OFFLINE GURUS - I need your help! First Ever Client Meeting....Ideas, Suggestions?

[Enygma]

Hey Offline Gurus,

First off, I want to introduce myself as Aaron, a 24-year old budding Offline Marketer based in Atlanta,GA. I currently work full-time as a Management Consultant but I've been fortunate to land a relatively easy project where I have some spare time to work on IM. I've been involved in IM for about 8 months now and have finally decided that the offline Niche is where I want to focus my energies at. I value all of your time so let me make this short and sweet.

I consider this a success story because it's the first time I've spoken face-to-face with a business owner about marketing their small business online. My barber introduced me to the owner of a MENs hair salon yesterday. The owner said he was looking to get out of print advertising and onto Internet advertising. I spoke to him very briefly about the fact that I help local small businesses grow their revenues through SEO and achieving 1st-page Google rankings for keywords. He appeared interested and I'm going to follow up with him today to see if I can setup an appointment. I know a lot of you gurus out here would probably jump me for not closing with confidence ON THE SPOT...but let's just say I was pretty damn nervous and I'm just glad the I was able to articulate my services. Somewhat.

Strategy

So....IF I get the opportunity to sit down with him, I plan on selling him SEO services to get him ranked on the first page of Google. To do this, I would buy a keyword heavy domain name, optimize it and get it ranked, and then fill that up with copy for his business.

Questions

Background: MENS HAIRCUT salon. They have one location (prime Atlanta downtown location) and are planning to open another one in August. Independently owned. Doing pretty good business (it's always packed on weekends) but could always do better.

1. Any other thoughts on my SEO strategy? I don't want to work on his actual website...although it needs a LOT of work, I'd rather create my own, get it ranked, and deliver him clients.

2. What other questions should I ask him? Any other opportunities where I can help him out? Dexx, I know you have the infamous Interview Cash method and I AM planning to purchase that material, but does anybody have some helpful information they wouldn't mind sharing with me? I'm racking my brain for other services I could offer him.....

3. Any other thoughts/ideas on how I could make the most out of this initial meeting? My plan is just to inform him of what I do and ask him a LOT Of questions about his business. Maybe Google Local, Yelp, etc?

Pricing

I'm thinking for a first page ranking on a keyword set that gets searched about 150 times each month, I want to charge $497 setup and $197/month maintenance. This would also include submission to local directories, google local optimization, and of course, maintaining the 1st-page Google ranking. He is BRAND-NEW to online marketing - should I come off SUPER-CONFIDENT and settle for nothing less than that fee? Or should I offer him a FREE 30-Day sample to see how many clients it will drive him before asking him for money? Would really appreciate suggestions on this!!

I don't want to overload the guy with online marketing material. He's JUST NOW coming away from Print advertising so my plan is to get him some extra clientele, and then maybe eventually upsell website re-design, autoresponder, etc.

Thanks for any help on this! I will be sure to come back and update everyone on how it went!

Cheers,
Aaron

[Dexx]

Awesome work taking action Aaron!

We're all nervous at first, eventually you'll grow to realize that YOU are more valuable to THEM than they are to YOU!

Okay a few quick things:

1) Always book a meeting! I know you were nervous this time around, but don't let it happen again...trust me...phone tag will eventually lead to 'too busy, no thanks'...find a time that works for both of you WHILE you are face-to-face...even if it's just "let's book this date for now, and if anything changes, I'll let you know"...then follow up with a confirmation call two days prior (while re-stating your USP)

2) Do NOT go in to the meeting with a plan for SEO services...that's what a salesperson does...you are a CONSULTANT...your role is ONLY ASK QUESTIONS to IDENTIFY PROBLEMS...once you know the problems THEN AND ONLY THEN will you recommend a solution...you don't even know if SEO is the most important thing his business needs right now...if anything he could be barely managing his existing clients before you dump more on him =P

3) There's a link to my free interview question template HERE, so use that for your meeting and it'll identify where the business owner needs help the most...start from the top and work your way to the bottom (with SEO being last on the list)

Let us know how it goes

~Dexx

[Don Alm]

Thanks Dexx....

[Enygma]

Don and Dexx:

Thanks for your invaluable advice! Don, I really like your idea about creating a video for them. So after doing some more research around their business, I've discovered that they are pretty much DOMINATING Google already!!

Their WEBSITE doesn't RANK, but they are found on the first page, if not the first spot, for just about every haircut-related keyword in Atlanta. Positive reviews on Yelp and Citysearch are getting them an INSANE amount of exposure on Google.

Even when I typed in "best haircuts Atlanta", they pop up.

So, with that being said, what other services do you think I could offer them? Their website is absolutely crappy but is it really worth the hassle of re-designing it when they are already showing up on the 1st page of Google? I don't really see the benefit in creating an e-mail list either...haircuts is usually a "set and forget" kind of service, especially one that caters especially to men. Customer loyalty is more or less solidified as long as their first experience was up to par. Judging from reviews on Yelp and Citysearch....they are ALREADY voted the #1 Mens Haircut in Atlanta.

How else could I help them grow their business?? I'm a newbie at this offline thing and most of my strategies revolve around SEO and increasing their online presence. Doesn't appear they need that.....

Cheers,
Aaron

[MrPhelps]

I think you're asking the wrong people.

You need to ask HIM ... what does HE want / need?

If he's already showing up in the SERPs, according to your research, then what's MISSING? Is he AWARE of whether he's getting any traffic from the internet? If so, HOW MUCH? Once you know that, you can identify a plan to expand it -- IF that's what he wants.

What Dexx said ... go in and just talk with him. See what HE wants. THEN determine how you can help him.

Remember, HIS job is to run the salon in a way that makes a good profit. That's what he's an expert in (hopefully).

YOUR job is to help him do that better / more cost-effectively / more powerfully than he's doing it now.


To paraphrase something I read from a famous business guru once:

If you can't measure it, you can't manage it.
If you can't manage it, you can't control it.
If you can't control it, you can't direct it.
If you can't direct it, you can't maximize your returns.

Another thought....

Many salons treat their hair cutters as independent contractors. Walk-in traffic is divvied-up to whomever is free, but cutters get more commissions by building their own repeat clientele. Selling the salon OWNER on more open traffic doesn't really benefit the cutters as well as it could. But the owner isn't likely to let you talk to the cutters.