve y too..”
They want 24hr success? Explain what’s realistic
Map out the process & steps required to win online
Remember - your client doesn’t know what they don’t know..

#5 > Confirming their goals & objectives - their “why” (34%)
What are their time, profit & growth challenges?
Read mission statements, about us, history & shareholder info
Do they have false expectations? Correct them or else..
SMART: specific, measureable, attainable, relevant, time-bound
What metrics mean MOST to their business?
Ask “why”. Consulting is a super-power (h/t @billsebald)
It’s hard to hit an invisible target..
..nope, rankings is NOT an answer..

#5 > Confirming client’s goals & objectives - their “why?” - P2
Good consulting questions to ask:
“What challenges are you currently facing?”
“How different are you to your competitors?”
“What is your unique value proposition?”
“Are you regulated by industry bodies?”
“How do you currently generate business?”
“What business growth plans do you have?”
Get > “Questions that Sell” by Paul Cherry http://amzn.to/1haOBCr

#6 > Lack of client honesty or openness (30%)
Master / slave clients - warning signs:
Do they treat you as “cheap labour” (h/t @badams)
They refer to past SEO relationships as “suppliers”
They’re very demanding & show no respect for your time
follow your instinct >>>>>
Energy-sucking vampire clients - warning signs:
Lots of time to convince them small changes are needed
Battle you on your ideas & second guess your advice
Negative, critical, enjoy hostility, drama queens & angry
<<<<< follow your instinct..

#7 > Confirming the client’s seriousness (26%)
It’s long term, it takes time &
they must be serious..
Successful relationships are win/win, give & take
Will they commit to achieving their goals?
Will they provide the resources you need?
Will you be given enough control to be effective?
Will they follow a game plan? Data’s useless w/o it
Identify how proactive or reactive they’ll be
Is the client open to change? (mandatory)
?

Without emotion, think:
Is the opportunity viable?
Are they a “best-fit”?
Could they drain your energy?
Will they listen?
No? Be polite & explain
there’s better suited co’s
available to help them
We asked “How do you find turning down potential clients?”
Don’t feel guilt - you’ve probably just dodged a
Our survey said:
HARD - 50%

Final thoughts..
Say out-loud > It’s OKto say NOto potential clients..
Don’t sell yourself short. Remember:
> The strengths, values & qualities you bring to clients
> The BIG difference you can make to a clients biz
> Your job’s bigger than links & rankings
(h/t @wilreynolds)
> Your time’s valuable. Don’t waste it on dead-enders
Your approach defines your future business relationship
with them, so set the tone from the beginning

Winning New Clients – insights from the trenches
Do the small,
simple things
brilliantly..

Ask yourself: Why
should they
choose me?

Make the idea of not
choosing you or your biz
unthinkable

Be bold with your
pitch & focus 110%
on client goals & ROI

It’s OK not to
know. It’s not OK
not to find out..

Relationships & reputations are key to
winning clients. We must
sell what we do & deliver work.
One cannot exist w/o the other.. so
get better at doing both..

Last bit..
<Blog post> to come, including:
Mastering
Meetings
Proposal
Best Practices
“Lost Lead”
Learning
ALL Survey
Results
<Follow me for details>

The end..
..But for you, it’s
just the beginning..
Tony Dimmock - Maverick, Martyr & MD
tony@dimmockwebmarketing.co.uk
0844 5610626

Image Credits
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Panda
Penguin
Angry Murray
Murray Winning
Superman
Small business
Plumber
Apple
WWI Trenches
The Count
Frankenstein
Die Hard
Meetings
Sherlock
Sir Alex Ferguson
Gear Head
£ sign
http://bit.ly/1ic9OfF
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http://bit.ly/1kWwplL
http://bit.ly/Pq9uTI
Moyes
Osborne
Rubber Stamp
Axe
How and why

Pre-Qualifying + Winning New Clients - #BrightonSEO April 2014

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